The NATIONAL ASSESSMENT AND ACCREDITATION COUNCIL (NAAC) is an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India to assess and accredit institutions of higher education in the country. It is an outcome of the recommendations of the National Policy in Education (1986) which laid special emphasis on upholding the quality of higher education in India.. Consequently, the NAAC was established in 1994.
Assessment and Accreditation is broadly used for understanding the "Quality Status" of an institution. In the context of Higher Education, the accreditation status indicates that the particular Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) - a College, a University, or any other recognised Unit therein, meets the standards of quality as set by the Accreditation Agency, in terms of its performance, related to the educational processes and outcomes, covering the curriculum, teaching-learning, evaluation, faculty, research, infrastructure, learning resources, organisation, governance, financial well being and student services.
Criteria for Assessment
NAAC has identified the following seven criteria to serve as the basis of its assessment procedures:
- Curricular Aspects
- Teaching-Learning and Evaluation
- Research, Innovations and Extension
- Infrastructure and Learning Resources
- Student Support and Progression
- Governance, Leadership and Management
- Institutional Values and Best Practices
Assessment Outcomes: There are two outcomes of Assessment and Accreditation:
- Peer Team Report
The qualitative part of the outcome is called Peer Team Report (PTR) which is an objective report prepared by the Team highlighting its evaluative judgements, mostly using precise keywords instead of long sentences.
- Institutional Grading
The quantitative part of the outcome comprises the criterion-wise quality assessment, resulting in the final Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), a letter grade and a performance descriptor. The CGPA and letter grade constitute the certification by the NAAC on institutional accreditation.