Achieving a NAAC accreditation score of 3.26 and above is crucial for higher education institutions. This is their chance to upgrade themselves and get privileges in terms of new courses, research parks, foreign faculty members, programs, departments, and more. It is a gateway to being listed among the top five hundred universities. And with so much at stake, there is no option to settle for less.
However, the NAAC ranking criteria are quite challenging. HEIs need to gather data for the last 5 years and create a detailed report, which can be tedious and time-consuming. If you go by every single indicator to attain the desired score, the process can be lengthy. Hence, it’s better to slim-cut them.
We have summed up a few tips to help you improve your NAAC ranking:
- Get Each Program Accredited
Education courses are the foundation on which an institution is built. Therefore, before getting NAAC accreditation for your institution, prefer getting individual programs NBA accredited. This will add credibility to your institution and you can demonstrate OBE competency, which is one of the highest-scoring NAAC requirements. - Prepare in Advance
You can’t prepare for NAAC ranking in a day or month or year. It’s a continuous process where you have to work on academics, funding, infrastructure, research, and more. The IQAC and steering committee get a minimum of two years of preparatory time from the governing body of the institute to achieve the set standards of readiness to face NAAC. - Involve HODs and Heads
NAAC accreditation not just involves the IQAC and the Steering Committee but the entire leadership unit. When department and institution heads- Director, Vice-Chancellor, Deans, HODs, are a part of the process, it ensures more commitment, preparedness, and clarity.Keep them motivated so they can handle the pressure better! - Integrate an ERP
You can’t expect faculty to indulge in manual clerical work. Hence, it’s critical to get a cloud-based ERP system that automates data-connection tasks. This makes staff feel more confident and streamlines the entire workflow. - Never Ignore the SSR
What makes NAAC more complicated is submitting a Self-Study Report (SSR), a data-driven document that demands a high level of data accuracy on DVV metrics, extended profile, IIQA, and basic data. Well, you must be meticulous while working on different competencies under each head. - Study High-scoring Metrics
Invest enough time to understand additional high-scoring metrics as it will help you make the best of them and ensure you don’t miss any of them. To score maximum, focus on nine qualitative metrics, which include academic flexibility, evaluation process & reforms, teacher profile & quality, extension activities, research publications & awards, student satisfaction survey, student support, student progression, and best practices. - Opt-out of the Lowest-scoring Metrics
Along with the high-scoring qualitative metrics, pay attention to other parameters as well that score 20% or more of the total weightage. Analyze NAAC metrics carefully and ignore the ones that are 5% or below or those that involve a lot of time and data. - Do Some Serious Thinking
Lastly, there are a few qualitative metrics that require critical thinking but add up to 30% of the total NAAC score. Focusing on these criteria and getting them right can improve your ranking significantly.
Key Takeaway!
Once you are awarded NAAC accreditation, it will stay with you for the next five years. Hence, you need to be diligent, committed, and clear. Starting the process without any preparation or planning can lead your higher education institution to score low grades, which can have an adverse effect on admissions and growth.
CollPoll offers an AI-powered digital platform to help you with the NAAC accreditation process. Its automated tools eliminate any chances of manual errors or gaps in the system. It lets you handle qualitative and quantitative metrics smoothly and generate accreditation reports in no time.
