Quality in Technical Education is the results of an intensive investment of Human
Resources and their effectiveness , infrastructure and the vision and mission of
the management. Quality is not a destination but a continuous journey, which has
to be ensured by proper choice. Any institution has to meet or exceed customer
expectations and satisfy all stake holders namely students, parents, faculty,
industry and society as a whole. A comparison between a quality institution and
an ordinary institution is given here under:
Quality Institution
Customer focused needs
Focus on prevention problems.
Treats complaints as an opportunity to learn
Has a quality policy and plan
Senior management seen is leading quality
The improvement process involves everybody
Is clear about roles and responsiblites
Has clear evaluation strategies
Plans longterm
Quality is seen as another part of the culture
Has a distinctive mission
Treats colleagues as customer
Source: Accreditation Manual of NBA, AICTE
One can understand how some institutions have become quality institutions
and why others have remained ordinary institutions based on various parameters
mentioned above. The institutions which are serious have risen on the
ladder of quality.
National Board of Accreditation
AICTE, the apex body for Technical Education in India have established
National Board of Accreditation. This autonomous body examines each
branch of any engineering college with regard to the following criteria.
Weight ages are also given to each of this criteria, the total marks being
1000.
Organization and Governance
Financial Resources Allocation and their Utilization
Physical Resources: Faculty & Staff
Human Resources; Students
Teaching-Learning Process
Supplementary Processes
Research & Development Initiatives and Interaction Efforts.
Criteria and weight ages in Accreditation Process
One can observe that human resources i.e. faculty and staff are given a
weight age of 200 marks and the teaching learning process 350 marks.
Many other parameters such as supplementary processes(Personality
Development, initiatives,etc.) R&D initiatives and interaction efforts
which also depend upon human resources are given due importance. The
financial and physical resources of the institution together aregivenonly
120 marks. Thus it is not the brick and mortar that make an institution,
but the human resources. Any institution will blossom mainly based on the
quality of human resources and the extent of motivation they have and
learning qualities they possess.
Washington Accord: USA, UK, Canada , Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and
South America are signatories of Washington accord. The important aspect of
this Accord is that degrees awarded by any institution accredited in one
country will be automatically accredited by other member countries of Washington
Accord. National Board of Accreditation of AICTE id given an observer status so
far by Washington Accord and its is likely to become full member in a short time
to come. Thus the equivalence of the degrees and the mobility of the graduates
will improve if the institution in which they study and the branch they study
are accredited.
Advantages of studying in and Accredited Institution
The graduates from accredited institutions will have a definite advantage
over others because of all round inputs they receive from the institution
during their studies. Today multinational companies are looking for
communication skills, team building skills and ability to work in a team
to achieve desired objectives, besides technical skills. An accredited
institution is expected to give attention to development of the above
skills in their students. All students who are seeking admission to an
institution and a branch are advised to look at the accreditation status
of a branch in an institution. Accreditation is given branch-wise based
on the excellence in quality of education offered by the faculty of the
branch concerned.
The Sub-parameters of Accreditation Process
The sub-parameters in various criteria are now briefly stated here under.
Organization and Governance:
Planning and Monitoring, Recruitment Procedure and Effectiveness,
Promotional Policies , Leadership, motivation, transparency ,
decentralization and delegation, constitution Governing
council/ management committee.
Financial resources , allocation and utilization
Budget allocated to the institution , budget allocated to the department
(Recurring budget & non-recurring budget).
Physical Resources (Central Facilities)
Hostel (Boys & Girls) , Power back-up provision at Institution ,
department and hostels , reprographic facilities , band , post-office,
counseling and guidance, language lab, medical facility, internet
facility, canteen , transport.
Human Resources(Faculty & Staff)
Numbers (AICTE norms, adequancy, quality & stability),
Qualifications(AICTE norms and beyond, participation of faculty in
institutional development / departments development / academic matters/
students development . Implementation and impact of faculty development
initiatives, Analysis and follow-up of performance appraisal, service
rules, pay package, incentives.
Human Resources (Support Staff (Tech./ Admn.)) Numbers (in programme labs,
computer centre, library, maintenance, main offices),qualifications/skills
(lab, office computer centre etc.),skill up gradation.
Human Resources-students
Student admissions , academic results, performance in competitive exams, placement.
Teaching –learning process
Deliver of syllabus, contents, any extra content taught to students,
academic calendar, continuation evaluation procedures, utilization of
lab equipment, information on internet, student cantered library ,
student feedback.
Supplementary processes
Extra & co-curricular activities, student publications/ award,
professional society activities , entepreneurship development ,
ethics, alumini information , personality development.
R&D initiatives and interactions effort
Budget for in house R&D activities and its utilization academic/ sponsored/
industrial research and development, publications and patents, industry
participation in dev. And student related activities, continuing education
(organizing & attending), consultancy and student project work.
Dilemma in the choice of good institution or good branch
There are cases where the institution has got high ration and the
branch in which the student is interested is not rated high. On the
other hand, there can be an institution which is not rated well but
a particular branch in which the student is interested is highly
rated. No the choice has to be make whether to give importance to
the institution or to the branch.
An institution is likely to make an impact on the overall development
of the student. Preference may be given to the institution with a hope
that the branch also will be improved over a period of time. In these
days of IT boom a student may choose any branch but at the same time
learn applications of IT. Domain knowledge is likely to be helpful
in software development. The opinions expressed by executives of Multi
National IT companies are that Non-IT recruits are doing better than
IT graduates students in the projects stage. In the light of the above
institutions may be given more weight age than the status of the branch
concerned.
What to look for in an institution /branch?
Accreditation status of institution
dAccreditation status of branch concerne
No.of professors in the institution and n the branch concerned
Total no.of teachers in the branch concerned
Campus placements in the branch concerned
Infrastructure facilities
Lab facilities
Library facilities
Internet connectivity’
Results in the uUniversity exams
Discipline and
Overall Environment.
Concluding Remarks
It is essential that the students and parents are to thoroughly study the status
of an the branch concerned before the choice is made. However, one can choose
and institution if it is accredited. Other aspects such as discipline, faculty ,
infrastructure and campus placements status are to be given great importance.
