University-Wide Anti-Discrimination Policy

Universitas Islam Sultan Agung (UNISSULA) maintains a university-wide anti-discrimination policy designed to ensure fair, respectful, inclusive, and equal treatment across the institution and its operations.

In 2025, UNISSULA formalised this commitment through Circular Letter No. 8406/J/SA/IX/2025, issued on 9 September 2025. The Circular Letter establishes a university-wide prohibition of discrimination across institutional activities and operations.

The policy is intended to support a university environment that is fair, safe, inclusive, and respectful of the dignity of all members of the university community.

Prohibition of Discrimination

UNISSULA explicitly prohibits all forms of discrimination in university activities and operations.

Circular Letter No. 8406/J/SA/IX/2025 states that discrimination is prohibited on the basis of:

• Gender
• Economic condition
• Disability
• Age
• Race
• Nationality
• Social status
• Other characteristics protected under applicable regulations

This policy provides a clear institutional standard that discriminatory treatment is not acceptable within the university.

University-Wide Scope

The anti-discrimination policy applies across the institution rather than to only one unit, programme, or group.

The policy applies to:

• Students
• Academic staff
• Non-academic staff
• Prospective students
• Other parties interacting with the university

Its scope covers major areas of university activity, including:

• Education
• Research
• Community service
• Employment
• University services
• Other institutional activities

This broad scope ensures that the anti-discrimination principle applies to both academic and non-academic university operations.

Equal Treatment in Education

The policy applies to educational activities involving students and prospective students.

This supports the principle that students should not experience discriminatory treatment because of personal, social, economic, demographic, or disability-related characteristics.

The anti-discrimination policy therefore complements UNISSULA’s broader admissions policy, which provides equal opportunities to prospective students and prohibits discrimination in the admissions process based on gender, economic condition, disability, regional origin, nationality, or other social backgrounds.

Together, these policies establish a consistent institutional approach from admission through participation in university life.

Equal Treatment in Employment

The policy also applies to employment-related activities.

Because the Circular Letter covers lecturers and education personnel and explicitly includes employment among the areas of university activity, its anti-discrimination principles extend to the university as an employer.

This supports fair treatment of academic and non-academic staff within university operations.

Protection of Persons with Disabilities

Disability is explicitly identified as a protected characteristic under the policy.

This prohibition of disability-based discrimination is supported by UNISSULA’s existing inclusive admissions mechanisms for prospective students with disabilities.

The university maintains a Special Selection Programme for Persons with Disabilities (SPKPD), providing a dedicated admissions pathway for prospective students with disabilities.

UNISSULA also maintains structured procedures for identifying disability and functional support needs, including the potential need for assistive devices and sign-language support.

These practices demonstrate that disability inclusion is supported through both policy and operational measures.

Protection against Economic Discrimination

Economic condition is also explicitly included in the university’s anti-discrimination policy.

This principle is reinforced by UNISSULA’s KIP Kuliah pathway for prospective students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Through targeted admission and financial-support mechanisms, the university seeks to ensure that economic disadvantage does not become an unnecessary barrier to higher education.

Nationality and Social Background

The policy also prohibits discrimination based on nationality and social status.

This is relevant to a university environment that includes students and staff from different geographic, national, and social backgrounds.

The inclusion of these categories helps establish a broader institutional framework for equitable treatment across academic, employment, and service activities.

Mechanism for Reporting and Handling Discrimination

UNISSULA’s anti-discrimination policy does not stop at prohibition.

The Circular Letter explicitly states that the university provides a mechanism for handling reports or suspected incidents of discrimination and takes necessary action in accordance with applicable regulations.

This establishes three important institutional elements:

Prohibition → Reporting mechanism → Institutional response

The existence of a reporting and handling mechanism strengthens the practical implementation of the policy.

Supporting Anti-Bullying Policy

UNISSULA’s anti-discrimination framework is supported by an existing institutional policy on bullying prevention.

The university has Rector Decree No. 7993/E/SA/VIII/2023 concerning the Prevention of Bullying in the UNISSULA Environment. The decree establishes institutional measures for preventing bullying and protecting students.

The decree covers physical, verbal, relational, and cyberbullying and establishes preventive actions, responsibilities, reporting, handling, and sanctions.

Although the bullying policy and anti-discrimination policy address different forms of harmful behaviour, they operate together to support a safe and respectful university environment.

Prevention of Harmful Conduct

The bullying prevention policy provides a practical framework for preventing behaviour that may involve humiliation, intimidation, verbal abuse, harmful communication, or other forms of mistreatment.

The policy also establishes institutional responsibilities for prevention and response.

This supports the broader anti-discrimination framework by helping create a campus environment in which harmful or degrading treatment is actively addressed.

Institutional Reporting and Response

UNISSULA’s policies provide mechanisms through which harmful or discriminatory conduct can be identified and addressed.

Under the anti-discrimination policy, reports or suspected incidents of discrimination are subject to institutional handling.

Under the bullying prevention framework, the university also establishes procedures for prevention, identification, reporting, follow-up, and sanctions.

Together, these mechanisms strengthen institutional accountability.

Relationship with Non-Discriminatory Admissions

The anti-discrimination policy complements UNISSULA’s Circular Letter No. 83102/J/SA/IX/2025 on non-discriminatory and inclusive admissions.

That policy states that admissions provide equal opportunity and should not discriminate on the basis of gender, economic condition, disability, regional origin, nationality, or other social backgrounds.

This creates a consistent institutional principle:

Equal access at admission → Equal treatment during university participation → Protection against discrimination

Relationship with Underrepresented-Group Measures

The policy also complements UNISSULA’s measures to support underrepresented and potentially underrepresented groups.

Through Circular Letter No. 83103/J/SA/IX/2025, UNISSULA measures and monitors applications and admissions according to characteristics including gender, economic condition, disability, nationality, and international student status.

Through Circular Letter No. 8405/J/SA/IX/2025, the university also undertakes planned actions to widen access for underrepresented groups through affirmative admission pathways, scholarships, and support mechanisms.

These policies collectively support an institutional framework in which equality is addressed through:

Non-discrimination → Monitoring → Targeted support → Reporting and response

Policy Coverage across University Operations

Circular Letter No. 8406/J/SA/IX/2025 explicitly extends the anti-discrimination principle across the university’s operations.

Its coverage includes:

• Academic activities
• Research
• Community engagement
• Employment
• Administrative and service activities
• Other university operations

This institution-wide coverage is important because discrimination may occur in multiple contexts beyond student admissions or classroom activity.

Institutional Framework for Anti-Discrimination

UNISSULA’s approach can be summarised as:

University-wide policy → Protected characteristics → Institutional coverage → Reporting mechanism → Corrective action

The framework is supported by complementary policies covering inclusive admissions, disability access, recruitment of underrepresented groups, and bullying prevention.

This integrated approach helps ensure that anti-discrimination principles are embedded across different areas of university activity.

Continuous Improvement

UNISSULA continues to strengthen its institutional framework for equality, inclusion, and prevention of discrimination.

Ongoing development includes:

• Maintaining university-wide implementation of the anti-discrimination policy
• Ensuring awareness among students and staff
• Strengthening reporting and response mechanisms
• Maintaining supporting policies on bullying prevention
• Integrating anti-discrimination principles into admissions and employment practices
• Supporting students and staff from underrepresented groups
• Periodically reviewing institutional practices to improve inclusivity and fairness

Evidence of Implementation

UNISSULA’s anti-discrimination policy is demonstrated through the following institutional evidence:

1. Circular Letter No. 8406/J/SA/IX/2025, issued on 9 September 2025, establishing a university-wide prohibition of discrimination.
2. Explicit prohibition of discrimination based on gender, economic condition, disability, age, race, nationality, social status, and other protected characteristics.
3. Policy coverage of students, lecturers, education personnel, prospective students, and other parties interacting with the university.
4. Application of the policy across education, research, community service, employment, services, and other university activities.
5. An institutional mechanism for handling reports or suspected cases of discrimination.
6. Rector Decree No. 7993/E/SA/VIII/2023 concerning the Prevention of Bullying in the UNISSULA Environment as supporting institutional policy.
7. Integration with UNISSULA’s non-discriminatory admissions policy.
8. Integration with institutional monitoring of underrepresented groups.
9. Integration with planned actions to widen access for underrepresented students.
10. Supporting mechanisms for disability inclusion and economically disadvantaged students.