NAAC releases new benchmarks to assess varsities, autonomous colleges

Source: The post is based on the article “NAAC releases new benchmarks to assess varsities, autonomous colleges” published in TOI on 5th January 2023

What is the News?

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council(NAAC) has released the benchmark scores that the colleges and universities receive during their accreditation process to bring transparency to the process. 

Note: Earlier the benchmark scores were not revealed to the Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) which did not give them the clarity to prepare a future roadmap to bring the pre-requisite changes concerning the accreditation parameters set by NAAC.

What is the National Assessment and Accreditation Council(NAAC)?

NAAC is an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

It was established in 1994 on the basis of recommendations made under the National Education Policy (1986).

Mandate: It conducts assessment and accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) such as colleges, universities or other recognised institutions to derive an understanding of the ‘Quality Status’ of the institution. 

Headquarters: Bangalore

What is assessment and accreditation by NAAC?

Assessment is the performance evaluation of an institution or its units based on certain established criteria. 

Accreditation is the certification of quality for a fixed period which in the case of NAAC is five years.

Eligibility criteria: Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), with a record of at least two batches of students who graduated, or have been in existence for six years, whichever is earlier, are eligible to apply for the process of Assessment and Accreditation (A&A) of NAAC.

Benefits of accreditation: 1) Institution can know its strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities through an informed review process, 2) Identification of internal areas of planning and resource allocation, 3) Funding agencies look for objective data for performance funding, 4) Institutions to initiate innovative and modern methods of pedagogy, 5) The society look for reliable information on quality education offered and 6) Employers look for reliable information on the quality of education offered to the prospective recruits.