Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC)

The University Grants Commission (UGC), established in November 1956 as a statutory body of the Government of India through an Act of Parliament, has the unique distinction of being the only grant giving agency in the country which has been vested with two responsibilities that of providing funds and that of coordination, determination and maintenance of standards in institutions of higher education. To monitor standards of the higher educational institutions the UGC has established the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) as an autonomous body, under section 12(ccc) of its Act in September 1994. NAAC has been instilling a momentum of quality consciousness amongst Higher Educational Institutions, aiming for continuous improvement. However, lasting improvements in standards cannot come about only by accreditation from outside, once in five years. An internal mechanism for sustenance, assurance and enhancement of the quality culture of education imparted by them, therefore, become essential. Many HEIs already have established the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) as a post accreditation quality sustenance activity. Recognizing the importance of such institutional internal quality system the UGC has taken a policy decision to direct all colleges to establish IQAC for which it has decided to provide seed financial assistance.

Guidelines to Establish Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC)

Maintaining the momentum of quality consciousness is crucial in Colleges. Internal Quality Assurance Cell, in fact, is conceived as a mechanism to build and ensure a quality culture at the institutional level. Every College should have an internal quality assurance system, with appropriate structure and processes, and with enough flexibility to meet the diverse needs of the stakeholders. The internal quality assurance mechanism of the institution may be called “Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC)”. The IQAC is meant for planning, guiding and monitoring Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Enhancement (QE) activities of the colleges. The IQAC may channelize and systematize the efforts and measures of an institution towards academic excellence. It should not be yet another hierarchical structure or record-keeping exercise in the institution; it would be a facilitative and participative organ of the institution. The IQAC should become a driving force for ushering in quality by working out intervention strategies to remove deficiencies and enhance quality.

Composition of IQAC

The IQAC shall have the following composition:

Committee Members

Sr.No.	Position	Role
a.	Principal	Chairperson
b.	Five Senior Teachers and One Senior Administrative Official	Member
c.	Two External Experts on Quality Management/Industry/Local Community	Member
d.	Director/Coordinator	Member Secretary

The members at (b) and (c) of the above shall be nominated by the Principal of the College in consultation with the academic body of the College (Academic Committee of a College). The membership of such nominated members shall be for a period of two years. The IQAC should meet at least once in a quarter. The quorum for the meeting shall be two-third of the total number of members. The agenda, minutes and Action Taken Reports are to be documented with official signatures and maintained electronically in a retrievable format.

Goals

• To develop a quality system for conscious, consistent and catalytic programmed action to improve the academic and administrative performance of the College.
• To promote measures for institutional functioning towards quality enhancement through internationalization of quality culture and institutionalization of best practices.

Functions of IQAC

• Development and application of quality benchmarks/parameters for the various academic and administrative activities of the Colleges.
• Facilitating the creation of a learner-centric environment conducive for quality education and faculty maturation to adopt the required knowledge and technology for participatory teaching and learning process.
• Arrangement for feedback responses from students, parents and other stakeholders on qualityrelated institutional processes.
• Dissemination of information on the various quality parameters of higher education.
• Organization of inter and intra institutional workshops, seminars on quality related themes and promotion of quality circles.
• Documentation of the various programmes/activities of the College, leading to quality improvement.
• Acting as a nodal agency of the college for coordinating quality-related activities, including adoption and dissemination of good pracices.
• Development and maintenance of institutional database through MIS for the purpose of maintaining / enhancing the institutional quality.
• Development of the Annual Quality Assurance Report (AQAR) of the College based on the quality parameters/assessment criteria developed by the relevant quality assurance body (like NAAC, NBA, AB) in the prescribed format.
• Bi-annual development of Quality Radars (QRs) and Ranking of Integral Unites of Colleges based on the AQAR.
• Interaction with SQACs in the pre and post accreditation quality assessment, sustenance and enhancement endeavours.

Follow up

• The AQAR shall be approved by the statutory bodies of the Colleges for the follow up action for necessary quality enhancement measures.
• The Colleges shall regularly submit their AQARs to the affiliating University, state level quality assurance bodies, NAAC / other accreditation bodies.
• All colleges shall submit AQARs and / or Quality Radars (QRs) and follow up reports of AQARs to the UGC as and when called for.
• The IQAC must create its exclusive window on its institutional website, to regularly report on its activities as well as for hosting the AQAR.
• The IQAC must create its exclusive window on its institutional website, to regularly report on its activities, as well as for hosting the AQAR.

Benefits of IQAC

• Ensure heightened level of clarity and focus in institutional functioning towards quality enhancement.
• Ensure internalization of the quality culture.
• Ensure enhancement and integration among the various activities of the college and good practices.
• Provide a sound basis for decision-making to improve institutional functioning.
• Act as a dynamic system for quality changes in the Colleges.
• Build an organized methodology of documentation and internal communication.