IQAC Manual

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Quality Assurance Unit (QAU)

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell

Operations Manual

Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP)

University Grants Commission of Bangladesh

Ministry of Education

Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

August 2014

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual (IQACOM)

Published by

Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP)

Dhaka Trade Centre (8th Floor), 99 Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue

Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-12015, Bangladesh

Phone: 8189020-24, Fax: 8189021, E-mail: [email protected]

Web: www.heqep-ugc.gov.bd

Quality Assurance Unit (QAU)

University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC)

UGC Bhaban, Agargaon, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh

Phone: 8112629, 9122011, Fax: 8122948, 9114707

E-mail: [email protected], Web: www.ugc.gov.bd

may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted into any form or by any means, i.e.,

electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission in writing

form of the copyright authority.

Printed by

Natundhara Printing Press

277/3 Elephant Road (Kataban Dhal), Dhaka

Cell: 01711019691, 01911294855

Email: [email protected]

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Abbreviations and Acronyms

vii

Glossary

Preface

xii

Introduction

xiv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Page No.

Chapter 1: Context

1.1

Global Perspective on Quality Assurance

1.2

Growth of Quality Assurance (QA) Practices

1.3

Assurance (QA) Networks

Chapter 2: Quality Assurance in Practice

2.1

Quality Assurance in Higher Education

2.2

Quality Assurance System

2.3

Quality Assurance Principles

Chapter 3: Quality Assurance in Bangladesh

3.1

Urgency of QA Mechanism in Bangladesh

3.2

University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh

3.3

Quality Assurance Unit (QAU)

3.4

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC)

3.5

Salient Features of Quality Assurance System of Bangladesh

3.6

Future Developments

Chapter 4: Institutional Quality Assurance Cell

4.1

Significance of IQAC

4.2

Establishment of IQAC

4.3

Objectives of IQAC

4.4

Functions of IQAC

4.5

Composition of IQAC

4.6

Terms of Reference for the Director, IQAC

iii

4.7

Performance Indicators

4.8

Institutional Oversight

4.9

Quality Assurance Committee (QAC)

4.10

The Terms of Reference of the QAC

4.11

Functional Relationship of IQAC with QAC and QAU

Chapter 5: Quality Assurance Framework

5.1

Quality Assurance Areas

5.2

Levels of Quality Assurance

5.3

Stages of Quality Assurance

Chapter 6: Procedure Design and Review

6.1

Procedures

6.2

Documented Procedure

6.3

Undocumented Procedure

6.4

New Procedure

Chapter 7: Evaluation and Assessment System

7.1

Self-Assessment

7.2

External QA Review and Accreditation

7.3

Meta Evaluation By QAU/UGC

Chapter 8: Training and Skills Enhancement

8.1

Proposal for Training

8.2

Internal Training

8.3

External Training

Chapter 9: Management of Conflicts of Interests and Confidentiality

9.1

Significance

9.2

Management of Conflicts

9.3

Management of Confidentiality

List of Figures and Tables

List of Figures

Figure 1

Indicative Organogram of IQAC

Figure 2

The Relational Structure of the IQAC, Syndicate, QAC and the QAU

Figure 3

Strategy to introduce QA Framework in Bangladesh

List of Tables

Table 1

Benefits of IQAC to Different Stakeholders

xvi

Table 2

A Sample of Performance Indicators for the IQAC

Annexes

Annex 1

New Program Proposal Form

Annex 2

Document Change Format

Annex 3

Course Specifications Form

Annex 4

Student Course Evaluation Form

Annex 5

Template for Annual Course Report

Annex 6

Faculty Course Review Report

Annex 7

Guidelines for Writing Course Report

Annex 8

Guidelines for Compiling Course Specifications

Annex 9

Research Student Progress Report

Annex 10

Concept Note on Self-Assessment

Annex 10.1

Program Self Assessment Survey Questionnaire for Employer

Annex 10.2

Program Self Assessment Survey Questionnaire for Alumni

Annex 10.3

Program Self Assessment Survey Questionnaire for the Students

Annex 10.4

Program Self Assessment Survey Questionnaire for Non-Academic

Staffs

Annex 10.5

Program Self Assessment Survey Questionnaire for Academic Staffs

Annex 10.6

Report Format For Program Self Assessment

Annex 10.7

Institutional Self Assessment Survey Questionnaire for the Faculty

Members

Annex 10.8

Institutional Self Assessment Survey Questionnaire for the External

104

Stakeholders including Employers and Community

Annex 10.9

Institutional Self Assessment Survey Questionnaire for the Non-

106

Academic Staffs

Annex 10.10

Institutional Assessment Survey Questionnaire for the Students

109

Annex 10.11

Institutional Assessment Survey Questionnaire for the Graduates

113

Annex 10.12

Institutional Self Assessment Report Format

117

Annex 10.13

Guidelines for Peer Reviewers

118

Annex 11

Internal Audit Scale

119

Annex 12

Template for Faculty/Department Quality Assurance Report

120

Annex 13

Annual Institutional Quality Assurance Report

125

Annex 14

Sample of Conflicts of Interest and Confidentiality Declaration Form

133

Annex 15

Teacher Evaluation Form

135

Annex 16

Class Room Teaching Observation Format

137

Annex 17

Survey Form for PhD Program Offering Entity

139

Annex 18

Activity Chart of QAU

141

Annex 19

Flow chart on QAP Submission and Selection Process

142

Abbreviations and Acronyms

ADP Annual Development Program

AIF Academic Innovation Fund

AfriQAN Quality Assurance Network for African Higher Education

ANQAHE Arab Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education

APQN Asia Pacific Quality Network

BDT Bangladeshi Taka. The currency used as legal tender in Bangladesh

CANQATE Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education

ENQA European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education

FMR Financial Management Report

GAAP Governance and Accountability Action Plan

GIQAC Global Initiative for Quality Assurance Capacity

GoB Government of Bangladesh

HEI Higher Education Institution

HEQEP Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project

IDA International Development Association

ILO Intended Learning Outcomes

INQAAHE International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education

NEP National Education Policy 2010

PIC Project Implementation Committee. The committee chaired by Chairman UGC to

provide operational guidance to HEQEP

PSC Project Steering Committee. The inter-ministerial committee chaired by the

Secretary, MoE to provide policy guidance to the HEQEP

IQAC Institutional Quality Assurance Cell

IQACF IQAC Fund

IQACO Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Office

IQAR Institutional Quality Assurance Report

MoE Ministry of Education

NQF National Qualifications Framework

O & M Operation and Maintenance

vii

QAC Quality Assurance Committee

QAACB Quality Assurance & Accreditation Council, Bangladesh

QAP Quality Assurance Proposal

QAU Quality Assurance Unit in the UGC

QF Qualifications Framework

SA Self-Assessment

UGC Universities Grants Commission

UGCAR UGC Annual Report

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

VC Vice Chancellor. The highest management position in a Bangladeshi university.

viii

Glossary

Academic Council

The highest academic authority in the university responsible for

maintenance of standards of instruction, education and examination.

Academic Program

Also called Study Program.

Please see below the entry at Study

Program

Accreditation

The process by which a government or private agency evaluates the

quality of a higher education institution as a whole or a specific study

program in order to formally recognize it as having met certain pre-

determined minimal criteria or standards.

Additional Financing

This refers to the additional funding provided to HEQEP by IDA and

Schedule

GoB.

Assessment

The process of systematic gathering, quantifying, and using of

information in view of judging the instructional effectiveness and the

curricular adequacy of a higher education institution as a whole or

academic program. Assessment is necessary in order to validate a

formal accreditation decision, but it does not necessarily lead to an

accreditation outcome. It also means a technically designed process for

evaluating student learning outcomes and for improving student

learning and development as well as teaching effectiveness.

Audit

The process of reviewing an institution or a study program by external

peers that is primarily focused on its accountability, and determining

if the stated goals and objectives in terms of curriculum, teachers,

infrastructure, etc., are met.

Best Practice

A method or an innovative process involving a range of safe and

reasonable practices resulting in the improved performance of a higher

education institution or an academic program, usually recognized as

‘best” by other peer institutions. A best practice does not necessarily

represent an absolute, ultimate example or pattern, its application

assures the improved performance of a higher education institution or

program; rather it identifies the

best approach to a specific situation,

as institutions and programs vary greatly in compositions and scope.

Benchmarking

A standardized method for collecting and reporting critical operational

data in a way that enables relevant comparisons among the

performances of different institutions or programs, usually with a view

of establishing good practices, diagnosing problems in performance,

and identifying areas of strength. It gives the institution or the program

the external references and the best practices on which to base its

evaluation and to design its working processes.

Culture of Evidence

As it relates to institutional quality culture, the culture of evidence is a

mindset acquired in a higher education institution and based on clear

ethical values, principles, and rules, which consists of the self-

assessment of its learning outcomes, engaging the teaching staff and

the academic administration in a thoughtful, regular collection,

selection, and use of relevant institutional performance indicators, in

order to inform and prove, whenever and to whomever necessary, that

it is doing well in specific areas, e.g., institutional planning, decision

making, quality, etc., and for the purpose of improving its learning and

teaching outcomes. The “culture of evidence” is the empirical basis for

the quality culture of a higher education institution.

Consultative Committee

Consultative Committee is not a decision making body of the

university but acts as an advisory committee such as the International

Advisory Council, Staff-Student Committee and Industrial Advisory

Board.

Deliberative Committee

A decision making committee of the university such as the Syndicate,

Examination Board and Academic Committees.

Department

Department means an academic unit in a university that offers study

and research programs that lead to awards of degrees/diploma by the

university. It may also refer to a non-academic unit such as IT Center,

Bursary and Department of Student Affairs.

Designer

The body designing the procedure.

Documented Procedure

Procedures that are represented in a written form.

Faculty

An academic entity which includes departments, centers, institutes,

academies and other such academic bodies, such as School of

Pharmacy or Center for Business Management Studies.

HEI

Higher Education Institution or University

National Qualifications

Generally, a NQF is designed to provide nationally recognized and

Framework (NQF)

homogeneous standards and qualifications, as well as recognition for

all learning of knowledge and competencies and a basis for further

review, articulation and development of existing and impending

qualifications. Also, among other purposes, it should facilitate

curricular change and allow for the improvement of access and social

inclusion, as well as the integration of changing societal needs. A NQF

is primarily developed by the National

Quality

Assurance and

Accreditation Council through a medium-term process of policy

development and public consultation.

Outcomes

Anticipated or achieved results of programs or the accomplishment of

institutional objectives, as demonstrated by a wide range of indicators,

such as, student knowledge, cognitive skills and attitudes. Outcomes

are direct results of the instructional program, planned in terms of

learner growth in all areas.

Performance Indicators

A range of statistical parameters representing a measure of the extent

(PIs)

to which a higher education institution

or a study

program is

performing in a certain quality dimension. They allow HEIs to

benchmark their own performances or allow comparison among HEIs.

Common examples

of PIs are,

number

admission

seekers/applications per seat/place, entry scores of candidates, research

grants and contracts gained, research articles

or studies published,

teacher/student ratio, institutions incomes and expenditures,

institution’s or department’s equipment/furniture, etc.

Procedure

Procedure is a set of sequentially arranged actions to be followed in

solving a problem or accomplishing a particular task. It includes

policies, regulations, processes, systems and rules that fall within the

purview of a QA body such as Student Regulations and Registration

Process.

Procedure Owner

The authority that manages the implementation of a procedure. For

example the procedure owner of an Assessment Appeal Process is the

Examination Department.

Quality Assurance

The committee set up by the university authority for institutional

Committee (QAC)

oversight of IQAC.

Quality Culture

It refers to a set of shared, accepted, and integrated patterns of quality

to be found in the organizational cultures

and the management

systems of institutions. Awareness of and commitment to the quality

of higher education, in conjunction with a solid culture of evidence

and with the efficient management of this quality (through quality

assurance procedures) are the ingredients of a quality culture.

Qualification

Any higher education award, i.e., degree, diploma or other type of

formal certification, issued by a competent authority attesting to the

successful completion of a course program. It covers a wide variety of

higher education awards at different levels and across countries, e.g.,

Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree, the Doctorate, Baccalaureate etc. A

qualification is important in terms of what it signifies: competencies

and range of knowledge and skills.

Qualifications Framework

A comprehensive policy framework defining all nationally recognized

qualifications in higher education in terms of work load, level, quality,

learning outcomes and profiles. It should be designed to be

comprehensible through the use of specific descriptions for each

qualification covering both its breadth (competencies associated with

learning outcomes) and its depth (level). It is structured horizontally in

order to cover all qualifications awarded in a system, and, vertically,

by level. Its purpose is to facilitate: (i) curriculum development and

design of study programs; (ii) student and graduate mobility; and (iii)

recognition of periods of study and credentials

Quality Assurance

A system that supports performance according to established criteria

or standards.

Quality Assurance

Proposal submitted by the university in a

prescribed format for

Proposal (QAP)

establishing the IQAC.

Self-Assessment

The process of self-assessment consists of the systematic collection of

administrative data, the questioning of students and teachers, and the

holding of moderated interviews with teachers and students, resulting

in a self-assessment report. Self-assessment is a collective institutional

reflection and an opportunity for quality enhancement. The resulting

SA report further serves to provide information to external peer

reviewers who validate the self-assessment conducted by the

institution after undertaking a thorough audit.

Stakeholders

A person or a group of person that has an interest or concern in the

activities of the university.

Standards

Statements regarding an expected level

of requirements and

conditions against which quality is assessed or that must be attained by

higher education institutions and their programs in order for them to

be accredited or certified. The term standard means both a fixed

criteria against which an outcome can be matched, and a level of

attainment.

Study Program

A core modular component of higher education including all the

activities, i.e., design, organization, management, as well as the

process of teaching, learning and research, carried out in a certain field

and leading to an academic qualification. Study programs are

established by higher education institutions and may differ by level of

academic qualification, e.g., Diploma, Bachelor, Master, Doctorate,

Baccalaureate, etc., study mode, e.g., full-time, part-time, distance

learning, etc., and field of knowledge specialization, in accordance

with academic and professional division of labor. A study program is

accomplished through; (i) a curriculum, including all disciplines

leading to an academic qualification, distributed by year of study,

their weight being expressed in type of study credits; (ii) syllabuses

or course programs, containing a description of the teaching and

learning themes and practices associated with teaching, learning and

evaluation; (iii) the organizational chart of students and teaching staff

covering the period of implementation of study program; (iv) the

system of academic quality assurance for all activities necessary for

the completion of the study program.

Strategic Plan

A plan that puts in place the targeted achievements of objectives

within a marked timeline. It is a road map which contains broadly

defined goals and objectives that are represented in a sequence of steps

for achieving the desired future.

Syndicate

The highest executive authority in the public and private universities.

Syndicate is used as a generic term in this document that also means

the Regent Board in newly established public universities.

Syndicate Brief

Proposal of a procedure (new or significantly revised) for the

endorsement of the Syndicate.

Undocumented Procedure

Procedures that are practiced but not represented in a written form.

University’s Quality

A document which sets out the general parameter for QA activities in

Assurance Framework

the university and ensures that the right things are being done for the

right reasons. For example the framework ensures that appropriate

program delivery disciplines and governance are implemented

effectively. A framework supports innovation and improvement while

cultivating a culture of transparency and accountability.

xii

Preface

It is an accepted fact that higher education forms the basis of the knowledge society, a comprehensive

system of creativity and innovation, which is crucially important for the sustainable socioeconomic

development of a nation. Recently, higher education in Bangladesh has experienced a phenomenal

growth at least in quantity, doubling in number of tertiary level students from 1.12 million to 2.61

million in last four years. But the quality of education and research could not match the horizontal

increase. There is a popular saying that quantity without quality is a sure prescription for disaster,

while quality without quantity can act like seeds and at least something to build on. So quality is very

important in higher education.

The present government headed by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is committed to

change the landscape of higher education through enhancement of quality of higher education and

research in the country. Her dream has been transformed into reality by her capable education

minister Mr. Nurul Islam Nahid through establishment of universities, formation of accreditation

council, opening up of channels of cross border higher education and upgrading the University Grants

Commission into Higher Education Commission. For achieving the target of quality education the

GOB and the World Bank has generously funded the project which is known as Higher Education

Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP) . The project is being meticulously implemented by the

University Grants Commission, with help of the project officials and that of by the World Bank.

Establishment of Quality Assurance Mechanism is one of the major components of HEQEP. The

launching ceremony of Quality Assurance Mechanism in Bangladesh through calling for the proposal

of Quality Assurance (QAP) and establishing the Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) in each

of the universities has been already in place. Establishment of IQACs at the universities would create

an enabling framework to provide quality education.

The IQAC Operation Manual (IQACOM) offers a set of guidelines and the processes to facilitate

the functioning of the IQAC. It aims to improve quality of teaching, learning and research in all the

higher education institutions in Bangladesh. It covers almost every aspect of operations of the quality

assurance process within the universities and defines a comprehensive set of policy instruments and

concepts to introduce an effective internal QA system. This IQACOM also includes various useful

QA tools and guidelines for practitioners. These tools and guidelines would facilitates the functioning

of Institutional Quality Assurance Cells (IQAC).

I, believe, the Vice Chancellors of the universities will take necessary actions immediately to make

the IQACs functional, which would enhance the capacity of the universities to provide quality

education. This will benefit the universities, specially teachers, and students and other stakeholders

such as the employers and the society at large. It is expected that sincere cooperation from the

university authorities and academics to utilize the opportunity will be forthcoming.

I thank the GoB and World Bank for this initiative of Quality Assurance.

(Prof. Dr. A. K. Azad Chowdhury)

Chairman (State Minister)

University Grants Commission of Bangladesh.

xiii

Introduction

Bangladesh is a developing country and its economy is in transition from traditional

agriculture to industry, manufacturing and service sectors. Bangladesh intends to avail the

opportunities offered by globalization to build a knowledge society. Improving the quality of

its tertiary education is vitally necessary to spur the country to a higher growth trajectory for

attaining the middle income status by 2020. The tertiary education in Bangladesh, currently,

has been facing many deeply rooted and intertwined challenges. These include, inadequate

enabling environment for improving the quality of education and research, weak governance

and accountability, poor planning and monitoring capacities, and insufficient funding. All

these challenges are compounded by lack of robust academic culture. These drawbacks can

only be mitigated by developing a quality culture and ensuring good practices in higher

education institutions (HEIs).

The Bangladesh government (GoB) recognizes that the country is at risk of being

marginalized in a highly competitive global economy because its tertiary education systems

are not adequately prepared to capitalize on the creation and application of knowledge. It also

realizes that the state has the responsibility to put in place an enabling framework that would

encourage tertiary education institutions to be more innovative and responsive to the

demanding needs for rapid economic growth, and to empower the graduates with right skills

for successfully competing in the global knowledge economy.

In Bangladesh, University Grants Commission (UGC) acts as the intermediary between the

Government and the universities for regulating the affairs of all the universities. But

currently, there is no recognized quality assurance (QA) mechanism for public and private

universities in Bangladesh. The deficiency was recognized in the UGC’s Strategic Plan for

Higher Education 2006-2026, and in GoB's National Education Policy (NEP) 2010. The

Strategic Plan, inter alia, recommended the establishment of an independent Accreditation

Council for both public and private universities in Bangladesh. Following the

recommendations made in the Strategic Plan the Ministry of Education prepared and

launched in mid 2009 the Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP) with the

financial support of the World Bank.

The experience and lessons learned from the 25 Self-Assessment subprojects implemented in

15 universities under HEQEP generated heightened awareness among the faculty members

and management regarding the need for initiating QA in higher education. It also prepared

the ground and readiness on the part of the institutions to follow up the recommendations

made in SA reports and expand the SA exercise to include all HEIs in phases. Against this

backdrop the Ministry of Education, the UGC and the HEIs feel that it is high time to

establish institutional QA cell in every public and private university to develop a mechanism

for the systematic review of study programs, to ensure quality teaching-learning, research,

knowledge generation and support services standards at an acceptable level.

Based on the above developments, a Quality Assurance Unit (QAU) within the

organizational structure of University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh was created

under HEQEP to initiate the QA mechanism in Bangladesh’s HEIs. As a first step in this

endeavor the HEQEP would also support the establishment of IQACs in universities and the

xiv

QAU would provide guidance and technical assistance to the IQACs in order to make them

functional. The QAU will function as a temporary council until the formation of the national

Quality Assurance and Accreditation Council, Bangladesh (QAACB) in 2016. QAU would

begin work on drafting of the national qualifications framework and other quality assurance

documents. The QAACB upon its establishment shall take over the quality assurance

activities of QAU and the latter would continue to liaise between IQAC, UGC and QAACB

in respect of QA activities. However, the QAU shall remain as a unit within the UGC with

revised roles and responsibilities.

This IQAC Operations Manual offers a set of guidelines and the processes to facilitate the

functioning of the IQAC. It aims to improve quality of teaching, learning and research in all

the higher education institutions in Bangladesh. It covers almost every aspect of operation of

the quality assurance process within the universities and defines a comprehensive set of

policy instruments and concepts to introduce an effective internal QA system. In order to

make it user friendly, this IQAC OM also includes various useful QA tools and guidelines for

the practitioners. These tools and guidelines would facilitate the functioning of the

Institutional Quality Assurance Cells (IQAC).

It is expected that with proper functioning of the IQACs a quality culture will be created in

Bangladesh. Hopefully, this Manual will be very useful to all those who are directly or

indirectly involved in quality assurance in higher education institutions. Users of this

IQACOM are the universities, academic staff, students and other stakeholders like employers

and society as well.

This Manual comprises of nine chapters. Chapter 1 provides introduction, which includes

the background referring the current situation in Bangladesh and global perspective of quality

assurance practices in higher education. Chapter 2 contains the concept of Quality

Assurance mechanism in higher education. This chapter also outlines the general principles

of quality assurance. Chapter 3provides an overview of the quality assurance mechanism in

Bangladesh. It specifies the strategic role of UGC, QAU and IQAC in effective management

of quality assurance in Bangladesh. It also explains the future dimensions of the QA practices

of Bangladesh. Chapter 4 describes the different aspects of IQAC specifying process of

establishment, objectives and functions. This chapter also includes institutional oversight

mechanism and relationships between IQACs, QAU and UGC. Chapter 5 outlines the

quality assurance framework for Bangladesh. It specifies the quality assurance areas

important for Bangladesh, implementation levels and stages of QA system in Bangladesh

with expected outcomes. Chapter 6 describes the evaluation and assessment system in

quality assurance. It contains a brief description of self-assessment and audit procedures.

Chapter 7 describes the process of articulating training and development for capacity

building. Chapter 8 recognizes the importance of management of conflicts and

confidentiality in QA practices. Chapter 9provides an overview on how existing procedures

are reviewed and undocumented ones are formalized. This chapter provides insights to the

development of new procedures which may be initiated by the IQAC or the procedure owner.

This chapter also examines the design and development of new procedures.

It is expected that with proper functioning of the IQACs a quality culture will be created in

Bangladesh. Hopefully, this manual will be very useful to all those who are directly or

indirectly involved in quality assurance in higher education institutions. Users of this

IQACOM are the universities, academic staff, students and other stakeholders like employers

and society as well.

The notable benefits to be gained by the stakeholders through the implementation of IQACs

are presented in following table:

Table 1: Benefits of IQAC to Different Stakeholders

Universities

Academic Staff

Students

Other stakeholders

 Well

functioning

 Enhanced



Improved



Better

QA system

professional

skills

teaching

learning

opportunities

for

and knowledge to

opportunities

the

employers

 Improved capacity

provide

better

Improved

recruit

competent

assess

and

teaching learning

teaching

learning

graduates

evaluate

study

programs

 Enhanced capacity

attain

the



Enhanced

to understand

the

learning goals

competitiveness

 Greater

needs

the



Enhanced

the

organizations

Transparency

and

students

and

competitiveness

and business firms

accountability

academic

employers

and competencies



Improved image of

to meet

the

job

management

 Enhanced capacity

the country

market

 Readiness

for

modernize

requirements;



Improved

accreditation

curriculum

competitiveness

study programs,

response



Enhanced

the

country

with

market demands

employability

innovative

and

 Image

building

with

improved

creative

human

and

acceptability

 Better

quality and image

opportunities

for

capital

academic

of the university;

exchange

establishing

and



Promote

standard

collaborative

living

with

 Enhanced

research network

 Enhanced

ethical practices in

competitiveness to

with

national

and

acceptability

social life

attract

talented

foreign

reputed

students.

universities; and

universities

for



Value

for

money/investment

further

higher

 Improved capacity

 Enhanced capacity

the parents; and

address

new

studies.

and

effectiveness

educational

 Enhanced Peoples’

professionals

demands

and

confidence

engaged in QA.

competitive

higher education.

challenges; and

Improved capacity

for producing

qualified graduates

for the labor

market at home

and abroad

At the end of the Manual QA tools in the form of templates, guidelines and concept notes

have been included as annexes. These QA tools have been developed in accordance with the

xvi

international QA practices. These are samples and quite flexible to accommodate the

requirements of the universities of various size, capacity and type. However, the concept

note, guidelines and templates would be very useful to the universities for the purpose of

international compatibility and acceptability in respect of quality assurance practices. This

Manual should not be considered as the final document that cannot be revised, modified and

updated to respond the changing situations and needs that may arise in the course of QA

practices. This Manual will be open to modifications and revisions periodically based on the

feedback obtained from the practitioners from time to time and to accommodate the changed

circumstances in coming years.

The QAU would like to record its sincere gratitude to Professor A K Azad Chowdhury,

Chairman, UGC and State Minister for his pioneering role for establishing the quality

assurance mechanism in Bangladesh and for the support provided to the QAU in making it

functional within a short time. The QAU is also grateful to Professor M Muhibur Rahman,

member, UGC in charge of HEQEP for his extremely valuable suggestions and inputs for

preparing this operations manual. WE also gratefully acknowledge the technical assistance

provided to QAU by the World Bank’s education team for the drafting of this manual. We

sincerely thank the acting project director of HEQEP and its concerned officials who

provided the logistics and facilities to QAU for setting up its office and working

environment. Lastly I gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the Ministry of Education,

especially the Hon’ble Minister and secretary for their overall guidance and leadership for

enhancing the quality and relevance of higher education in Bangladesh, particularly the

Ministry’s patronage of HEQEP that made it possible for the QAU to start the onerous

journey for establishing quality assurance in the country’s higher education institutions.

Professor Mesbahuddin Ahmed

Head, Quality Assurance Unit

UGC

xvii

xviii

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Chapter 1

The Context

Global Perspective on Quality Assurance

Establishment of quality assurance system in higher education is a global concern

now. There is a growing demand for quality assurance (QA) mechanisms at national,

regional and global levels. Over the years, it is observed that there is an increase in

the number of HE institutions and increased involvement of external stakeholders

through changes in governance structures. The higher education institutions around

the world have been introduced to quality assurance system internally with formal

institutional approach and documentation. This has been done with the establishment

of quality assurance agencies like accreditation bodies at the national level. The

integration of Quality Assurance principles into higher education became effective in

Europe under the Bologna Process which started in 1999. In Africa, Middle East and

Asia significance of quality assurance in higher education is also recognized. In South

Asia India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have well structured quality assurance system in

place. Thus, the quality assurance in higher education has become an increasing and

important global trend. To support the increasing number of internal quality assurance

systems many quality assurance agencies are functioning across the world with

standard practices. These quality assurance agencies are also very active in

establishing harmony and uniformity across the countries.

Reasons for Growth of QA Practices

Notable reasons for such rapid growth of QA practices and QA agencies worldwide

include:

Increase in number of students and diversity of emerging study programs in tertiary

education;

Increasing interest of parents, students and funding agencies to ensure that the money

is being well-spent;

Increasing mobility of students putting pressure on the HEIs to become globally

acceptable for quality standard;

Increasing competition among the HEIs to become the credible source higher

education; and

Governments increasingly wanting to hold HEIs accountable for performance in

terms quality of graduates, national relevance, ability to meet the needs of the society.

Quality Assurance (QA) Networks

Cross-border collaboration in quality assurance is increasingly being practiced these

days. Regional quality assurance networks have been established in many parts of the

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

world. A few of these networks are Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN), Quality

Assurance Network for African Higher Education (AfriQAN), Arab Network for

Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ANQAHE), Caribbean Area Network for

Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education (CANQATE), European Association for

Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). The purpose to establish these

networks is to develop and foster cooperation on QA among the member countries.

The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education

(INQAAHE)was established in 1991. It is an association of more than 200

organizations from 130 countries active in the practices of quality assurance in higher

education. INQAAHE is a forum for the discussion of global issues relating to quality

assurance in higher education. Among the South Asian countries, India, Pakistan, Sri

Lanka and Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan are already full members of the INQAAHE.

In 2007, the World Bank and UNESCO established a partnership that launched the

Global Initiative for Quality Assurance Capacity (GIQAC) to support the evolution of

quality assurance in higher education in developing countries and countries-in-

transition. GIQAC will serve as an umbrella for the regional networks, providing

global coherence, a forum for cross-regional knowledge sharing, and leveraging

additional resources to make these efforts sustainable.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Chapter 2

Quality Assurance in Practice

2.1 Quality in Education

The graduates must come out of the university equipped with requisite qualifications

and skills that the society and the country need for achieving higher economic growth

and prosperity. Here quality of graduates has been defined as, fitness of purposes

(Woodhouse, 1999).Quality education includes (UNICEF, 2000):

Quality of learners with commitment and interest to explore their potentials maximizing

the learning opportunities;

Environments that are healthy, safe, protective and gender-sensitive, and provide

adequate resources and facilities;

Content that is reflected in relevant curricula and materials for the acquisition of basic

skills, attitude and knowledge referring for life;

Processes through which effective and student centered teaching learning and meaningful

assessment to facilitate attainment of learning and reduce disparities; and

Outcomes that encompass knowledge, skills and attitudes, and are linked to national goals

for education and positive participation in society.

In an ever changing environmental setting the definition of quality education and

requirements for quality education are also changing. Rapid transformations in

societies brought about by the amazing development of information technologies,

globalization, and the growing complexities of economic pursuits are driving people

to newer engagements in livelihoods. All these factors forced organizations to

become more efficient and productive than ever before in human history. As such,

nations and institutions that will succeed in future will be those, capable of fostering

creativity and innovation, managing and mastering these changes effectively. Quality

of education can only be measured by the employability of the graduates in an

increasingly competitive job market and extent of their contribution to organizations

and national development. Quality in education refers the outcomes of educational

system in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes, which addresses expectations of

stakeholders and national relevance in general.

Quality Assurance System

Quality comes out of a well structured process or system. This system refers

institutional arrangements including infrastructure, evidence of good practices, and

guiding principles for education. Quality assurance process determines whether the

graduates achieved the predetermined standard in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes

and values that addresses the expectations of the stakeholders. The quality assurance

process includes, designing academic programs with specific ILOs, strategies,

implementation, and systematic review of the process to measure the effectiveness

and continuous improvement. It enables the HEIs to provide assurance of learning

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

with confidence. Implicitly, it is the responsibility of the higher education institutions

(HEIs) to maintain, improve and deliver the generally acceptable standards of quality

of its study programs. However, quality assurance systems in higher education

comprises of two basic components: an internal component and an external

component. External QA complements internal QA systems for improved and better

performance.

Internal Quality Assurance

Internal quality assurance system is composed of the arrangements within the

institution to provide assurance of learning with people’s confidence. Internal QA is

considered as the corner stone of QA in higher education. Everybody working in an

institution must be responsible and accountable to develop the quality culture. The

implementation of internal QA mechanisms would create a sense of responsibility

and a new awareness of process approach throughout the institution (Colin, 2006).

Areas that are considered of particular importance in internal quality assurance

include (QAAC, 2003):

Policy and procedures for higher education;

Periodic review of these policy and procedures for effectiveness;

Self-assessment of programs and educational system in respect of accepted quality

assurance areas;

Prompt, appropriate, and sensitive managerial action to redress problems, supported by

adequate information;

Benchmarking and preparation of comprehensive plan for further improvement; and

Promoting a process of continuous improvement

External Quality Assurance

In case of external quality assurance a credible body or agency external to a particular

HEI will be assigned to certify the internal quality assurance system as an effective

and competent means to ensure quality in higher education. In addition, external

quality assurance agency provides feedback and technical supports to the HEIs

through periodic assessment and validation of internal QA system. External quality

assurance can play a very important role in strengthening internal quality assurance.

External quality assurance system provides HEIs an opportunity to compare their

academic programs and standards with equivalent national and international standards

and to set benchmarks for further improvement. It is to be noted that external quality

assurance is not to challenge the practices and autonomy of the internal quality

assurance system but to support by providing guidelines to adopt improved national

and international standards of quality assurance practices.

Quality Assurance Principles

Across the countries quality assurance system works under some principles. These

principles are basically to guide the quality assurance drive toward greater

accountability, transparency and credibility. The QA principles applicable for

effective functioning of quality assurance (QA) system are as follows:

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Responsibility: QA system of a higher education institution is primarily responsible for

quality assurance in education;

Focus: Quality assurance system should focus on safeguarding the interests of the major

stakeholders;

Involvement: Participation of all who are involved in the process of education need to be

ensured with clearly assigned responsibilities for quality assurance;

Purpose: Quality assurance is not to prove anything but to improve;

Commitment: Commitment to continuous improvement;

Continuity: Quality Assurance is a dynamic and continuous process;

Flexibility: QA system need to be flexible enough to accept and accommodate feedback

from a variety of internal and external constituencies;

Organized effort: QA practices need to be initiated and managed under a structured

organization;

Shared benefit: All the developments and improvement out of the QA system need to be

shared duly among the stakeholders ;

Fairness: Decisions and measures taken to redress problems and improve the process

need to be supported by adequate information and evidences;

Autonomy: QA system should exercise the autonomy with a prime objective of quality

assurance in education with accountability;

Transparency: QA system need to be transparent in all aspects of its activities including

the academic and financial matters.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Chapter 3

Quality Assurance in Bangladesh

Urgency for establishing QA Mechanism in Bangladesh

With the changes in the quality requirements in higher education there is an urgency to

look into the effectiveness of the existing study programs and beyond the traditional

approach of teaching learning. Higher education must be more closely aligned to the

needs of the society and country, needs of the graduates to explore their potentials in

terms of creativity and innovation for employability and lifelong learning. HEIs

should focus on preparing graduates with positive mindset, skills and competence,

which would help them to handle the real life situation favorably. Besides, there is an

increasing demand from the stakeholders on the HEIs to be more accountable for

their activities and responsible about quality education.

Recently, in Bangladesh the scope of higher education expanded remarkably with the

increasing number of universities both in private and public sector. But quality of

education has not improved to the desired standards. Graduates coming out of the

universities havebeen increasingly facing difficulties to get gainful employment in

highly competitive job markets within the country and abroad where quality makes a

difference. Every year large number of graduates with higher education degrees

remain unemployed in Bangladesh. Failure to get gainful employment creates

frustration in the mind of graduates and makes students reluctant to be actively

engaged in the academic improvement. The cumulative effects creates imbalance in

the society. The only way to face the challenges is to focus on meeting quality

standards through quality assurance. A well functioning quality assurance system

could push higher education in Bangladesh forward to greater heights with visible

transparency, accountability and peoples’ confidence.. As such, there is an urgency of

establishing internal quality assurance system within the universities in Bangladesh.

University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh

University Grants Commission (UGC), an attached institution of the Ministry of

Education (MoE) is the apex body exercising oversight for all public and private

universities. UGC act as the intermediary between the Government and the

universities for regulating the financial and academic affairs of all the universities

under a legal framework. Its mission is to ensure quality in higher education. It also

aims to achieve qualitative improvement in the governance and management of the

universities by establishing accountable institutional and academic management,

educational discipline, financial propriety, responsible administration and

transparency.

The primary objectives of the UGC are to supervise, maintain, promote and coordinate

university education. It is also responsible for maintaining standard and

quality of education in all the public and private universities in Bangladesh.

Considering the needs and aspirations of the people and the society UGC is working

to:

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

organize and motivate the universities to act as change agents so that they can create new

frontiers of knowledge through demand-driven and innovative teaching and research

to cope with the rapidly changing globalized society;

develop the universities as centers of excellence which in turn will produce trained and

skilled manpower capable of resolving socio-economic problems, contribute in

economic progress and prosperity of the country;

examine and assess the quality and standard of teaching and research in university level

education;

assess and assist the private universities to develop their curricula;

assess, formulate and implement plans and programs for proper and appropriate

development of the universities;

foster national, regional and international linkages and collaboration in the field of

teaching, learning and research;

provide support to the universities in staff development, student mobility etc.

Quality Assurance Unit (QAU)

Recognizing the urgency of establishing a quality assurance system the Quality

Assurance Unit (QAU) within the UGC’s organizational structure was created to

oversee the establishment of Institutional Quality Assurance Cells (IQAC) at

individual universities both in public and private sector. The QUA would function on

the basis of a process of continuous consultation. Its decisions and work plan will be

the outcomes of interacting activities such as holding regular meetings, workshops

with the higher education institutions, eminent academics, QA experts and major

stakeholders beyond the universities.

Vision of the QAU

To achieve academic excellence through quality assurance practices in higher

education institutions (HEIs) as a credible and internationally recognized agency.

Mission of QAU

To gain confidence of the stakeholders in the globalized setting by ensuring best

practices in universities in Bangladesh with transparency, accountability and

credibility in accordance with internationally acceptable quality assurance practices.

Objectives of QAU

The general objective of the QAU is to promote a quality culture within the higher

education institutions in Bangladesh ensuring good practices and governance. The

specific objectives are to:

Guide the universities for establishing institutional quality assurance cell (IQAC);

Improve the governance and management of academic programs by establishing QA

mechanism at individual university level;

Meet the greater demand for transparency and accountability of universities in

Bangladesh;

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Capacity building through providing technical assistance to the universities for effective

management of QA process; and

Ensure good practices for quality assurance in higher education institutions of

Bangladesh.

Functions of QAU

The major functions of the QAU are to:

develop Quality Assurance Framework, Standards & QA requirements for the higher

education institutions (HEIs) in Bangladesh;

prepare the IQAC Operations Manual and other quality assurance related documents and

templates;

motivate the top management of the universities to adopt appropriate QA mechanism

through establishing IQAC at the individual university level;

oversee the establishment of IQAC at individual universities in Bangladesh;

arrange workshops to make HEIs aware about the QA and related matters to remain

competitive, through adopting transparent, credible and formal quality assurance

system;

arrange necessary capacity building activities like training and provide expert and

technical assistance in the areas of quality assurance to fulfill the mandate of the

QAU;

monitor and evaluate university’s QA practices and processes through audit, survey and

other instruments;

co-ordinate all QA related activities at the national level; and

liaise with UGC and other external QA agencies.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC)

Higher education forms the basis of knowledge society, a comprehensive system of

creativity and innovation, which are very critical for attaining rapid socioeconomic

development. In Bangladesh the scope of higher education is expanding fast in both

public and private sectors. The government, UGC and the universities feel an

increasing need to look at the quality and standard of higher education. Fostering

global competence through quality education needs the values of quest for excellence

through the development of benchmarks of excellences, good practices in higher

education and institutionalization of continuous improvement process. UGC is

responding positively to these challenges and is committed to change the higher

education landscape through establishing IQAC at the university level.

Currently, in Bangladesh, every university has its own rules and regulations relating to

academic program management. But in true sense, no quality assurance body is

functional at the university level with specific responsibility of ensuring good

practices. The establishment of an IQAC is an indispensable first step towards the

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

development of internal quality assurance system in an university. The general

objective of IQAC is to promote a quality enhancement culture within the university

by ensuring that the academic units adopt and implement QA standards and

benchmarked quality criteria.

The IQAC will be set up following an administrative order of the university authority. It

shall be organized in such a way as befits the size, existing structure and capacity of

the university as delineated in the Act.

The role of IQAC is to:

support the university in achieving its vision through providing good quality education;.

function as a central quality assurance unit for the university and review existing

standards and procedures;

develop new standards, policies, systems, processes, and procedures by adapting and

incorporating best practices;

systematically monitor and evaluate university’s practices and processes through audit,

survey and other instruments as deemed fit to ensure generally acceptable standards

of quality;

Salient Features of QA System to be introduced by the QAU

The salient features of the Quality Assurance System to be introduced by the QAU

are:

The IQACs will manage the internal quality assurance system in individual universities;

Universities are responsible to maintain quality of their own study programs and

academic infrastructure;

IQACs will be established and managed in conformity with the operational guidelines

provided in the IQAC Operations Manual;

The QAU will facilitate and strengthen the capacity of IQACs as internal QA

practitioners at the university level to assure the quality in higher education and to

achieve global recognition;

The QA system is completely a participatory approach. Both academic and non-academic

staffs who are involved in the process of education required to carry out their

responsibilities in accordance with the QA principles and standard practices;

The QAU will not impose any unnecessary burden on the universities for the purpose of

Quality Assurance beyond the internationally accepted standard practices;

The QA system will not limit the ability of the universities to provide good quality

education by maintaining the standard practices in accordance with the QA principles

and guidelines of QAU;

The QAU will continue to develop and upgrade the quality assurance framework and QA

documents in consultation with the higher education community and other

stakeholders; and

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

The development of Quality Assurance system is a continuous process, thus the system

introduced will be reviewed and modified in response to the emerging needs.

Future Developments

Institutionalization of IQAC

The National Education Policy 2010 (NEP) of Bangladesh stipulates the

establishment of a National Accreditation Council that would ensure quality of the

academic programs offered by the higher education institutions of the country.

Establishment of quality assurance mechanism at the universities is the first step

towards the formation of the proposed Accreditation Council. The concept of IQAC

is to set up the internal quality assurance system in the universities and to make them

ready to meet the requirements for accreditation. The IQACs shall become a

permanent body of the universities that will be sustained and maintained under the

revenue budget of the university.

Formation of QAACB

The QAU will function as a temporary council until the formation of the national

Quality Assurance and Accreditation Council, Bangladesh (QAACB), and would

continue to function, for preparing the national qualifications framework and other

quality assurance documents. QAACB will be formed under an Act and upon its

establishment shall take over the quality assurance activities of QAU. The QAU shall

remain as a unit within the UGC with revised roles and responsibilities and will

function as a coordinating unit between the QAACB, UGC, IQACs and universities;

Future Dimensions of QA System

With the establishment and proper functioning of the IQACs in universities higher

education in Bangladesh will move into the systematic and organized activities on

quality assurance. The major areas of QA in the global context are:

Quality Culture;

Global Quality Label; and

Internationalization of QA

Quality Culture

Quality is a habit under certain culture. Key to the success and sustainability of

quality assurance is basically quality culture. Quality culture represents a set of

shared and recognized values, attitude and behavioral pattern, which will be extended

to the incoming members of the community and society. Culture guides the way of

thinking and discharging responsibilities in all aspects of operations. The fundamental

aspect of quality culture is strong commitment for continuous improvement with a

holistic approach and harmony recognizing the contribution of all involved in the

process. Evidences of quality culture need to be reflected in all areas including

governance, teaching learning, program management, code of conduct, code of

practice etc. But it takes time to develop quality culture. There are many areas of

quality assurance that are very important for quality education, but currently not

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

practiced in Bangladesh. Besides, the traditional mindset of people concerned need to

be changed to accommodate and accept new concepts, new practices and norms of

quality culture. The QAU has been established to promote that quality culture in

higher education through the IQACs. IQACs need to become effective change agents

for the expected quality culture in higher education. Self-Assessment of study

programs shall be the initiation of the faculty and the institutions to adapt the QA

culture. Once the quality culture is developed within the universities it will become

easier to practice the QA processes according to international standards of quality.

Global Quality Label

Global quality label may be considered as recognition to the quality assurance

agencies for globally trustworthy QA practices. It is like branding of quality

education for achieving global confidence. A national higher education community in

the context of globalization can not ignore the issue of acceptance of its quality

assurance by the international higher education community. Globalization of

professions and mobility of students around the globe is an increasing trend in recent

times. Similarly, the increase of transnational and cross border mobility of students is

also significant in this context. Both of these trends create pressure on institutions to

make the study programs internationally recognized and acceptable. International

recognition and compatibility are important to attract international students and to

make the Bangladeshi students acceptable for exchange programs, academic

collaboration and placement in international organizations. Global quality label is

very critical for positive perception and image in favor of higher education of the

country to address the demand of these global trends. Such global quality label may

be achieved with the approval and recognition of credible international agencies like

IAUP and INQAAHE. With the establishment of QAU at national level and IQACs

at the universities Bangladesh will be able to show to the world that it takes the issue

of quality education seriously. Thus, with the successful implementation and practice

of QA culture Bangladesh would move ahead to get the recognition of quality label at

the international level with credibility.

Internationalization

Internationalization of quality assurance has become important around the world for

the sustainability of the quality assurance organizations engaged in assuring and

improving quality in higher education. The QAU would introduce internationally

accepted QA concepts and practices in universities in Bangladesh. It is required to

build its capacity, acceptance by academia and extend practices beyond Bangladesh.

Many QA agencies perform a number of functions to assure and enhance the quality

of higher education across the countries. QAU would develop a network with

credible external QA agencies and organizations like APQN and INQAAHE. Such

QA networking will be in the form of knowledge and resource sharing, peer review,

mutual recognition, participation in forum and other QA related activities. It would be

very effective to promote quality culture in the country and beyond with uniformity

and conformity to international standards of QA practices.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Chapter 4

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell

Significance of IQAC

Currently, the scope of higher education is expanding rapidly in Bangladesh both in

public and private sector with wide diversity in programs and in some cases mode of

education. Individual universities are managing study programs following their own

systems and practices. But no evidence of institutional set up with defined mission

and responsibility in accordance with generally accepted QA principles within the

university is available. In the absence of effective quality assurance culture, the

ongoing practices lacks transparency, accountability, consistency and evidence of

good practice. Internal quality assurance infrastructure is indispensable for a quality

assurance culture in a university. The setting up of IQACs at public and private

universities would promote the QA culture to ensure quality in education.

Establishment of IQAC

The IQAC will be established in each university under an administrative order of the

university authority. It shall be organized in such a way as befits the size, existing

structure and capacity of the university as delineated in the Act. For the initial period

the IQAC shall be established with the financial assistance from HEQEP. However,

the IQACs shall become a permanent organ of the universities and their operations

will be sustained and maintained under the revenue budget of the institution. For this

purpose universities will prepare a succession plan during the project period with the

objectives of its continuity. For the purpose of a dynamic and effective IQAC the

concerned university must take initiative to increase the availability of experienced

and competent academics. This may include the following:

Identifying those have interest and ability to work in QA;

Providing critical development experiences through training, workshop and study visit;

To develop high-potential QA leaders university shall identify, train , and retain talents to

ensure the smooth functioning of the IQAC and development of the QA culture in the

University;

The university shall make necessary funding provisions in its revenue budget to meet the

costs of the IQAC on a regular basis and include the IQAC in its permanent

organizational set up.

IQAC Funding

In order to establish the IQAC the Institutional Quality Assurance Fund (IQACF)

will be made available to public and private universities that fulfill the eligibility

criteria defined in IQACF Operations Manual. The IQACF allocation will be made

in a mode where the total cost of IQAC will be shared equally between the project

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

and the proposal submitting university. There will be three rounds of proposal calls

respectively in 2014, 2015 and 2016 for the universities listed under Group A, Group

B and Group C. For the IQAC funding the eligible universities are required to submit

proposal in prescribed formats of QAP in response to the proposal call by the QAU.

The proposal call will be published in the national dailies and be posted on UGC and

HEQEP websites followed press conference. All proposal submitting entities are

requested to consult the IQACOM& IQACFOM prior to drafting and submission of

the QA proposals (QAP).The QAU shall announce the list of QAPs awarded for

IQACF and the names of the universities by posting it on the HEQEP, QAU and

UGC websites and communicate the information to the awarded universities’ VCs

and concerned IQAC Directors through mail. The awarded QAPs thereafter shall

become the under-implementation IQAC sub-projects. All IQAC Fund recipient

institutions shall execute a contract with UGC after awards have been announced by

QAU, UGC . Disbursement of grants to awarded institutions shall commence after

the contract has been signed by the concerned parties. The total period from proposal

call to announcement of award would take nine weeks. A flow chart on proposal

submission and selection process is included in Annex 18.

Objectives of the IQAC

The general objective of the IQAC is to promote a quality assurance culture within the

university. The specific objectives are to:

Institutionalize the quality assurance culture in accordance with national QA guidelines

and international practices;

Ensure that the university’s quality assurance procedures are designed following the

QAU guidelines and national requirements;

Develop, maintain and enhance quality of education and people’s perception in favor of

the university through consistent quality assurance practice and performance;

Build image of the university with confidence of the stakeholders ensuring transparency,

accountability, and good practices in all aspects of management; and

Prepare the university to meet the external quality assurance assessment and accreditation

requirements.

Functions of IQAC

In order to achieve the objectives the major functions of the IQAC will be to:

Facilitate the mission and objectives of the university for enhancing the quality and

relevance of higher education and respond to global trends on quality education;

Guide and assist the program offering entities of the university to define program

objectives;

Develop standards and benchmarks for various academic and administrative activities of

the university;

Review existing procedures for further improvement of delivery of higher education;

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Prepare QA documents and procedures for use within the university following

specifications and guidelines provided in the IQAC OM;

Encourage staff to maintain professional code of conduct in accordance with the QAU

guidelines and international practices and facilitate to maintain good practices in

operations;

Provide necessary support to the study program offering academic units, i.e.,

departments, faculties and institutes to conduct the self-assessment, external peer

review and implement QA process at program level;

Conduct regular monitoring of implementation of policies, systems, processes and

procedures;

Facilitate to conduct institutional assessment;

Facilitate the approval of new program offering entity and new programs for existing

entities using appropriate procedures;

Develop a data base containing information regarding quality assurance, which will be

deliverable to all stakeholders;

Prepare and produce annual institutional quality assurance report (IQAR) and monitoring

report assessing the activities of IQAC and submit to the QAC;

Develop an Institutional QA Strategic Plan for every 5 years and ensure its

implementation and monitoring of achievements;

Co‐ordinate all QA related activities within the university;

Liaise with QAU and other external QA agencies;

Organize workshops, seminars and appropriate training for capacity building and

promoting QA culture at all levels of the university;

Advise university management, faculty and departments on QA and related matters;

Take initiative and lead to establish staff development center at the university;

Prepare the detailed budget of the IQAC; and

Conduct impromptu audit at any level of the university if necessary.

Composition of IQAC

Depending on the size of the university, the IQAC may be staffed by at least two senior

academics and suitably qualified support staff.

The Head of the IQAC shall be called Director (IQAC ) and s/he will be supported by at

least one and maximum two Additional Director(s) depending on the size of the

university. Both of these positions will be filled up only by senior academics suitably

qualified for managing quality assurance activities. Director and Additional

Director(s) of the IQAC shall be appointed by the Vice Chancellor for a period of

three years (project period).Directors and Additional Directors will be posted to

IQAC on deputation as full time and be exempted from their normal teaching duties

during the tenure of their appointment.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Non-academic personnel shall be appointed temporarily as technical/support staff, e.g.,

administrative/office manager, accounts officer, communications officer, record

keeper, data entry/computer operator, MLSS etc. To assist the Director and

Additional Director(s) in discharging their responsibilities regarding IQAC activities,

appointment of provisional technical/support staffs shall follow the university’s

relevant recruitment and service rules.

The management and operational leadership of IQAC shall be vested in the hands of the

Director who shall function as the chief executive officer (CEO) and Drawing and

Disbursing Officer (DDO) of the IQAC.

The reporting authority of the Director of IQAC shall be the Vice Chancellor of the

university.

An indicative structure of IQAC is presented in Figure 1 below:

Figure 1: Indicative Organogram of IQAC

Director

(IQAC)

Additional Director

(IQAC)

Officials

(Administrative officer/office

(Accounts/finance officer,

manager)

communication officer)

Support Staff

(Record keeper, data entry/computer

operator, messenger/MLSS)

Terms of Reference for the Director, IQAC

S/he shall oversee the administration of the IQAC and be responsible for all of its

activities;

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Establish milestones and performance indicators for implementation of the IQAC

subproject according to work plan and for monitoring the results and assess the

progress of work;

Function as the chief liaison officer between the university and the QAU;

Coordinate, supervise and monitor all QA related activities of the IQAC within the

university as specified under section 4.4 of the IQAC OM;

Organize training programs for IQAC staff and faculty members of the university on QA

mechanism;

Organize workshop to make the staffers aware and to promote the QA culture within the

university;

Guide and supervise the IQAC staffers’ work for satisfactory performance and execution

of assigned tasks for QA;

Hold regular meetings to assess the performance of IQAC in promoting the QA culture

within the university; and

Execute all QA related decisions as directed by the QAC and Syndicate of the university.

Self-Assessment Committee (SAC)

There shall be a three member Self-Assessment Committee in each program offering

entity of the university. The Dean/Chairman/ Head of the program offering entity will

form the SA Committee for the entity. The Head and two members of the SAC shall

be filled up by the appropriately qualified senior academics of the entity. The SAC

will be formed and function for one year. During this one year period the SAC will

conduct the self-assessment of the programs of the entity. In addition, the SAC will

oversee the QA related activities within the program offering entity and will make

sure that all the QA activities undertaken by the IQAC and applicable for the entity

are being implemented properly. The SAC in cooperation with IQAC will work to

develop the QA culture within the entity .

Performance Indicators

Performance Indicators are key instruments for measuring the progress of planned

activities

. IQAC is responsible to introduce and implement the QA process within

the university. Performance of the IQAC in conducting the activities and progress in

attaining the specific objectives will be measured by using the pre-determined

performance indicators based on work plan milestones. A sample of performance

indicators for IQAC covering three years of activities is presented in the following

Table:

Please see the glossary.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Table 2: A Sample of Performance Indicators for the IQAC

Sl. No.

Indicators

Time line

Establish IQAC by providing office space, logistics and facilities

and appointment of required staff.

Drafting IQAC work, training and financing plans and preparation

of budget

Number of existing policies, systems, processes and procedures

reviewed.

Identify and prioritize the development of new policies and obtain

endorsement by the Syndicate.

Implement new policies according to the

work plan.

Number of programs completed self-assessment exercises with

external peer review

Progress in conducting institutional assessment.

Prepared IQAR and submitted to Syndicate and QAU

Prepared IQAC Annual Report and submitted to QAC and QAU

Institutional Oversight

In order to look after the key issues of quality assurance and activities of the IQAC

the Quality Assurance Committee (QAC) shall be constituted in each university. The

IQAC shall report to the VC and be supervised by the University’s QAC.The

composition of the QAC shall be as follows:

Vice Chancellor of the university (Chair)

Pro-Vice Chancellor (Pro-VC academic shall be the member if the university has two

Pro-VCs)

One member of the Board of Trustee ( for private universities)

Director of Finance and Accounts

Director of IQAC

All Deans

Director(s) of all institutes of the university, that are not under any Faculty or Dean

Any other two senior academics/personnel appointed by the Syndicate nominated by the

Vice-Chancellor

Registrar of the University

Please refer to the table on performance indicators included in the proposal format for establishing IQAC.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Additional Director of IQAC shall be the member-secretary of the QAC (in cases of

more than one Additional Director, the Vice Chancellor shall nominate the member-

secretary from the two). The member-secretary shall issue the notice of the meeting,

write the minutes of the meeting of the QAC and circulate it among the concerned

academics.

The Terms of Reference of the QAC

QAC shall be responsible, on behalf of the Syndicate, for the institutional oversight of

the IQAC. Functions and responsibilities of the QAC would include the following

but not limited to:

The QAC shall be an advisory body to the IQAC for developing an effective and

workable system of quality assurance;

QAC shall act as a planning forum for the discussion and promotion of developments in

quality assurance culture;

All members of the Committee are expected to be cooperative and constructive in

approach and actively participate in the working of the Committee;

QAC shall oversee the activities of IQAC and implementation of the quality assurance

framework of the university;

The QAC shall meet at least twice a year to provide guidance and direction to the IQAC

but may sit earlier if required;

The member-secretary of the QAC will serve the notice of the meeting of QAC

following Vice Chancellor’s directive and circulate the minutes.

Functional Relationship of IQAC with QAC and QAU

The QAU will provide guidance to the IQAC to implement QA process within the

university in all matters concerning quality assurance;

4.11.2 The IQAC shall liaise between the QAU, UGC and the university in matters of quality

assurance;

The UGC shall consider the IQAC as the main agency for establishing the quality culture

in the university in general and quality assurance of higher education in particular;

The IQAC shall implement the QA process in accordance with the guidelines of QAU to

conform with the international standard of QA practices;

The QAC shall act as an advisory body to the IQAC for developing an effective and

workable system of quality assurance and oversee the activities of the IQAC;

The IQAC will implement QA and related activities as specified in section 4.4 of the

IQAC OM and shall report to the QAC;

The Vice Chancellor as the Chairman of the QAC of the university shall place all the

decisions, documents, QA strategic plan of the university and reports prepared by the

IQAC for ratification and endorsement by the Syndicate.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cel Operations M anual

Figure 2: The Relational Structure of the IQ AC, Syndic ate, QAC a nd the QAU

UGC

QAU

Syndicate

Vice Cha ncellor

Institutio nal

Quality

As surance

A ssurance Cell

Co mmittee

(IQAC )

( QAC)

Self-Assessme nt

Self-Ass essment

Co mmittees

Committees

(SAC)

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Chapter 5

Quality Assurance Framework

Quality Assurance Areas

Developing QA culture is a continuous process and it requires special attention to QA

areas. In respect of current setting following quality assurance areas may be critical to

develop the desired quality assurance culture in Bangladesh:

Governance

Governance becomes a crucial issue in quality assurance in higher education.

Governance at university encompasses the organizational structures, legislative

framework and processes through which, policies and programs are developed,

managed and delivered. Governance facilitates the achievement of the stated mission

and objectives of the university. The central administration and statutory bodies like

Board of Trustees, Syndicate, Academic Council and the Vice Chancellor are the

powerful actors in university’s governance system. The players involved in ensuring

the governance at the university includes all the administrative layers from top

management to the program level management. Some of the areas of governance at

the university include the following but not limited to:

Corporate vision, mission and objectives;

Setting the academic standard through defining the graduate profile and learning

outcomes in respect of national relevance, mission and objectives of the university

incompliance with the national qualification framework and external reference

standards;

Process to design, review and ratify the procedures;

Academic leadership and autonomy;

Documentation at all levels of university administration from central to individual faculty

members;

Peer observation to get useful insights for the purpose of improvement in all aspects of

teaching learning assessment and capacity;

Management of stakeholders feedback to get useful insights for the purpose of

improvement in all aspects of teaching learning assessment and capacity; and

Program management including specific program objectives, intended learning outcomes

and ordinance on the programs.

Curriculum Content Design & Review

Curriculum refers to a well defined and prescribed course of studies, lessons and

activities, which students must complete to fulfill the requirements for acquiring the

degree. IQAC will facilitate the integration of the procedure in redesigning and

modernizing the curricula to accommodate the job market requirements. The

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

curriculum plays a crucial role in achieving the mission and objectives of the

university including the intended learning outcomes and overall effectiveness of the

programs. Curriculum design & review process include:

Involvement of stakeholders;

Need assessment: Regulatory requirements, qualifications framework, existing &

emerging industry needs, general societal factors, community needs, professional &

career requirements etc.

Content& Structure: Selecting Foundation, Major, Minor, Categorization of courses,

Audit course & Capstone;

Defining Course Learning Outcomes (CLO): Observable, specific and measurable

learning outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills and attitude;

Skill development mechanism or strategy;

Evaluation & Review: Review process and involvement of major stakeholders with

special attention to achievement of CLOs, employability of the graduates, course

evaluation by the students and respective course teachers, identifying gaps and lapses

in existing curriculum through curriculum alignment, initiative to close the gap;

Student: Admission Progress and Achievements

Entry qualification: Quality of learners in terms of commitment and prerequisite

qualifications are critical for quality education.

Admission Procedure: To get the quality intake it is very important to select the right

candidates for the right academic programs.

Progress & Achievement: The quality assurance system of universities and higher

education institutions should be in place to assure that levels of students’

achievements are maintained with due consideration for the use of external reference

points and evaluation of achievement.

Physical Facilities

Quality physical facilities are integral part of the quality learning opportunities at the

university. For the purpose of quality assurance in higher education it is to be

ensured that the facilities are appropriate, adequate and well managed. Physical

facilities are important for strengthening effective teaching learning and provide

quality education include:

Classroom facilities must be adequate and well equipped;

Library facilities with broadband connectivity and access to Digital Library facilities

must be adequate, accessible and useful;

Laboratory and field laboratories must be adequate, well equipped, accessible and

useful;

Medical facilities must be adequate, well equipped, accessible and useful to provide

emergency healthcare services ensuring health and hygiene within the campus;

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Other facilities like clean, spatially adequate and separate leisure rooms for male and

female students , canteen facilities with nutritious and safe food, reading rooms,

theater, auditorium for staging cultural programs etc.

In addition, some discipline specific facilities, very critical for proper learning, need to be

ensured. For example, clinic & hospital and farmland facilities for disciplines like

Dentistry, Veterinary Science, Medicine and agriculture etc.

5.1.5 Teaching - Learning and Assessment

5.1.5.1 Teaching Learning

For the purpose of quality in teaching learning following factors are very critical:

Quality Staff: It is to be ensured that the staffs of all categories including academic,

support, technical and administrative are adequate and skilled to meet the

requirements of academic standards and strategies of teaching learning.

Appropriate teaching learning methods: Teaching learning method, in fact, sets the

stage for everything in terms of learning outcomes. Efforts in this area pay great

dividends in terms of attainment of learning goals and quality of education as well.

Attainment of learning goals depends on the role and involvement of students and

teachers in the process. Teachers need to be diligent in transferring new knowledge to

the students effectively so that the goal of teaching succeeds. The teachers should use

innovative teaching techniques to make the students keen, focused and interested to

learn the subjects taught, and are able to maintain a scholarly approach for engaging

students in academic activities.

Use of Lesson plan: Use of lesson plan is a growing practice in teaching learning

internationally. It specifies the subject matter to be taught, learning objectives and

assessment of that learning for each and every class. As a result, at the beginning of a

session students become very clear regarding what will be taught, how it will be

taught, how the attainment of learning will be assessed and subjects they supposed to

learn.

Technology integration: In this age of information technology work has become

increasingly computer centric. As such, technology integration in teaching is very

critical for quality in education. Technology integration in teaching learning will

make it a lot easier and more effective to communicate ideas and complex subjects

meaningfully in class rooms. In addition, use of technology in teaching will

encourage students to access e-resources for studying, use computer for academic

preparation and IT devices for problem solving.

Focus: Teaching learning in higher education must address the higher order of

learning in educational domain, i.e., application for creation. At the tertiary level of

education heightened cognitive skills are very important.

Skill Development Mechanism: It is required to keep in mind that education is all

about to gain a set of skills. Such skills will make the graduates competent to face the

reality of life, to develop the attitude of lifelong learning and to contribute in the

socioeconomic development of the country. As such, teaching learning should not be

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

confined within the class room only. Classroom learning is not enough to develop the

desired skills. Universities must have a comprehensive skill development plan

incorporating the curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.

Student performance Assessment

Student Assessment is comprised of a set of activities to measure the attainment of

learning outcomes. Assessment is a systematic process of collecting, analyzing and

interpreting information to determine the extent to which learning objectives have

been achieved. Assessment creates a basis for judgment on the performance of

student. Thus, effective and appropriate performance assessment approach is very

important to judge the level of attainment of learning outcomes and skill

development. It needs to be confirmed that students are well informed about the

criteria, processes, techniques, tools and rubrics that will be used to assess

performance. Like teaching learning student performance assessment approach must

be focused on higher order learning.

Student Support Services

Academic guidance and counseling: Academic environment at the tertiary education is

significantly different from that of secondary and higher secondary level. It is very

critical to guide the students so that they can cope with the challenges and

opportunities of university life. Sufficient and proper academic guidance and

counseling beyond regular class-room lecture time is very effective in making the

students serious regarding studies and motivate them to explore the ever expanding

frontier of knowledge.

Co-curricular & Extra-curricular Activities: Co-curricular and extra-curricular

activities are the integral part of the skill development mechanism. University must

have some departments or centers like Department of Physical Education, Teacher

Student Cultural Centre (TSCC) and facilities to stage drama, hold debates, musical

soiree, publish journals and exhibit fine arts. In addition, at the department or

program level students association or society, like debating club, environment club,

culture club etc. should be allowed. These organizations shall be developed with

specific responsibilities or terms of reference to organize sports, entertainment

programs and cultural activities on a regular basis involving students.

Career& Placement: Quality of graduates is mostly measured by the employability and

extent of contribution to the organizations, community and national development..

All types of jobs are not necessarily suitable for all students. Career counseling and

placement arrangement may play a very critical role to get the right job opportunities

and selecting suitable career path.

Alumni Services: Well organized alumni association is very effective to get in touch

with the industry and working life. It would also help the university to develop

institutional network and university industry collaboration (UIC) for promoting

research and placement of the graduates.

Community Services: The quality assurance system needs to ensure that the university

makes a significant contribution to the community, to the society and to

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

the country. Community involvement is an effective way of understanding the social

issues and working with people. Community involvement aims to improve students’

knowledge, skills and confidence and organizational ability and resources.

Community involvement makes an important contribution towards promoting

lifelong learning, social inclusion and active citizenship.

Staff and Facilities

Recruitment: To employ competent people, university must have a transparent and

appropriate recruitment policy for both academic and non-academic staff that would

facilitate selection of the right person for the right job. Universities are required to

maintain reasonable teacher student ratio suitable for particular discipline.

Staff Development: Quality assurance recognizes the importance of training and

development. Training is very important to enhance the professional skills of the

staff and to keep them up-to-date with best practices in quality assurance. University

must have a well organized staff development policy and programs for its

implementation including setting up of a training institute.

Career Development: University must have service rules for the career development of

its staff. In addition, university must have provisions to allow and motivate faculty

members for further higher study and advanced research.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI): Well defined KPIs may act as a source of

motivation and means to ensure accountability of staff. Performance of an academic

institution or faculty members should not be confined to producing graduates only.

It is important to have specific performance and success indicators that contribute to

graduates’ skills development, teaching learning, research and extension services,

national and international recognition and contribution to socioeconomic

development.

Research and Extension

The core objective of higher education is to contribute to the sustainable development

and improvement of society as a whole. It is undeniable fact that research forms the

basis of creativity and innovation, which is regarded as critical for sustainable growth

and development. Research also makes teaching learning effective and practice

oriented. University must develop capacity with appropriate facilities and provisions

to:

undertake cutting edge research;

give due recognition and priority to research;

motivate faculty members and competent students to go for research and innovation;

explore the possibility of corporate funding for university industry research collaboration.

disseminate and transfer the research findings from laboratory to the field through

extension services;

apply for patent and commercialize the patented product; and,

establish commercial arms for doing business..

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Continuous Improvement

Universities must have set policies and institutional set up for quality assurance. Top

management of the university should have commitment for developing quality culture

which recognizes the importance of quality and quality assurance in practice. As an

explicit evidence of such commitment IQAC should develop and implement a

strategy for the continuous enhancement of quality.

Levels of Quality Assurance

Quality assurance system shall work both at the institutional and program levels.

Quality Assurance at Institutional Level

Universities are primarily responsible for quality assurance in higher education. The

quality assurance at the institutional level is required to develop a unique quality

culture within the university. Quality Assurance at institutional level recognizes

different disciplinary contexts because it involves stakeholders from different

academic disciplines.

Institutional level quality assurance requires:

Investments for capacity building in quality assurance to perform quality

management effectively;

Highly committed university management for the establishment and maintenance

of quality assurance infrastructure;

Institutionalization of quality assurance as an integral part of university

management policy.

The Outcomes of QA at Institutional Level are:

Well structured QA mechanism at the university

Budget allocation for QA on regular basis

Evidence of good practices at all levels of administration

Approval, monitoring and periodic review of programs using standard format and

process

Reports containing information on academic programs and other activities of the

university; and,

Prevalence of quality culture in the university

Quality Assurance at Program Level

University

offers study programs in various subjects. These study programs

constitute

the core of a university. For the purpose of accreditation of the programs

by the national accreditation agency and recognition of the conferred degrees by

foreign universities it is very important that QA practices are in place at the academic

unit, i.e., at the department . QA at the program level and institutional level supports

each other.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

The outcomes of QA at program level are:

Self-Assessment Reports

Modernization of the curricula

Introduction of programs in emerging subjects

Promotion of academic innovation

Course evaluation report on a regular basis

Evaluation of teaching performance on a regular basis

Ability to meet the expectations of stakeholders

Readiness to meet the quality requirements and program accreditation

Effectiveness and competitiveness of the programs

Stages of Introducing Quality Assurance

Stage I

Stage I of introducing the QA system in Higher education focuses on:

Developing the QA manual, tools and documents in consultation with the major

stakeholders;

Developing awareness, engagement and ownership of all stakeholders to the QA

process.

Outcomes:

Guidelines for Quality Assurance practices;

Sense of responsibility and sense of ownership of the stakeholders.

Stage II

Stage II is to facilitate the establishment of IQACs at the universities. Universities

shall build required capacity of the IQACs with the guidance and technical support of

the QAU to make it functional.

Outcomes

Self Assessment of academic programs with external peer

review; Quality Assurance culture;

Readiness to meet the requirements for program accreditation.

State III

Stage III will focus on developing quality assurance and national accreditation

council, gaining recognition of QA practices by external quality assurance agencies in

accordance with the international standard.

Outcomes:

Program accreditation;

Institutional accreditation;

Ability to meet the quality standard with credibility.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Figure 3: Stages to Introduce QA in Bangladesh

Recognition

Accreditation

Stage III

IQAC

Internal Quality

Program

Institution

Assurance

Level

Stage II

QAU

QA Areas & Policy Guidelines

Stage I

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Chapter 6

Procedure Design and Review

Procedures

Procedure is a set of sequentially arranged actions to be followed in solving a

problem or accomplishing a particular task. It includes policies, regulations,

processes, systems and rules that fall within the purview of a QA body such as

Student Regulations and Registration Process. A procedure becomes archaic over

time and therefore requires to be reviewed on a periodical basis. Advancement in

technology, change in personnel or even change in the way processes are understood

or executed are some of the reasons for the need for change. These may become

evident usually at an audit or when the implementation of the procedure causes

undesirable outcome and does not meet the initial objectives. The procedure should

be amended to reflect current practice. In the event there is no call for the review or

change of a procedure it shall be reviewed on a biennial basis to assess its

effectiveness.

Reviewing an existing procedure may be done internally by staff of the faculty or

department (procedure owner) or by the IQAC. A review exercise will help to re-visit

the procedure with a fresh eye for process improvement and efficiency. Existing

procedures may either be documented or undocumented but practiced. This chapter

explains how a review of both the documented and undocumented procedure may be

conducted.

Documented Procedure

Documented procedure generally comes in different formats and need to be

standardized to a uniform format. Uniformity facilitates tracking and reviewing.

Where the change or review originates from the procedure owner, IQAC shall

provide support in terms of advice and software to enable smooth completion of the

exercise. The process of converting a documented procedure to a standardized format

is listed below:

6.2.1 Identify procedure for conversion.

6.2.1.1 The procedure owner is responsible for identifying the procedure that does not

conform to the standard format.

6.2.1.2 Upon identifying the procedure, the procedure owner shall list and review the

procedures in order to make the processes more efficient and effective.

6.2.2 Verify procedure before conversion

The procedure owner shall meet and discuss with the various stakeholders as applicable

about the procedure before this is converted to the new format and through this

explore ways to improve and enhance the procedure.

The document change form shall be used to record the changes to the procedure. This

form shall be developed by IQAC.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

6.2.2.3 A document change form shall be used for each procedure that is modified. The form

shall be approved by the procedure owner and endorsed by IQAC.

6.2.3 Convert the procedure to the new format

6.2.3.1 Complete the procedure template by incorporating the stakeholders’

comments. 6.2.3.2 Decide on the date that the ‘new’ procedure shall take effect.

6.2.4 Verify procedure after conversion

6.2.4.1 Meet with the stakeholders (as applicable) to run through the procedure before

finalizing it.

6.2.4.2 Additional comments from the stakeholders during this meeting may be incorporated

into the procedure. Otherwise, the comments shall be considered when the procedure

is reviewed in the future.

6.2.5 Finalize procedure

Finalize the procedure by signing off on the cover of the procedure document. The

procedure shall be signed-off by the Head of Faculty or Department who is the

procedure owner and endorsed by IQAC.

Once finalized, the procedure owner has the responsibility to circulate the revised

procedure to the staff of the relevant faculty or department and copy to the IQAC.

Undocumented Procedure

Undocumented procedures are present in many institutions as these are often created

due to unforeseen circumstances. It is also very common to have procedures followed

by faculties, departments and individuals to resolve situations that are peculiar to

them. This section covers undocumented or non-recorded procedures.

Steps of developing such a procedure may be documented as follows:

6.3.1 List the procedure

6.3.1.1 The faculty or department shall list all the procedures that are not documented.

6.3.1.2 Often in universities, there may be common undocumented procedures across

faculties and departments. Therefore, IQAC may call a meeting with the Heads of

faculties and departments to discuss and prioritize them.

6.3.2 Document the procedure

6.3.2.1 The faculty shall document the process flow of the procedure before discussing it

with other members of the faculty.

6.3.2.2 The narration and flow chart shall be documented to facilitate discussion on the

procedure.

6.3.3 Stakeholder Input

The respective owners shall discuss with the stakeholders the proposed procedure in

order to refine the process.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

The procedure shall be amended to incorporate comments from the stakeholders.

The revised procedure shall be shared with stakeholders before finalizing it.

Finalizing the procedure

The finalized procedure shall be confirmed by the signing off on the cover of the

procedure document by the procedure owner and endorsed by IQAC.

Once finalized the procedure shall then be circulated via email to the staff of the faculty

or department and a copy to IQAC by the procedure owner.

New Procedures

The following key questions need to be answered during the formulation of a new

procedure:

What is the objective and scope of the new procedure?

Who is responsible for developing the new procedure?

How is the new procedure developed?

When should the new procedure be reviewed?

The necessary design and development activities shall be carefully considered and put

in place to ensure suitability, quality and legitimacy. At the very beginning of the

process, apart from needs analysis, it is important to understand the objectives and

scope of the new procedure. The needs analysis should also include the following

consideration:

Financial feasibility

Regulatory and resource requirements, and

Roles and responsibilities of faculties/departments (internal and external)

involved.

An internal faculty/department refers to a faculty or department in the university and

external refers to a partner in the case of collaboration between the university and

another institution of higher education.

The Design Process

The design process usually commences with a request or identification of a need. The

need for the procedure is identified by IQAC, or raised by the faculty or department

responsible (e.g. Admission Office, Examinations Office). For convenience, the body

designing the procedure shall be identified as the ‘designer’. The proposal shall be

prepared with reference to the Undocumented Procedure process. Proposal, design

and development activities shall be reviewed and approved by the Syndicate for

which a brief must be prepared by IQAC. Minutes of meetings shall be prepared,

circulated and maintained for audit purposes.

Identification of New Procedures

The designer shall identify and list the new procedures based on the needs of the

stakeholders. This can arise out of an audit exercise to meet certain needs.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

The designer shall discuss with relevant stakeholders and obtain their feedback on the

objective of the new procedure and identify its scope and structure.

Formulation of Procedures

The involvement of IQAC during the formulation process should be clearly written.

The policy designer shall then formulate the procedure and further discuss this with the

stakeholders.

The completed procedure shall be circulated to relevant stakeholders for final feedback.

Recommendations and feedback are need to be considered and incorporated into the new

procedure as necessary.

If the department or policy owner develops the policy, IQAC plays a crucial supporting

role by providing input and assistance as required.

Review and Approval

A Syndicate Brief shall be prepared by IQAC and tabled at the Syndicate meeting for

approval and endorsement. The brief shall propose the effective date for

implementation. The brief is a good way to chart the development process and

becomes the starting point of reference in the review of procedure in future.

The Syndicate shall review the proposal for the new procedure. If there are changes to be

made, the proposal shall be returned to the faculty/department concerned through the

IQAC for amendment. The revised proposal need to be re-tabled to the Syndicate.

All proposals by the Syndicate shall be filed into the Proposal File, with the decision of

the Syndicate recorded.

All other deliberative committees will be notified of the new policies.

The procedure shall be effective from the date stipulated as approved by the Syndicate.

6.5.4 Implementation

6.5.4.1 Upon approval by the Syndicate, the procedure owner shall make the necessary

arrangements to implement the new practice.

6.5.4.2 The procedure owner shall convey the information via committee meetings and/or

through email to the relevant departments.

6.5.5 Monitoring

The procedure owner shall review the procedures one (1) year post implementation.

The monitoring of procedure shall be done following the activities such as internal audits

and satisfaction surveys.

If the procedure does not meet stakeholders’ needs, the procedure owner shall review it

accordingly.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Chapter 7

Evaluation and Assessment

Quality assurance refers to the assessment and evaluation of ongoing processes, it

monitors whether the system is properly working or not, and keeps the system on

right track. Evaluation and assessment forms the basis of decisions to guide the

quality assurance mechanism towards the achievement of objectives and mission. The

components of evaluation and assessment for quality assurance system are:

Internal QA System involving self-assessment, internal audit etc.

External QA System involves external peer review and accreditation by

internationally recognized QA agencies and accrediting bodies.

Meta evaluation by the government through QAU, UGC.

Internal Assessment

Excellence in education demands continuous efforts to identify the better ways to deal

with the matters relating to education. Higher education institutions move towards

further improvement and excellence by identifying lapses in the system and adopting

appropriate remedies through internal assessment. Internal assessment generally takes

the form of self-assessment of programs and the institution .

Self-Assessment

Self-Assessment does not mean that evidences of quality education are not available.

Self-Assessment provides direction to improve further. Self-Assessment examines the

state of practices and quality using a well structured survey framework. Self-

Assessment serves as a preparation for external peer review and validation for

approval and accreditation. It explores the following issues(IUCEA, 2010):

What the university does to provide education ?

Does the university does the right things to provide education ?

Is the university doing the right things in the right ways ?

Has the university clearly defined goals to achieve ?

Does the process guiding the university to achieve the goals ?

In order to address the above issues the most useful tool is self-assessment. Quality

assurance suggests self- assessment for both at program and institution levels. The

processes of conducting self-assessment (SA) is outlined in the SA Manual.

Program level self-assessment: University is basically made of the core activities of

teaching learning and research. Quality of education in a university generally refers

the quality of teaching learning and research. All these academic activities are taking

place at the program level. Thus, self-assessment of the program is very critical for

improving the quality of teaching learning and research.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Institutional self-assessment: Institutional self-assessment provides feedback

regarding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats relevant to quality

assurance within the university. Quality assurance framework within the university

involves all the administrative wings of university. It covers from governance to

implementation of policies and procedures.

Principles of Self-Assessment

For the purpose for effective management of SA process and gainful use of the

findings following principles are required to take into account:

Self-Assessment is not to prove anything but to improve;

Self-Assessment is a collaborative effort by all members of the entity;

Self-Assessment process is required to involve all stakeholders of the programs and

university under assessment;

All the findings of the SA exercise should be based on facts and information;

In order to create sense of responsibility and ownership sensitization of the SA findings is

important;

For the purpose of effective implementation of the improvement plan the SA exercise

need to be accepted by the academics, officials, students, and authority being

assessed.

Aspects of Self-Assessment

Developing QA culture is a continuous process and requires special attention to QA

areas. The QA areas as described in the section 5.1 of this OM may be followed for

the purpose of gathering information to make the SA informative and meaningful.

External Peer Review and Validation of Self-Assessment

There shall be a three member external peer review team with at least one as subject

expert (for program review) and at least one recognized QA expert. It is expected that

the peer review panel members will visit the concerned university. It will be a three-

day visit under a well structured schedule. The entity undertaking self-assessment will

make the arrangement for peer review process in consultation with the IQAC and

follow the guidance of QAU. External peer review will be based on the SA Report

prepared by concerned program offering entity and other documents made available

during the external peer review. Subsequently the review panel will prepare and

submit the peer review and validation report collectively to the Head of the program

offering entity (in case of program assessment) and to Director IQAC. Director IQAC

will place the reports in the QAC meeting and forward one copy of the report to the

QAU. Key features of the peer review process include:

critical analysis of the Self-Assessment Report (SAR);

peer observation of the key aspects of the self-assessment exercise;

gathering information on activities relating to quality assurance in higher education

through discussions with major stakeholders, i.e. students, faculty, alumni, employers,

university administration and senior management of the university;

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the program offering entity or the university;

identifying the areas that need further improvement for quality enhancement of higher

education; and,

providing guidelines for effective quality assurance in education.

Internal Audit

In addition to the self-assessment quality assurance uses internal audit as the tool for

monitoring the implementation of policies and evaluate the performance of the

faculties and departments. Quality assurance audits are performed in order to ensure

that the systems are in place and are being followed properly. The IQAC shall

conduct internal audit on a regular basis to ensure that the activities of the faculties

and departments comply with the quality assurance framework and standards. During

the audit the IQAC will collect all relevant information pertaining to the various

activities of the concerned department or faculty, analyze the information collected

for producing a comprehensive report. The faculty or department shall take the

necessary steps to act upon the points raised in the report for the effective

management of quality assurance at the faculty or department.

There are many types of QA audits and it is important to select the type that fits best the

identified needs and objectives. Audits are thematic, holistic or maintenance. A

thematic audit covers any of the following aspects:

Compliance audit shall be performed by IQAC to confirm if the faculty or

department is meeting the legal and regulatory requirements with the sole purpose

of ensuring effectiveness of the corrective action, if any.

System audit is an audit performed on any of the systems within the university.

Non-conformity in system is critical because of the direct consequence to the

output.

Program audit will inevitably audit the processes utilised in the delivery of the

program to meet the standard.

A holistic audit combines all three aspects of thematic audit while a maintenance audit is

a follow-up (post-audit) audit. Once an audit cycle is completed, IQAC shall carry out

follow-up audits to ensure maintenance of the minimum standards and continuous

quality improvement. The IQAC shall always be prepared to conduct impromptu

audits as required by the Syndicate or QAC arising from circumstances that deem

such audits necessary.

Stages in Audit

Conducting an audit usually comprises three stages, namely, pre-audit planning,

conducting the audit and post-audit. These stages are described below:

Pre-Audit Planning

Planning for an audit is crucial to ensure that it is effectively carried out. IQAC’s plan

for an audit will include:

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQAC shall prepare proposal for an audit/review of a specific faculty/department

to be submitted to the QA Committee for its approval. This proposal shall indicate,

among others, the following:

The type, purpose and scope of audit;

Timeline for the audit exercise from pre‐audit planning to the submission of the final

report;

Members of the audit panel and terms of reference.

obtaining the necessary approval from the QA Committee

Once the QA Committee has approved the Audit Panel, the IQAC shall take the

following action:

Issue appointment letters to members of the audit panel with the terms of

reference;

Conduct an audit briefing for panel members.

notifying the faculty or department to be audited:

IQAC shall inform the faculty/department/entity to be audited to take the necessary

actions to make all required documents available for the audit as well as make other

arrangements as required.

The concerned faculty/department /entity shall appoint a person to liaise so that

all matters pertaining to the audit can be channeled through the liaison official.

The faculty/department/program offering entity shall update all documents such

as course files using prescribed guidelines.(see the Annex 8).

Collect all relevant documents – student files and records, assignments, practical

note books, question papers, sample answer scripts and such other documents

related to the audit or as applicable.

Arrange for interviews with selected staff and students.

Arrange classroom teaching observation by the panel using a standard

observation schedule.(A sample of which is given in Annex 16)

ensuring that all documentation is received by the audit team;

determining the timeline for the exercise which will depend on the type of audit

to be carried out.

Conducting the Audit

Members of the audit panel shall visit the concerned faculty/entity to conduct the

audit exercise according to the schedule. The audit at site enables panel members to

locate and review evidences. The audit at site will be an opportunity for the panel

members to view additional evidence that was not available earlier.

a) During the on-site audit, the panel shall attend a meeting before the review of

documents commences and the exit meeting when the panel presents its draft

report to the faculty at the end of the audit visit. The exit report represents the

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

findings made by the panel members and will constitute the basis of the final

report.

The tasks to be carried out during the on-site audit are as stated below.

Review documents submitted as well as additional evidences;

Visit to facilities – learning space, classrooms, laboratories and other

specialized facilities, and library as applicable for the purpose of the audit;

Conduct interviews of selected staff and students as required for the purpose

of the audit;

Observe activities as required for the purpose of the audit;

Prepare preliminary audit report to be presented at the exit meeting.

Post-Audit

Following the audit, panel members are required to prepare the final report. This

report will be submitted to the IQAC.

Members of the panel meet to finalize the report;

Discuss audit outcomes for inclusion in the report and preparing the draft report

for the exit meeting;

Finalize the report;

Submission of the final report.

Reporting

Reporting is an integral part of the QA mechanism and is designed to help the

university to manage and achieve the objectives in a controlled manner. Reporting

helps to identify areas of weakness, potential problems and developing strategic plan

to resolve those problems.

Characteristics of a Good Report

The report must be able to meet the needs and information requirements of the

stakeholders. This is largely due to the fact that stakeholders are users of the

report and information contained within the report will be utilized for other

activities such as strategic planning and resources allocation.

The report should clearly identify the purpose and scope.

A report should contain sound arguments, be readable and formatted in such a

way as to help readers to understand the contents with ease (e.g. meaningful

headings/titles, written in clear and concise language with keyword index and

glossary and in a neutral tone).

The report must be a summary of the activities and the conclusions derived

thereof. It is important that the report be accurate, clear and persuasive, and

supported by facts and evidences.

It should contain commendations, affirmations and recommendations for

improvement. Recommendations should be practical in nature limited to the more

important issues so as to focus on priority.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Reports should be balanced and constructive, conveying all the findings positive

or otherwise and be encouraging to support continuous improvement.

The report should be focused and provide only reliable, relevant and

complementary information to support the recommendations made.

Types of Reports

There are two types of QA reports, internal and external. An internal report is

prepared after a self-assessment and internal audit have been done. Annual report

prepared by the IQAC and concerned entities are also internal report. External report

is the outcome of an assessment done by external QA agencies.

Self-Assessment Report

The Self-Assessment reports are very critical to the QA system. IQAC will

prepare the institutional self-assessment report and program offering entities will

prepare their own self-assessment reports.

It is a self-reflective and critical evaluation of current state of QA practices;

The self-assessment report should provide comprehensive information on the

QA areas;

Standard Self-Assessment report should motivate the internal QA by

identifying its weaknesses and strengths;

internal SA report is to be prepared for external assessment and informing the

external evaluators about internal QA System;

Self-Assessment report will be used as the core document for the purpose of

external peer review.

Institutional Quality Assurance Report (IQAR)

This report is to be prepared by the IQAC to ensure that annual monitoring has

been carried out. The report reviews the quality of teaching, learning, research,

governance, management and other QA related activities. The IQAC shall submit

the report to the Syndicate/Regent Board with the approval of QAC.

(A sample template is provided in annex13).

Audit Report

This report shall be named according to the type of audit that was carried out.

The IQAC shall be responsible for the audit report. It shall employ a panel of

three to five auditors selected from the senior faculty of the university with at

least one qualified QA expert external to the university.

External QA Review and Accreditation

External QA assessment is an opportunity for the university to improve the QA

process and academic standards further comparing the same with national and

international practices. External QA agencies will carry out the external assessment

with the formal invitation of the IQAC. External assessment will help to:

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

identify the strengths and weaknesses in QA practices;

develop the working plan to improve the QA practices and hence quality of education

basing on the findings and recommendations of the external assessment;

safeguard the standards of awards and the quality of delivery of academics;

share good practices in the provision of education;

external assessment and accreditation would enhance confidence and image of the

university; and,

external assessment creates a sound basis of accreditation and recognition.

Meta Evaluation By QAU/UGC

The University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh was established by the

government with the primary objectives to supervise, maintain, promote and

coordinate university education. UGC is also responsible for maintaining standard

and quality in all the public and private universities in Bangladesh. Thus, UGC

through QAU has to perform the role of meta evaluator for assessing the QA systems

of universities in Bangladesh. The objectives of such evaluation are to make sure that

internal quality assurance systems are in place and working effectively in response to

the public concerns in higher education. It is highly expected that such evaluation

would make the universities more capable and accountable in providing higher

education with internationally accepted quality standard. Meta evaluation will be

mostly based on the annual report, institutional quality assurance report (IQAR) of

the IQAC and external assessment report

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Chapter 8

Training and Skills Enhancement

IQAC recognizes the importance of training and skills enhancement exercise as a means to

maintain and improve professionalism. Training for different categories of staff will enable

them to carry out specific tasks more efficiently than before. This in turn will instill

confidence within IQAC and empower it to perform the work more entrusted to it

proficiently. This will further augment the effectiveness and credibility of the exercises and

activities undertaken by the IQAC.

Proposal for Training

The training proposal should be prepared and approved by the Vice Chancellor,

which will be reported to the Syndicate. In preparing the training proposal the

following points need to be taken into consideration:

Determine areas of training to address institutional concerns such as overall staff

development, capacity building in specific areas and to keep abreast of current

developments;

Prepare the training modules and other communication materials;

Spell out the rationale and expected outcome of the training;

Prepare the training program and schedule – internally organized or externally sourced;

Prepare the budget for the training;

Identify the trainer(s) and resource persons;

Make arrangement of the logistics for organizing the training.

Internal Training

IQAC can organize in-house training with the availability of qualified trainers. With

the approval of Vice Chancellor IQAC can proceed to make the necessary

arrangements to carry out the training as follows:

Announcement of the training to be organized specifying:

Title of training, its objectives and expected outcomes, and content of

training; Particulars of trainer(s) including area(s) of expertise;

Preparation of budget for the training program.

Preparation and dispatch of appointment letter(s) to trainer(s);

Extend invitation letters to staff to participate in the training;

Preparation for training materials – program, venue, contents, handouts, power point

presentation etc.;

Preparing report on training based on evaluation by participants.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

External Training

IQAC recognizes the need for external training. Besides, academic staff(s) can submit

request to IQAC for attending external training. IQAC shall prepare a proposal for

training of (staffs) provided by an external organization and submit it for approval of

the Vice Chancellor. The proposal should contain justification and budget for the

external training.

After the training an evaluation report explaining learning outcomes and

experiences of the training need to be prepared and submitted to QAC.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Chapter 9

Management of Conflicts and Confidentiality

Significance

Confidentiality and effective management of conflict of interest are two important

pillars in quality assurance and quality culture. All officers of the IQAC and members

of the QAC are naturally academics and administrative staff members of the

university. As such, it is inevitable that breach of confidence and situations of conflict

may arise. This may happen due to the implications of a decision, reporting or

recommendation made by the IQAC on a faculty, department or program. Any such

incident may have negative impact on the confidence of stakeholders, perception of

people, student enrolment, funding for the university and staff morale. The

stakeholders of the university have rights to expect that all personnel in the IQAC will

perform their duties in a fair, unbiased and confidential manner. The decisions,

recommendations, report they make are not influenced by self-interest, private

affiliations, or the likelihood of personal gain or loss. Thus, effective management of

confidentiality and conflict of interests is of particular importance to quality

assurance system of the university.

(A sample of conflicts of interest and confidentiality declaration form is in annex 14)

Management of Conflicts

This refers to a situation where the personal interests of the officer, whether pecuniary

or otherwise, conflicts with that of the organization or the faculty that is being

audited. The primary goal of the system to manage conflicts of interest is to ensure

that assigned functions are performed on proper grounds for the interest of quality

assurance and universitywithout bias.The IQAC shall develop and implement a

conflict of interest policy to identify, manage and monitor any conflict of interest. A

clear policy on conflict of interest promotes an organizational climate where conflicts

of interest are properly identified and resolved or managed timely with clarity,

transparency and accountability. Following points may be useful in this regard:

The policy shall be practical, sensible and produced based on the understanding that

conflicts of interests do occur in the normal course of QA work;

Iidentifying and disclosing conflicts is an integral part of duty of the concerned staff.

IQAC officers and persons linked to it must have a clear understanding of what

constitutes a conflict of interest in order to manage such conflicts effectively;

Thecoverage of the policy should be sufficient enough to govern management of conflicts

of interest;

It shall foster confidence and collegiality among the members of the university.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

A Sample of a Conflict of Interest Policy

Officers of IQAC, members of the QA Committee and auditors are committed to identifying and

avoiding situations and activities that constitute a Conflict of Interest in the execution of their duties

for the University. Furthermore, activities, situations, and relationships that might create the

perception of or potential for a Conflict of Interest shall be identified and managed appropriately.

The University believes that clear guidelines and principles for reporting and managing actual,

potential, and perceived Conflicts of Interest will assist staff and students in maintaining the highest

level of integrity in their endeavors.

An actual Conflict of Interest arises in a situation where financial or other personal considerations

compromise an individual’s objectivity, professional judgment, professional integrity, and/or ability

to perform his or her responsibilities to the University. In addition to situations that clearly give rise

to an actual Conflict of Interest, individuals are cautioned also to consider gray areas that might

create the perception of or the potential for a Conflict of Interest.

Adapted from the Policy Summary University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA

Source: http://conflictpolicy.nd.edu/policy-procedure/

Management of Confidentiality

Confidentiality in quality assurance is linked to preparation and publication of reports

and information and the rules relating to access or restriction of information. Officials

of IQAC and members of the QAC will receive information in the form of

documents, progress and annual reports and findings of audits. All such documents

and information must be used only for the purpose of quality assurance and be

disseminated only to persons who are authorised to receive the information as per the

provisions of the university or specified in the IQAC OM. All information shall be

kept confidential and no analytical results shall be released to any third party without

prior consent of the parties concerned. Such provisions relating to confidentiality

extends also to members of audit teams.

Example: Confidentiality in Practice

The global excitement for ranking and rating of universities and programs and the human nature of

comparing performances, faculties would like to know how they performed in relation to each other.

It is very common to receive requests for information on how other faculties or departments

performed. This can range from the very pedantic requests on the percentage of survey participation

to the more complex ones such as the findings of an audit exercise. At no time should the IQAC or

the members of the QA Committee divulge individual information to others than the faculty

concerned. Any sharing of information of one faculty or department with another will be breach of

confidentiality.

Therefore, at the release of quantifiable results it is good to provide the mean (average) score for the

university. The mean score shall provide a measure for comparing the faculty’s or department’s

‘achievement’ with the whole of the university. The faculty or department shall be able to rate its

performance by knowing whether it is above or below the average.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

References

Inter-University Council for East Africa, (2010); Hand Book for Quality Assurance in Higher

Education, Vol – 3, P.8

UNICEF(2000); Defining Quality in Education, (A paper presented by UNICEF at the meeting of

The International Working Group on Education Florence, Italy), Programme Division

Education, NY, P.4

Woodhouse, D., (Woodhouse,1999), Quality and Internationalisation in Higher Education,

Programme on Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE), Organisation for

Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), Paris, pp. 29–44.

Peiris, Colin N. (2006). Need for Quality Assurance and Accreditation Seminar on “Knowledge for

Development: Assessing the Capacity, Quality and Relevance of Universities in Asia”

Colombo, P.8

Quality Assurance and Accreditation Council of Sri Lanka, (QAAC, 2003), Internal Quality

Assurance Manual for Sri Lankan Universities, Colombo, P.2

Documents Consulted

In preparing this IQAC Operation Manual a number of books, reports, articles and QA

manual have been consulted. Contribution of those QA related documents in preparing this

manual, QA tools and templates is highly acknowledged. Concepts and ideas borrowed

from the documents mentioned helped to make the IQAC OM in accordance with the

internationally accepted QA practices.

European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education. (2009). Standards and

Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area, 3

ed.,

Helsinki, at http://www.enqa.eu/pubs.lasso.

European Student Handbook on Quality Assurance in Higher Education, The quality

assurance and accreditation Handbook for Higher Education.

Global Trends in Quality Assurance, David Woodhouse, Quality Approaches in Higher

Education (ISSN 2161-265X), ASQ

Higher Education Funding Council, UK

HELP University. (2011). Academic Quality Assurance Manual. Kuala Lumpur: HELP

University.

INQAAHE, Guidelines of Good Practice in Quality Assurance, 2007

International Institute for Educational Planning, Accreditation and Global Higher

Education Market, web site: www.unesco.org.iiep

International Standard Organisation, (2000). Quality Management Systems:

Requirements. Geneva: ISO. atwww.iso.ch.

Internal Quality Assurance Manual for Sri Lankan Universities, February, 2003.

International Association of University Presidents , (IAUP, 1965); London

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Malaysian Qualifications Agency (2009). Code of Practice for Institutional Audit.

athttp://www.mqa.gov.my.

Malaysian Qualifications Agency. (2009). Code of Practice for Programme

Accreditation. athttp://www.mqa.gov.my.

National Assessment and Accreditation Council, An Autonomous Institution of the

University Grants Commission, Nagarbhavi, Bangalore - 560 072

Quality Assurance System for Higher Education in Namibia, 2009

Raouf, Abdul (2006), Self Assessment Manual, Higher Education Commission, Pakistan

The Quality Assurance and Accreditation Handbook for Higher Education in Egypt,

NQAAC,2004

Defining Quality in Education, A paper presented by UNICEF at the meeting ofThe

International Working Group on Education Florence, Italy, June , 2000

Quality Assurance Manual for Higher Education in Pakistan, Higher Education

Commission, Islamabad.

Zia Batool and RiazHussain Qureshi, (Zia and Qureshi), Quality Assurance Manual for

Higher Education in Pakistan, Higher Education Commission, Islamabad P.27

Zia Batool and RiazHussain Qureshi, (Zia and Qureshi), Quality Assurance Manual for

Higher Education in Pakistan, Higher Education Commission, Islamabad P.4.1

Useful Links

In carrying out its responsibilities, the IQAC may refer to the following documents and/or

links for further information and samples:

Makerere University.(2007). Quality Assurance Policy Framework. Kampala: at

www.policies.mak.ac.ug/

Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance; Quality Assurance Framework (2012);

http://www.oucqa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Quality-Assurance-Framework-and-

Guide-Updated-January-2014.pdf

Quality Assurance Netherlands Universities (QANU). (2011). Guideline for writing a self-

assessment report for a limited programme assessment.Utrecht: at www.qanu.nl.

Royal Audit Authority (u.d.). Handbook on Quality Assurance. Bhutan:

www.bhutanaudit.gov.bt/publications

The National Quality Assurance and Accreditation Committee (NQAAC) . (2004) The

Quality Assurance and Accreditation Handbook For Higher Education in Egypt. Arab

Republic of Egypt (ARE), Ministry of Higher Education (MHOE), Projects Management

Unit (PMU) and Quality Assurance and Accreditation Project (QAAP).

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA).(2013). Code of Practice for

Members of the QAA Board. Gloucester: at www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

The University of Nottingham.(1995). Quality Manual. Nottingham: at

www.nottingham.ac.uk/academic services/index.aspx.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

(SACSCOC).(u.d.).Guidelines for Writing Comments for Committee Reports. Georgia: at

www.sacscoc.org/

UNESCO (u.d.).External Quality Assurance: Options for Higher Education Managers. Paris:

at www.iiep.unesco.org.

University of Glasgow; http://www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_127773_en.pdf

New England Association of Schools & Colleges: Commission on Institutions of Higher

Education (CIHE) http://cihe.neasc.org/institutional-reports-resources/reporting-

guidelines/comprehensive-evaluation

New England Association of Schools & Colleges: Commission on Institutions of Higher

Education(CIHE)https://cihe.neasc.org/sites/cihe.neasc.org/files /downloads/Standards/

Standards_for_Accreditation.pdf

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Annexes

A few templates, guidelines and concept notes included are developed in accordance with

the international QA practices. The concept note, guidelines and templates would be very

useful to the universities for the purpose of internationally compatible and acceptable

quality assurance practices. Need to mention that these are just samples. Universities and

program offering entities may customize these templates depending on the requirements

and context.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 1

NEW PROGRAM PROPOSAL FORM

(Name of the University)

NEW PROGRAM PROPOSAL

Name of the Proposed Program:

Program offering entity:

Faculty/Institute/Center:

Program duration:………… years; ……….. semesters

Date of Approval by the Academic Committee

Proposed commencement date:

Projected student numbers:

Year

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Projected student numbers

Program Details

Program aims

Program learning outcomes

Rationale for the program:

Curriculum Design Committee:

Curriculum Design Process:

Program structure:

Program components and credit distribution

Classification of Courses

No. of Courses

Credit

Percentage

Compulsory Courses

Core/Major/Concentration

Courses

Project/Research Paper/Thesis

Elective Courses

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Minor Courses

Practical

Internship/Industrial attachment

Oral Examination/Viva-Voce

Others (specify)……………………

Total Credit

100%

List of courses

Course

Year/Sem

Title of the Courses

Classification

Credit

Code

ester

(Weight)

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Fitness of the purposes

Demand- Supply (Industry and economic trends):

Target Market (market, entry qualifications, competitor analysis, competitive advantage

if applicable):

National relevance (Relevance with the objective of National Education policy,

socioeconomic conditions of the country etc. ):

Facilities and Resources

Availability of staff

Academic

Yes/No

Administrative/Support

Yes/No

If No, kindly indicate plans and estimated additional costs:

Space

Additional Estimated Costs

Staff offices

Classroom

Special rooms – laboratories etc

Others (specify)

(If not available, kindly indicate plans and estimated additional costs)

Text / Reference Books:

State existing collection and sources of reading materials in the relevant areas for

the proposed program):

Anticipated costs for:

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Additional books

New journals/database subscription

Audio visual materials

Others (specify) ….

IT resources

State anticipated additional IT and multimedia requirements with estimated costs for

the delivery of the proposed program:

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

E. Endorsement by the Program Offering Entity:

The Committee of Courses and Studies/ Curriculum Committee confirms the following:

The Academic Committee confirms the following:

Head/Chairman of the Program Offering Entity …………………………

Date: ……….………….

F. Endorsement by Faculty

The Faculty confirms the following:

Dean …………………………………..

Date: ……….………….

G. Endorsement by IQAC

The IQAC confirms the following:

Director …………………………………..

Date: ……….………….

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 2

DOCUMENT CHANGE FORM

Originator

Date :

Procedure No.

Procedure Title

Issue No.

Nature of Change

Reason(s) for Change :

COMMENTS/APPROVAL

1) Head of the Department

2) IQAC

Approved/Not Approved

Endorsed by

Signature : ……………………………………

Signature : …………………………

Date :

3) QAU

Endorsed by

Signature : ………………………………………

Date :

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 3

COURSE SPECIFICATIONS FORM

University …………………………………

Faculty ……………………………………

Course specifications

Name of the Program (s) ………………………………………

Major or minor/optional ………………………………………

Entity offering the program …………………………………….

Department offering the course …………………………………

Academic year/Level ……………………………………………

A- Basic Information

Title of the Course: Code:

Credit: Number of Lectures:

Number of Tutorial: Number of Practical: Total:

B- Professional Information

Overall aims of course

…………………………………….

Intended learning outcomes of the course (ILOs)

Knowledge

……………………………..

……………………………...

………………………………

Skills

……………………………..

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Attitude

……………………………..

iii.…………………………….

Contents :

Topic

No. of hours

Lecture

Tutorial/Practical

Teaching and learning methods

a. ………………………

b. ………………………

c. ………………………

d. ………………………

Student assessment methods

Formative

Summative

Assessment schedule

Assessment 1 …………………. Week …………………………..

Assessment 2 …………………. Week …………………………..

Assessment 3 …………………. Week …………………………..

Assessment 4 …………………. Week …………………………..

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Weighting of assessments

Continuous assessment

Mid-term examination

Final term examination

Oral examination

Practical examination

Semester work

Other types of examination

Total

100%

6. List of References

Course notes …………………………………………………..

Essential books(text books)…………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………

Recommended Reference books…………………………….

Periodicals, Websites,….etc……………………………………

…………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………...

7. Facilities required for teaching and learning…………………..

………………………………………………………………...........

Course Coordinator/Teacher:

Head of Department

Date: /

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 4

STUDENT COURSE EVALUATION FORM

(To be filled by each Student at the time of Course Completion)

Department _______________________ Course No: ___________________________

Course Title _______________________Teacher Name: ________________________

Year of Study _____________________ Semester/Term: _______________________

Please give us your views so that Course quality can be improved.

You are encouraged to be frank and constructive in your comments

Evaluate the following aspects of the courseby marking “√” in the box of corresponding

column according to the scale given:

5–Strongly agree; 4–Agree; 3–Neutral; 2–Disagree; 1–Strongly disagree;

CORE QUESTIONS

I Course Content and Organization

1 The course objectives were clear

2. The Course workload was manageable

3. The Course was well organized (e.g. access to materials, notification of

changes, etc.)

Additional Comments:

II. Student Contribution

4. Approximate level of your own attendance during the whole Course

5. Participated actively in the Course

6. Progress in this Course

Additional Comments:

III. Learning Environment and Teaching Methods

7. Course was well structured to achieve the learning outcomes (there was a

good balance of lectures, tutorials, practical etc.)

8. The learning and teaching methods encouraged participation.

9. The overall environment in the class was conducive to learning.

10. Classrooms were satisfactory

Additional Comments:

IV. Learning Resources

11. Learning materials (Lesson Plans, Course Notes etc.) were relevant and

useful.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

12. Recommended readings, books etc. were relevant and appropriate

13. The provision of learning resources in the library was adequate and

appropriate

14. The provision of learning resources on the Web was adequate and

appropriate (if relevant)

Additional Comments:

V. Quality of Delivery

15. The Course stimulated my interest and thought on the subject area

16. The pace of the Course was appropriate

17. Ideas and concepts were presented clearly

Additional Comments

VI. Assessment

18. The method of assessment were reasonable

19. Feedback on assessment was timely

20. Feedback on assessment was

helpful Additional Comments

ADDITIONAL CORE QUESTIONS

VII. Tutorial

21. The material in the tutorials was useful

22. Amount of work needed for tutorials was affordable

23. The tutor dealt effectively with my problems

VIII. Practical

24. The material in the practical was useful

25. The demonstrators dealt effectively with my problems.

OVERALL EVALUATION

The best features of the Course were:

The Course could have been improved by:

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 5

TEMPLATE FOR ANNUAL COURSE REPORTS

University ……………………..Faculty ……………………Department………………

I. Basic Information

Code and Title:

Name of the Program(s):

Year /Level/Semester of programs:

Units/ Credit hours:

Lectures

Tutorial

Practical

Total

5. Names of course instructor contributing to the delivery of the course

…………………………..

Course coordinator (if any) …………………………..

External evaluator ……………………………

II. Statistical Information

No. of students attending the course: No. %

No. of students completing the course: No. %

Results:

Passed: No.% Failed: No. %

Achievement of Students:

Letter Grade

No. of Students

A+

A--

B+

B--

C+

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

III. Professional Information

Course teaching

Topics actually taught

No. of hours

Course Instructor

Topics taught as a percentage of the content specified:

.>90%

70-90%

,70%

Reasons in detail for not teaching any topic

……………………………………….

If any topics were taught which are not specified, give reasons in detail

……………………………………….

2. Teaching and learning methods:

Lectures:

Practical training/laboratory:

Seminar /Workshop:

Class activity:

Case Study:

Other assignment/homework:

If teaching and learning methods were used other than those specified, list, and give reasons:

…………………………………………………...................................................…………..

………………………………………………………...................................................……..

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

3. Student assessment:

Method of assessment

Percentage of Total

Written examination

Oral examination

Practical /laboratory work

Other assignments/class work(Specify)

Total 100%

Involvement of external evaluator

………………………………………………

Facilities and teaching materials:

Totally adequate

Adequate to some extent

Inadequate

List any inadequacies

………………………………………………

Administrative constraints

List any difficulties encountered

………………………………………………

Student evaluation of the course:

List any criticisms

………………………………………………

Comments from external evaluator(s):

………………………………………………

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8. Course enhancement:

Progress on actions identified in the previous year's action plan:

(State whether or not completed and give reasons for any non-completion)

………………………………………………

9. Action plan for academic year 20XX – 20YY

Actions required

Completion date

Person responsible

…………………….

Course coordinator/Teacher:

Signature:

Date: / /

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 6

FACULTY COURSE REVIEW REPORT

(To be filled by each teacher at the time of Course Completion)

For completion by the course instructor and transmission to Head of the Department with

copies of the Course outline

Department:

Faculty:

Course Code:

Title

Session:

Semester/Term

Credit Value:

Level

Name of

No. of students

Lectures

Other (Please

Course

contact hour

State)

Instructor:

Seminars

Assessment Methods: give precise

details

(no

length

assignments,

exams,

weightings

etc)

Distribution of Grade/Marks and other Outcomes: (Use the prescribed grading system

of the university)

Post graduate/Undergraduate

Number of Enrolled Students:

Scale

Letter Grade

Number of students

80% and above

A+

75% to less than 80%

70% to less than 75%

A-

65% to less than 70%

B+

60% to less than 65%

55% to less than 60%

B-

50% to less than 55%

C+

45% to less than 50%

40% to less than 45%

Less than 40%

Incomplete

Withdrawal

Total

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Overview/Evaluation (Course Coordinator’s Comments)

Feedback: first summarize, and then comment on feedback received from:(These boxes will

expand as you type in your answer.)

Student (Course Evaluation) Questionnaires:

External Examiners or Moderators (if any):

Curriculum: Comment on the continuing appropriateness of the Course curriculum in

relation to the intended learning outcomes and its compliance with the National

Qualification Framework

Assessment: Comment on the continuing effectiveness of method(s) of assessment in relation

to the intended learning outcomes (Course objectives)

Enhancement: Comment on the implementation of changes proposed in earlier Faculty

Course Review Reports

Outline any changes in the future delivery or structure of the Course that this semester/term’s

experience may prompt

Name: _________________________________ Date_______________

(Course Instructor (S))

Name: _________________________________ Date _______________

(Head of the department)

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 7

GUIDELINES FOR WRITING COURSE REPORTS

General rules

The University should have a file for each program containing the specification of its

courses. Three copies should be available, one with the academic /course coordinator,

second one with the head of the degree offering entity and the third one with the

director IQAC

The University should provide the necessary supports to ascertain periodic reviewing and

updating of the curricula.

The University should have clear academic standards and benchmarks for each education

program.

At the end of the semester/term/year, each and every course instructor should submit a

course report to the head of the degree offering entity.

I. Basic Information

Degree offering entity: Write the name of the degree offering entity.

Program: Write the title of the program(s) to which the course contributes

Course title and code: Write the title and the code (the letter(s) and the number that

identifies the course in the faculty by - law). If there is no code, leave the space blank.

Year / Level: Write the year and/or level of the students attending the course

No. of hours/ units: Referring to the ordinance / by-laws, write the number of weekly

contact hours of the course.

Teaching staff: Write the name(s) of course instructor(s) teaching the course.

II. Statistical Information

No. of students starting the course: Write the number of students starting the course at

the beginning of the semester / term / year.

No. of students at the end of the course: Write the number of students retained in the

course at the end of the semester / term / year.

Results of students’ assessment: Write the number and percentage of pass students as

well as fail students.

Distribution of passed students according to: Fill in the allocated space, the number, as

well as the percentage of students for each grade.

III. Professional Information

Course topics taught: In the first column of the table, write the topics actually covered

in the semester/year. In the second column of the table, write the actual hours spent in

covering each topic. In the third column, write the name of the course instructor

covering each topic.

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Write in the space provided the percentage of the specified topics actually covered.

State the reasons for the failure to cover any of the specified topics. If topics, not

included in the course specification, were taught, justify this action.

Teaching and learning methods:

Tick in the appropriate rectangle, the method used. Write any

comments. Lectures…………………………………….

Practical training / lab……………………..

Discussion sessions………………………

Class activities …………………………….

Case studies ………………………………

Other assignments…………………………

Student assessment:

Methods of assessment

Tick in the appropriate place the method(s) used.

State the rules applied for the selection of the examination committee.

State the names of the members of the examination committee.

State the involvement of the external evaluator in :

The match between the examination and the topics taught.

The existence of grading criteria in examination sheets.

The allocation and distribution of marks and weighting.

Effectiveness of the overall assessments in measuring the achievement of the

intended learning outcomes (ILOs).

Facilities and teaching materials:

Tick the boxes provided to indicate whether or not the facilities for learning and teaching

material s are adequate. If there are any inadequacies, identify them, together with any

problems in the delivery of the course or achieving the ILOs, which resulted.

Administration constraints:

State any administrative constraints related to teaching and learning (lack of some facilities

or funds, teaching aids, site visits, qualified personnel for laboratory and administration).

Also mention any management problems or regulations, which impeded the delivery of the

course and the achievement of the ILOs.

Results of course evaluation by students:

State the main points resulting from the analysis of students’ evaluation of the course, and the

response to any criticisms by the faculty members delivering the course, together with their

proposals for dealing with those issues.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

External evaluator’ comments:

State the issues raised by the external evaluator and the responses from the faculty members

delivering the course, together with their proposals for dealing with those issues.

Course enhancement:

List the issues identified in the action plan from the previous year and whether or not they

have been dealt with effectively. When issues have not been effectively dealt with, give

reasons, and include in the current year’s action plan. Write the issues not handled from those

raised in the previous report and the reasons for overlooking such issues.

Action plan for program enhancement over the next academic year: List:

Issues and actions required

Time schedule

Persons(s) responsible for the successful achievement of the specified action.

The action plan is fundamental to the success of the quality system. It appears at the end of

the report, because it is the result of all of prior analysis. Enhancement can only take place if

issues are identified and then acted upon and resolved. The action plan identifies the issues,

prioritizes them, and dictates the necessary action to be taken. It is also clearly places the

responsibility for the implementation of the action and the resolution of the associated issues,

in a given time scale on named individuals.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 8

GUIDELINES FOR COMPILING A COURSE

SPECIFICATION

General rules

The University should have a file for each course “Course File” containing the course

specification, samples of previous examination sheets, and results of student evaluation

of the course as well as the percentages of students dropping out, passing, and failing

the course. The file should include other relevant information as necessary.

The University should ensure the existence of two copies of the course file, one for the

course instructor and the other for the head of the degree offering entity or course

coordinator. This will help in follow-up.

The University should provide a system for course evaluation.

The Academic Committee / Faculty Committee/ Academic Council should approve the

course specification when preparing/reforming/developing an educational program and

before authorization of the program by higher authority or, in case of reviewing a

course to cope with novel topics or to add/ delete some of program academic standards.

I. Basic Information

Program Title: Write the title of the program (s) which contain the course, and identify

if major/ minor/optional, where relevant.

Entity offering the program (s): Write the name of the entity responsible for program

(s)

Department responsible for the course: Write the name of the department responsible

for teaching the course.

Course code: Write the code (the letter(s) and the number that identify the course in the

faculty by – laws). If there is no code, leave the space blank.

Year / Level: Write the year and/or level of the students attending the course.

No. of hours/units: Referring to the ordinance / by-laws, write the number of weekly

contact hours of the course.

Authorization date of course specification: Write the year in which the course

specification has been authorized.

II. Professional Information

Course aims: Overall course aims should be expressed as the outcomes to be achieved by

students completing the course as significant and assessable qualities.

Intended Learning Outcomes from the course:

Express the ILOs of the course in terms of:

Knowledge: The main information is to be gained and the concepts that should be

understood, applied analyzed, evaluated and created from the course.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Skills: The skills to be obtained and should be imitated, manipulated, précised,

articulated and naturalized from the course.

Attitude: The concepts that should influence to organize and internalize values.

Course content: Write in the main course topics, the number of hours allocated for

teaching each topic for lectures as well as for seminars, tutorials, exercises, laboratory

work, etc. The topics should comply with the content.

Teaching and learning methods: Identify the methods used in delivering the course

such as lectures, discussion sessions, information collection from different sources,

practical, research assignment, field visits, and case studies etc.

Student assessment:

Write down the assessment methods used, such as written examinations (continuous

assessment, mid-term, regular, at the end of term) class activities (reports,

discussion, practical… etc.). Match the methods used with the course ILOs.

Time Schedule: identify the percentage of marks allocated to teach assessment tool

mentioned above

Formative only assessment are those, which do not contribute to the overall grading

system, but are important in the learning process.

List of text books and references:

Lectures notes: When notes are available, specify whether they are prepared in the

form of a book authorized by the department or are handed out to the students part

by part.

Essential books (text books): When the lecturer uses one book that covers most of

course contents, specify the book.

When the lecturer uses more than one book, which contains parts of the course

specify the books and the topics covered by each.

General references, journals, periodicals, newspapers, web sites, which enrich the

learning process should also be listed.

The references that should be identified in the above items should be written in a

standard way (publisher, edition, year, author(s)…etc. Refer also to locations for

reading or buying the specified references.

Facilities required for teaching and learning:

The facilities include: appropriate teaching accommodation, including teaching aids,

laboratories, laboratory equipment, computers etc, facilities for field work, site visits etc,

which are necessary for teaching the course.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 9

RESEARCH STUDENT PROGRESS REPORT

(To be filled by Master/ MPhil/PhD Research Students on six monthly

basis) Period of Reporting:

Name of the Student with Designation

and Address

Contact address, Telephone etc.

Name of supervisor with designation, contact

address, telephone etc.

Name of Program, Department and University

Research Title/Topic

Date of admission

Date of completion of Course work (if any)

Number of course/credit completed (if any)

Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) secured

Research Area

Date of Defense on Research Proposal

Date of initiation of research

Please outline details of progress in your research

since your last report (including any research

publications):

Work Plan for the next 6 months?

Reference of deputation order and period

(if applicable)

i) First time

ii) Second time

iii) Third time

Work summary for last 6 months(including any

research publications):

21.

Expected date of completion of degree

Progress of Activities: (as per activity plan of the

student)

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23. Problems/Constraints (if any) :

Student’s signature: _____________________________Date: ________________________

Comment on work progress by the supervisor:

___________________________________________________________________________

Signature:________________________ Date:__________________________

Head of Department Comments:

___________________________________________________________________________

Signature:________________________ Date:__________________________

Progress of Activities: (as per activity plan of the student)

Activities

six

month

Note: Please submit the activities plan in excel spread sheet as a Gantt Chart

For assistant please consult: www.ganttchanrt.com

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 10

CONCEPPT NOTE ON SELF-ASSESSMENT

Self-assessment refers to a comprehensive, systematic review of an education institution’s

activities including academic programs. The SA process allows the organization to discern

clearly its strengths and areas in which improvements are required and culminates in planned

development actions.

Suggested Self-Assessment Process Activities

A. Preparation Phase

A1. Appointment of the Self-Assessment Committee

For a particular self assessment exercise there shall be a Self Assessment Committee.

Interested, experienced and qualified faculty members may the members of the SA

committee.

A2. Training and preparation of the SA Committee

All the SA Committee members may need to have training on the process of conducting SA

exercise and its implication of quality education. Training would prepare them to organize

and implement SA process activities effectively with a positive attitude.

A3. Support services necessary for SA implementation

Faculty/Department needs to provide required support services to conduct the SA exercise

properly, which may include the following:

Support staff

Academic staffs to collect and process information

Meeting rooms, computers and photocopier

Office supplies (paper, file folders etc.)

Adequate funds to meet the costs associated with the SA process activities.

A4. Preparation of the SA process

Finalizing the activity schedule

Selecting the stakeholders to be interviewed for information

Preparing the survey tools

Team building

B. Implementation Phase

Information gathering: Data collation using he survey tools

Data analysis and preparing the internal SA report

Preparation of the Internal SA Report

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Presentation of the Internal SA Report to the QAC or members of the program offering

entity (as applicable). SA Committee will finalize the accommodating the outcomes of

the discussion during presentation.

C. External Peer Review and Validation Phase

Selection and appointment of the external peer reviewers

Delivery of the Internal SA Report to the external peers

Planning of the external peer site visit

Facilitating external peer visit with appropriate and agreed schedule and logistics support

Wrap up on the findings of external peer review

D. Submission of External Peer Review Report

The external peer review panel will submit the final review and validation report as per the

ToR.

E. Improvement Plan

Preparing and Sharing the Improvement plan

It is highly recommended that after finalizing the SA report the findings and recommendation

shall be communicated with the concerned faculty members and officials. The SA committee

finally will prepare an improvement plan basing on the findings and recommendations in the

final SA report and external peer review report for further improvement.

Submission

At the end of the SA process the final report along with the improvement plan need to be

submitted to the respective authorities including IQAC.

Endorsement by the Authority

SA committee will appraise the Vice chancellor about the improvement plan for further

necessary support to implement the improvement plan. The university authority will provide

supports including budget allocation to implement the improvement plan.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 10.1

Program Self Assessment

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EMPLOYER

The purpose of this survey is to obtain employers’ input on the quality of education of

_________________________ program of ____________________University. The survey

is with regard to _____________________graduates ______________________University

employed at your organization. Your sincere cooperation would enable us to improve the

quality of our graduates as per your requirements.

Name of the Institute/Organization:______________________________________________

Corporate Office Address______________________________________________________

Email:__________________________________ Web:______________________________

Nature: Θ Academic Θ Research Θ Business Enterprise Θ Others_______________

Establishment Year:

Ways of Sourcing for Entry Level Employee

Sourcing Ways

Previously

Currently

Online Application(Ad/Without Ad)

Direct Hard Copy Application with Ad

Internship

Campus Recruitment

Networking with Reputed Universities

Other

Experience Requirement for Entry Level Employees:

Θ Highly Experienced Θ Experience for few years Θ Fresh Θ Can not be

generalized

Please rate the following dimensions of quality of graduates according to importance in

recruitment using the following rating scale:

(5: Extremely important 4: very important 3: Important 2: Less important 1: Not

important at all)

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

No.

Dimensions of Quality

Rating

Knowledge

Job knowledge (knowledge on subject matter)

IT Knowledge

Knowledge in designing a system component or process

Communication Skills

Oral communication

Report writing

Presentation skills

Interpersonal Skills

Ability to work in teams

Leadership

Independent thinking/ Self Confidence

Self Motivation/ Commitment to job

Reliability

Appreciation of ethical values

Adaptability

D. Work Skills

Time management skills

Judgment

Problem formulation, solving and decision making skills

Collecting and analyzing appropriate data

Ability to link theory to Practice

Discipline

Sense of Responsibility

Please evaluate the following dimensions of competence of graduates …… program, …

University based on their performance at your organization using the following scale:

5 – Excellent 4 – Very Good 3 – Good 2 – Fair 1 – Poor

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

No. Dimensions of Quality

Knowledge

Job knowledge (knowledge on subject matter)

IT Knowledge

Knowledge in designing a system component or process

Communication Skills

Oral communication

Report writing

Presentation skills

Interpersonal Skills

Ability to work in teams

Leadership

Independent thinking/ Self Confidence

Self Motivation/ Commitment to job

Reliability

Appreciation of ethical values

Adaptability

Work Skills

Time management skills

Judgment

Problem formulation, solving and decision making skills

Collecting and analyzing appropriate data

Ability to link theory to Practice

Discipline

Sense of Responsibility

Major weaknesses you have observed in the Graduates of …. Program

…..

University working at your organization

Do you provide any training right after recruitment before assigning any responsibility:

Yes/No

If Yes, Please specify….

General Comments

Please make additional comments or suggestions, which you think would help to

strengthen our programs for the preparation of graduates.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 10.2

Program Self Assessment

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ALUMNI

(To be filled by the Graduates)

This form includes statements for self assessment at program level. You as a graduate are

requested to give your sincere comment against each of the statements by putting a tick (√)

mark. Your sincere evaluation will be helpful for correct assessment of the program so that

next improvement plan may be undertaken. Be honest!!

Name of the program:______________Department/Discipline:_______________________

Faculty/School:__________________ University: ________________________________

Degree and service Information:

Current status:

a) Searching Job b) Employed in an organization c) Engaged with own business If the

answer is b or c

Name of present organization __________________________________________________

Designation: ________________________________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________________________________

Year of Passing/graduation:

Date of your first employment:

Time taken to get the first employment opportunity:

Year

Month

Training or any other courses or program attended to get job after graduation from ‘X’

University Θ Yes Θ No If yes, please specify_____________

Recruitment process you faced to get involved with your present organization

Direct Offer

Direct Oral Interview

Written & Oral Interview

Other (Pls. Specify)

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Way of submitting application/CV for current employment

Ways

Online Application (against Ad/Personal contact)

Direct Hard Copy Application (against Ad/Personal contact)

Internship

Campus Recruitment

Other

Evaluate the following aspects of the program in terms capacity to provide quality

education by marking “√” in the box of corresponding column according to the scale

given:

5–Strongly agree; 4–Agree; 3–Neutral;

2–Disagree;

1–Strongly disagree;

A. Governance

Area of Evaluation

Department provided written information in advance about the aims,

objectives, learning outcomes, and methods of assessment of the

program to the students.

The department provided its student a conducive learning

environment in which scholarly and creative achievements were

nurtured

Fairness and transparency of academic decisions at all levels were

maintained

Academic calendar was maintained properly

Results at all levels were published according to the stipulated time

mentioned in the ordinance

Teachers were friendly and cooperative to the students and which

made a positive impact over the teaching-learning environment

Students’ opinion regarding academic and extra-academic matters

were treated properly

Formal process using structured questionnaire to collect student

feedback was in practice.

Website was informative and students could use that in various

purposes

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

B. Curriculum

Area of Evaluation

5 4 3 2 1

Curriculum addresses the program objectives and program learning

outcomes

Curriculum in the program was too heavy and induces huge

pressure

Courses in the curriculum were structured and arranged properly

Teaching strategies stated in curriculum were appropriate for

achieving learning outcomes

Assessment strategies were suitable and match to the learning

outcomes

The curriculum was effective in enhancing team-working abilities.

The curriculum was effective in developing analytical and problem

solving skills.

The curriculum was effective in developing ICT & communication

skills.

Teaching-learning

Item

5 4 3 2 1

The department created such a teaching-learning environment that

inspired students to become life-long learner

The teachers provided additional practical ideas from real life

situation apart from the textbook

The teachers remained available during the specified office hours

and after class for consultations

Teaching-learning approach was interactive and supportive for the

achievement of the program learning outcomes

Class size was optimum so that students could interact with the

teachers and took the opportunity to participate and feedback for

better teaching learning

Technological devices were used as regular practice to improve

teaching-learning process

Teaching and learning strategies inspired students for their own

learning and to achieve learning outcomes

Diverse teaching-learning methods were used to achieve intended

learning outcomes (ILOs)

Lesson plans were designed addressing aims and objectives of each

course that guides effective teaching-learning

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

D. Assessment

Item

The frequency, methods and criteria of assessment, including the

grading criteria were clearly communicated to students on the

commencement of the term/semester

Diverse methods and tools were used appropriately to assess the

learning outcomes and competencies.

The students were provided feedback on each assessment before the

next one.

Students’ learning assessment procedures were maintained fairly.

The content of examinations was representative of the course

material

E. Institutional structures and facilities

Item

Classrooms were good in number, well spaced, well equipped and

well maintained to ensure effective delivery

Laboratories were good in number, well spaced with relevant well off

equipments, competent manpower and properly maintained for

conducive teaching and learning

The library had adequate and up-to-date reference materials that meet

the academic & research needs

The library provided appropriate ICT-mediated reference materials

Internet facilities with sufficient bandwidth capacity were available

Adequate office room facilities along with relevant equipments and

competent manpower were available to support the students’ need

Adequate indoor and outdoor healthcare facilities were available

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

F. Student Support

Item

5 4 3 2 1

There was an arrangement to provide guidance and counseling for

academic improvement and to take special care of the weak students

There were scholarships/ grants available to students in case of

hardship.

The students were encouraged to involve in co- curricular and extra-

curricular activities.

There was placement and career planning office in the university

and/or department for maintaining communication with alumni and

employers

The placement and career planning office provided effective services

to the graduating students

Alumni support is available in internship and academic preparation

There were opportunities and students were encouraged to get

involve with community services

Research and Extension

Item

The faculty/department has a policy and a program on research and

development

Adequate funds and facilities were provided to sustain undertaken

policy and program

Teachers were always eager to hunt research fund for smooth

running of the research.

Teachers encouraged and prepared students for engagement in

research, scholarship and development.

Research outputs were regularly published in reputed impact factor

journal

Research findings in the form of theses, monographs and

publications were properly used in current teaching-learning.

Research findings were patented and used for commercial purposes.

The faculty/department was involved in community services with

the developed technologies

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

H. Staff

Item

The teachers in the department were well qualified

Number of teachers was adequate to run the programs smoothly

Supporting staffs in the laboratories and fields were adequate,

efficient and supportive

Academics had enough opportunity to take part in different training

program for skill development

Nonacademic staffs had enough opportunity to take part in different

training program for skill development

The faculty/department provided mentoring and formative guidance

for new academic staff as part of its staff development program.

What are the best aspects of your program?

______________________________________________________________________

What aspects of your program could be improved?

______________________________________________________________________

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 10.3

Program Self Assessment

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS

(To be filled by the Existing Students)

This form includes statements for self assessment at program level. You as a graduating

student are requested to give your sincere comment against each of the statements by putting

a tick ( √) mark. Your sincere evaluation will be helpful for correct assessment of the

program so that next improvement plan may be undertaken. Be honest!!

Name of the program: _______________Department/Discipline:________________

Faculty/School:_______________________ University: ____________________________

GPA/CGPA Earned

SSC

HSC

year

CGPA

Lev

YGPA

Number of classes held to complete the course

Number of Courses Completed

Number of Classes held to

Number of

by the responding student

complete the course

courses

Less than 15

16 to 20 Classes

21 to 25 Classes

26 to 30 Classes

31 to 35 Classes

36 and above

2. Classes are mostly: Lecture based

Interactive

Both

Evaluate the following aspects of the program in terms capacity to provide quality

education by marking “√” in the box of corresponding column according to the scale

given:

5–Strongly agree; 4–Agree; 3–Neutral; 2–Disagree; 1–Strongly disagree;

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Governance

Area of Evaluation

Department provides written information in advance about the aims,

objectives, learning outcomes, and methods of assessment of the

program to the students.

The department provides its student a conducive learning

environment in which scholarly and creative achievements are

nurtured

Fairness and transparency of academic decisions at all levels are

maintained

Academic calendar is maintained properly

Results at all levels are published according to the stipulated time

mentioned in the ordinance

Teachers are friendly and cooperative to the students and which made

a positive impact over the teaching-learning environment

Students’ opinion regarding academic and extra-academic matters are

treated properly

Formal process using structured questionnaire to collect student

feedback is in practice.

Website is informative and students can use that in various purposes

Curriculum

Area of Evaluation

Curriculum addresses the program objectives and program learning

outcomes

Curriculum in the program is too heavy and induces huge pressure

Courses in the curriculum are structured and arranged properly

Teaching strategies stated in curriculum are appropriate for

achieving learning outcomes

Assessment strategies are suitable and match to the learning

outcomes

The curriculum is effective in enhancing team-working abilities.

The curriculum is effective in developing analytical and problem

solving skills.

The curriculum is effective in developing ICT & communication

skills.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Teaching-learning

Item

5 4 3 2 1

The department creates such a teaching-learning environment that

inspired students to become life-long learner

The teachers provides additional practical ideas from real life

situation apart from the textbook

The teachers remain available during the specified office hours and

after class for consultations

Teaching-learning approach is interactive and supportive for the

achievement of the program learning outcomes

Class size is optimum so that students could interact with the

teachers and took the opportunity to participate and feedback for

better teaching learning

Technological devices are used as regular practice to improve

teaching-learning process

Teaching and learning strategies inspires students for their own

learning and to achieve learning outcomes

Diverse teaching-learning methods are used to achieve intended

learning outcomes (ILOs)

Lesson plans are designed addressing aims and objectives of each

course that guides effective teaching-learning

Assessment

Item

The frequency, methods and criteria of assessment, including the

grading criteria are clearly communicated to students on the

commencement of the term/semester

Diverse methods and tools are used appropriately to assess the

learning outcomes and competencies.

The students are provided feedback on each assessment before the

next one.

Students’ learning assessment procedures are maintained fairly.

The content of examinations is representative of the course material

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

E. Institutional structures and facilities

Item

Classrooms are good in number, well spaced, well equipped and well

maintained to ensure effective delivery

Laboratories are good in number, well spaced with relevant well off

equipments, competent manpower and properly maintained for

conducive teaching and learning

The library has adequate and up-to-date reference materials that meet

the academic research needs

The library provides appropriate ICT-mediated reference materials

Internet facilities with sufficient bandwidth capacity are available

Adequate office room facilities along with relevant equipments and

competent manpower are available to support the students’ need

Adequate indoor and outdoor healthcare facilities were available

F. Student Support

Item

There is an arrangement to provide guidance and counseling for

academic improvement and to take special care of the weak students

There are scholarships/ grants available to students in case of

hardship.

The students are encouraged to involve in co- and extra-curricular

activities.

There is placement and career planning office in the university and/or

department for maintaining communication with alumni and

employers

The placement and career planning office provides effective services

to the graduating students

Alumni support in internship and academic preparation

There are opportunities and students are encouraged to get involve

with community services

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

G. Research and Extension

Item

5 4 3 2 1

The faculty/department has a policy and a program on research and

development

Adequate funds and facilities are provided to sustain undertaken

policy and program

Teachers are always eager to hunt research fund for smooth running

of the research.

Teachers encourage and prepare students for engagement in research,

scholarship and development.

Research outputs are regularly published in reputed impact factor

journal

Research findings in the form of theses, monographs and publications

are properly used in current teaching-learning.

Research findings are patented and used for commercial purposes.

The faculty/department is involved in community services with the

developed technologies

Staff

Item

The teachers in the department are well qualified

Number of teachers is adequate to run the programs smoothly

Supporting staffs in the laboratories and fields are adequate, efficient

and supportive

Academics have enough opportunity to take part in different training

program for skill development

Nonacademic staffs have enough opportunity to take part in different

training program for skill development

The faculty/department provides mentoring and formative guidance

for new academic staff as part of its staff development program.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

What are the best aspects of your program?

______________________________________________________________________

What aspects of your program could be improved?

______________________________________________________________________

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 10.4

Program Self Assessment

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR NON-ACADEMIC STAFFS

(To be filled by the non-academic staffs)

This form includes statements for self assessment at program level. You as a non- academic

staff are requested to give your sincere comment against each of the statements by putting a

tick (√ ) mark on appropriate grade-column. Your sincere evaluation will be helpful for

correct assessment of the program so that next improvement plan may be undertaken. Be

honest!!

Name: _______________________________ Years of experience____________________

Department:__________________________ Faculty: ______________________________

University: __________________________________

Evaluate the following aspects of the program in terms capacity to provide quality

education by marking “√” in the box of corresponding column according to the scale

given:

5–Strongly agree; 4–Agree; 3–Neutral;

2–Disagree;

1–Strongly disagree;

Governance:

Item

Department provides a brochure to the students in advance

consisting a comprehensive guidelines of the program

Fairness and transparency of academic decisions at all levels are

maintained

The department provides its student a conducive learning

environment in which scholarly and creative achievements are

nurtured

Academic calendar is maintained properly

Results at all levels are published in compliance with the ordinance

Documentations (decisions of committees, class attendance

registers, questions, continuous assessment answer scripts, marks,

examination results, students’ progress etc) are maintained properly

Perfect evaluating system for nonacademic staffs’ performance is

prevailing

Teachers are friendly and cooperative to the staffs and which make a

positive impact over the teaching-learning environment

University has defined procedures for all activities performed

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

B. Institutional structure and facilities

Item

Classrooms are good in number, well spaced, well equipped and well

maintained to ensure effective delivery

Laboratories are good in number, well spaced with relevant well off

equipments and properly maintained for conducive teaching and

learning

10.

Internet facilities with sufficient bandwidth capacity are available

11.

Adequate office room facilities along with relevant equipments and

competent manpower are available

Staff: Recruitment and development

Item

Nonacademic staffs are competent and responsive

Nonacademic staffs have enough opportunity to take part in different

training program for skill development

The Faculty/Department has policy to complement non-academic

staffs related to service, development and appraisal.

The faculty/department provides mentoring and formative guidance

for new non-academic staff as part of its staff development program.

The recruitment and up-gradation policy is good enough and

inspiring

Competence, experience and sincerity are the only criteria for

promotion and up-gradation

D. Students support

Areas of Evaluation

The faculty/department maintains students progress documents and

offer appropriate developmental or remedial support to assist students

who need such support

The faculty/department maintains active linkages with its alumni and

employers.

Students have access to appropriate and adequate support services,

such as physical, social, financial and recreational facilities, and

counseling and health services.

Students and staffs maintain a good relationship that makes teaching-

learning environment healthy

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

What are the major weaknesses you have observed in the department

______________________________________________________________________

Your suggestion to improve the teaching learning environment:

______________________________________________________________________

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 10.5

Program Self Assessment

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ACADEMIC STAFF

(To be filled by the faculty members)

This form includes statements for self assessment at program level. You as a teacher are

requested to give your sincere comment against each of the statements by putting a tick (√)

mark on appropriate grade-column. Your sincere evaluation will be helpful for meaningful

assessment of the program so that next improvement plan may be undertaken. Be honest!!

Name:________________________________ Years of experience: __________________

Department/Discipline:______________________Faculty/School:___________________

University: __________________________________

Evaluate the following aspects of the program in terms capacity to provide quality

education by marking “√” in the box of corresponding column according to the scale

given:

5–Strongly agree; 4–Agree; 3–Neutral; 2–Disagree; 1–Strongly disagree;

Governance

Areas of Evaluation

Program aims, objectives and Learning outcomes are clear enough

The program objectives and learning outcomes are periodically

reviewed in consultation with stakeholders (students, alumni,

employers, civil society organizations and international peers etc.)

Peer observation, mentoring and feed back is in practice

Department provides student handbook containing the program

aims, objectives, learning outcomes, and methods of assessment of

the students.

Fairness and transparency of academic decisions at all levels are

maintained

Decision making procedure in the discipline/department is

participatory

The department provides student a conducive learning environment

in which scholarly and creative achievements are nurtured.

Academic calendar is maintained properly

Results at all levels are published in compliance with the ordinance

10.

Documentations (decisions of committees, class attendance

registers, questions, continuous assessment answer scripts, marks,

examination results, students’ progress etc) are maintained properly

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Definition of accountability lines for academic staff and non-

academic staff is clear

KPIs are well defined and well communicated

Perfect evaluating system for teaching staffs’ performance is

prevailing.

Students’ opinion regarding academic and extra-academic matters

are treated properly

Teachers are friendly and cooperative to each other and which make

a positive impact over the teaching-learning environment

Internal quality assurance unit is working

B. Curriculum Design and Review

Areas of Evaluation

5 4 3 2 1

Curriculum addresses the program objectives and program learning

outcomes

Inputs from the relevant stakeholders are taken into consideration in

designing curriculum

Curriculum consists course learning outcomes, content, teaching

strategy and assessment strategy

Curriculum evaluation is done regularly following appropriate

procedures with the involvement of students, teachers and other

stakeholders.

Volume of curriculum in terms of study load is optimum for

achieving learning outcomes.

Stated teaching strategies are appropriate for achieving learning

outcomes

Assessment strategies are suitable and match to the learning

outcomes

Current curriculum is reviewed and updated regularly in

consultation with the stakeholders (students, alumni, employers,

civil society organizations and international peers etc.)

Current curriculum is enough to develop students’ creativity,

positive attitude with ethical standard.

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

C. Teaching Learning

Areas of Evaluation

Size of the class is good for better teaching learning

Technological devices are available for use in teaching

Students are sincere and committed to learning

Teaching and learning strategies inspires students for their own

learning

Diverse teaching-learning methods are used to achieve intended

learning outcomes (ILOs)

Multiple techniques are used to develop communication skills

Interactive teaching-learning approach supports the achievement of

the program learning outcomes

Co-curricular activities which enrich students’ experiences, and

foster personal development and responsibility are encompassed in

teaching-learning process

Lesson plans are designed addressing aims and objectives of each

course that guides effective teaching-learning

D. Learning Assessment

Both summative and formative assessment strategies are followed

The frequency, methods and criteria of assessment, including the

grading criteria are clearly communicated to students on the

commencement of the term/semester

Diverse methods and tools are used appropriately to assess the

learning outcomes and competencies.

The students are provided feedback on each assessment before the

next one.

The learning assessment methods ensure the validity, reliability,

consistency

The assessment system is reviewed at appropriate scheduled

intervals.

The review of the assessment system is done in consultation with

external experts

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

E. Structure and Facilities

Areas of Evaluation

Classrooms are good in number, well spaced, well equipped and

well maintained to ensure effective delivery

Laboratories are good in number, well spaced with relevant well off

equipments and properly maintained for conducive teaching and

learning

The library has adequate and up-to-date reference materials that

meet the academic research needs

The library provides appropriate ICT-mediated reference materials

Internet facilities with sufficient bandwidth capacity are available

Adequate office room facilities along with relevant equipments and

competent manpower are available

F. Research & Extension Services

Areas of Evaluation

The faculty/department has a policy and a program on research and

development

Adequate funds and facilities are provided to sustain undertaken

policy and program

Teachers are always eager to hunt research fund for smooth running

of the research.

Teachers encourage and prepare students for engagement in research,

scholarship and development.

Research outputs are regularly published in reputed impact factor

journal

Research findings in the form of theses, monographs and publications

are properly used in current teaching-learning.

Research findings are patented and used for commercial purposes.

The faculty/department is involved in community services with the

developed technologies

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

G. Students Supports

Areas of Evaluation

The faculty/department maintains students progress documents and

offer appropriate developmental or remedial support to assist

students who need such support

The faculty/department maintains active linkages with its alumni

and employers.

The faculty/department encourages the alumni to play a role in

preparing the students for their professional future, and to provide

linkages with industry and the professions.

The faculty/department encourages the alumni to play a role in the

development of the program.

The faculty/department facilitates students’ activities and student

organization to gain basic managerial and leadership experience, to

encourage character building, to inculcate a sense of belonging and

responsibility, and to promote active citizenship.

The faculty/department encourages students and provides adequate

facilities to be involved in publication activities

The faculty/department has a policy and programs for active student

participation in areas that affect their welfare, for example, peer

counseling, co-curricular activities, and community engagement.

Students have access to appropriate and adequate support services,

such as physical, social, financial and recreational facilities, and

counseling and health services.

There has a mechanism for students to minimize grievances and

make appeals relating to student support services.

10.

Student support services are evaluated regularly to ensure their

adequacy, effectiveness and safety.

11.

The faculty/department provides academic and career counseling to

the students by qualified staff and issues with confidentialities

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

H. Staff

Areas of Evaluation

5 4 3 2 1

Teachers work load in teaching and research is justified

Academics have enough opportunity to take part in different training

program for skill development

Nonacademic staffs are competent and responsive

Nonacademic staffs have enough opportunity to take part in

different training program for skill development

Teacher student ratio is justified

The Faculty/Department has policy to complement academic staffs

related to service, development and appraisal.

The faculty/department provides mentoring and formative guidance

for new academic staff as part of its staff development program.

The faculty/department provides necessary training, tools and

technology for self-learning, access to information and for

communication to the academic staffs

I. Process Control Internal (Quality Assurance and Continuous quality Improvement)

Areas of Evaluation

5 4 3 2 1

The faculty/department supports the University policies, procedures

and mechanisms for regular reviewing and updating of its structures,

functions, strategies and core activities to ensure continuous quality

improvement.

The faculty/department develops a system to review its programs

from time to time.

The faculty/department has already initiated a review of the program,

implement its recommendations, and record the achievements

accomplished in the quality improvement of the program.

The Dean or Head of the faculty/department plays a prominent role in

the policy processes of the faculty/department.

The faculty/department embraces the spirit of continual quality

improvement taking into consideration past experiences, present

conditions, and future possibilities.

The faculty/department ensures that courses are taken by the teachers

uniformly throughout the term

The faculty/department always tries to maintain academic calendar

The faculty/department ensures the culture as a usual practice for

evaluation of the teachers by the students and its documentation

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Major weaknesses you have observed in the quality of your graduates

______________________________________________________________________

Your suggestion to improve the quality of graduates:

______________________________________________________________________

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 10.6

Program Self Assessment

REPORT FORMAT

Chapter 1: Introduction

Significance of program Self Assessment

Process of Assessment

Overview of the university

Mission and objectives of the university

Overview of the program offering entity

Intended Learning Outcomes of the program

Graduate Profile

Chapter 2: Governance

2.1 Program Management

2.2. Academic Documentation

Peer Observation & Feedback Process

Internal Quality Assurance Process

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Chapter 3: Curriculum Design & Review

Need Assessment

Curriculum Design

Curriculum Review Process

Curriculum Alignment /Skill Mapping

Gaps in Curriculum : Adequacy to Meet the Needs

Chapter 4: Student

Admission

Progress and Achievement

Chapter 5: Teaching Learning and Assessment

Chapter 6: Staff

Recruitment

Staff Development

Chapter 7: Physical Facilities

Chapter 8: Student Support Services

Co-curricular and Extra-curricular Activities

Academic Guidance and Counseling

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

Career & Placement

Alumni Services

Community Services

Chapter 9: Research and Extension

Chapter 9: Process Control

Chapter 10: SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Chapter 11: Conclusion and Improvement Plan

Strategic plan for further improvement of the institution

Conclusion

Appendix

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 10.7

Institutional Self Assessment

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ACADEMIC STAFF

(To be filed by the Faculty Members)

This form includes statements for self assessment at institution level. You are requested to

give your sincere comment against each of the statements by putting a tick (√) mark on

appropriate box. Your sincere evaluation will be helpful for perfect assessment of the

institution, which in effect, would help to improve the performance of the institution further.

Evaluate the following aspects of the university in terms capacity to provide quality

education by marking “√” in the box of corresponding column according to the scale

given.

5–Strongly agree

4–Agree

3–Neutral

2–Disagree 1–Strongly

disagree

A. Governance

Areas of Evaluation

A.1 Mission and Objectives

Mission and objectives of the university are clearly defined

Mission and objective of the university are well communicated

University acts according to the mission and objectives

A.2 Governance Structure

Statutory bodies under the act/ordinance are functioning properly

University website is well designed with easy access to information

Students union/association is active to protect rights of the students

A.3 Policy and Management

Decision making procedure in the university is

democratic/participatory

Documentations are maintained properly

University provide handbook with details of academic programs and

rules regulations

Fairness and transparency of academic decisions at all levels are

maintained (such as admission, publication of results etc.)

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

University authority is sincere enough to maintain sound

environment to teaching learning.

Academic calendar is maintained properly

Results at all levels are published in compliance with the ordinance

University has policy and mechanism to entertain the disabled

students for higher education

University has very attractive service rules and career development

opportunities to retain the competent and qualified staff members

University has set policy to resolve students grievance in case of

assessment

Students’ opinion regarding academic and extra-academic matters

are treated properly

A.4 Accountability & Transparency

Definition of accountability lines for academic staff and non-

academic staff is clear enough and well communicated

Recruitment process is good to select the best candidates with

fairness and transparency

Key performance indictors (KPIs) are well defined for both academic

and non-academic staff members

Staff performance appraisal process is executed with fairness and

transparency

A.5 Autonomy

Internal QA system is functioning with enough autonomy

Teachers are performing in accordance of university rules with out

interference

Curriculum Design and Review

Areas of Evaluation

5 4 3 2 1

Inputs from the relevant stakeholders are taken into consideration in

designing curriculum

Curriculum consists aims, objectives, learning outcomes, content,

teaching strategy and assessment strategy

Curriculum review is done regularly following appropriate

procedures and documentation.

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Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

C. Physical Facilities

Areas of Evaluation

Classrooms are good in number, well spaced, well equipped and

well maintained to ensure effective delivery

Laboratories are good in number, well spaced with relevant well off

equipments and properly maintained for conducive teaching and

learning

The library has adequate and up-to-date reference materials that

meet the academic research needs

The library provides appropriate ICT-mediated reference materials

Internet facilities with sufficient bandwidth capacity are available

Adequate office room facilities along with relevant equipments and

competent manpower are available

Enough facilities of Sports and culture

Enough medical facilities for the university community

D. Research & Extension Services

Areas of Evaluation

5 4 3 2 1

The university has

policy and

program on research

and

development

University has institutional set up to coordinate advanced research

Adequate funds and facilities are provided to innovative research and

development

Capacity to hunt research fund for smooth running of the research.

University encourages students for engagement in research,

scholarship and development.

Research outputs are regularly published in reputed impact factor

journal

Research findings in the form of theses, monographs and publications

are properly preserved used in current teaching-learning.

Research findings are patented and used for commercial purposes.

The university is involved in community services with the output of

research and development activities

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E. External Relations

Areas of Evaluation

The university maintains active institutional linkages with research

and academic institutions at national and international levels.

University has set policy and mechanism for university industry

collaboration

The university has institutional set up for community services

University encourages to involve in consultancy services

F. Staff

Areas of Evaluation

Teachers work load in teaching and research is justified

Academics have enough opportunity including financial assistance

to take part in different training program, workshop, conferences

etc. for professional skill development

University has provision to arrange experience sharing sessions to

transfer the knowledge and experience from attending training,

workshop and conferences.

Staffs are competent and responsive

Teacher student ratio is justified

The university provides necessary training, tools and technology for

self-learning, access to information and for communication to the

academic staffs

University has resourceful and effective staff development center

Peer observation, mentoring and feedback are in practice

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G. Process Control (Internal Quality Assurance and Continuous quality Improvement)

Areas of Evaluation

University has effective quality assurance system in action.

University authority is committed to ensure good practices in levels

of administration

University encourages innovative thinking and participation in QA

activities

The university nurtures the spirit of continual quality improvement

taking past experiences, present conditions, and future possibilities

into consideration.

University has a quality culture with commitment to continuous

improvement

University rewards the staff members who are maintaining quality

assurance and evidences of good practices.

The university evaluates performance to check whether the

achievements are in line with the expected outcomes and mission

Major weaknesses of your institution that you have observed:

______________________________________________________________________

Your suggestion to improve the quality of graduates:

______________________________________________________________________

103

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 10.8

Institutional Self Assessment

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EXTERNAL

STAKEHOLDERS

(To be filled by the employers and community people)

This form includes statements for self assessment at institution level. You are requested to

give your sincere comment against each of the statements by putting a tick (√) mark on

appropriate box. Your sincere evaluation will be helpful for perfect assessment of the

institution, which in effect, would help to improve the performance of the institution further.

Evaluate the following aspects of the university in terms capacity to provide quality

education by marking “√” in the box of corresponding column according to the scale

given.

5–Strongly agree

4–Agree

3–Neutral

2–Disagree

1–Strongly

disagree

Areas of Evaluation

The mission statement is of the university is defined in accordance

with social and national context

University website is well designed with easy access to information

The university is responsive to the needs of the community.

The university is responsive to the needs of the job market

The university has a clear idea about the relevant

demands and needs of the students/parents

The university has a clear idea about the relevant

demands and needs of the emerging global settings

The university has clear guidelines on consultancy and

10. community outreach

11.

The university has a structured method for obtaining

12. feedback from external stakeholders

13.

University has set policy and mechanism for university industry

collaboration

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Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

The university maintains active institutional linkages with research

and academic institutions at national and international levels.

University has set policy and mechanism for university industry

collaboration

The university has institutional set up for community services

University encourages to involve in consultancy services

Major weaknesses of the university ….. that you have observed

________________________________________________________________________

Your suggestion to improve the capacity of the university:

______________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 10.9

Institutional Self Assessment

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE

NON-ACADEMIC STAFF

This form includes statements for self assessment at institution level. You are requested to

give your sincere comment against each of the statements by putting a tick (√) mark on

appropriate box. Your sincere evaluation will be helpful for perfect assessment of the

institution, which in effect, would help to improve the performance of the institution further.

Evaluate the following aspects of the university in terms capacity to provide quality

education by marking “√” in the box of corresponding column according to the scale

given.

5–Strongly agree

4–Agree

3–Neutral

2–Disagree 1–Strongly disagree

A. Governance

Areas of Evaluation

A.1 Mission and Objectives

Mission and objectives of the university are clearly defined

Mission and objectives of the university are well communicated

University acts to achieve the mission and objectives

A.2 Governance Structure

Statutory bodies under the act/ordinance are functioning properly

University website is well designed with easy access to information

Students union/association is active to protect rights of the students

A.3 Policy and Management

Decision making procedure in the university is

democratic/participatory

Documentations are maintained properly

Fairness and transparency of academic decisions at all levels are

maintained (such as admission, publication of results etc.)

University authority is sincere enough to maintain sound

environment to teaching learning.

University has very attractive service rules and career development

opportunities to retain the competent and qualified staff members

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Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

University has set policy to resolve students grievance in case of

assessment

A.4 Accountability & Transparency

Definition of accountability lines for academic staff and non-

academic staff is clear enough and well communicated

Recruitment process is good to select the best candidates with

fairness and transparency

Key performance indictors (KPIs) are well defined for both academic

and non-academic staff members

Staff performance appraisal process is executed with fairness and

transparency

A.5 Autonomy

Internal QA system is functioning with enough autonomy

Staffs are performing in accordance of university rules with out

interference

Physical Facilities

Areas of Evaluation

5 4 3 2 1

The library has adequate and up-to-date reference materials that

meet the academic research needs

The library provides appropriate ICT-mediated reference materials

Internet facilities with sufficient bandwidth capacity are available

Adequate office room facilities along with relevant equipments and

competent manpower are available

Enough medical facilities for the university community

C. Staff

Areas of Evaluation

Have enough opportunity to take part in staff training program for

professional skill development

Staffs are competent and responsive

The university provides necessary tools and technology for effective

performance

University has resourceful and effective staff development center

Peer observation, mentoring and feedback are in practice

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Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

D. Process Control (Internal Quality Assurance and Continuous quality Improvement)

Areas of Evaluation

University has effective quality assurance system in action.

University authority is committed to ensure good practices in levels

of administration

University encourages innovative thinking and participation in QA

activities

University has a quality culture with commitment to continuous

improvement

University rewards the staff members who are maintaining quality

assurance and evidences of good practices.

What are the major weaknesses you have observed in the quality of your graduates

______________________________________________________________________

Your suggestion to improve the quality of graduates:

______________________________________________________________________

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Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 10.10

Institutional Assessment

(SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS

This form includes statements for self assessment at institution level. You are requested to

give your sincere comment against each of the statements by putting a tick (√) mark on

appropriate box. Your sincere evaluation will be helpful for perfect assessment of the

institution, which in effect, would help to improve the performance of the institution further.

Evaluate the following aspects of the university in terms capacity to provide quality

education by marking “√” in the box of corresponding column according to the scale

given.

5–Strongly agree

4–Agree

3–Neutral

2–Disagree 1–Strongly disagree

A. Governance

Areas of Evaluation

A.1 Mission and Objectives

Mission and objectives of the university are clearly defined

Mission and objective of the university are well communicated

A.2 Governance Structure

University website is well designed with easy access to information

Students union/association is active to protect rights of the students

A.3 Policy and Management

Documentations are maintained properly

University provide handbook with details of academic programs

and rules regulations

Fairness and transparency of academic decisions at all levels are

maintained (such as admission, publication of results etc.)

University authority is sincere enough to maintain sound

environment to teaching learning.

Academic calendar is maintained properly

University has set policy to resolve students grievance in case of

assessment

Students’ opinion regarding academic and extra-academic matters

are treated properly

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Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

B. Physical Facilities

Areas of Evaluation

Classrooms are good in number, well spaced, well equipped and

well maintained to ensure effective delivery

Laboratories are good in number, well spaced with relevant well off

equipments and properly maintained for conducive teaching and

learning

The library has adequate and up-to-date reference materials that

meet the academic research needs

The library provides appropriate ICT-mediated reference materials

Internet facilities with sufficient bandwidth capacity are available

Enough facilities of Sports and culture

Enough medical facilities for the university community

A. Research & Extension Services

Areas of Evaluation

5 4 3 2 1

The university has

policy and

program on research

and

development

University has institutional set up to coordinate advanced research

Adequate funds and facilities are provided to innovative research and

development

Capacity to hunt research fund for smooth running of the research.

University encourages students for engagement in research,

scholarship and development.

Research findings in the form of theses, monographs and publications

are properly preserved used in current teaching-learning.

The university is involved in community services with the output of

research and development activities

110

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

B. Students Supports

Areas of Evaluation

The university maintains active institutional linkages with its alumni

and employers.

University has set policy and mechanism for academic guidance and

counseling

The university has institutional set up for placement and career

counseling to the students.

University provides financial assistance to the meritorious and

distressed students

Concerned offices of the university are sincere and cooperative in

handling the students affairs

C. Process Control (Internal Quality Assurance and Continuous quality Improvement)

Areas of Evaluation

University has effective quality assurance system in action.

University authority is committed to ensure good practices in levels

of administration

The university nurtures the spirit of continual quality improvement

taking past experiences, present conditions, and future possibilities

into consideration.

University has a quality culture with commitment to continuous

improvement

University rewards students for extraordinary performances in

academic and non academic affairs

111

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What are the major weaknesses you have observed in the quality of your graduates

______________________________________________________________________

Your suggestion to improve the quality of graduates:

______________________________________________________________________

112

Institutional Quality Assurance Cell Operations Manual

IQACOM Annex 10.11

Institutional Assessment

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE GRADUATES

This form includes statements for self assessment at institution level. You are requested to

give your sincere comment against each of the statements by putting a tick (√) mark on

appropriate box. Your sincere evaluation will be helpful for perfect assessment of the

institution, which in effect, would help to improve the performance of the institution further.

Evaluate the following aspects of the university in terms capacity to provide quality

education by marking “√” in the box of corresponding column according to the scale

given.

5–Strongly agree

4–Agree

3–Neutral

2–Disagree

1–Strongly disagree

A. Governance

Areas of Evaluation

A.1 Mission and Objectives

Mission and objectives of the university were clearly defined

Mission and objective of the university were well communicated

A.2 Governance Structure

University website was well designed with easy access to information

Students union/association was active to protect rights of the students

A.3 Policy and Management

Documentations were maintained properly

University provided handbook with details of academic programs and rules

regulations

Fairness and transparency of academic decisions at all levels were

maintained (such as admission, publication of results etc.)

University authority was sincere enough to maintain sound environment to

teaching learning.

Academic calendar was maintained properly

University had set policy to resolve students grievance in case of

assessment

Students’ opinion regarding academic and extra-academic matters were

treated properly

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B. Physical Facilities

Areas of Evaluation

Classrooms were good in number, well spaced, well equipped and

well maintained to ensure effective delivery

Laboratories were good in number, well spaced with relevant well

off equipments and properly maintained for conducive teaching and

learning

The library had adequate and up-to-date reference materials that

meet the academic research needs

The library provided appropriate ICT-mediated reference materials

Internet facilities with sufficient bandwidth capacity were available

Enough facilities of Sports and culture

Enough medical facilities for the university community

C. Research & Extension Services

Areas of Evaluation

5 4 3 2 1

The university had policy and

program on research

and

development

University had institutional set up to coordinate advanced research

Adequate funds and facilities were provided to innovative research

and development

Capacity to hunt research fund for smooth running of the research.

University encouraged students for engagement in research,

scholarship and development.

Research findings in the form of theses, monographs and publications

were properly preserved used in current teaching-learning.

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The university was involved in community services with the output

of research and development activities

Students Supports

Areas of Evaluation

The university maintained active institutional linkages with its

alumni and employers.

University had set policy and mechanism for academic guidance

and counseling

The university had institutional set up for placement and career

counseling to the students.

University provided financial assistance to the meritorious and

distressed students

Concerned offices of the university were sincere and cooperative in

handling the students affairs

E. Process Control (Internal Quality Assurance and Continuous quality Improvement)

Areas of Evaluation

University had effective quality assurance system in action.

University authority was committed to ensure good practices in

levels of administration

The university nurtured the spirit of continual quality improvement

taking past experiences, present conditions, and future possibilities

into consideration.

University had a quality culture with commitment to continuous

improvement

University rewarded the students for extraordinary performances in

academic and non-academic affairs

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What are the major weaknesses you have observed in the quality of your graduates

______________________________________________________________________

Your suggestion to improve the quality of graduates:

______________________________________________________________________

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IQACOM Annex 10.12

INSTITUTIONAL SELF ASSESSMENT REPORT FORMAT

Chapter 1: Introduction

Significance of Institutional Self Assessment

Process of Assessment

Overview of the university

Mission and objectives of the university

Chapter 2: The core activities

Education

Research

Outreach Activities

Chapter 3: Quality assurance

Internal Quality Assurance system

Benchmarking

Chapter 4: Achievements

4.1 Achieved outcomes (graduates)/graduate profile

Research out put

Community outreach

Chapter 5: Stakeholder Opinion

Students

Alumni (graduates)

Employers & Community

5..4 Academic and non-academic staffs

Chapter 6 SWOT analysis

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Chapter 7: Conclusion and Strategic Plan

Strategic plan for further improvement of the institution

Conclusion

Appendix

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IQACOM Annex 10.13

GUIDELINES FOR PEER-REVIEWERS

Introduction

The UGC through its QA Unit wishes to ensure that the peer-review process makes a full

contribution to its quality assurance and accreditation process. In this context the role of

the peer-reviewers is multifaceted and demanding. The reviewers can assist the

universities to develop their quality assurance systems and for continual improvement

of their standards.

This note offers guidance to the reviewers and other participants in the peer-review

process on the standards of conduct expected.

The QA Unit will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the review process.

Code of Conduct

The reviewer is expected to:

Take all reasonable steps to know and understand the published quality assurance

and accreditation process and in particular the methods of developmental

engagements and accreditation.

Ensure that they remain up to date with any developments in the published method,

including attending conferences and workshops arranged for peer-reviewers by the

Unit.

Conduct their roles and activities in reviews in a way that fully respects the

published method and protocols, including reaching justifiable evidence- based

judgments.

Undertake their part in review in a way that respects the mission of the entity they

are visiting and avoids bringing to the process any prejudices.

Show courtesy to all colleagues with whom they work in the review team and in the

institution, including respect for their views and opinion.

Complete the assignment on time and to a high professional standard, drawing upon

the hand book and the guidance provided in the review.

Respect the confidences shared in the course of the review, so that they do not

divulge any information on the self-evaluation, the findings of the review team or

the conduct of the review to any other university, any member of the public or the

media.

Contribute a requested by the QA Unit, to the evaluation of the process by offering

constructive comment of their experiences as a reviewer.

It is expected that peer reviewers will provide the entity with judgments basing on

the review observations for all the QA areas and overall.

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IQACOM Annex 11

Internal Audit Scale

Internal Academic Audit

Rating Scale

Rating

Description

(Excellent)

There are clear and documented policies, procedures and strategies,

which are consistently followed across the school. Conformance to

these policies, procedures or strategies is being monitored and action

taken for improvement.

(Very Good)

There are clear and documented policies, procedures and strategies,

which are mostly followed. Conformance to these policies,

procedures or strategies is being monitored and action taken for

improvement.

(Good)

Some form of process takes place, but policies/procedures/strategies

are not clearly stated or documented. Adherence and monitoring

takes place but are not consistent.

(Poor)

Process takes place in isolation. There are no clear policies/

procedures/strategies guiding the implementation of the process.

Monitoring is not consistent.

(Unsatisfactory)

No evidence of any policy/procedure/strategies. Process or action

takes place on ad-hoc basis when necessary.

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IQACOM Annex 12

TEMPLATE OF FACULTY/DEPARTMENT QUALITY

ASSURANCE REPORT

(Will be prepared by the degree offering entity and forwarded to IQAC through Faculty

QA Cell)

QUALITY ASSURANCE REPORT (QAR)

(Name of the Entity with address and website)

Basic Information

Date of Establishment:

Total Number of Staffs:

Items

Male

Female

Total

Full

Part

Full

Part

time

Teachers

Teachers with PhD

Administrative staff

Support Staff

Total

1.3 Number of Faculty Positions:

Position

Total

Recruited During the

Position Remains

Faculty

Year

Vacant

Lecturer

Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Professor

Total

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1.4 Faculty Members participation in conferences and symposia during the year:

International

Total

Status

No. of Faculty

National level

level

Attended

Seminars/

Workshops

Presented

papers

Resource

Persons

1.5 Total Number of Students

Items

Male

Female

Total

Students:

International students

Total

1.6 Academic Programs of the Entity:

Programs added during

Programs

Existing Programs

the year

Programs

PhD

M. Phil

Masters

Under Graduate

PG Diploma

Advanced Diploma

Diploma

Certificate

Others

Total

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1.7 Accreditation Details (if any)

Name of the Programs

Year of Accreditation

Validity Period

Pattern of Program Management : Trimester /Semester /Annual

Development in Infrastructure Facilities:

Facilities

Existing

Created during this

Total

year

Class rooms

Laboratories

Seminar Halls

No. of important equipments

purchased during the current year.

Others (If any)

1.10 Scholarships and Financial Support to the students:

Number of students

Amount

benefitted

Financial support from

institution

Financial support from

government

Financial support from other

sources

International/

National

scholarships

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Co-curricular and Extra-curricular Activities organized by the students during this year:

Community Welfare Activities organized during this year:

Activities organized under university industry collaboration:

Quality improvement strategies adopted for each of the QA areas:

Activities undertaken for staff development during this year:

Initiatives taken to make the campus eco-friendly:

1.17 Number of collaborations: International …. National … Any other

Number of linkages created during this year: International …. National

Research Budget of the university for the year:

Number of patents received this year

Number of research awards/ recognitions received by faculty and research fellows during

this year:

1.22 Research funds sanctioned and received from various sources:

Nature of the

Duration

Source/Funding

Total Fund

Project/Research

Year

Agency

received

1.23 Research publications during the year:

International

National

Others

Peer Review Journals

Non-Peer Review Journals

e-Journals

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Conference proceedings

Books

1.24 Number of organizations /Clubs active during the year:

Nature of Organizations

Total

Students Society

Cultural

Sports

Cadet/Scouts

Community club

Philanthropic Club

Others (Pls. Specify)

IQAC cooperation received during the year

Summary of program self assessment specifying SWOT and recommendations if

conducted during this year and not reported before:

Name of the Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Recommendations

programs

Summary of Teacher Evaluation Report by the Student

Summary of Annual Course Report

Describe the evidences of best practices during this year:

Achievements with reference to milestone and performance indicators

Benchmark for the coming year

Probable Constraints to achieve the benchmark(s)

Conclusion

Summary of Action plan for the next academic year

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Name & Signature of the Head/Chairman _______________________________

IQACOM Annex 13

ANNUALINSTITUTIONAL QUALITY ASSURNACE REPORT

Note:

Institutional Quality Assurance Report (IQAR) will be a summary of the AQAR reports

prepared by the degree offering entities of the university.

The IQAC shall be responsible for the preparation of Annual Institutional Quality

Assurance Report.

The IQAC shall submit the report to the Academic Council after presenting it to the

QAC. Thereafter one copy of the report is submitted to the Syndicate and another

copy to the QAU, UGC.

ANNUAL INSTUTIONAL QUALITY ASSURANCE REPORT

(AIQAR) (Name of the University with address and website)

Basic Information

Date of Establishment of IQAC:

IQAC Received Fund During the Year:

Sl.

Source

Amount

Total

1.3

Total Number of Departments:

Faculties:

Centers:

Institutes:

1.4

Addition during the Year: Departments:

Faculties:

Centers:

Institutes:

1.5

Total Number of Staffs:

Items

Male

Female

Total

Full

Part

Full

Part

time

Teachers

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Teachers with PhD

Administrative staff

Support Staff

Total

1.6 Number of Faculty Positions:

Position

Total

Recruited During the

Position Remains

Faculty

Year

Vacant

Lecturer

Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Professor

Total

1.7 Faculty Members participation in conferences and symposia during the year:

Status

No. of

International

National level

Total

Faculty

level

Attended

Seminars/

Workshops

Presented

papers

Resource

Persons

1.8 Total Number of Students

Items

Male

Female

Total

Students:

International students

Total

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1.9 Number of Academic Programs

Programs added during

Programs

Existing Programs

the year

PhD

M. Phil

Masters

Under Graduate

PG Diploma

Advanced

Diploma

Certificate

Others

Total

1.10 Accreditation Details (if any)

Name of the

Year of

Institution

Validity Period

Programs

Accreditation

1.11 Pattern of Program Management

Pattern

Number of Programs

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Trimester

Semester

Annual

1.12 Development in Infrastructure Facilities:

Facilities

Existing

Created during this

Total

year

Campus area

Class rooms

Laboratories

Seminar Halls

No. of important

equipments purchased

during the current year.

Others (If any)

1.13 Library services:

Existing

Added during

Total

this year

No.

Value

No.

Value

No.

Value

Text Books

Reference Books

e-Books

Journals

e-Journals

Digital Database

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CD & Video

Others (specify)

1.14 Scholarships and Financial Support to the students:

Number of students

Amount

benefitted

Financial support from institution

Financial support from government

Financial support from other

sources

International/ National scholarships

Co-curricular and Extra-curricular Activities organized by the students during this year:

Welfare activities for the university community during this year:

Activities organized under university industry collaboration:

Quality improvement strategies adopted by the institution for each of the QA areas:

Activities undertaken for staff development during this year:

Initiatives taken to make the campus eco-friendly:

1.21 Number of collaborations: International …. National … Any other

Number of linkages created during this year: International …. National

Research Budget of the university for the year:

Number of patents received this year

Number of research awards/ recognitions received by faculty and research fellows

during this year:

Research funds sanctioned and received from various sources:

Nature of the

Duration

Source/Funding

Total Fund

Project/Research

Year

Agency

received

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1.27 Research publications during the year:

International

National

Others

Peer Review Journals

Non-Peer Review Journals

e-Journals

Conference proceedings

Books

1.28 No. of organizations /Clubs:

Nature of Organizations

Total

Students Society

Cultural

Sports

Cadet/Scouts

Community club

Philanthropic Club

Others (Pls. Specify)

IQAC Activities during the year

Number of IQAC meetings held during the year:

Number of meetings held with stakeholders during the year:

Stakeholders

Total

Students

Teaching staffs

Non teaching staffs

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Parents

Employers

Community leaders

Alumni

Others (Pls. Specify)

2.3 No. of Seminars/Conferences/ Workshops/Symposia organized by the IQAC:

Items

National

International

Total

Seminar

Workshop

Conference

Study Tour

Training

Number of programs carried out Self Assessment (If it is done during the academic

year):

Number of program completed External Peer Review and validation(if any):

Summary of program self assessment specifying SWOT and recommendations:

Name of the Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats Recommendations

programs

2.7 Summary of Institutional self assessment and external peer review:

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Recommendations

2.8 Summary of Audit Reports during the academic year

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Issue consideration

Good practice highlighted in reports

Summary of Teacher Evaluation Report by the Student

Summary of Annual Course Report

Describe the evidences of best practices during this year:

Achievements with reference to milestone and performance indicators

Benchmark for the year

Probable Constraints to achieve the benchmark

Conclusion

Summary of Action plan for the next academic year

Name & Signature of the Director, IQAC _______________________________

Name & Signature of the Vice Chancellor _______________________________

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IQACOM Annex 14

DECLARATION OF IDEPENDANCE AND

CONFIDENTIALITY FORM

(This form is to be completed by officers involved in audit prior to an audit exercise.)

Name:

Title/Position within the University:

Faculty/Department:

Declaration of Independence and Disclosure of Conflict of Interest:

Declaration of Confidentiality

I, hereby, declare that I shall hold in confidence all information obtained during this

audit and shall deal with it in accordance to my terms of reference.

Declaration of Independence

“As the Chairperson/Member (delete as appropriate) of the audit team for (state the

name of the audit here), I declare that to the best of my knowledge and belief I am able

to carry out my responsibilities as required by my terms of reference without bias and

independently.

Disclosure of Conflict of Interest

I declare that in carrying out my responsibilities in this audit exercise, I:

(tick where appropriate)

am not at risk of any possible conflict of interest

declare a possible conflict of interest (please provide details below)

______________________________________________________

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I, (name of the audit team member), hereby affirm the truth of the statements made above

and I understand that I will be required to discontinue my current responsibilities if any of

the above is shown to be untrue.

______________________________________

(Signature of Person submitting the Statement)

____________

Date

*******************For Official Use ONLY*******************

Declaration accepted and verified by:

Comments/Observation if any:

__________________________________________________________________________

Name of IQAC Officer: _________________________________

Signature: ____________________________________________

Date: ________________________________________________

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IQACOM Annex 15

TEACHER EVALUATION FORM

(To be filled by the student)

This checklist includes statements for evaluating ‘Teaching Performance’ of a teacher. You

as a student are requested to give your sincere comment against each of the statements. Your

sincere evaluation will be helpful for improving ‘teaching quality’ of your honorable teacher

community. Be honest!!

Course Title and Number:__________________________________________

Name of Instructor: ___________________Semester____________________

Department: ________________________Degree________________________

Evaluate the following aspects of the teaching performance in terms capacity to provide

quality education by marking “√” in the box of corresponding column according to the scale

given:

5–Strongly agree; 4–Agree; 3–Neutral; 2–Disagree; 1–Strongly disagree;

Scale

Aspects related to Teaching Performance

5 4 3 2 1

A: Subject Matter Knowledge

Have sound and updated knowledge on subject

Gives adequate information considering students level

Makes topics easily understandable

Gives appropriate and lively examples from real life situation to

motivate the students for learning

Provides additional material apart from the textbook

B: Presentation and Management

Has clear and audible voice

Keeps class lively using wit (humor) & body language

Encourages students’ participation (question-answer)

Controls and maintain conducive environment for learning

Provide and maintain lesson plan

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C: Assessment

Remains keen and use multiple techniques for continuous assessment

Sets easily understandable questions

Sets questions relevant to intended learning outcomes

Remains fair and unbiased in assessment

Provide prompt feedback after every assessment

D: Students’ Development

Always keen to explore potentials of the students

Provide guidance and counseling

Plays a role model for values and ethics

E: Professional Behavior

Remains honest, polite and gentle in any situation

Shows respect towards students and encourages class participation

Arrives and leaves the class on time

Always completes the whole course

Available during the specified office hours and for after-class

consultations

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IQACOM Annex 16

CLASS ROOM TEACHING OBSERVTION

REPORT FORMAT

(To be filled by the peer observer in class)

A. General Information

1. Name of the program:

2. Name of Teacher:

3. Name of Observer:

4. Title of Presentation:

5. Venue /Date/Time:

B. Aspects Evaluated and Scoring Scale

5-Excellent

4-Very good

3-Good

2-Fair

1-Poor

(Please circle the score for each aspect)

Description

Level of Evidence

1. Set Induction

Clarity of objectives

Relevance to topic

Appropriateness of introduction

Subtotal for Section B1

2. Content

Knowledge

Extend of coverage

Level of interest generated

Logical flow of presentation

Correctness of language used

Clear

and

relevant

use

analogies/examples

Subtotal for Section B2

Presentation

Appropriate pacing

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Confidence

Enthusiasm

Provoking students to think

Clarity of presentation

Interaction with students

Effective use of teaching/learning aids

Effective class management

Subtotal for Section B3

Closure

Appropriateness of closure

Use of effective questions to gain

feedback

Appropriate links to the next lesson

Subtotal for Section

B4 Total Score

Score Interpretation

90 to 100 Excellent

80 to less than 90 Very Good

70 to less than 80 Good

60 to less than 70 Fair

50 to less than 60 Poor

40 to less than 50 Very poor

Observer’s Overall Comments and Suggestions for Improvement

Presenter’s Comment/Remarks

Signatures:

Observer/Date

Presenter/Date

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IQACOM Annex 17

SURVEY FORM FOR PhD PROGRAMSOFFERING ENTITY

The following information is required for Departments in which a PhD program is offered.

General Information:

1.1

Name of the Department

1.2

Name of the Faculty

1.3

Date of initiation of PhD program

1.4

Total number of academic journals subscribed in area relevant to PhD

program.

1.5

Number of Computers available per PhD student

1.6

Total Internet Bandwidth available to all the students in the Department.

Faculty Resources:

2.1

Number of faculty members holding PhD degree in the department.

2.2

Number of approved PhD Advisors in the department.

Research Output:

3.1

Total number of articles published last year in International Academic

Journals that are authored by faculty members and students in the

department.

3.2

Total number of articles published last year in Asian Academic Journals

that are authored by faculty members and students in the department.

3.3

Total number of ongoing research projects in the department funded by

different organizations

3.4

Total Research Funds available to the Department from all sources.

3.5

Number of active international linkages involving exchange of

researchers/students/faculty etc. (Attach Details)

Student Information:

4.1

Number of PhD degrees conferred to date to students from the

Department during the past three academic years.

4.2

Number of PhD students currently enrolled in the department.

4.3

Ratio of number of students accepted to total number of applicants for

PhD Program.

Program Information

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5.1

Entrance requirements into PhD Program (M.Sc. / MPhil) Indicate

subjects or M.Sc. / MPhil

5.2

Is your PhD program based on research only? (Y/N)

5.3

Maximum number of years in which a PhD degree has to be completed

after initial date of enrollment in PhD program.

5.4

Total number of post M.Sc. (16 year equivalent) courses required for PhD

5.5

Total number of MPhil level courses taught on average in a Term /

Semester.

5.6

Total number of PhD level courses taught on average in a Term /

Semester.

5.7

Do your students have to take/write:

PhD Qualifying examination (Y/N)

Comprehensive examination (Y/N)

c. Research paper in UGC approved Journal

d. Any other examination (Y/N)

5.8

Total number of International examiners to which the PhD dissertation is

sent.

5.9

How is the selection of an examiner from technologically advanced

countries carried out?

5.10

Is there a minimum residency requirement (on campus) for award of PhD

degree?

Additional Information

6.1

Any other information that you would like to provide.

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IQACOM Annex 18

Activity Chart of QAU

Preparing List of Peer

Reviewers

Program Self

Assessment

Guidelines

IQAC

Programs

Self Assessment

/External Peer

Review

Reporting by

Discipline Specific

Accreditation

Committee

Universities Judgment

standards and

Evaluation guidelines

IQAC

University

QAACB Self

Assessment

QAU

University Evaluation

by External Peers

(Council Members)

QAU Reports Published

Quality

Program

Management at

Accreditation

University Level

Quality Management in Higher Education

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Figure 1: Flow Chart on QAP Selection Process (09 weeks)

IQACOM Annex 19

QAU,

UGC

Universities

Call for Proposals by QAU

for 1

round of IQACF for

Group A Universities

Preparation of draft QAP

by universities in four

weeks

Review and approval of QAP by

QAC of each university

Submission of QAP by

universities to QAU on the

completion of four weeks

Checking of QAP by QAU

for its completeness in three

days

Rationalization of budget,

financing and procurement

plans of selected QAPs in

one week

Sharing of reviewers’

comments with IDA in

three days

Preparation of database on

reviewed QAPs by QAU in

two days

Review of QAPs by panel of

experts in two days

Final selection of QAPs by

QAU in two days

Publication of award in one

day

Processing of contract by

QAU in one week

Signing of contract with

the Universities in one day

Preparation of QAP database by

Resubmission of QAP if

QAU in two days

needed in three days

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ICIUCC 2024

ICISET 2024

Hon’ble Chancellor

Vice-Chancellor

Pro Vice-Chancellor

Divisions

Divisions

Faculty of Shariah and Islamic Studies

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Faculty of Business Studies

Faculty of Arts and Humanities

Faculty of Law

Faculty of Social Science

Center for Research & Publication

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