The National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) has brought in the Revised Accreditation Framework (RAF) to strengthen the accreditation and ranking of all Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in India. The new accreditations will be brought into force between April – May 2025. These proposed changes resonate with the groundbreaking National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which was introduced to improve the higher education standards of all Indian institutions.
Under the supervision of Dr. K Radhakrishnan, a committee was formed to make recommendations that emphasize a simple, technology-driven system that minimizes manual involvement in awarding accreditations. These recommendations strive to make the process more transparent and focus on providing a trust-based, credible system for approval and ranking of all the HEIs.
Following are the recommendations made by the committee.
Basic Accreditation & Maturity-Based Graded Levels: A Paradigm Shift
1. Basic (Binary) Accreditation
In this system, the institutions will be awarded either “Accredited” or “Not Accredited” eliminating the grading system. This radical step is aimed to bring aboard all the institutions onto the accreditation bandwagon creating a quality environment within the higher education sphere. This system simplifies accreditation outcomes paving the way for our institutions to compete with their global counterparts as many countries follow the same procedure.
2. Maturity-Based Graded Levels (MBGL)
Under this framework, the HEIs will be graded between the range of Level 1 to Level 5. The intent behind this system is to motivate the institutions to climb from Levels 1 to 4 i.e. “Institutions of National Excellence” and to reach the highest Level 5 to label themselves as “Institutions of Global Excellence for Multi-Disciplinary Research and Education”. This type of leveled accreditation will provide an incentive for the institutions to improve their quality and shape themselves as the best in the country.
The metrics for these accreditations focus on processes, outcomes, and impact across various aspects of HEIs. The parameters will consider the diverse nature of the HEIs by categorizing them based on vision and heritage and collecting information that is appropriate for the category they fall in. Institutions hailing from rural and remote areas will be offered guidance and handholding to secure better grading.
Applying Under New RAF: Points to Remember
HEIs in Cycle 2 and Above: Institutions falling under this category can retain the validity of their existing grades until the Basic & MBGL accreditations are in place. Then, these HEIs can choose either one of the accreditations based on their preparedness. The fees paid for the assessment will be adjusted according to the current stage of the accreditation process.
HEIs in Cycle 1: Institutions applying for the first time under the Revised Accreditation Framework (RAF) can only opt in for the Basic Accreditation. Similar to the HEIs in other cycles, the fees paid will be adjusted according to the current stage of the process.
One Nation One Data Platform: Transparent Data Repository
Along with the new accreditation procedures, the committee introduced the One Nation One Data Platform to ensure integrity and clarity in managing the data of the institutions. This platform can be used to collect major institutional data points intended for grading-related purposes. The data submitted can be cross-verified to ensure its authenticity on this platform. To make the process more smooth and friendly, stakeholders validation has been proposed as well.
This system has been designed by factoring in the concept of minimal verification visits to the institution. However, the institutions can incur heavy penalties if the submitted data turns out to be wrong.
Conclusion
In summary, NAAC’s new guidelines will transform the way accreditations and grading are given. These major changes will help institutions all over the country to strive for excellence, eminence, and acclaim. The interest in binary accreditation shows that the path has been set for the institutions to reach global standards.
The validation system in One Nation and One Data Platform and diverse categories for institutions indicate that NAAC is breaking all the one-size-fits-all techniques for better, friendlier procedures that the institutions deserve. NAAC under the guidance of UGC (University Grants Commission) is aiming to implement the updated guidelines before the end of 2024, improving the quality and credibility of all the institutions.