UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta's reputation as one of Indonesia's leading State Islamic Higher Education Institutions (PTKIN) has once again been recognized. On Thursday, August 6, 2026, UIN Sunan Kalijaga hosted a benchmarking visit from UIN Palangka Raya and IAKN Palangka Raya, aimed at strengthening financial governance and studying the university's modern archival management practices.

The event, held in the 2nd Floor Meeting Room of the Prof. K.H. Saifuddin Zuhri Building at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, was attended by Vice Rector for General Administration, Planning, and Finance Prof. Moch. Sodik, Head of the Bureau of General Administration, Planning, and Finance (AUK) Dr. Ali Sodiq, along with financial managers, archivists, and team leaders from across the university.

The IAKN Palangka Raya delegation was led by Head of the Bureau of General, Academic, and Student Administration (AUAK) Dr. Seska Vonny Langitan, together with staff from personnel, finance, and archives. The UIN Palangka Raya delegation was led by Head of the Finance Team Rahmawati, S.E., M.E., together with finance and archival staff.

In his remarks, Prof. Moch. Sodik noted that good university governance is shaped not only by academic policy, but also by the support systems that operate professionally behind the scenes, including financial and archival management.

He expressed appreciation for UIN Sunan Kalijaga's entire finance team, whose work often goes unnoticed yet plays a vital role in sustaining the university's programs.

“The finance team is like the heart of the organization. It may not always be visible, but every university activity depends on how well, how accountably, and how honestly financial governance is carried out,” he said.

Prof. Sodik also emphasized that every policy across the university must be oriented toward the common good. He cited the Islamic legal principle tasharruf al-imam 'ala al-ra'iyyah manuthun bi al-mashlahah, that every decision made by a leader must bring the greatest possible benefit to those under their leadership.

He explained that this principle is put into practice through efficient budget management, strengthened integrity, and efforts to optimize the university's various revenue sources so that all of its programs can be sustained over the long term.

On this occasion, he also introduced several strategic developments at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, from the establishment of the Faculty of Medicine to the ongoing infrastructure development of Campus 2, which has now entered the road-paving stage as part of building an integrated education area.

Meanwhile, Head of IAKN Palangka Raya's Bureau of AUAK, Dr. Seska Vonny Langitan, explained that the visit was aimed at studying best practices in archival management at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, which she said has succeeded in developing a modern archival system.

She noted that archiving is a critical foundation for building university governance that is accountable, transparent, effective, and compliant with regulations.

“We hope to gain insights, knowledge, and innovations that can be implemented at our own institution. We also believe that collaboration between universities will strengthen the quality of administrative services while driving a more professional transformation of governance,” she said.

In a similar vein, Head of UIN Palangka Raya's Finance Team, Rahmawati, S.E., M.E., said that her institution's change in status from IAIN to UIN in 2024 brought new challenges, particularly in improving the quality of financial governance.

She explained that UIN Palangka Raya is currently preparing its transformation into a Public Service Agency (BLU), and therefore needs guidance from universities with longer experience in financial management.

“We want to learn about the implementation, administration, and reporting of finances. We also hope to draw on UIN Sunan Kalijaga's experience in managing the institution toward increasingly effective and professional financial governance,” she said.

During the presentation session, UIN Sunan Kalijaga's Junior Expert Archivist Wahyu Setianingsih, S.H., M.M., presented the university's digital archival transformation journey, built gradually over nearly two decades.

She explained that digitalization began in 2007 with an electronic control card system for incoming mail, followed by document scanning in 2012, the development of a web-based correspondence system from 2013–2015, the implementation of the Dynamic Archival Information System (SIKD) starting in 2017, full adoption of electronic signatures in 2018, and integration with the SRIKANDI application used across the Ministry of Religious Affairs in 2024.

This transformation has been supported by the development of official correspondence standards, archive classification, an Archive Retention Schedule (JRA), access-rights management, and integration with various internal information systems, including the Academic Information System (SIA), SIMPEK, BKD Remun, and the HABIR application.

UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta also offers an Auto Student Letter service, allowing students to independently request at least 12 types of official letters through a system connected to their academic and payment records.

Beyond the technical aspects, Wahyu also discussed the challenges of digital transformation, from shifting workplace culture and infrastructure investment needs to data security risk mitigation. Even so, digitalization has proven to deliver significant benefits: protecting archives from physical damage, improving storage efficiency, speeding up archive retrieval, and strengthening institutional governance accountability.

As part of strengthening its archival culture, UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta will also hold the first archival exhibition among Indonesia's PTKINs in September 2026, showcasing archives documenting the university's founding dating back to 1951.

This benchmarking visit reaffirms UIN Sunan Kalijaga's position as a leading reference point for university governance development in Indonesia. Beyond its academic achievements, UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta continues to strengthen its reputation through innovation in administration, financial management, and digital archival transformation, supporting the creation of university governance that is modern, accountable, and service-oriented. (humassk)