Comparison · Internal quality assurance (SPMI)
Manual SPMI or software: which one lasts to year three?
Manual SPMI means running the PPEPP cycle with Word documents, spreadsheets and shared folders. SPMI software records every step of that cycle in one system, with the date, the person responsible and the evidence. The manual way is enough to get started. The trouble shows in the second and third years, when assessors ask for proof that the cycle ran consistently for at least three years.
Written by the Sikoola Indonesia team · Based on Permendiktisaintek 39/2025 and the BAN-PT accreditation instrument
The short answer
The rules require SPMI, not software.
Assessors grade the trail the cycle leaves. Choose the way that keeps that trail from getting lost.
- Manual is still enough
The campus is writing its first quality standards, has only one or two study programs, and internal quality audits do not run routinely yet.
- Software starts to be needed
The campus has more than three study programs, runs an internal quality audit every year, and aims for an Unggul (Excellent) rating or international accreditation.
- What software cannot replace
Leadership commitment, standards written with care, and people willing to follow up on findings.
Comparison
Eight things that differ when the PPEPP cycle runs.
The last two rows favour the manual way. We say so plainly.
| Aspect | Manual SPMIWord, spreadsheets, shared folders | SPMI softwareSuch as Sikoola SPMI |
|---|---|---|
| Where evidence lives | ManualSpread across shared folders, email, and staff laptops. | SoftwareAttached to the standard and year it proves. |
| Change history | ManualFile names like “final-revision-3”. Who changed what is hard to trace. | SoftwareEvery entry is recorded with the name of the person who made it and the date. |
| Internal quality audit findings | ManualWritten in meeting minutes. Follow-up is chased by message. | SoftwareEvery finding has an owner, a deadline, and a status until it is closed. |
| Summary per standard | ManualRebuilt every year from many files. | SoftwareCharts per standard and across years are available at any time. |
| When quality office staff change | ManualKnowing where the files are leaves with the person. | SoftwareThe cycle history stays in the system. |
| Before the site visit | ManualWeeks spent collecting and tidying evidence. | SoftwareEvidence is organised by cycle from the first day it is recorded. |
| Upfront cost | ManualClose to zero, since it uses tools you already have. | SoftwareThere is a licence or subscription fee, plus implementation. |
| Time to start | ManualYou can start today. | SoftwareStandards must be mapped and users trained first. |
Work it out yourself
How much evidence must you be able to find during the site visit?
Use your own campus numbers. Three years is the length of PPEPP cycle evidence asked for the Unggul rating.
10 × 12 × 3 = 360 · 360 × 4 = 1.440
360 standard evaluations, and each file needs a date, an owner, and a follow-up you can show.
A worked example from your inputs, not data from any campus. Each square is one standard evaluation.
What the regulation asks
An SPMI that only lives in a filing cabinet no longer counts.
The new rules leave less room to assemble evidence just before a site visit. Here is what changed.
- Article 67(1)
“Higher education institutions must carry out internal quality assurance by developing an SPMI.”
In practice, SPMI is not optional, and quality documents alone are not enough. The cycle has to run.
Permendiktisaintek No. 39 of 2025, Article 67(1) - BAN-PT accreditation instrument
For an Unggul (excellent) rating, the PPEPP cycle must run “for at least 3 years, consistently, continuously and proven effective.”
In practice, evidence you don't record today cannot be gathered three years from now.
BAN-PT institutional accreditation instrument, as presented by LLDIKTI Region VI, July 2026 - Permendiktisaintek 10/2026 · Article 77
A program that does not yet meet the standards gets one chance to reapply within six months. If the reapplication also fails, it becomes unaccredited.
In practice, six months is too short to build evidence from scratch.
Permendiktisaintek No. 10 of 2026, Article 77
Sources: Permendiktisaintek No. 39 of 2025; summary of changes in Permendiktisaintek No. 10 of 2026, LPM Universitas Andalas; presentation of the university accreditation instrument, LLDIKTI Region VI. Sentences outside quotation marks are our summary.
When to switch
Signs that the shared folder is no longer enough.
If two or more signs in the right-hand column feel familiar, your cycle has outgrown the folder that holds it.
Manual still makes sense when
- The campus is writing its first quality standards document.
- There are only one or two study programs, and internal audits are not routine yet.
- One person holds every file, and they will not be reassigned any time soon.
It is time to switch when
- Nobody is sure whether last year's audit findings were followed up.
- Every site visit means weeks of overtime.
- The campus aims for Unggul, which asks for three years of cycle evidence.
- Leadership asks for a quality chart across years, and the answer is “we will put it together later”.
Without starting over
Moving to software does not mean throwing old documents away.
- 01
Bring the standards you have already set
Approved quality standard documents are the starting point. Our team maps them into the system together with your quality office.
- 02
Start recording from the cycle already running
No need to wait for a new academic year. The stage under way is recorded straight away, with its evidence.
- 03
Attach old evidence to its standard
Self-evaluation reports and audit results from previous years are attached to the matching standards, so the history is unbroken.
Want to see how it works? Open the Sikoola SPMI page and run one PPEPP cycle.
What is manual SPMI?
Manual SPMI is internal quality assurance run with Word documents, spreadsheets, email, and shared folders. The PPEPP cycle still runs, but its evidence and follow-up are spread across many files and depend on the memory of the people who manage them.
Does SPMI have to use software?
No. Article 67(1) of Permendiktisaintek No. 39 of 2025 requires universities to develop SPMI, but does not regulate the tools used. What accreditation assesses is evidence that the PPEPP cycle actually runs.
How many years of PPEPP evidence does an Unggul rating need?
BAN-PT's institutional accreditation instrument asks for the PPEPP cycle to run for at least three years, consistently, continuously, and proven effective. The sooner the cycle is recorded, the sooner that requirement can be met.
Is a spreadsheet enough to manage SPMI?
For a small campus just starting out, yes. Spreadsheets start to struggle when study programs grow, internal audits run every year, and findings must be tracked to closure by many people at once. A spreadsheet also does not record who changed what, and when.
What should be prepared before using SPMI software?
Approved quality standard documents, a list of units and study programs with the people responsible, the internal audit schedule, and the previous year's self-evaluation reports and audit results. If the standards are not complete yet, writing them can start alongside the installation.
The quality cycle you run this year is your year-three evidence.
Record it somewhere that does not disappear when staff change.
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