Recent Activities

*Department Activities 2014

Academic Audit

An academic audit of the Commerce Department was carried out on 23 September 2014 by two external experts, namely Dr Francis Jose, HOD of the Commerce Department, Loyola College and Dr M. Kalaivani, Associate Professor of Commerce and Acting Principal, Chellammal College for Women.

The two experts examined the curriculum for the various courses conducted by the Department, namely, B.Com General, B.Com Banking Management and M.Com. The official papers relating to the sanction/approval for the introduction of the new M.Phil course in Commerce, letter of approval to the staff for acting as guides and the curriculum framed for the course were examined. The dissertations submitted by the first batch of M.Phil students (2013-2014) were also inspected.

The student evaluation process adopted by the Department – the question paper pattern, internal assessment, pass percentage – was also looked at. The infrastructure facilities including the library facilities, the availability of the latest books and journals in the discipline were assessed. The research projects (both major and minor) undertaken by the staff, books published and articles in leading peer reviewed journals and the staff quality enhancement initiatives like attending refresher courses were assessed. A quick look was taken at the projects submitted by the UG and PG students,

The two audit members were very impressed by the excellent maintenance of records by the Commerce Department and the initiatives taken by them to improve the academic performance of poor students, many of whom were first generation learners. Before winding up they interacted with the final year UG and PG students and came away impressed with their youthful zest and enthusiasm.

Single Teacher School Visit – 21^st September 2014

The 500 strong staff and students of the Commerce Department set off on their annual visit to the Single Teacher Schools located in nine villages in and around Sriperumbur on 21 September 2014. Colourful banners giving the names of the destination villages were tied to the front of the buses and the nine buses left in a convoy at around 7.30 a.m. The excitement was palpable and the students looked forward to their annual visit and the opportunity to interact with the village children with great enthusiasm.

The nine buses travelled together up to Rajiv Gandhi Memorial, where the teachers of the single teacher schools were waiting to escort them to their respective villages. The buses then branched off in different directions to the villages – Vadamangalam, Panruti, Vallakottai, Mampakkam, Kunnam, V.R.P.Chatram, Vempakkam, Maduramangalam and Kiloy.

At the schools, the children had gathered in their open air and often, makeshift classrooms. Each child was given a gift of a plastic bucket with lid, notebooks, pencils, pencil cases, chocolates and biscuits. Each school was also presented with two emergency lamps which were gratefully received by the teachers who felt that it would prove very useful to them. 25 saplings of different types of fruit trees were also presented to each village.

After this was the fun time. The ‘akkas’ had taken games to play with the children like bats and balls, ludo boards and so on. Impromptu performances by the children who sang, danced and recited poems were greatly enjoyed by one and all. Running races, musical chairs and other competitions were organized and the winners were given prizes much to their delight.

The visit came to a close all too soon and farewells were exchanged with the teachers and children of the various schools. For the students it came as a welcome break from their academics and provided them with an opportunity to interact with the less privileged sections of society. It also instilled in them the desire to give back to the community through their time and efforts.

Alumni Association

The Commerce Department had organized an alumni meeting on 20 September 2014 at 4 p.m. The meeting attracted a good crowd of students who were very happy to visit their alma mater where they had spent many carefree and fun filled days. Around 91 alumni attended the meeting and the noise levels peaked as they met their teachers and friends and caught up with all the happenings and news in their lives.

Many of the old students were home makers with little children and they took great pride showing the pictures of their cute toddlers to one and all. Others had picked up good placements in companies and were holding responsible and well remunerated positions. A couple of students who had passed out over a decade ago also attended and were very pleased to meet the teachers. After tea and snacks and a photo session, the meeting came to a nostalgic and satisfactory close.