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    UMY Prioritizes COVID-19 Facilities and Tightens Safety Measures as it Resumes Offline Lectures

    Based on the decision of the Muhammadiyah COVID-19 Command Center (MCCC) and the Muhammadiyah Central Board, there is currently a prohibition to carry out face-to-face learning activities for any Muhammadiyah Institution that is not ready to support off-network learning with offline lecture facilities. However, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta firmly stated that it was ready to hold face-to-face lectures because it has equipped itself with facilities and infrastructure that met the requirements for face-to-face learning in the middle of the pandemic.

    UMY gives its students the choice to carry out online lectures or offline lectures. According to a survey conducted by the university, 65 percent of students wanted face-to-face lectures, so UMY tried to provide facilities to those who wanted it. In September, 7th-semester students will begin joining offline or online lectures, then 5th-semester students will do the same in October, followed by 3rd-semester students in November, and finally, 1st-semester students in December.

    “However, students who choose to study offline must obtain a permission letter from their parents which can be downloaded at the online Learning Management System, self-isolate for 14 days before attending lectures, and attach a certificate of having carried out the Rapid, Swab Test, and PCR test. This is in accordance with the circular letter and rector’s decree which can be downloaded on the https://covid-19.umy.ac.id, “said the Vice-rector for Academic Affairs, Dr. Ir. Sukamta M.T. IPM when met in his office on Tuesday, 15 September.

    It cannot be denied that the implementation of offline lectures has raised several pros and cons, and UMY is well aware of it. To answer these doubts, UMY established the Incident Command System (ICS) as a rapid response system to any worst-case situations. The ICS was formed to oversee the offline Period IV and Period I Graduation Ceremony a few days ago. This shows how ready the campus is, according to its tagline Young and Global and its creed of Excellence and Islam.

    “At ICS, we have appointed 4 Incident Commanders. these four officers will take turns to stand by at the ICS office which is located on the ground floor of the AR A Fachruddin Building. If an incident occurred, they will handle it quickly and accurately. ICS is not only organized at the university level, but they are also stationed at the Faculty level considering that the UMY campus is quite large. So when something happens to students, employees, and lecturers, they are prepared to handle it, ” added Sukamta who is also the head of the UMY Covid-19 Task Force.

    As the first campus to start offline lectures, UMY stated that they have facilities and infrastructure according to Covid-19 standards, as expressed by Sukamta. Since the beginning of the pandemic, UMY has implemented body temperature measurements for visitors at the entrance gate, stationed a handwashing area in every building, and placed social distancing signs in each waiting room or chair.

    Meanwhile, for offline lectures, the temperature in each building will be checked, hand sanitizers will be placed in the hallways, and disinfectants will be placed seven times a day in each classroom that has been used. Their latest effort is the installation of a barcode reader, which is installed at the entrance gate to detect whoever enters the campus environment.

    “Every person who enters the campus, be it academicians, including students, staff and lecturers or visitors from outside, their name and cellphone number will be detected through the barcode they scan. Its function is to control who is on campus and how many people are on campus. If something happens, we already have the data on who the person is and where he is from, then all visitors will be detected. Likewise, when leaving the campus, you have to scan a barcode,” said Sukamta.

    “Monitor screens will be installed to see the number of visitors at UMY, and we are still discussing the maximum number of people on campus. For now, it is limited to 6,000 people. If the amount has been fulfilled, the entrance gate will be closed, “concluded Sukamta.