A Study of the Post‐accreditation Scenario in the North Eastern Region of India: a meta‐evaluation of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council processes and procedures

Abstract

The Indian higher education system is one of the largest of its kind in the world. In spite of several built-in quality controls, such as the University Grants Commission's guidelines and the affiliating functions of the university, a deterioration in the quality of higher education was a serious concern for all stakeholders. In 1994 India established the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) to ensure and enhance the quality of Indian higher education and also to play an international role as a quality assurance agency. The NAAC has been able to make its assessment and accreditation process acceptable to the institutions and academia through an intensive awareness campaign and academic interactions involving various universities, colleges, state higher education councils and other academic forums. However, it is equally important to obtain continuous feedback from the beneficiaries in the field to determine the effectiveness and enhance the efficiency of the organization. The present study shows that in the 10 years of its existence the NAAC has earned a lot of goodwill and appreciation from the academic community. Simultaneously, it also suggests a need for incessant effort on the part of the NAAC to strengthen and fine-tune its processes and procedures.

Facilitation and Regulation of Educational Institutions: The Role of Accreditation

“…Institutions introduced changes beyond the mandate of their affiliating systems, including support for R&D by faculty, reduction of faculty workload, and better student support and learning resources (Stella, 2015). Another study by Pillai and Srinivas (2006) in the context of institutions in India's north-east (100 institution heads interviewed) revealed that NAAC had a positive image among the academic community. There was an overall positive impression about the constitution of and interactions with the peer-review team, performance of evaluators, and institutional interface with NAAC.…”

“…There was an overall positive impression about the constitution of and interactions with the peer-review team, performance of evaluators, and institutional interface with NAAC. However, there were concerns regarding inter-team variance and geographical advantages enjoyed by urban colleges (Pillai & Srinivas, 2006).…”

Literature Review of Accreditation Systems in Higher Education

“…While there is good infrastructure and academic programs, there are problems in other areas and poor performance in research [40]. However, various quality control methods have already been implemented, such as the university affiliation functions or the guidelines of the university grants commission [41]. The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) was established in 1994 to ensure and improve quality in higher education and to secure a role at the international level as a quality assurance agency.…”

Effect of Student Feedback on the Motivation of Indian University Teachers

“…However, continuous feedback from the beneficiaries of education determines the effectiveness of the council. The literature found, in the last 10 years of its reality, that NAAC has earned a lot of generosity and admiration from the learned community (Pillai & Srinivas, 2006). Internal IQAC has established much strategy to consider the quality of the educators in higher education institution.…”