The National Assessment and Accreditation Council advocates the setting up of an IQAC to plan ,guide and monitor Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Enhancement (QE) activities of the colleges. The IQAC may dynamise, accelerate, channelize and systematize the efforts and measures of an institution towards potential excellence. The establishment of Internal Quality Assurance Cell is a major step in pushing long term standards .It undertakes the functions of Performance, Evaluation, Assessment, Accreditation and quality upgradation of institutions of Higher Education. NAAC proposes that every accredited institution establish an IQAC as a post accreditation quality sustenance measure. It should focus on establishing and effectively implementing a robust quality system encompassing Teaching ,Research, Consultancy, continued education and also attend core and support functions to ensure accountability through self evaluation and updation to upgrade. IQAC can be said to be the nucleus of an institution for the dynamic nature it possesses.
Formation of IQAC is aimed at quality enhancement and sustenance . It works on the principle of ensuring internalization of quality culture through the adoption of specific measures with regard to the institutional distinctiveness. Quality enhancement is a continuous process which demands conscious and consistent efforts of improvement and evaluation . IQAC has to fulfil the core and support functions to promote academic and all round excellence by incorporating innovative and novel practices.
IQAC strives hard to deliver quality education through the activation of systematic measures . IQAC undertakes significant steps to guarantee the teaching learning process to realize quality performance and results. IQAC attempts to promote quality by eradicating deficiencies and by promoting collective efforts . IQAC undertakes significant measures to assess the Teaching learning process through an extensive mechanism ,which encompasses the following :
Academic calendar, Time table, work diary, Attendance record, Yearly Action Plan and Action Taken Report, Academic Forum, Tutorship System, Documentation, monitoring Teaching learning process through the feedback system. Internal and Model examinations, Remedial classes, Documentation and analysis of results, Appraisal of Teachers, Feedback from parents, students and alumni, Invited lectures and Multi disciplinary seminar series, MIS, Peer teaching system , Student assignments, seminar presentations Viva, Industry visit for experiential learning, Meetings to evaluate syllabus completion.
Administrative policy is one of the most crucial policies of any academic institution and it envelops many aspects that cover faculty,non teaching staff and students.It encircle office rules, budgets,admission process,examination related aspects,documentation of various sorts, technical management of data and the like. A clear and concise administrative policy can greatly influence the success of any institution.Administrative policies promote a positive,safe and productive environment.Timely renewal of administrative policy is also highly important.
Gender policy underlines the importance of understanding and respecting diversified ity and difference and not to be biased by gender distinctions. We aim to guarantee an inclusive teaching learning environment where the dignity of every individual irrespective of their gender is respected and preserved with utmost seriousness. Care is taken to have representation of all categories of people in different committees. IQAC promotes programmes of Gender sensitization to promote awareness of equality and takes effort in arranging lectures, seminars which are conducive to egalitarian outlook with the help of the women cell of the college. We take attention to implement gender policy , which signals a practised culture of equal opportunity irrespective of caste,creed and gender. The college observes and celebrates International women’s day in association with individual departments or student support programmes. Care is taken to use a gender neutral stand in every situation. Sexual harassment of any sort ,word or deed is a violation of human dignity and gender policy addresses all these aspects. Gender policy emphasizes the balanced treatment and protection of interests of all sections to bridge the gender gap and promote gender equality . Efforts are done to provide adequate facilities for lavatories and gender specific recreation rooms. Counselling is offered for the needy with the help of the counselling unit of the college.
Our college is situated atop a picturesque hill and is blessed by the beauteous nature in its abundance. We believe in establishing and maintaining a green campus , internalising our responsibility towards mother nature. We take utmost care to the maintenance of green cover, minimising or refusing the use of single use plastic, sustainable energy , waste management system , use of solar energy , all of which emphasizes the importance of conservation of environment in its truest sense. The agenda of our environmental policy is to make the most efficient and effective use of all natural resources and promotion of awareness by encouraging our community to develop a sustainable approach towards the green nature motto. The core area of our focus is
1. Green campus and clean campus
2. My tree in my campus
3.Choose to refuse single use plastic
4. Conduct cleanliness drives under Swachh Bharat Mission of Government.
5. Display boards encouraging nature friendly life
6. Celebrating all important days related to nature conservation.
7. Minimise paper use
8. We follow - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle motto to manage plastic use
9. Environment friendly waste management system.
10. For water conservation ,we have Rain Water harvesting system
11. To conserve energy ,we largely depend on solar energy sources.
The Grievance Redressal committee is constituted to help students to report grievances, to understand the cause of grievances and to work for the solution of the grievances raised. The grievance has to be redressed by the committee within the stipulated time period not exceeding two weeks .The implementation of the policy develops a responsive and accountable attitude among the members of the community which in turn cultivate a harmonious educational atmosphere within the institute.It also encourages students to express their grievances or problems freely and frankly without any fear of being victimised.
Extension policy envisions inspiring and empowering the local community through diverse awareness and welfare activities on education, skills, environment , livelihood and shelter by engaging students and faculties on social responsibility missions. The prime purpose is to create a sense of inclusiveness and situatedness. Execution of the policy can be in partnership with other service providers to deliver, improve and promote the living standards of local people. The main objective of the policy is to instil a feeling of community and brotherhood . The policy also aims to research the problem areas of the community and to help in eradication of the same. It also helps in training the students to develop skill and attitude for problem solving. It will also contribute in promotion of their social skills , management skills and Leadership skills.
Physical difficulties are not a barrier to be a member of our community. We ensure admission to as many differently abled students as possible in different programmes . We ensure assistive devices to promote the inclusive learning experience. Infrastructure of the college is adjusted to the needs of students with physical disabilities. All existing and future construction is on the principle of inclusiveness and we have incorporated facilities like ramps, rails and special toilets. We also ensure financial assistance in terms of scholarship for such needy students. We also permit the provision for scribes during their university exams .
We have a solid student support policy which guarantees the overall development of the students and focuses on creating a transformation in them in their personality, knowledge level and character. In addition to the Kerala State government initiatives like ASAP .WWS and SSP, we maintain a grassroot level mentoring in each class through the tutors and other teachers. And students support legendary associations like NSS and NCC are actively and vibrantly functioning in the college. To curb any sort of menace against newly admitted students ,we have an Anti ragging committee to ensure strict measures against any such anti social behaviour. We have a very active counselling centre ,which supports our students with timely advice and guidance to the needed.We also assist our students to avail different scholarships .Our Endowment scheme for the meritorious students is a worthwhile and appreciated initiative.We have a scheme called Student Aid Fund ,which is utilised for assisting students with financial difficulties.Several student centric clubs and forums play an active role in vitalising the youthful energy of the students. The college students’ union also play an important role in organising various student engagement activities. The transition from college to profession is a milestone and we do give our students career guidance and placement assistance.
The performance and proficiency of an institution of higher education may be judged on a number of criteria that suggest the level to which the objectives and goals of the institution are achieved. One such important criteria is feedback collection ,analysis and action for correction and betterment .Feedback policy tries to perceive performance views from different stakeholders like students, parents, alumni ,management and the like. The evaluation of quality based on the feedback enable the institute to take appropriate measures for quality enhancement. We give utmost importance to curriculum feedback because in order to meet the local and global developmental needs ,it is necessary to continuously upgrade the course curricula and through the board of studies members from our institute we report the same to the syllabus committee and get essential changes made.
We strive to get better and best Our college always makes it a priority to transform and empower our students who come from diverse backgrounds through creative engagements of different sorts. It helps to facilitate self growth, self worth and actualization of the potential of the students through myriad ways of competence building .Through this policy , we try to bridge the gap between existing status and essential upgradation. We always respect the importance of connecting to the community and principle of inclusiveness and we make it happen through various community engagement activities.
We established and maintain a code of conduct policy to maintain a peaceful and harmonious decorum in the campus . It stresses on the significance of treating each other with respect , dignity and impartiality, courtesy and sensitivity.code of conduct policy of our college encompasses student’s dress code , Academic conduct, classroom conduct, examination conduct, library conduct and the like. And any breach of any of these will result in essential action.
In an era of technical advancement,there is no escape from getting updated to the skill of using technology.we promote our Teachers and students to get equipped with the same.we encourage our Teachers and students to engage and enroll online Teaching learning opportunities.It opens a vast horizon of learning opportunities .Now as corona stays out and we stay in ,we have to completely resort to online tools to educate our students .Since virtual learning is the only available option for all the educational institutions across the globe, there came an unavoidable shift in the learning platform.We are located in a very rural background ,where our students have issues with network and similar ,so it was essential to conduct a survey of their available amenities to understand how we can fruitfully conduct the teaching learning process.On the basis of the survey and in accordance with university and government rules ,we are successfully helping our students to learn during this unprecedented health emergency.We have a learning management system ,which makes the process systematic.We always take effort to understand the difficulties with the sudden change of the learning platform and help them to come up with more enthusiasm and confidence.
We have a staff club ,which addresses the divergent issues of staff members and also makes a point that it appreciates the achievements of both our teaching and non teaching staff.It formulates and implements policies for the general welfare of staff members as a whole.Its an arena ,where various development plans are brain stormed and activated.Staff club plays an important role in developing and maintaining cordial relationship among its members.
Quality assurance is a by-product of ongoing efforts to define the objectives of an institution, to have a work plan to achieve them and to specify the checks and balances to evaluate the degree to which each of the tasks is fulfilled. Hence devotion and commitment to improvement rather than mere institutional control is the basis for devising procedures and instruments for assuring quality. The right balance between the health and growth of an institution needs to be struck. The IQAC has to ensure that whatever is done in the institution for “education” is done efficiently and effectively with high standards. In order to do this, the IQAC will have to first establish procedures and modalities to collect data and information on various aspects of institutional functioning. The coordinator of the IQAC will have a major role in implementing these functions. The IQAC may derive major support from the already existing units and mechanisms that contribute to the functions listed above. The operational features and functions discussed so far are broad-based to facilitate institutions towards academic excellence and institutions may adapt them to their specific needs. The Institutions are requested to submit the AQAR after one year from the date of Accreditation every year. A functional Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) and timely submission of Annual Quality Assurance Reports (AQARs) are the Minimum Institutional Requirements (MIR) to volunteer for second, third or subsequent cycle’s accreditation. During the institutional visit the NAAC peer teams will interact with the IQACs to know the progress, functioning as well as quality sustenance initiatives undertaken by them. The Annual Quality Assurance Report (AQAR) may be part of the Annual Report. The AQAR shall be approved by the statutory bodies of the HEIs (such as Syndicate, GoverningCouncil/Executive Council/Board of Management) for the follow up action for necessary quality enhancement measures.
Composition of the IQAC IQAC may be constituted in every institution under the Chairmanship of the Head of the institution with heads of important academic and administrative units and a few teachers and a few distinguished educationists and representatives of local management and stakeholders.
The composition of the IQAC may be as follows:
1. Chairperson: Head of the Institution
2. Teachers to represent all level (Three to eight)
3. One member from the Management
4. Few Senior administrative officers
5. One nominee each from local society, Students and Alumni
6. One nominee each from Employers /Industrialists/Stakeholders
7. One of the senior teachers as the coordinator/Director of the IQAC
The Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) is a body proposed by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) for performance evaluation, assessment, and accreditation and quality up-gradation of the College. The IQAC steers the quality enhancement process of individual institutions towards the realization of better performance to update and upgrade and also attend measures for the sustenance of quality. The prime task of the IQAC is to develop a system for conscious, consistent, and catalytic improvement in the performance of the institution. Institutions Accredited by NAAC need to submit an Annual self-reviewed progress report i.e. Annual Quality Assurance Report (AQAR) to NAAC, through its IQAC. The report is to detail the tangible results achieved in key areas, specifically identified by the IQAC at the beginning of the Academic year. The AQAR period would be the Academic Year.
The NAAC accreditation and assessment process is to understand the quality status of a higher
education institution.it's a systematic, objective, quantitative and qualitative evaluation of
activities. Self Study Report (S.S.R.) is the overall summary of the quality assurance activities
happening in the HEI. The assessment process gives a chance for the institution to do self-study
and comprehend the strengths and weaknesses and take measures for essential improvement.
SSR covers,
The academic calendar in simplest words is the plan for an academic year. it’s a system through which we try to define the most important dates that drive the academic business of an institution which includes the schedule of events like the term times, examination dates, etc….It works as a reminder of key dates to students and faculties.
The best practice is something that adds commendable value to an institution and its stakeholders. Institutional excellence in higher education is the sum of best practices followed in different areas of institutional performance. Any practice or practices that the institution has internally evolved and used during the last few years leading to a positive impact on the regular functioning of the institution can be identified as “best practices”. These are not activities prescribed by some authority. At some point in time, the institution evolves some innovation or a change in some aspects of functioning. This practice is relevant mainly within the institution at a given point in time. It could be in respect of teaching-learning, office practices, maintenance and upkeep of things, or dealing with human beings or money matters. But adopting that practice has resolved the difficulty or has brought greater ease in working in that aspect. In brief, these ‘best practices’ are relevant within the institutional context and may pertain to either academic or administrative or organizational aspects of institutional functioning.
It is highly needed to inculcate social values and responsibilities to the faculty members and students by imparting extension activities in the local community so as to be inclusive. Through extension and outreach programs, we sensitize our students to develop social values, widespread their responsibilities and knowledge in societal issues and problems by making them involved with the community people. National Service Scheme and National Cadet Corp also serve society through various activities.. Students with profound interest attain social values and responsibility. Above all, the students get hold of social justice, value, responsibility, and sustainability. The extension is the aspect of education that emphasizes community services. These are often integrated with curricula as extended opportunities, intended to help, serve, reflect, and learn. The curriculum- extension interface has an educational value, especially in rural India.
An action plan is a document that lists what steps must be taken to bring in desired result and action taken report evaluates how far we could fulfil our plan to be better than before.Action plan helps us to understand the resources required to reach the goal,formulate a timeline for when specific tasks need to be completed .Quality assurance is a by-product of ongoing efforts to define the objectives of an institution and its very important to have a work plan to design them, and to evaluate the degree to which each of the tasks is fulfilled.
Annual Report represents the accomplishments of initiatives undertaken within that academic year.Its a sort of leafing through the activities performed by the college. The annual report albeit only a snapshot of the activities, provides a record of how the College ,engaged in creating the foundations for new initiatives to adapt to the changes happening in larger world . The report elaborates into the distinctions that will result in promising initiatives that will guide and flourish in the future.
The IQAC functions to stimulate and assist all the departments in all their academic, extra curricular, research and extension activities thereby ensuring the institution’s quality enhancement.Regular meetings are held to plan and monitor the curricular, extra curricular and extension activities of the college.In these meetings self evaluation and suggestion for betterment is done.. The quorum for the meeting is two-third of the total number of members. The agenda, minutes, and action Taken Reports are documented with official signatures and maintained electronically in a retrievable format.
The triumph of an institution of higher education may be assessed on a number of criteria that indicate to the extent to which the objectives and goals of the institution are fulfilled.Some of those criteria are objective and quantifiable measures while the others deped on the perception of different stakeholders that guide the institute grow with quality.The evaluation of quality based on perception of different stakeholders necessitates that their views on different aspects relating to quality be obtained through their feedback. This would enable the institute to take appropriate measures for quality enhancement. The IQAC is a part of the institution's system and work towards realizing the goals of quality enhancement and sustenance. It takes all necessary initiatives to develop a systematic method of collecting the feedback from the various stakeholders, analysing them thoroughly and take all necessary measures to act upon/monitor in order to enhance the overall quality of teaching-learning processes. IQAC would develop the standard feedback formats and mechanism. The process of revision and redesign of curricula is based on recent developments and feedback from the stakeholders. The feedback from all stakeholders in terms of its relevance and appropriateness in catering to the needs of the society, economy, and environment helps in improving the inputs.An HEI with the feedback system in place will have an active process of not only collecting feedback from all stakeholders but also analysing it and identifying and drawing pertinent pointers to enhance the learning effectiveness.
NAAC (National Assessment and accreditation council) is conducting a Student Satisfaction Survey regarding Teaching – Learning and Evaluation, which will help to upgrade the quality in higher education. A student will have to respond to all the questions given in a certain format with her/his sincere effort and thought. Her/his identity will not be revealed .All the efforts of teachers and the institution to make learning a meaningful process can be considered impactful only to the extent students perceive it to be meaningful. Their satisfaction level is decided by the kinds of experiences they undergo, the extent of the “comfort” feeling as well as the intellectual stimulation the learning situations provide. Their feedback significantly showcases the actual quality of the teaching-learning process enabling identification of the strengths of teaching as well as the possible improvements. Student satisfaction, thus, is a direct indicator of the effectiveness of teaching-learning in the institution. The purpose of the survey is welfare of the students community. The student’s survey serves as a channel through which the students community can voice their opinions and concerns to the authority concerned.