Greetings from NAAC!

As you are aware, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) continuously endeavour to strengthen its Assessment and Accreditation methodology. It also continues to explore new avenues in the field of Quality Assurance. The methodology of NAAC has evolved over 15 years and has undergone several changes based on feedback from stake holders to match pace with changing higher education scenario.

In keeping with this tradition, NAAC has initiated stakeholder consultation process on few key issues. Since you are engaged with NAAC for a long time and also having contributed to the evolution of NAAC, I would request your kind self to provide inputs for the following matters

1. The methodology of NAAC has stood the test of time for last 15 years mainly because it has remained dynamic and responsive to the stake holder feedback. The recently fine-tuned methodology effective from April, 2007 has been operational for about 2 years and NAAC has received various suggestions and comments from the assessors, institutions as well as NAAC staff and authorities. There is a felt need to introduce more quantifiable parameters in order to strengthen the elements of objectivity and transparency in the process of grading. In view of this, NAAC has decided to invite suggestions to make the present methodology more robust and objective. Hence, I request you to suggest the quantifiable indicators for each of the seven criteria and also the pattern of quantification of such indicators to be adopted.

    

2. By 2010, the NAAC enters into another challenging phase, when it needs to handle accreditation of variety of institutions such as institutions for 1st accreditation, for 2nd cycle accreditation (re- accreditation) as well as for 3rd cycle accreditation. NAAC had done extensive consultations and research while introducing 2nd cycle (re- accreditation) a few years back. Now that a good number of institutions are getting ready for the 3rd cycle, suggestions for appropriate strategy to meet this challenge are invited. Now the challenge for NAAC is to evolve an appropriate Assessment and Accreditation methodology to address the needs of institutions which have already experienced the NAAC's quality assurance and sustenance process for over a decade. Hence this request.

 

3. Introduction of programme accreditation has been on the agenda of the NAAC for quite a long time. Now that there has been an increased demand from the stakeholders, especially from the students, to have reliable information about the quality of programmes in the university, the NAAC has initiated a new project in this regard. Hence NAAC is inviting suggestions on possible strategy and framework for undertaking programme accreditation in universities. NAAC would like to focus on:

   i. Measurable "Generic parameters" common to all the departments of an university (Part A).

   ii.Development of quantifiable "Programme-specific standards" to measure the performance of departments. This could vary from one department to the other (Part B).

   We look forward to receive feedback and comments from all stakeholders including assessors, heads of the institutions, teachers, policy makers as well as students.

   Please feel free to send detailed response to director.naac@gmail.com
   

   Thanking you
   

   (H. A. Ranganath)
   Director