IQAC-Details

IQAC An Introduction

The University Grants Commission (UGC), established in November 1956 as a statutory body of the Government of India through an Act of Parliament, has the unique distinction of being the only grant giving agency in the country which has been vested with two responsibilities that of providing funds and that of coordination, determination and maintenance of standards in institutions of higher education. To monitor standards of the higher educational institutions the UGC has established the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) as anautonomous body, under section 12(ccc) of its Act in September 1994. NAAC has been instilling a momentum of quality consciousness amongst Higher Educational Institutions, aiming for continuous improvement. However, lasting improvements in standards cannot come about only by accreditation from outside, once in five years. An internal mechanism for sustenance,assurance and enhancement of the quality culture of education imparted by them, therefore,become essential. Many HEIs already have established the Internal Quality Assurance Cell(IQAC) as a post accreditation quality sustenance activity. Recognizing the importance of suchinstitutional internal quality system the UGC has taken a policy decision to direct all colleges to establish IQAC for which it has decided to provide seed financial assistance.

 Coverage

1. All Colleges, enlisted/recognized under section 2(f) and have been declared eligible to receive central assistance under Section 12B of the UGC Act, 1956 and fit to receive

General Development Assistance.

Part A: Guidelines to Establish Internal Quality Assurance Cells (IQACs) in Colleges.

Maintaining the momentum of quality consciousness is crucial in Colleges. Internal Quality Assurance

Cell, in fact, is conceived as a mechanism to build and ensure a quality culture at the institutional level.

Every College should have an internal quality assurance system, with appropriate structure and

processes, and with enough flexibility to meet the diverse needs of the stakeholders. The internal

quality assurance mechanism of the institution may be called “Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC)”.

The IQAC is meant for planning, guiding and monitoring Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality

Enhancement (QE) activities of the colleges.

The IQAC may channelize and systematize the efforts and measures of an institution towards academic

excellence. It should not be yet another hierarchical structure or record-keeping exercise in the

institution; it would be a facilitative and participative organ of the institution. The IQAC should become

a driving force for ushering in quality by working out intervention strategies to remove deficiencies and

enhance quality.

 The IQAC Structure

The IQAC shall be constituted under the chairmanship of Principal. He / She may be assisted by a

Coordinator who shall be a senior faculty member. This position may be held as an additional charge by

the faculty member concerned, or a new position of a full-time Director/Coordinator may be created

and a person is selected and appointed or a senior faculty member is posted by redeployment.

Composition of the IQAC

The IQAC shall have the following composition:

a) Principal - Chairperson

b) Five senior teachers and one senior administrative official

- Member

c) Two external experts on Quality Management/ Industry/Local Community

- Member

d) Director / Coordinator – Member Secretary

The members at b) and c) of the above shall be nominated by the Principal of the College in consultation

with the academic body of the College (Academic Committee of a College). The membership of such

nominated members shall be for a period of two years. The IQAC should meet at least once in a quarter.

The quorum for the meeting shall be two-third of the total number of members. The agenda, minutes

and Action Taken Reports are to be documented with official signatures and maintained electronically in

a retrievable format.

 Goals

1. To develop a quality system for conscious, consistent and catalytic programmed action to

improve the academic and administrative performance of the College

2. To promote measures for institutional functioning towards quality enhancement through

internationalization of quality culture and institutionalization of best practices

The IQAC shall have the following function

• Development and application of quality benchmarks/parameters for the various academic and

administrative activities of the Colleges;

• Facilitating the creation of a learner-centric environment conducive for quality education and

faculty maturation to adopt the required knowledge and technology for participatory teaching

and learning process;

• Arrangement for feedback responses from students, parents and other stakeholders on quality-

related institutional processes;

• Dissemination of information on the various quality parameters of higher education;

• Organization of inter and intra institutional workshops, seminars on quality related themes and

promotion of quality circles;

• Documentation of the various programmes/activities of the College, leading to quality improvement;

• Acting as a nodal agency of the college for coordinating quality-related activities, including

adoption and dissemination of good practices

• Development and maintenance of institutional database through MIS for the purpose of

maintaining / enhancing the institutional quality;

• Development of the Annual Quality Assurance Report (AQAR) of the College based on the

quality parameters/assessment criteria developed by the relevant quality assurance body (like

NAAC, NBA, AB) in the prescribed format;

• Bi-annual development of Quality Radars (QRs) and Ranking of Integral Unites of Colleges based

on the AQAR;

• Interaction with SQACs in the pre and post accreditation quality assessment, sustenance and

enhancement endeavours.

Follow up

• The AQAR shall be approved by the statutory bodies of the Colleges for the follow up action for

necessary quality enhancement measures.

• The Colleges shall regularly submit their AQARs to the affiliating University, state level quality

assurance bodies, NAAC / other accreditation bodies.

• All colleges shall submit AQARs and / or Quality Radars (QRs) and follow up reports of AQARs to

the UGC as and when called for

• The IQAC must create its exclusive window on its institutional website, to regularly report on its

activities as well as for hosting the AQAR.

• The IQAC must create its exclusive window on its institutional website, to regularly report on its

activities, as well as for hosting the AQAR.

Benefits of IQAC

a) Ensure heightened level of clarity and focus in institutional functioning towards quality

enhancement;

b) Ensure internalization of the quality culture;

c) Ensure enhancement and integration among the various activities of the college and good

practices;

d) Provide a sound basis for decision-making to improve institutional functioning;

e) Act as a dynamic system for quality changes in the Colleges

f) Build an organized methodology of documentation and internal communication

10. Eligibility for Financial Assistance for establishing IQAC

All Colleges which are under section 2(f) and 12B of UGC Act will be eligible to receive the

financial support for establishing and strengthening of the IQACs in them.