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Education Plus
Ensuring quality, post-accreditation
For more details, visit www.naacindia.org.
The vibrancy of Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) in the post-accreditation period is a vital factor facilitating colleges seeking re-accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) to obtain high grading. NAAC has vested with the IQAC the responsibility of channelising the efforts and measures of an institution towards academic excellence during the post-accreditation period.
The Council views the IQAC as a vehicle for ushering in quality by working out intervention strategies to remove deficiencies and enhance quality akin to quality circles in industries.
The IQAC has to evolve mechanisms and procedures for ensuring timely, efficient and progressive performance of academic, administrative and financial tasks; the relevance and quality of academic and research programmes; equitable access to and affordability of academic programmes for various sections of society; optimisation and integration of modern methods of teaching and learning; the credibility of evaluation procedures; the adequacy, maintenance and proper allocation of support structure and services; and research sharing and networking with other institutions in the country and abroad.
The IQAC must have the person heading the institution as the chairperson.
The members must comprise a few senior administrative officers, three to eight teachers, one or two members from the management, one or two nominees from local society, and one of its teachers as the coordinator.
Quality assurance report
Accredited colleges are required to submit Annual Quality Assurance Report (AQAR), a self-reviewed progress report, in three parts, detailing the tangible results achieved in key areas.
Part A must explain the plan of action chalked out by the IQAC in the beginning of the academic year towards quality enhancement and the outcome achieved by the end of the year. Part B has to focus on the progress of the college in 40 specific areas.
Some of them are activities reflecting the goals and objectives of the institution; new academic programmes; innovations in curricular design and transaction; inter-disciplinary programmes started; examinations reforms implemented; candidates qualified in NET, SLET and GATE; initiative towards faculty development programme; research projects; patents generated, if any; new collaborative research programmes; research grants received from various agencies; and citation index of faculty members and impact factor.
Colleges are also required to furnish details about improvements in library services; courses in which student assessment of teachers is introduced and the action taken on student feedback; increase in infrastructural facilities; computer and internet access and training to teachers and students; financial aid to students; activities and support from the alumni and parent-teacher associations; performance in sports activities; incentives to outstanding sportspersons; activities of the guidance and counselling unit; placement services provided to students; and linkages developed with national and international academic and research bodies.
Part C should detail the plans of the institution for the next year.
R. KRISHNAMOORTHY
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