Indonesia Open University (UT; Indonesian: Universitas Terbuka) is a public university in South Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia. The university employs an Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system to widen access to higher education to all Indonesian citizens, including those who live in remote islands throughout the country, and in various parts of the world. It has a total student body of 1,045,665 (as of 2019/2020 according to Indonesia's Ministry of Education and Culture Higher Education database). According to a distance education institution in the UK, which published "The Top Ten Mega Universities", UT-3 ranks closely with universities from China and Turkey.
Contents
History
In its first year of existence, the Open University opened four undergraduate study programs (S1), which included Public Administration, Business Administration, Economics and Development Studies, and Statistics. Another type of study program, namely the education program, is a takeover of the Teacher Education Project tasks through Distance Learning with a new curriculum and teaching materials; Likewise with the Act V program which was taken over from an existing project.
UT continues to innovate and maintain the quality of its education, as proven by achieving "A" accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Higher Education (BAN-PT) in 2024. In addition, UT succeeded in achieving international accreditation from the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA) for four study program in 2024, confirming its position as a globally recognized higher education institution. UT also officially became a Legal Entity State University (PTNBH) in 2022, a significant achievement that strengthens its role as a pioneer of open and distance higher education in Indonesia. UT has also received international recognition with certification from the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) which has been obtained five times. This award shows that UT is not only focused on accessibility, but also on the globally recognized quality of distance education. On October 3 2024, UT received a "Certificate of Accreditation" from the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU), which further emphasizes UT's role asa leader in open education in Asia, as well as proof of excellence in distance education technology innovation. UT's achievements in the academic field are further strengthened by the success of its superior study programs. In 2024, the Master of Management (MM), Master of English Education, and Public Financial Accounting study programs will receive "Excellent" accreditation from the Independent Accreditation Institute for Economics, Management, Business and Accounting (LAMEMBA). This accreditation proves that UT not only prioritizes accessibility, but also the quality of education according to the highest national standards.
Accreditation
UT has been awarded the 'International Accreditation' and 'Certificate of Quality' by the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) Standard Agency (ISA), and ISO 9001:2000 by the Certification bodies, i.e. SAI Global and SGS. UT's study programs have also been accredited by The National Accreditation Board of Higher Education (BAN-PT).
Operational networking
UT has 41 regional offices: 40 UPBJJ-UT and 1 PPM-LN. The UPBJJ-UT themselves are located in the capitals of each Indonesia 34 provinces in addition to 5 major cities of Bogor, Purwokerto, Surakarta, Jember, and Malang, in addition to the recently (re-)established UPBJJ in Dili, Timor Leste, in 2019, and the UT PPM-LN or foreign office. To support their operations, each UPBJJ-UT establishes close collaboration with various institutions, particularly with:
The local public and private universities for getting tutors, practicum instructors, and examination supervisors;
Local governments for conducting tutorials and examination, as well as for getting scholarships for students; and
Local radio and TV stations for relaying the tutorials and information about academic activities. The regular tutorials broadcast by the national radio stations (RRI).
At the national level, UT also has long standing collaborations with:
Q-Channel and TV-Edukasi for broadcasting UT's TV programs;
RRI for broadcasting radio tutorials;
BRI and BTN for receiving tuition fees and learning materials purchase from students; and
PT Pos Indonesia for delivering the learning materials, examination documents and other supporting materials.
Partnerships
UT has established partnerships with other institutions, including the Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Home Affairs, Navy, Ministry of Defense and Security, Ministry of Agriculture, Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Garuda Indonesia, Merpati Nusantara, PT Pos Indonesia, Central Bureau for Statistics, PT Indosat, PT Tugu Pratama, National Coordinating Agency for Family Planning (BKKBN), and Al-Zaitun Islamic Boarding School, Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN), National Archives of Indonesia (ANRI), National Civil Service Agency (BKN), School of Business and Management (STEKPI), PT Jakarta Software Komunikasi and all provincial agencies, regencies and towns in Indonesia.
UT also has close relationships with various international organizations such as the South-East Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and SEAMEO Regional Open Learning Center (SEAMOLEC).
UT is one of the founding members of the Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU), and the Global Mega-University Network (GMUNET). In addition UT is also an active member of the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE).
Academic programmes
UT has four faculties and one graduate program that offer more than 40 active study programmes, including doctoral programmes (S3), master programmes (S2), bachelor programmes (Sarjana/S1), diploma programmes (D3 and D4), and certificate programmes.
Faculty of Teacher Training and Educational Sciences
Bachelor (S1) programmes
Indonesian and Literature Education
English Education
Mathematics Education
Physics Education
Chemistry Education
Biology Education
Economics Education
Pancasila and Civics Education
Islamic Religious Education
Primary School Teacher Education
Early Childhood Education Teacher
Educational Technology
Certificate programmes
Indonesian for Foreigners
Public Administration of District Area
Faculty of Law, Social, and Political Sciences
Bachelor (S1) programmes
Public Administration
Business Administration
Government Studies
Communication Science
Sociology
Law
Taxation
Library Science or Archive
English Language and Literature Specialized in Translation Studies
Diploma 4(D4) program
Public Administration
Diploma 3(D3) program
Taxation
Faculty of Economics
Bachelor (S1) programmes
Economics Development
Sharia Economy
Management
Accounting
Public Financial Accounting
Tourism
Faculty of Science and Technology
Bachelor (S1) programmes
Mathematics
Statistics
Biology
Agribusiness, majoring in agricultural extension and communication/animal husbandry/fishery
Food Technology and Science
Urban and Regional Planning
Information Systems
Data Science
Graduate programmes
Master (S2) programmes
Administration Science, majoring in public administration
Management
Marine Science, majoring in fishery management
Mathematics Education
English Education
Primary Education
Environment science
Doctoral (S3) programmes
Management
Public Administration
Research and development
The Center for Research and Community Services of UT (LPPM-UT) has four centers:
Center of Institutional Research and System Development
Center of Science
Center of Community Services
Inter-University Center for Improving and Developing Instructional Activities (IUC-IDIA)
Research
The LPPM-UT specializes research and development in the following areas:
Open and Distance Education
Evaluation of Educational
Educational Management
Policy and Institutional Studies
Social Development
Regional Economic Development
Environmental Impact Analysis
Regional Development
Agriculture, Fishery, and Husbandry
Sciences
Instructional Media
Consultancy and Research Training
Monitoring and Evaluation
Development of management information systems
Notable alumni
Anang Hermansyah (Musician & Politician)
Andika Perkasa (Former Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces & Politician)
Hadi Tjahjanto (Former Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces & Politician)
Angga Yunanda (Actor)
Bambang Santoso (Politician)
Bambang Soesatyo (Politician)
Bayu Oktara (Actor, Presenter, and Politician)
Dina Lorenza (Actress and Politician)
Dwi Putri Bonita (Singer)
Giring Ganesha (Musician and Politician)
Happy Asmara (Writer & Singer)
Kamasean Matthews (Singer)
Kristiani Herrawati (Former First Lady of Indonesia and wife of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono)
Kunto Ari Wibowo (Commander of Joint Regional Defense Command I)
Moeldoko (Former Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces & Politician)
Novi Herlina (Singer)
Rey Mbayang (Actor)
Sophia Latjuba (Actress)
Sugianto Sabran (Politician)