QA Unit, UGC 7 October,

It is not the strongest of the species that survive nor the most intelligent but the one most responsive to change -Charles Darwin

Q UALITY IN E DUCATION (Woodhouse, 1999) Fitness of the Purpose …. Attained Outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes with Relevance; Ability to meet the needs of stakeholders Fitness for the purpose … Institutional Capacity & Process to facilitate the attainment of intended learning outcomes (ILOs ) 3

C APACITY Capacity includes : Quality of learners with commitment and interest Quality of Staffs in terms of commitment, knowledge, skills and attitudes Content that is reflected in relevant curricula Physical Facilities in terms of classroom, laboratory, library, extra- & co-curricular etc. Environments in terms of Governance, Health & Safety 4

P ROCESS Processes includes : Teaching Learning and Assessment, Student Advising & Counseling, Resource Management etc. 5

W HY WORRY A BOUT Q UALITY ? Expansion (increasing number of HEIs as well as students and diversity of emerging study programs) Increasing cross-border mobility of students putting pressure on the HEIs Concerns of the stakeholders (increasing investment, unemployment of graduates) Increasing competition among the HEIs to become the credible source 6

N EEDS T O B E E NSURED Effectiveness of the program (for the attainment of ILOs) Accountability and credibility to the stakeholders Evidence of good practices 7

E STABLISHMENT OF QA M ECHANISM Institutionalization of IQAC Development of Qualifications Framework Formation of QAACB Outcomes: Establish Quality Culture Maintain Global Quality Label Internationalize HE 8

9 T HE R ELATIONAL S TRUCTURE OF THE IQAC, S YNDICATE, QAC AND THE QAU VC QAU UGC QAU UGC Syndicate QAC IQAC SAC

10 IQAC Internal Quality Assurance Cell Stage II IQAC Internal Quality Assurance Cell Stage II Policy Guidelines Quality Assurance Unit Stage 1 Institution Level Program Level Recognition Accreditation Stage III Recognition Accreditation Stage III Stages to Introduce QA Mechanism

M AJOR O BJECTIVES OF THE IQAC Promoting QA culture within the universities Building image of the university to the stakeholders with accountability and credibility Ensuring good practices in all aspects of management Preparing the programs and university to meet the external QA and accreditation requirements. 11

M AJOR F UNCTIONS OF IQ AC Define mission and objectives of the university Develop standards and benchmarks Develop a data base with open access to all Develop an Institutional QA Strategic Plan Co ‐ ordinate/organize workshops, seminars and appropriate training for capacity building Facilitate self-assessment at program and institutional level 12

S ELF -A SSESSMENT Self-Assessment (SA) is the process of critically reviewing the performance of Program and/or Institution Our concern is program level SA

Program assessment is an on-going process designed to monitor and improve student learning. Faculty: develop explicit statements of what students should learn. verify that the program is designed to foster this learning. collect empirical data that indicate student attainment. use these data to improve student learning 14

The objectives of SA exercise are to: review the existing procedures and processes practiced in the entity for their improvement create a basis for external assessment and validation provide guidelines or direction for strategic planning maintain and continuously enhance academic standards improve programs’ quality and enhance students learning

Principles of Self-Assessment Improvement Sensitization and Participation Reflection Coverage Facts driven Acceptance Continuity

O UTCOMES OF P ROGRAM SA Diagnosis of the current quality status of teaching-learning Creating scope for rectification of deficiencies Creating scope for redressing program objectives and ILOs

Scheduling of PoE for SA by IQAC Formation of SAC in the entity. Approval of SAC by the VC Preparation of the activity schedule with time line Team Building workshop (1 st workshop) Preparing of survey tools following set criteria and standards

Conducting survey and preparation draft SA report. Draft SA report workshop (2 nd workshop) Preparing the final SAR Submission of SAR for endorsement Selecting the external peer review panel

External per review Preparing the draft improvement plan Finalizing improvement plan ( 3 rd workshop) Execution of improvement plan

Phase # 1 Defining standards to be measured Phase # 2 meaningful, manageable, and sustainable assessment planning Phase # 3 Collecting, analyzing data & preparing SAR Phase # 4 External review & validation Of SAR Phase # 5 Improvement planning andexecution Continuous Improvement

Guidelines for Preparing a Good SAR The SAR should clearly describes the purposes and scope of Self-Assessment. consists of an overview of the entity, programs provide information focusing on the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of the entity be factually accurate, clear and persuasive.

Guidelines for Preparing a Good SAR The report must provide information needful for strategic planning. The report should be as such so that a reader can easily grasp the content. The report should contain practical recommendations with priority for improvement.

SA must be the part of academic culture to improve academic quality and enhance student learning SA is the beginning of the process of achieving ‘excellence in higher education’ & accreditation. Concluding Statements

Accreditation Quality Assurance Self-Assessment

Q UESTIONS T O B E K EPT I N M IND Five questions that should be continually kept in mind for establishing quality culture are: 1. What are we trying to do? 2. How well are we doing it? 3. Using the answers to the first two questions, how can we improve what we are doing? 4. What and how does a program contribute to the development and growth of its students? 5. How can student learning be impro ved?

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