The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India to assess and accredit institutions of higher education in the country. Now, as per recent decision, NAAC will function as an autonomous and independent body and will report directly to the HRD Ministry.
Accreditation is a voluntary system of evaluation of higher education institutions and programs. It is based on self-evaluation and peer-assessment for improvement of academic quality and public accountability. Accreditation assures those higher education institutions and their units, schools, or programs meet appropriate standards of quality and integrity.
NAAC provides accreditation of institutions and individual departments. NAAC provides accreditation on a five-point scale for a period of Five years and the institutions can go in for improvement in their grade through an assessment process after two years of initial accreditation.
Why go in for Accreditation?
Accreditation is the best self-assessment benchmark which is also endorsed by an outside agency of experts giving it utmost credibility. It helps to differentiate institutes among the peers. The outcome of the process is useful to the students and parents in making a choice of the institution, and to the funding agencies and other bodies to make decisions on formulating policies.
Both the agencies expect at the outset for the institutions to provide a statement of intention and later procure the respective application forms to provide detailed assessment of the schools. The process also includes visit by a team of experts from the agencies after which the accreditation would be provided.
AQAR is Annual Quality Assurance Report to be submitted annually by the university to NAAC for a period of July 1, 20xx to June 30, 20yy in a format supplied by the NAAC.
NAAC Software - Auto SSR report generator
SSR is the Self Study Report to be submitted by the university to NAAC for accreditation or reaccreditation. It is done once in 5 years. SSR is submitted within 6 months from the date of acceptance of Letter of Intent by the university. SSR should be uploaded on PU website 1 month prior to submission.
Internal Quality Assurance Cell is a cell proposed by NAAC for every accredited institution for quality sustenance initiatives.
Annual Quality Assurance Report – (AQAR) is a yearly report, which should be submitted to NAAC every year by all Accredited Institutions as per the format prescribed.
AQAR is a useful document which gives overall picture of the institutional growth in all the seven criteria’s identified by NAAC. It also provides systematic data with respect to various improvements to be taken up by the institution.
The e-mail Acknowledgement copy will be sent by AQAR section within 15 working days from the date of submission of online AQAR by the institution.
Yes, it is always suggested to save the final copy for institutional future reference. One copy may be kept at Principal / Head of Institution room and other copy at IQAC centre and one more copy with NAAC coordinator at institution.
Most Frequently Asked Questions on NAAC Accreditation
Ans: You need to stay focused and consistently evaluate the current teaching-learning methodologies & their results. You need to incorporate –
Strong pedagogy
Enriched, valuable & relevant content
Innovative practices-in-teaching
Continuous evaluation of teaching strategies
Scrutinizing students’ performances
Try to develop a quality culture
Over a while, you will automatically see an improved quality of education.
Ans: Well, that’s a great question. It will help most of the educators & faculty to understand the best practices for achieving the highest score in NAAC. Here are my top 3 tips to achieve an A+ NAAC score –
Strive to achieve excellence in education
Compare yourself with the performance best colleges in your neighbourhood
Have quality consciousness in every activity you do
Ans: There are various quality parameters that you need to focus on while managing online teaching-learning processes. The most vital parameters include – Target group, suitability of course materials, duration, the attention span of students, internet access, technology support, use of quality e-content, and delivery.
Ans: NAAC insists higher educational institutions (HEIs) show progressive improvement in quality from cycle-1 to cycle-2 and in subsequent cycles - annual quality assurance report has to be sent every year online. Institutions must also try to implement 10 recommendations suggested by NAAC peer team members during their visit to the college.
Ans:The basic eligibility criterion is - 6 years of existence or two batches of graduates whichever is earlier as per UGC guidelines. For more details, you can check our complete guide to NAAC Accreditation.
Ans: Here’s how you can upload NAAC data easily-
A) Your data is more than 5 MB, upload the same on the college website and provide a link to NAAC.
B) If the institutional data is less than 5MB for each metric, you can directly upload it on the NAAC portal.
Ans: As this is one of the most asked queries, we have drafted a well-researched blog that can help you resolve everything related to IQAC. You must read our detailed blog on IQAC and its role on NAAC Accreditation for getting complete clarity.
Ans: The QnM responses /evidence/supporting documents of HEIs are subjected to rigorous data verification and validation process at NAAC. Soon after the DVV process, an assessment is conducted for QnMs.
Ans: Explore possibilities or the demand for your services. You have to use your expertise/experience and generate money out of consultancy!
Ans: Benchmarking is relational i.e. look at quality standards adopted in best neighboring colleges. Faculty must focus on activities such as research ethics, code of conduct for teaching/non-teaching staff to prepare policy documents.
Ans: Library is a resource center for teachers/students/research scholars. Librarian plays a crucial role in helping teachers/students to find required information/data from various sources available in the library.
Preparing self-study report based on manual, SOP, providing accurate data/relevant documents and submitting to NAAC online and following timelines.
Ans: This is a great question & can help improve placements in colleges. You can follow the given tips:
First & foremost, establish placement cell
Give wider publicity to students about available placement opportunities /job requirements
Do networking with companies/industries
Invite them for campus recruitment or request for off-campus recruitment
Collect package details, company requirements, job profile & pass valid information to students
Ans: The following list depicts the main expectations of the NAAC peer team.
Accurate data shared by the institutions
High performance of institutional faculty & learning outcomes
Efforts of the institution to achieve very high quality of work in all areas of operation
Ans: If you aim for all the students who respond to the survey to give a favourable response about teaching & learning practices, try to enhance the overall campus experience by providing the best facilities.
The learning outcomes provide an overview of what students should know, be able to do, or be able to value after completing a course or program. Learning outcomes means how much knowledge or skills a student should acquire through various assignments, course, class or programs, by the end of a specific time period. They are observable and measurable by knowledge, skills, abilities, values, etc. Learning outcomes describe clearly what it is you want your students to be able to do by the end of a course.
The learning outcomes focus more on student performance rather than they do on traditional techniques or courses.
However, in a broader perspective, the term “Learning Outcomes” can be defined as an amalgamation of a learner’s knowledge, skill set, and the ability to leverage them in real-time situations. There are several taxonomies such as SOLO (Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes), Bloom’s Taxonomy, Fink's Taxonomy, Wiggins and McTighe Taxonomy on education. An ideal learning outcome would be something that abides by all the aspects of Bloom’s Taxonomy as it promotes knowledge & skill development in individuals and makes them life-long learners.
Intellectual skills This type of learning outcome enables the learner to understand rules, concepts, or procedures.
Cognitive strategy In this type, the learner uses his or her thinking abilities to make strategies and organize, learn, think, and behave.
Verbal information
Motor skills
Attitude
The main focus of student learning outcomes is to make students academically sound, skillful, and prepare them for life-long learning.
When we speak of “learning outcomes” – we must pay attention to whether they are–
S-Specific
M-Measurable
A-Achievable
R-Realistic
T-Timely
In short, the learning outcomes must be “SMART" & clearly defined in terms of attainability! It will empower students to achieve the outcomes smoothly.
