Most critical learning for IQAC team
I always strongly hold that HEIs shouldn’t follow any process for the sake of it to ✅ mark a compliance. Do it for the benefit of it.
AAA for example is one process which nearly all HEIs undertake but a few know how to leverage its benefits. Quite a number shamelessly do this exercise simply on papers. At the face of it, such a sham looks even more convincing than even the real. I ask, why fake if we can do a process that truly benefits ?
Here is what you should do as Dir IQAC when you have had approvals of AAA in hand :-
1. Onboard a most capable AAA team which is hands-on with academic and research quality. A high worth academician and researcher (External) as Presiding Officer. Designation of an individual not a necessary qualification, quality eminence n’ experience certainly is. Ensure an external/internal team composition having superior expertise that addresses the core distinctiveness of all the disciplines of your institution, including labs. Let Registrar notify this by ION on e-mail stating clear terms of references with a target date of completion of audit.
2. IQAC team in consultation with the quality experts should develop departments’ individual templates of 20 to 30 key enablers/standards together with KPIs since every department is unique.
3. As regards University as a whole, IQAC to finalise University template largely based on the NAAC Binary/Dr Radhakrishnan’s Report plus mandatory compliances of applicable Regulator.
4. Duration of University Audit, including Schools, Departments and Labs for a mid sized university must not be less than 5 days. It would entail audit of 70 to 80 University metrics (10 Annexures) and 20 to 30 metrics of each department, easily a 40 to 50 page report.
5. On ground visit to campus facilities and workshops/labs would be inescapable part of detailed program to be issued by the Dir IQAC. Not to forget preparing templates to audit Functional Heads like Registrar, CAO, Dean (A), Dir IQAC, Dean (R), COE etc.
6. A focus on Labs and workshop Audit is the most critical aspect of audit. Let lab experts from Institutions of National importance/IoE/Industry as auditors be co-opted. It is one most important area of audit often ignored by 99% of HEIs.
Audit Report Structure
(A) Cover Page*
* Institution, audit period, dates of audit, Audit Team
(B) Executive Summary*
* Overall assessment
* Major strengths
* Critical improvement priorities
(C) Institutional Profile and Context*
* Brief profile, distinctive positioning
,D) Scope, Objectives and Methodology of AAA*
(E) Follow-up on Previous AAA / Quality Initiatives*
* Actions taken, progress and pending issues
(F) Audit Key Findings of University as a whole*:-
Here, list criteria specific key findings in bullets with recommendations (say 4 to 5 key findings per criteria-total around 50). Include key Non-performances under a separate heading.
(G) Immediate University priorities* (1 to 2-year strategic improvements) Max 15 for a university would be adequate.
Conclusion: A brief on the process followed, take-aways, including periodic review on action-points.
Annexure (Overall University) A Detailed Report on the Excel format of all university criteria with Enablers, Metrics, KPIs, Evidence, Audit Remarks (Annexure 1 to 10)
Annexure Departments A detailed report on each of Department metrics (Annexure 11 to nth depending on academic and admin units audited). including a separate paragraph of “Immediate Department priority” under each department report duly highlighted)
-Prof JR Sharma: A mentor to HEIs. The views expressed are purely personal. In the absence of any regulatory guidelines, HEIs may follow my above suggested format, if considered relevant.
