The list was announced after UGM made headlines in November last year following an investigation report published by Balairung, its student magazine, based on the testimony of a female student identified as Agni.

Agni told the magazine that a fellow student had allegedly raped her during university-sanctioned fieldwork in a Maluku village on June 30, 2017. The case was eventually settled out of court despite calls for the perpetrator to be punished.

“It surprised me. The Agni case was such a slap in the face for UGM,” Muhadjir Darwin, chairperson of the drafting team for the UGM rector regulation on the prevention of and response to sexual violence, told The Jakarta Post recently.

Times Higher Education (THE), a London-based weekly magazine reporting on news and issues related to higher education, announced recently the results of its first edition of the university impact rankings.

Claimed to be the only global performance table that assesses universities against the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), THE University Impact Rankings 2019 included more than 450 universities from 76 countries.

UGM was ranked 50 in gender equality and 70 in decent work and economic growth.

“I believe that if UGM has a high score in gender equality, the score must have come from other indicators,” he said, adding he was aware of many positive sides to the university’s track record on gender issues.

Providing an example, he said UGM does not discriminate against women when it considers top positions. “We once had a female rector, “ he said.

“In the faculty, department and study programs, many of the posts are held by women,” said Muhadjir, who is also chairman of UGM's postgraduate leadership and policy innovation study program.

He also mentioned the high proportion of female students at UGM and the fact that gender issues were also included in the curriculum. “I happen to be a lecturer of gender mainstreaming and gender and population courses,” he said.

UGM’s Center for Population and Policy Studies, he added, was also home to numerous experts on gender issues. The center frequently initiated gender-centered studies and conferences.

“The Agni case is indeed deplorable. Yet, UGM has also carried out corrective measures including the planned issuance of a rector regulation to prevent a similar case from occurring again,” he said.

On its website, THE said it used carefully calibrated indicators to provide comprehensive and balanced comparisons across three broad areas: research, outreach and stewardship.

THE also said Japan was the most-represented nation in the table with 41 institutions, followed by the US with 31 and Russia with 30.

UGM’s quality assurance office head Indra Wijaya Kusuma said for this year, THE used 11 out of 17 aspects of the SDGs. UGM, he said, was one out of 462 universities ranked, six of which were from Indonesia. UGM took part in all the 11 aspects ranked.

The gender equality ranking, according to Indra, was based on the proportion of the university’s female academic staff and students compared to their male counterparts, as well as on the number of female students who were first in their families to study at a higher education institution.

“UGM’s policy that gives women the opportunity to access higher education is considered to support the SDGs,” Indra said.

On the decent work and economic growth aspects, he added, the ranking was based on the number of students as well as academic and nonacademic staff, inclusive policies and a commitment to pay attention to the well-being of staff.

For other aspects, such as industrial innovation and infrastructure, reduced inequality, climate action, peace justice and strong institutions, as well as partnership for the goals, Indra said, UGM was ranked 101.

“UGM will continue to increase its contribution for the SDGs,” he added.

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