Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES) continues to strengthen inclusive and democratic governance through the establishment of the Board of Trustees (Majelis Wali Amanat / MWA), the highest non-academic decision-making body within the university. The MWA plays a strategic role in determining institutional policies, strategic planning, financial oversight, and governance supervision, positioning it as a central pillar in UNNES’s governance system.
A key feature of the MWA at UNNES is its inclusive and representative composition, consisting of 17 members representing various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education, the Rector, the Academic Senate, alumni, community representatives, lecturers, education staff, and importantly, students.
Crucially, UNNES ensures that students are formally represented at the highest level of decision-making. The Board includes a student representative (wakil mahasiswa), who participates directly in governance processes and policy discussions alongside other institutional stakeholders.
This student representative is not appointed arbitrarily but is selected through a democratic election process organized by the Student Executive Board (BEM KM UNNES), involving participation from both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Candidates are proposed and reviewed through institutional mechanisms before official appointment.
Through this system, students are given a legitimate and structured voice in shaping university policies, ensuring that their perspectives are integrated into institutional planning, evaluation, and decision-making processes. The presence of student representation within the MWA reflects UNNES’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and participatory governance, in line with SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).
