Introduction
As per the guidelines of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), the establishment of Internal QualityAssurance Cell (IQAC) is a mandatory requirement for all NAAC-accredited institutions. Anna University was reaccredited by NAAC in the year 2014 with A grade(CGPA 3.46 out of 4). The IQAC of Anna University, since its inception, has been consistently and actively involved in quality sustenance and quality enhancement activities. It is a participative cell of the University that works on evolving strategies to remove deficiencies and enhance quality, thus channelizing the efforts of the University towards achieving holistic academic excellence.
Objectives
The objectives of the IQAC are to
- To develop a system for conscious, consistent and catalytic action to improve the acedemic and administrative performance of the University.
- To promote measures for the institutional functioning towards quality enhancement through internalization of quality culture and institutionalization of best practices.
Accordingly, IQAC strives to evolve mechanisms and procedures for
- Ensuring timely, efficient and progressive performance of academic, administrative and financial tasks;
- The relevance and quality of academic and research programmes;
- Equitable access to and affordability of academic programmes for various sections of society;
- Optimization and integration of modern methods of teaching and learning;
- The credibility of evaluation procedures;
- Ensuring the adequacy, maintenance and proper allocation of support structure and services;
- Sharing of research findings and networking with other institutions in India and abroad.
Functions
Some of the functions expected of the IQAC are as follows :
- Development and application of quality benchmarks/parameters for various academic and administrative activities of the institution;
- Facilitating the creation of a learner-centric environment conducive to quality education and faculty maturation to adopt the required knowledge and technology for participatory teaching and learning process;
- Arrangement for feedback response from students, parents and other stakeholders on quality-related institutional processes
- Dissemination of information on various quality parameters of higher education;
- Organization of inter and intra institutional workshops, seminars on quality related themes and promotion of quality circles;
- Documentation of the various programmes/activities leading to quality improvement
- Acting as a nodal agency of the Institution for coordinating quality-related activities, including adoption and dissemination of best practices
- Development and maintenance of institutional database through MIS for the purpose of maintaining /enhancing the institutional quality
- Development of Quality Culture in the institution
- Preparation of the Annual Quality Assurance Report (AQAR) as per guidelines and parameters of NAAC, to be submitted to NAAC
Benefits
IQAC will facilitate / contribute
- Ensure heightened level of clarity and focus in institutional functioning towards quality enhancement;
- Ensure internalization of the quality culture
- Ensure enhancement and coordination among various activities of the institution and institutionalize all good practices
- Provide a sound basis for decision-making to improve institutional functioning
- Act as a dynamic system for quality changes in HEIs
- Build an organised methodology of documentation and internal communication.
Monitoring Mechanism
The institutions need to submit yearly the Annual Quality Assurance Report (AQAR) to NAAC. A functional Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) and timely submission of Annual Quality Assurance Reports (AQARs) are the Minimum Institutional Requirements (MIR) to volunteer for second, third or subsequent cycle’s accreditation. During the institutional visit the NAAC peer teams will interact with the IQACs to know the progress, functioning as well quality sustenance initiatives undertaken by them
The Annual Quality Assurance Reports (AQAR) may be the part of the Annual Report. The AQAR shall be approved by the statutory bodies of the HEIs (such as Syndicate, Governing Council/Board) for the follow up action for necessary quality enhancement measures.
Council Members
Under the Chairmanship of esteemed Vice Chancellor of Anna University, the Internal Quality Assurance Council of Anna University has been constituted as per the norms of NAAC, with following members under varying categories.
| SI. NO | Role in council | Profile as defined by NAAC | Nominated Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chairperson | Head of the Institution | Dr.R.Velraj, Vice Chancellor |
| 2 | Member | Senior Administrative Officer | Dr.G.Ravikumar, Registrar i/c |
| 3 | Member | Senior Administrative Officer | Mr.T.Srinivasan, Finance Officer |
| 4 | Member | Management | Dr.D.Mohan Lal, Director - P&D |
| 5 | Member | Management | Dr.C.Umarani, Director - CFR |
| 6 | Member | Management | Dr.Hosimin Thilagar, Director - Academic Courses |
| 7 | Member | Management | Dr.K.Baskar, Director - CTDT |
| 8 | Member | Senior Teacher | Dr.L.Suganthi, Dean - CEG |
| 9 | Member | Senior Teacher | Dr.T.Thyagarajan, Dean - MIT |
| 10 | Member | Senior Teacher | Dr.S.Meenakshisundaram, Dean - ACT |
| 11 | Member | Senior Teacher | Dr.K.R.Sitalakshmi, Dean - SAP |
| 12 | Member | Senior Teacher | Dr.J.Prakash, NIRF Nodal Officer |
| 13 | Member | Teacher | Dr.Sabitha Ramakrishnan Deputy Director - IQAC |
| 14 | Member | Teacher | Dr.S.Meenakumari IQAC Campus coordinato r - CEG |
| 15 | Member | Teacher | Dr.G.Balamurugan IQAC Campus coordinator - MIT |
| 16 | Member | Teacher | Dr.K.V.Radha IQAC Campus coordinator - ACT |
| 17 | Member | Teacher | Mrs. R. Rajeswari IQAC Campus coordinator - SAP |
| 18 | Member | Local Society | Mr. A. J. Balasubramani, Director - Aigilix Health |
| 19 | Member | Alumni | Dr. Indumathi Nambi, Professor - Civil Engg, IIT Madras |
| 20 | Member | Employer | Mr. Naren Krishnan, Sr IBM Certified IT Architect, IBM |
| 21 | Member | Industrialist | Mr. K. E. Raghunathan, President-AIMO & Managing Director- Solkar Solar Ind. |
| 22 | Member | Student Members | Mr. K. Rakesh, President - Students Quality Council |
| 23 | Member | Student Members | Ms. S. Shruthi
Ms. K. Diviya Seshani |
| 24 | Coordinator | Director, IQAC | Prof. Dr. Kurian Joseph , CES, Civil Engineering |