Humas Fapsi — Step by step, efforts have been made since the end of 2021 to bring the Faculty of Psychology at Universitas Padjadjaran (Unpad) towards internationalization. In addition to updating various facilities, the Faculty of Psychology and Unpad consistently provide several programs and facilities that help improve student welfare and gain international exposure. Furthermore, the Faculty of Psychology has appointed FIBAA (Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation), an international accreditation body for social sciences and humanities, to carry out its process. A self-evaluation report has been collected, systems and facilities have been improved, and on June 20-21, 2023, the Faculty of Psychology warmly welcomed assessors from FIBAA to conduct a visitation at the Jatinangor Campus.

The FIBAA assessment team consisted of six members: Prof. Dr. Peter Sedlmeier Chemnitz (University of Technology, Germany), Prof. Dr. Astrid Schuetz (University of Bamberg, Germany), Dr. Endang R. Surjaningrum (Unair), Dipl-Psych. Ute Beyer (professional practitioner, FIBAA), Paul Goesmann (student representative), and Christiane Butler as FIBAA Project Manager. Through these efforts, Mrs. Zahrotur Rusyda Hinduan, MOP., Ph.D., Psychologist, as the Dean of the Faculty of Psychology, hopes that the learning process that has been taking place will receive feedback and assessment on an international scale. With this, she hopes that the Faculty of Psychology can ensure the suitability of the systems and facilities that have been planned with international standards and continue to develop to further improve the quality of learning. She also emphasized that this accreditation process is not an end, but a new beginning for the Faculty of Psychology at Unpad.

On the first day, the event began with a welcome for the review panel by the campus and the Faculty of Psychology, held in the Rectorate meeting room. Unpad leaders in attendance included the Vice Rector for Academic and Student Affairs, the Vice Rector for Research and Innovation, the Director of Education and Internationalization, the Director of Student Affairs and Alumni Relations, and the Head of the International Office. Meanwhile, the Faculty of Psychology was represented by the Dean, the Senate Chair, the Vice Dean for Learning, Student Affairs & Research, the Vice Dean for Organizational Resources, and the Head of the Psychology Department. In this session, Unpad and the Faculty of Psychology gave brief presentations about the structure, goals, and position of the study program within the institution’s or department’s strategy. Discussions on the implementation of the study program and student life also took place among the assessors, Unpad, and the Faculty of Psychology.

After the first session, the assessors, along with lecturers from the Faculty of Psychology, continued with a panel interview with program managers. The topics discussed in this session related to the goals and position of the program concerning the labor market and education, internationalization, curriculum, examination frequency and organization, teaching and learning, student support, program administration, and ongoing research. This was followed by a panel interview with the teaching staff of the Faculty of Psychology. This interview focused on teaching content, learning methods, student involvement in decision-making, staff education and qualifications, student support, as well as internal collaboration and student exchange programs.

After these two interview sessions, the assessors, accompanied by lecturers from the Faculty of Psychology, took a tour around the Faculty of Psychology. This building inspection was led by Prof. Dr. Wilis Srisayekti, Psychologist, head of the Psychology Laboratory of the Faculty of Psychology. During the campus tour, the assessors were enthusiastic and took photos around the Faculty of Psychology. They also tried out some of the provided facilities, such as Virtual Reality (VR) and equipment in the Psychology laboratory.

Through this international accreditation process, the lecturers and the Head of the Psychology Department, Mrs. Dr. Retno Hanggarani Ninin, M.Psi., Psychologist, stated that she gained an international perspective on the current quality of the Faculty of Psychology at Unpad. Mrs. Ninin also expressed that the core of the Faculty of Psychology is education, and thus hopes that the Faculty can provide more opportunities for students to master learning subjects, achieve the vision and mission, contribute to human welfare, move dynamically, and prepare graduates to face continuously changing developments. Dr. Marina Sulastiana, M.Si., Psychologist, as the Head of the Postgraduate Program, also hopes that the Faculty of Psychology will be more consistent in improving quality and maintaining aspects that are already good. For example, by adding more qualified teaching staff for the postgraduate program and developing strategies and plans to implement the targeted goals massively and rapidly. She also hopes that programs such as double degrees, joint degrees, and joint supervisors between the Faculty of Psychology at Unpad and overseas universities will not only attract interest but also support the development of graduates when entering the workforce. (H/SKN)