Ilham, a board member of the Unhas Disability Center (Pusdis), wept with emotion when the Dean of the Unhas Faculty of Medicine said: “With the initial assessment mechanism involving Pusdis, starting this semester we are opening up opportunities to admit new students through the disability affirmation pathway.”
Hasanuddin University continues to strengthen its commitment to inclusive and equitable higher education by reinforcing its New Student Admission system through the Disability Affirmation Pathway. This step is part of the university’s effort to ensure that all prospective students have an equal opportunity to access higher education without discrimination.
Head of the Unhas Pusdis, Dr. Ishak Salim, explained that everyone has strengths that often go unseen. It is therefore important to open the same chances and opportunities for persons with disabilities.
“We often find wonders. The common assumption is that persons with disabilities are full of limitations, yet they turn out to have unexpected abilities. All that our friends with disabilities need is an opportunity,” Ishak stressed.
This commitment to equality is reflected in a policy under which all faculties open opportunities for prospective students with disabilities in the new student admission for the 2026/2027 Academic Year. The policy marks the growing direction of Unhas’s development as a campus that is adaptive to the diversity and needs of all students.
Unhas itself, said Ishak, is becoming increasingly active in creating equal spaces for persons with disabilities. For the learning process in particular, Unhas Pusdis and the Institute for Quality Assurance and Educational Development (LPMPP) are collaborating to draft guidelines for lecturers and education staff in academic processes.
“This collaboration has produced five guidebooks for lecturers that can be used to prepare learning, conduct competency assessments, and evaluate the learning of students with disabilities. They are now being laid out. This will be the first guidebook to be published by a university in Indonesia,” said the lecturer from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences.
Head of the New Student Admissions Subdirectorate (Kasubdit) at Hasanuddin University, Nurul Ichsani, M.I.Kom., explained that strengthening the disability affirmation pathway concerns not only the new student selection process, but is also part of the university’s commitment to building a higher education system that is more inclusive and welcoming to everyone.
“Higher education must open equal space for all prospective students. For that reason, strengthening the standard operating procedure (SOP) for admission through the disability affirmation pathway is an important step so that the services provided become more adaptive to students’ needs,” explained Nurul.
The discussion involved various elements of university leadership, from deans and heads of related units to board members of the Unhas Disability Center. This cross-unit involvement shows a collective commitment to ensuring the university’s readiness to provide more inclusive and sustainable educational services.
Several faculty leaders also voiced their support for strengthening access to education for students with disabilities. The Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Dentistry affirmed their readiness to give prospective students with disabilities the same opportunity, provided they meet the academic and competency requirements set through the initial assessment process.
This approach is considered important to ensure that admitted students are ready to undergo their education in line with the scientific characteristics of each study program, while still receiving equal rights and opportunities to access higher education.
Various strategic aspects were also discussed, from the new student selection mechanism, academic service systems, and mentoring patterns to the readiness of facilities and infrastructure supporting learning at the faculty and study program levels.
Through the strengthened admission system for the disability affirmation pathway, Unhas reaffirms its commitment to continue providing higher education that is humane and oriented toward diversity.
The presence of students with disabilities on campus is seen as an important part of building an academic atmosphere that is inclusive, collaborative, and equitable.
The commitment was discussed in a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on updating the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for New Student Admission through the Hasanuddin University Disability Affirmation Pathway 2026, held in the Lounge on the 8th Floor of the Unhas Rectorate Building on Thursday (7 May).
One aspect updated in the SOP is the agreement to conduct an initial assessment for students with disabilities, involving Unhas Pusdis and professional groups. This initial assessment will help prospective students decide on the study program they aspire to. (*/mir)
Editor: Ishaq Rahman
This article is an English translation of the original Indonesian report.