Polstat STIS received a visit from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics College (STMKG) and the State Cryptography College (STSN) on Thursday (12/13). The visits from both universities were conducted in two separate sessions but with the same purpose: to conduct a comparative study regarding the change in STIS's nomenclature from a college to a polytechnic.

The delegation from STMKG and STSN was welcomed by the Director of Polstat STIS, Dr. Erni Tri Astuti, M.Math, and the three Deputy Directors (Wadir): Dr. Hardius Usman (Wadir I), Titik Harsanti, M.Si (Wadir II), and Ir. Agus Purwoto, M.Si (Wadir III). In addition, two Heads of Study Programs (Kaprodi) DIV, Dr. Margaretha Ari Anggorowati (Head of Statistical Computing) and Dr. I Made Arcana (Head of the Statistics Study Program) and several members of the nomenclature change formulation team (Dr. Nasrudin, Setia Pramana, Ph.D., and Aisyah Fitri Yuniasih, SST, SE, M.Si) also attended the meeting. In the first session, a delegation from STMKG, led by Drs. Agus Marsono, M.Si (Head of the STMKG Quality Assurance Unit), stated that in order to follow up on the directive from the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform to change the nomenclature to polytechnic, STMG needed to conduct a comparative study with other civil service universities with similar institutions and who had already successfully implemented this, namely Polstat STIS and PKN STAN.

In her presentation, Erni explained the legal basis for the nomenclature change, the requirements for establishing a polytechnic, including the components of the study program, the minimum number of lecturers with certain qualifications required for the study program, the curriculum, and the required facilities and infrastructure. Erni added that there were quite a few obstacles, especially in preparing the required documentation and administration, which were quite numerous. However, with a solid team and good time management, these obstacles were overcome. Finally, on September 19, 2017, the Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform of the Republic of Indonesia issued Letter No. B/479/M.KT.01/2017 concerning the Approval of the Change in Institutional Status of the College of Statistics to the Politeknik Statistika STIS .

Several questions were raised by the STMKG team members, consisting of Drs. Nuryadi, M.Si (Vice Chair II), Bambang Suprihadi, SH, SS, MP (Head of the Language Unit), Nany Nuraini, SH, MM, and Drs. R. Lukman Heryadi, MM (Lecturer in the Meteorology Study Program). One of them concerned the reason for the change in nomenclature made by the STIS Polstat. Agus Purwoto explained that the urgency behind the formation of the STIS Polstat was the desire to establish a Master's Program in Applied Statistics. However, before reaching that stage, the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education (Kemenristekdikti) requires STIS to transform into a polytechnic. Nasrudin added that one of the requirements in the feasibility study was that the statistics program offered by STIS must possess a unique character that is not available in similar programs at other universities, both domestically and internationally. Therefore, STIS stated that the material on survey methodology and official statistics (including the national accounts system) are the hallmarks of STIS as a civil service university under the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). Margaretha Ari also explained that the combination of courses and research by students and faculty at Polstat STIS must also support the performance of BPS. Meanwhile, in the second session, in addition to a comparative study of nomenclature changes, the STSN delegation, consisting of Edit Prima (Head of Academic Administration and Student Affairs), M. Syahral (Head of the Cryptography Engineering Department), Rini Wisnu (Head of the Library Unit), and Doni Kurniawan and Alrizki Rahmat Perdana (STSN staff), also consulted on student affairs, functional positions, and new student admissions, including the affirmative action program at the Politeknik Statistika STIS . On this occasion, Hardius Usman explained that the Politeknik Statistika STIS has accommodated the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform's recommendation regarding the affirmative action program by opening the DIII Statistics Study Program. This study program is specifically for prospective students from Eastern Indonesia. The expected graduate profile of the DIII Study Program is to become a District Statistics Coordinator (KSK) in their respective regions. By specializing in a curriculum with a depth of material that differs significantly from the DIV Study Program, it has had a positive impact. One of these is that the potential of students from Eastern Indonesia can be further explored and developed. It is hoped that this information sharing will benefit not only the two visiting universities but also the Polstat STIS . Furthermore, it is hoped that cooperation between the civil service universities will grow stronger and continue over time.