In today's dynamic and ever-evolving educational landscape, ensuring quality education has become more crucial than ever. As part of its Action Plan for evaluating and improving the performance and quality of higher education institutions, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in Bangalore suggests that every accredited institution should establish an Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) to ensure continuous quality enhancement. The Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) stands as an indispensable entity, playing a pivotal role in promoting and sustaining excellence in higher education institutions. With its commitment to continuous improvement and holistic development, IQAC has emerged as a beacon of quality assurance, fostering a culture of excellence and accountability. At its core, IQAC serves as a catalyst for instilling a culture of quality across an institution. It acts as a driving force, guiding and inspiring all stakeholders to prioritize quality in every aspect of academic life. By establishing a framework for quality assurance and enhancement, IQAC encourages a comprehensive evaluation of teaching, learning, research, and administrative processes. It promotes the adoption of best practices, benchmarking with global standards, and continuous feedback mechanisms, thus cultivating a culture of excellence and innovation. During the post-accreditation period, institutions should focus their efforts on implementing the recommendations made by peer committees and fostering holistic academic excellence.
IQAC - VISION
• To ensure quality culture as the prime concern for the Higher Education Institutions through institutionalizing and internalizing all the initiatives taken with internal and external support.
OBJECTIVES
• To develop a system for conscious, consistent and catalytic action to improve the academic and administrative performance of the institution.
• To promote measures for institutional functioning towards quality enhancement through internalization of quality culture and institutionalization of best practices.
▪ To play the role of a nodal agency for quality related activities.
▪ To organize intra & inter institutional workshops / seminars/talks.
▪ To ensure accountability and credibility of the institution.
▪ To disseminate of information on various quality parameters.
▪ To suggest innovative methods of teaching and learning.
▪ To implement healthy practices in the institution.
FUNCTIONS OF IQAC
▪ Development and application of quality benchmark.
▪ Parameters for various academic and administrative activities of the instruction.
▪ Facilitating the creation of a learner- centric environment.
▪ Collection and analysis of feedback from all stakeholders.
• Disseminating information on various quality parameters in higher education.
▪ Organizing workshops, seminars, and quality circles on relevant themes.
• Documenting programs/activities that contribute to quality improvement.
• Coordinating quality-related activities and adopting best practices.
▪ A nodal agency for coordinating quality and cultivating a quality culture within the institution.
▪ Development and maintenance of Institutional database through MIS.
▪ Periodical conduct of Academic and Administrative Audit and its follow-up .
▪ Preparation and submission of AQAR as per NAAC guidelines.
COMPOSITION
The IQAC may be constituted in each institution under the Chairmanship of the Head of the institution. It will include heads of important academic and administrative units, a few teachers, distinguished educationists, representatives from local management and stakeholders. The composition of the IQAC may be as follows:
1. Chairperson: Head of the Institution
2. Senior administrative officers
3. Three to eight teachers
4. One member from the Management
5. One or two nominees from local society, students, and alumni
6. One or two nominees from employers/industrialists/stakeholders
7. A senior teacher as the coordinator/Director of the IQAC
Keeping in view with the above mentioned guidelines of formation of IQAC, Tihu College IQAC was formed on 04-12-2004 after completion of 1st cycle of NAAC accreditation in 2004. With the purpose of implementing recommendations of NAAC Peer Team during 1st cycle of accreditation, IQAC, Tihu College, Tihu is playing a role as a nodal agency for coordinating quality and cultivating a quality culture within the institution. It prepares action plans for evaluating, sustaining, and upgrading the overall quality of the college. Since its inception, the cell has been relentlessly working to inspire and provide guidance to students, teachers, and non-teaching staff in their pursuit of achieving excellence in quality. The IQAC has undertaken several significant measures to ensure quality assurance and maintenance, including the creation of a learner- centric environment, collection and analysis of feedback from all stakeholders, planning for examination reforms, organizing workshops, seminars, and quality circles on relevant themes, disseminating information on various quality parameters in higher education, enhancing facilities for the benefit of students, coordinating with the different stakeholders of the college, preparing and submitting of AQARs & SSR etc and finally leading the college to march ahead for excellence.
On the basis of the seven criteria of the NAAC manual, UGC guidelines and directions of Assam Govt., the IQAC has institutionalized a number of initiatives for quality assurance. Some of the quality initiatives taken by IQAC, Tihu College (during last five years) are mentioned below:
1. Introduction of the Teacher’s Academic Work Diary and submission of Course Completion Certificate are two initiatives by IQAC, Tihu College to maintain the quality of teaching learning of the college.
2. Another initiative is taken by the IQAC is the feedback mechanism. Feedbacks are collected from students, teachers, alumni and guardians through the Feedback system. Feedbacks are analyzed and actions taken thereof. From the academic year 2020-2021 IQAC takes initiative to implement online feedbacks from students, parents, teachers and alumni.
3. Introduction of formal mentoring system for students is another initiative by IQAC. All the faculty members are allocated certain number of students across different semesters and different departments. The students are required to report their mentors allotted to them and appraise him or her about the different issues, problems faced by them. The faculty keeps a track of the students and guides them throughout their stay in the institution and beyond.
4. The IQAC also frequently discusses Teaching/Learning, structure and methodologies which might require reviews. During during Covid pandemic period, the IQAC immediately organized online training programmes for teaching and non-teaching staff successfully to orient them for online classes.
5.Taking into account on this moral responsibly of our institution, the IQAC of Tihu College since the beginning of the nation-wide lockdown, started various students’ welfare programmes, like online essay competition, online creative writing competition, awareness programme on mental health and career counseling programme, gender sensitisation programme etc. and at the same time arranged different web-seminars on different relevant topics in this present scenario involving students, faculties and others from different parts of the country.
6.IQAC guides the departments in preparation of teaching plan, to maintain a Course File which includes information such as class routine, teaching plan, POs, COs, PSOs etc.etc. From the last academic year IQAC takes initiative in updating the college website according to the need of the time and now all the information regarding individual faculty and departments are uploaded in college website.
7. The IQAC has also institutionalized green practices to be followed by the various wings of the college. Different programmes related to environment are organized to sensitize students regarding environmental issues. Green Audit was conducted for the year 2021-2022 to assess the status of the green cover of the college followed by water audit, waste management practices and energy conservation strategies. The report contains some specific suggestions and recommendations to improve the existing environment related practices and IQAC takes follow up actions of the suggestions.
8. In order to enhance the learning outcome, the college has introduced the Continuous Internal Evaluation (CIE). The performance of the students is documented departmentally and analyzed. IQAC conducts External Academic & Administrative Audits to assess the incremental improvements of the college in various activities.
9. IQAC prepares AQAR and submits in time.
10. IQAC submits data to Gauhati University, NIRF and AISHE every year.
