Surprisingly, it is the only college in the North Campus that is yet to be accredited by the Council.
Despite lack of funds, Ramjas has decided to apply for the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) this year. Extensive renovation work is underway, but the college has taken up ‘sustainable renovation’, implying the reuse and recycling of building materials.
Over 35 Delhi University (DU) affiliated colleges have been graded by NAAC, with Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Lady Shri Ram College (LSR), and Hindu College topping the list. The university, as a whole, has been graded A+.“To manage the resources, most of the work in Ramjas has been done internally, using waste material from the college itself to cut down on the cost,” Principal, Dr. Manoj Khanna said.
The stone slabs, which were otherwise rendered useless after being discarded from other parts of the campus have been put to use in making pathways. Besides, new railings are being built out of underground water pipes.In works is also a rainwater harvesting unit, the covers of which have been made out of the tops of the college’s out-of-use water coolers.
Other reforms in the run-up to the accreditation bid are creation of a ‘purchasing committee’ and formulation of a standard operating procedure for college-related expenditure. “The aim is to try and move towards improved transparency. We are also going to move our attendance mechanism online. The majority of effort is going into collecting and organising records from all departments and societies for the last five years — financial records, student records, teachers’ publication records, etc.,” Khanna added.
The quality status score is given by the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC), an autonomous body of University Grants Commission (UGC).These scores are valid for five years after which the colleges will again have to apply for accreditation.It is still debatable why Ramjas never applied for NAAC accreditation, because it was in 2012 that UGC made accreditation compulsory for higher educational institutions, and DU executive council adopted the decision in 2014.
Once an institution applies for the accreditation, a peer team from NAAC visits the colleges for 3-4 days and interacts with teachers, students, alumni and all stakeholders of the institution. “It is a very systematic process which is comprehensive and some of which is even video recorded,” said a teacher at SRCC. (paragraph source: Hindustan Times)
The University of Delhi has been awarded ‘A+’ grade with a corresponding cumulative grade point average of 3.28 by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council .
One of the most prestigious universities in the country, the University of Delhi has come to its reckoning with the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) grading. After a comprehensive evaluation of various departments from across the varsity, it has been accorded an ‘A+’ by the NAAC.
The cumulative grade point average (CGPA) for A++ accreditation is between 3.51 to 4. As per an official, the council review was held in the last week of October. Last year, the Jawaharlal Nehru University was ranked “A++” in the NAAC review. The council grading is crucial for funds and grants allotted to a varsity by the University Grants Commission.
As reported by the Press Trust of India, a detailed questionnaire assessing a multitude of aspects- from inclusivity to flexibility or rigidity in practising rules in the colleges were sent to the Department Heads across the varsity ahead of the official NAAC visit. There were 103 questions in total. Does the DU department celebrate national festivals or observe birth and death anniversaries of great Indian personalities; Is there a policy in place to check plagiarism were some of the questions in the questionnaire.
The accreditation is as per the Revised Accreditation and Assessment Framework launched by the NAAC in July 2017, which represents an explicit paradigm shift in the accreditation process, making it ICT enabled, objective, transparent, scalable and, robust, DU said in a statement. As reported by The Indian Express, the primary focus of the shift is from qualitative peer judgment to data-based quantitative indicator evaluation with increased objectivity and transparency. These include combination of online evaluation (about 70 per cent) and peer judgment (about 30 per cent), it added. DU has been accredited (First Cycle) with a CGPA 3.28 with A+ Grade, valid for a period of 5 years from November 30, the statement said.
Delhi university forms mock teams and sends a questionnaire to various departments ahead of their NAAC visit.
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) will be visiting various departments of Delhi University between 29th to 31st October. The grading provided by this body is particularly important for the allotment of funds and grants to the varsity by University Grant Commission (UGC). It has lead to the University’s mock teams conducting checks and visits to various departments and faculties and ensuring they if they have been properly prepared for the visit. The administrations of various colleges and heads of departments were recently mailed with a questionnaire of 103 questions in this regard. Questions such as does the DU department celebrate national festivals or observe the birth and death anniversaries of great Indian personalities? Is there a policy in place to check plagiarism? Are there committees in place to check student-related issues? Formed an integral part of the questionnaire. Student-centric issues such as complaints of sexual harassment, gender sensitisation, the safety of northeastern students, and steps to check ragging and hooliganism have to be taken into account. The questionnaire aimed to evaluate whether there was student participation in committees. They also took into account alumni associations in the department and whether they were constituted through fair and transparent periodic elections and their functions. Questions regarding gender sensitivity as well as safety and counselling have also been included as important parameters. Another category which has been given great focus is the green practices in place, including paperless offices, have also been mentioned in the questionnaire. Apart from education-related facilities, the administration also wanted to know whether the college has held recreational activities, fresh parties and farewell for students, a professor further added.
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous body of the University Grant Commission, visited Hansraj College on 3rd & 4th August where the ‘Quality status’ of the institute was audited. The college has been accredited by the NAAC team with a CGPA of 3.62 and a grade point of A+.
In the context of Higher Education, the accreditation status indicates that the particular Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) – a College, a University, or any other recognised Unit therein, meets the standards of quality as set by the Accreditation agency, in terms of its performance, related to the educational processes and outcomes, covering the curriculum, teaching-learning, evaluation, faculty, research, infrastructure, learning resources, organisation, governance, financial well-being, and student services.
Among DU colleges, Shri Ram College of Commerce became the leader of NAAC’s point table with a score of 3.65, beating Hansraj College by a small margin. It is followed by Miranda House and Lady Shri Ram College with a score of 3.61 each and Hindu College with a score of 3.60.
NAAC’s Top 10 scorers in the University of Delhi with CGPA are:
Shri Ram College of Commerce: 3.65
Hansraj College: 3.62
Miranda House: 3.61
Lady Shri Ram College: 3.61
Hindu College: 3.60
Kirori Mal College: 3.54
SGTB Khalsa College: 3.41
Shaheed Bhagat Singh Evening College: 3.36
Kamla Nehru College: 3.33
IP College for Women: 3.33
DU beat congratulates the College and its students for the glorious feat.
From sudden infrastructural changes to administrative departments running around and looking all dazed and cold feet, whether we choose to agree or disagree, but the preparation for NAAC inspection sent almost every college in a frenzy last year. And with the NAAC Peer Team coming, preparations caught up in full swing, involving an uncanny resemblance to a household situation where an unforeseen wedding had suddenly come up. With all the white-washing, denting-painting, revamping, reckless spending of money, running around, fake smiling, boastful talks about one’s college in the air during ‘NAAC days’, our belief in the aforementioned analogy only gets stronger.
With a panel touted as a meticulously chosen handful of very experienced academicians and people who understand the ‘education system very well’ coming and assessing colleges under NAAC, the question arises, does a grading matter after all?
What is NAAC?
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India to assess and accredit institutions of higher education in the country. An outcome of the recommendations of the National Policy in Education (1986) which laid special emphasis on upholding the quality of higher education in India, the NAAC was established in 1994 with its headquarters at Bangalore.
Upon requests by individual colleges and universities, the primary accreditation agency of the country conducts assessments and grades institutions. The agency’s cumulative gradation of institutions is based on parameters like curriculum, faculty, research, infrastructure, learning resources, organisation, governance and student services.
The process: How does it accredit colleges
Assessment and Accreditation are broadly used for understanding the “Quality Status” of an institution. In the context of Higher Education, the accreditation status indicates that the particular Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) – a College, a University, or any other recognised Unit therein, meets the standards of quality as set by the Accreditation Agency, in terms of its performance, related to the educational processes and outcomes, covering the curriculum, teaching-learning, evaluation, faculty, research, infrastructure, learning resources, organisation, governance, financial well-being and student services.
The top and the bottom: How did DU perform
While most colleges applied for the NAAC accreditation long back, the visits majorly took place last year and the scores were released soon after. In the initial phase, IPCW secured a CGPA of 3.33 (Grade A) and ANDC secured the second spot by getting a CGPA of 3.31 (Grade A).These were followed by Gargi College (3.30), St. Stephen’s College (3.21), Jesus and Mary College (3.26), Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (3.16), Ramanujan College (3.06), Shivaji College (3.26), Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce (3.02), Keshav Mahavidyalaya (3.01), Bharati College (2.85), PGDAV (2.74), Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College (2.63), and Motilal Nehru College (2.60).
Later in the year, SRCC and LSR emerged at the top with a whooping score of 3.65 and 3.61 respectively. Take a look at the top 10 scorers in the table here.
Top 10 scorers
Image credits: HT Media
These scores are valid for five years after which the colleges will again have to apply for accreditation. It was in 2012 that UGC made accreditation compulsory for higher educational institutions and DU executive council adopted the decision in 2014.
Does the grade even matter?
As far as we remember, such a panel as meticulously chalked out as NAAC didn’t exist many years back. While grading brings in a state of competitive spirit (as if the previous branding and rep-bias that exists in the university wasn’t enough already) the question arises, does the same grade then not end up shining the pride of the already well established and some popular DU colleges and create biases against some others who might actually be needing a lift from the loom of being less sought after and meagerly funded?
Whether the committee gives out grades on the hastily dip-dyed infrastructure especially revamped for their visit or the actual system in place is still a question for many to ponder upon.
The accreditation process got a thumbs up from some colleges, however, many raised objections over the assessment criteria too from time to time. Speaking to a popular national daily, Babli Saraf, principal of Indraprastha College for Women, said there shouldn’t be a “one-size-fits-all” criteria for colleges. “The criteria shouldn’t be the same for a liberal arts college like ours, where we do not have the provisions for a laboratory and are not involved in research publications,” she said.
In most cases, colleges started a laborious and hasty revamp revolution, to save their grace in front of the NAAC peer team and not to raise their quality standard in general altogether. When your transformation drive is initiated to fulfil a set of stipulatedideas by a panel that is not even remotely looking at how you provide for the students, the timely assessment of whether the students and teachers are happy with the administration of the college, whether the college has some unique traits that may not figure in its already set parameters, if the college is lacking in research, what should it do, then that grading doesn’t stand much ground. The NAAC website says that they provide a ‘qualitative part of the outcome as a Peer Team Report (PTR)’ which is an objective report prepared by the Team highlighting its evaluative judgements, mostly using precise keywords instead of long sentences about the college under consideration, but I doubt these objective answers bring any real on-ground changes.
Does a low grading not mar the reputation of a college that might be in dire need of those funds, facilities and attention that it rightfully deserves in order to raise itself to a better education imparting platform? What good is a grade for colleges that are already popular among students and parents and get truckloads of funds? Should a grade not help encourage a college to become a more holistic space than label it as an ‘A’, ‘B’ or ‘C’ type college for years to come. Finally, does a grade mean anything more than a fancy wall hanging of a newspaper clipping on the college walls for many many years, or does it actually ignites change? This is for time to tell and for us to ponder.
If you are interested in reading about NAAC and the process, log on to http://www.naac.gov.in/ for detailed information.
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has awarded the third highest score to Kirori Mal College among multi-disciplinary colleges in Delhi University. The college was awarded a score of 3.54 and was categorized in ‘A+’ category after two rounds of grading. NAAC teams have been visiting colleges across Delhi University to assess and grade them on the basis of parameters like curriculum, faculty, infrastructure, research, learning resources, organisation, and student services. While Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) was ranked 1st with a score of 3.65, Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) was ranked 2nd with a score of 3.61.
The changes in the college are being attributed to the new officiating principal, Mr. Dinesh Khattar. In the last one year the college has seen a lot of changes like becoming disabled-free by constructing ramps to make the building accessible, and making the administration student friendly. Speaking to DU Beat, Dr. Dinesh Khattar said “It’s a historic moment for the college as this is the highest grade received by a college belonging to the University of Delhi, offering multidisciplinary courses, especially those belonging to science disciplines. This has been made possible due to the exemplary contribution of teachers, students and the non-teaching colleagues. I specially acknowledge the contribution of our illustrious and hardworking students in this achievement.”
Nikhil Agrawal, a student of the KMC said “The administration has become student- friendly. Our grievances are being heard. We all are happy the way KMC in changing. And I hope KMC will reach greater heights in the coming days.” The college has seen a good teacher and student interaction in recent times. Several Innovation Projects taken up by the teachers and the activities of societies also helped in the bagging the good score.
Over the years, off-campus colleges have been stealing the spotlight away from North and South Campus Colleges in various spheres of courses, infrastructure and cultural societies. Therefore, with each passing year, they have successfully attracted more and more Delhi University aspirants for admissions.
What’s causing this remarkable shift from the core campus? Let’s have a look!
1. Infrastructure
With sprawling campuses and well-developed infrastructure, off-campus colleges like Keshav Mahavidyalaya, the newly built Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women, Maharaja Agarsen, Shaheed Sukhdev College for Business Studies are proven to be better than many core campus colleges. Dyal Singh College (M) recently also became the first college to be powered by solar energy. Off-campus colleges are thus, in a constant process of improving their infrastructure!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="735"] Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College[/caption]
2. Specialized Courses
Another reason for the shift are the specialised courses that off-campus colleges are known to offer. Institute of Home Economics (IHE) and Lady Irwin College are the only colleges that offer Home Science as an undergraduate course. Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences also offers many unique specialised courses on instruments, rarely found in any other colleges.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="725"] Lady Irwin College[/caption]
3. NAAC grading
Acharya Narendra Dev College (ANDC) secured the second spot by getting a CGPA of 3.31 (Grade A) in The National Assessment and Accreditation Council’s (NAAC) evaluation. Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (3.16), Ramanujan College (3.06), Shivaji College (3.26), Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce (3.02), Keshav Mahavidyalaya (3.01), Bharati College (2.85) and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College (2.63) were some of the off- campus colleges that too received good NAAC scores this year.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="950"] Acharya Narendra Dev College[/caption]
4. Cultural Societies
Misba – Western Dance Society, and I Vogue – The Fashion Society of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce (SGGSC), won all the major competitions in Delhi University this fest season. Vayam – the dramatics society of Shivaji College, Glamoratti – The Fashion Society of Dyal Singh College (Morning), Zephyr – The Western Music Society of Kamala Nehru College and SGND Khalsa College’s folk dance societies are some of the best societies in Delhi University’s circuit.
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), in the meeting of its 14th standing committee on 29th March, graded two colleges of the varsity. The two colleges, Acharya Narendra Dev College (ANDC) and Indraprastha College for Women (IPCW), underwent visitations by the assessors who specialise in using certain benchmarks in the field of higher education to grade colleges and universities across the country.
The council is an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission in 1994 and has its headquarter in Bengaluru. Upon requests by individual colleges and universities, the primary accreditation agency of the country conducts assessments and grades institutions. The agency’s cumulative gradation of institutions is based on parameters like curriculum, faculty, research, infrastructure, learning resources, organisation, governance and student services.
IPCW secured a CGPA of 3.33 (Grade A), the highest in the varsity as of now. ANDC secured the second spot by getting a CGPA of 3.31 (Grade A). These are followed by Gargi College (3.30), St. Stephen’s College (3.21), Jesus and Mary College (3.26), Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (3.16), Ramanujan College (3.06), Shivaji College (3.26), Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce (3.02), Keshav Mahavidyalaya (3.01), Bharati College (2.85), PGDAV (2.74), Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College (2.63), and Motilal Nehru College (2.60).
ANDC securing the second spot surprised many, since the college is off-campus and doesn’t fall in the category of colleges that are usually given top spots by other assessment agencies, primarily privately owned. It managed to secure the spot because of implementation of many student-friendly programmes, like the establishment of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre and Entrepreneur Laboratory. For supporting economically weaker and physically challenged students, the college has numerous remedial programmes on offer.
When asked about the high grade obtained by the college, Dr. Sandeep Kumar Goyal, Assistant Professor of the Department of Commerce said, “The grading is a result of hard work and team effort under the leadership of the Principal, Dr. Savithri Singh. In the past as well, we have been conferred with awards of excellence at the university level. We are committed to work in the direction of innovation driven education.”
Image Credits: The official website of ANDC college
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College[/caption]
Lady Irwin College[/caption]
Acharya Narendra Dev College[/caption]
Kamala Nehru College[/caption]
