BITS Pilani - the Tower that Empowers
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) that laid special emphasis on upholding the quality of higher education in India.
NAAC's process of assessment is towards holistic, systematic, objective, data-based, transparent and shared experience for institutional improvement. For the assessment of a university, the NAAC follows a three-stage process which is a combination of self-study and peer review. The three stages are: The preparation and submission of a self-study report by the unit of assessment, the on-site visit of the peer team for validation of the self-study report and for recommending the assessment outcome to the NAAC, the final decision by the Executive Committee of the NAAC. Any assessment and subsequent accreditation is made with reference to a set of parameters so that the standing of an institution can be compared with that of other similar institutions.
NAAC has identified seven criteria to serve as the basis of its assessment procedures which include Curricular Aspects, Teaching-Learning and Evaluation Research, Consultancy and Extension, Infrastructure and Learning Resources, Student Support and Progression, Governance and Leadership, Innovative practices.
In the New Methodology, NAAC grades the institutions for each Key Aspect under four categories, viz. A, B, C and D, denoting Very Good, Good, Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory levels respectively. The summated score for all the key aspects under a Criterion is then calculated with the appropriate weightage applied to it and the Grade Point Average (GPA) is worked out for the Criterion. The Cumulative GPA (CGPA), which gives the final Assessment Outcome, is then calculated from the seven GPAs pertaining to the seven Criteria, after applying the prescribed weightage to each Criterion.
According to NAAC, only Institutions which get a minimum CGPA of 3.01 on a 4 point maximum scale are given ‘A’ and declares such an institution with a High level of academic accomplishment as Very Good. CGPA in the range 2.01 to 3.00 gets a ‘B” grade meaning Good and CGPA of 1.51 to 2.00 gets a ‘C’ grade meaning Satisfactory. CGPA less than 1.50 gets a ‘D’ grade meaning Unsatisfactory.
The Birla Institute of Technology and Science - BITS Pilani went through the rigorous procedures required by NAAC meticulously and the experts from NAAC visited not only the Pilani campus but also the Dubai campus and Goa campus.
On receiving the coveted ‘A’ grade for 3.71 CGPA and Very Good University ranking from NAAC, Vice Chancellor Prof LK Maheshwari attributed the achievement to the combined efforts of the faculty and students of various campuses of BITS Pilani and reiterated that the journey to excellence will continue.
