Introduction

In pursuance of its action plan for performance evaluation, assessment and accreditation and quality upgradation of institutions of higher education, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bengaluru proposes that every accredited institution should establish an Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) as a quality sustenance measure. Since quality enhancement is a continuous process, the IQAC will become a vital part of the institution’s quality assurance system and work towards ensuring quality enhancement and sustenance. The prime task of the IQAC is to develop a system for conscious, consistent and catalytic improvement in the overall performance of its institution. For this, during the post-accreditation period, institutions need to channelize their efforts towards promoting holistic academic excellence including the implementation of peer team’s recommendations.

IQAC – Vision

To promote quality culture as the prime concern of Higher Education Institutions through institutionalizing and internalizing all the quality-enhancing and sustaining initiatives taken with internal and external support.

Objective

The primary aim of the IQAC is:

• To develop a mechanism to promote conscious, consistent and catalytic action plans to improve the academic and administrative performance of the institution.
• To promote institutional quality enhancement and sustenance through the internalization of quality culture and institutionalization of the best practices.

Strategies

IQAC shall evolve a mechanism and procedures for:

• Ensuring timely, efficient and progressive performance of academic, administrative and financial units
• Adoption of relevant and quality academic and research programmes.
• Ensuring equitable access to and affordability of academic programmes for various sections of the society
• Optimization and integration of modern methods of teaching and learning
• Ensuring credible assessment and evaluation processes
• Ensuring the proper allocation, adequacy and maintenance of support structure and services
• Sharing of research findings and networking with other institutions in India and abroad.

Functions

• Development and application of quality benchmarks
• Setting parameters for various academic and administrative activities of the institution
• Facilitating the creation of a learner-centric environment conducive to quality education and faculty development to adopt the required knowledge and technology for participatory teaching and learning process
• Collection and analysis of feedback from all the stakeholders on quality-related institutional processes
• Dissemination of information on various quality parameters to all the stakeholders
• Organization of intra- and inter-institutional workshops and seminars on quality- related themes and promotion of quality circles
• Documentation of various programmes/activities leading to quality improvement
• Acting as a nodal agency of the institution for coordinating quality-related activities, including adoption and dissemination of the best practices
• Development and maintenance of institutional database through MIS for the purpose of maintaining and enhancing institutional quality
• Periodical conduct of Academic and Administrative Audits along with their follow-up activities
• Preparation and submission of the Annual Quality Assurance Report (AQAR) as per the guidelines and parameters of NAAC

Benefits

IQAC will facilitate / contribute to:

• Ensuring clarity and focus in the institution’s march towards quality enhancement.
• Ensuring internalization of quality culture
• Ensuring enhancement and coordination among the various units and activities of the institution and institutionalizing all good practices.
• Providing a sound basis for decision-making to improve institutional functioning
• Acting as a dynamic system for quality changes in HEIs
• Building a sound methodology for documentation and internal communication

Composition of the IQAC

The IQAC should be constituted in every institution under the chairpersonship of the Head of the Institution with heads of key academic and administrative units and a few teachers and a few distinguished educationists and representatives of the local management and stakeholders as members.