Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) Establishment Guidelines for Accredited Institutions

Each accredited organization should establish an Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) as a quality maintenance factor under its Action Plan for advancement evaluation, assessment, and accreditation, as well as quality up-degree of foundational principles of higher education, according to the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bangalore.

The IQAC’s work is a first step toward internalizing and institutionalizing quality improvement programs. Its success is contingent on a sense of belonging and participation among all the institution’s participants.

The IQAC can help an organization channel and formalize its efforts and initiatives toward academic excellence. It would be a constructive and participatory unit of the organization, rather than another hierarchical structure or document activity. The IQAC should represent a driving force for welcoming quality by devising engagement techniques to eliminate the inadequacies and improve quality. 

Composition of the IQAC 

Every institution’s IQAC might be directed by the institution’s chairperson and consist of the heads of significant academic and administrative departments, a few instructors, a few famous educationists, and other stakeholders.

The scale and complexity of the organization will determine the composition of the IQAC, therefore, faculty participation may vary. It aids in the design and supervision of institutions. IQAC also allows stakeholders or clients to take part in the institution’s quality improvement initiatives in a cross-sectional manner. Such respective members’ membership shall be for a term of two years. 

How to select the members of the IQAC?

Members of the IQAC must take on the responsibility of raising and increasing awareness inside the institution, as well as devoting time to sorting out the administrative specifics. Several measures must be considered while picking these members.

The following are some of them:

• It is recommended to select individuals from diverse backgrounds who have developed a reputation for honesty and quality in research and teaching. They should be cognizant of the institutional environment’s reality. They should be renowned for their dedication to enhancing teaching and learning outcomes.
• It is recommended that the coordinator be replaced every 2 – 3 years in order to introduce new ideas and initiatives into the organization.
• Professionals engaged in institutional operations such as the library, computer center, estate, student welfare, administration, academic responsibilities, examination, and planning and development would be ideal candidates for senior administrators.
• The managing executive should be someone who understands the institution’s goals, constraints, and potential and is dedicated to improving it. Representatives from the local society should be of high social status and have made substantial advances to society, particularly in the field of education. 

Benefits of IQAC

• Maintain a higher level of transparency and commitment in institutional operations in order to improve quality.
• Ensure that the quality culture is internalized.
• Ensure that the college’s various tasks and excellent practices are enhanced and integrated.
• To enhance institutional performance, provide a solid foundation for decision-making.
• Assist colleges in upgrading their quality by acting as a dynamic system.
• Create a system for documenting and communicating internally that is well-organized.

 Functions of IQAC

• Establishing and implementing quality benchmarks/parameters for the Colleges’ different administrative and academic activities.
• Encouraging the development of a learner-centered environment favorable to high-quality education, as well as faculty growth to implement the necessary knowledge and technology for collaborative teaching and learning.
• Organize for students, parents, and other stakeholders to provide input on quality-related institutional procedures.
• Information on the many quality characteristics of higher education is disseminated.
• Inter- and intra-institutional workshops, lectures on quality-related topics, and the development of quality circles are all examples of quality circles.
• Records of the College’s numerous programs/activities, to improve quality.
• Serving as the college’s regulatory authority for coordinating quality-related initiatives, such as the implementation and dissemination of best practices.
• For the goal of preserving/improving institutional quality, MIS is used to establish and maintain institutional information.
• Development of the College’s Annual Quality Assurance Report (AQAR) in the specified format, based on the quality parameters/assessment given criteria by the appropriate quality assurance authority (such as NAAC, NBA, or AB).
• Quality Radars (QRs) are developed every two years, and Integral Units of Colleges are ranked using the AQAR.
• Communication with SQACs in quality evaluation, maintenance, and enhancement efforts before and after accreditation.