Source: Yojana Magazine
NAAC conducts assessment and accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) such as colleges, universities or other recognized institutions to derive an understanding of the ‘Quality Status’ of the institution.
NAAC evaluates the institutions for its conformance to the standards of quality in terms of its performance related to the educational processes and outcomes, curriculum coverage, teaching-learning processes, faculty, research, infrastructure, learning resources, organization, governance, financial well being, and student services.
Vision
To make quality the defining element of higher education in India through a combination of self and external quality evaluation, promotion and sustenance initiatives
Mission
- To arrange for periodic assessment and accreditation of institutions of higher education or units thereof, or specific academic programmes or projects
- To stimulate the academic environment for the promotion of quality of teaching-learning and research in higher education institutions
- To encourage self-evaluation, accountability, autonomy, and innovations in higher education
- To undertake quality-related research studies, consultancy and training programmes, and
- To collaborate with other stakeholders of higher education for quality evaluation, promotion, and sustenance.
Key highlights about NAAC
Value Framework
To promote the following core values among the HEIs of the country:
- Contributing to National Development
- Fostering Global Competencies among Students
- Inculcating a Value System among Students
- Promoting the Use of Technology
- Quest for Excellence
Units of Assessment
NAAC’s instrument is developed to assess and grade institutions of higher education through a three-step-process and make the outcome as objective as possible. Though the methodology and the broad framework of the instrument is similar, there is a slight difference in the focus of the instrument depending on the unit of Accreditation, i.e., Affiliated / Constituent colleges / Autonomous colleges / Universities / Health Science / Teacher / Physical Education.
Institutional Accreditation
- University: University Central Governance Structure along with all the Under Graduate and Post Graduate Departments.
- College: Any College – affiliated, constituent or autonomous with all its departments of studies.
Department Accreditation
- Any department/School/Centre of the University.
Presently, NAAC is undertaking only institutional accreditation. Experts groups have been constituted to work on Program Accreditation.
Criteria
NAAC has identified a set of seven criteria to serve as the basis of its assessment procedures. NAAC has categorized the Higher Educational Institutions into three major types (University, Autonomous College, and Affiliated/Constituent College) and assigned different weightages to these criteria under different key aspects based on the functioning and organizational focus of the three types of HEIs. thre criteria include;
- Circular Aspects
- Teaching-learning & Evaluation
- Research, Innovations & Extension
- Infrastructure & Learning Resources
- Student Support & Progression
- Governance, Leadership & Management
- Institutional Values & Best Practices
Grading
- Institutions are graded for each Key Aspect under four categories, viz. A, B, C, and D, denoting Very good, Good, Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory levels respectively.
- The summated score for all the Key Aspects under a Criterion is then calculated with the appropriate weightage applied to it and the GPA is worked out for the Criterion.
- The Cumulative GPA (CGPA), which gives the final Assessment Outcome, is then calculated from the seven GPAs pertaining to the seven criteria, after applying the prescribed weightage to each Criterion.
