Students' Quality Assurance Cell

Preamble

One of the key principles of good governance in higher education is the concept of shared governance with dispersed leadership and participative management. This requires the representation of various stakeholders, including students, in the decision-making processes of the Institution, alongside the representation of faculty and administrators. An opportunity for Student leadership is an increasingly important part of the higher education experience and assuring its quality in particular. Involving students in the institutional governance is instrumental in creation of improved trust and better understanding in the campus community. While such opportunities, involvement and engagement also enables students’ personal growth and adds to the practical learning that comes with it; thereby facilitating judicious yet creative, Institutional governance coupled with assurance for quality.

The core of successful shared governance is open communication among the stakeholders of the system. Seeking input, listening to it, and considering it as a part of decision-making process strengthens confidence amongst all the stakeholders to mutually benefit each other and the Institution.

The real goal of higher education is to serve the primary function of nation-building and to create the next generation of positive leaders rather than to merely produce inert repositories of knowledge. Leadership development helps students strengthen their communication and collaboration skills, develop resilience, become more adaptable, and prepare for a world in which they will be expected to be agile and innovative.

 

Rationale

We firmly believe that students are the centre of all that we do and also value the need and importance of students’ participation and engagement in assuring the quality of the institution. Besides, there is much to learn from the student leaders who infuse an element of fun into their roles. It can indeed enrich and enhance our own approach to, and understanding of, leadership and management. Moreover, student leaders are significant resources for the growth of the campus atmosphere in education, culture and community. Student engagement therefore, can empower students to shape their own educational experience.

 

The Concept of Quality Assurance (QA)

Quality Assurance is about maintaining standards and ensuring students have the best possible experience at the Institute. It ensures standards are consistent within the institute and comply within the expected framework.

 

The Concept of Quality Enhancement (QE)

Quality Enhancement refers to the ways the institute systematically reviews and improves quality of its academic and administrative provisions from time-to-time.

The QE builds upon QA processes requiring planned changes to incrementally improve or enhance the quality of student’s overall learning experience. Together, QA and QE reflect the extent of confidence that students and other stakeholders have in the quality of education that is offered. Moreover, Quality Assurance and Accreditation are the more often pronounced words in the HEIs. Infusing quality culture calls upon the involvement of all stakeholders in the process. Students who are the major stakeholders play a vital role in the QA process of an institution.

 

The Students’ Quality Assurance Cell (SQAC)

Students being the key stakeholders of any institution, their role and participation in institutional decision-making can have a huge impact. In pursuance with the same, Students’ Quality Assurance Cell (SQAC) has been constituted as a constituent body of student community under the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of the institute.

SQAC endeavors to improve the academic and administrative performance of the institution by incorporating students’ perspectives in all matters. The student members of the SQAC shall support the institution in all its academic and non-academic endeavors, thereby facilitating to create learner-centric environment, internalize quality culture and institutionalize the best practices that are followed by the institution. It also encourages students’ participation in the quality initiatives including an opportunity to voice their views and opinion in matters of institutional governance.

SQAC shall strive to address regulatory requirements on the part of the institution regarding student involvement in QA. Their sincere and collaborative efforts in this direction can indeed bring metamorphosis. The Cell will also strive to explore possibilities for different ways of working that genuinely enable student-driven participation and democratic practice by realigning the student-teacher nexus and moving from traditional accountability to shared responsibility. Therefore, HEIs should provide for the development of a quality culture in which all internal stakeholders, including students, are responsible for quality and involved in the QA process.

 

Intent

To specify the framework and modalities for quality enhancement and quality assurance at the institute through students’ participation as think tanks. Therefore, enabling the institute to achieve its strategic promises, ensure quality outcomes and meet its statutory and regulatory obligations.

 

Dimensions of Quality Assurance (QA)

The concept of Quality Assurance adopts the Plan, Implement, Monitor / Review, and Improve (PIMI) Model for assuring quality and continuous improvement. However, the growing trend of assessing and assuring quality in HEIs is incredibly complex, as there are so many variables affecting both experiences and measures.

From a procedural perspective, QA enables to:

1. Develop a systematic, rigorous mindset towards, and way of looking at, planning, delivering and evaluating its work, and to do it methodically, collaboratively and collegially.
2. Conduct systematic analysis into the nature and impact of the work of members.
3. Understand the processes that lead the outcomes, so that it can be improved wherever necessary, i.e. QA has a clear formative agenda.
4. Improve, develop and ensure that the quality of the work undertaken is at the highest level, and that the processes for this exist amongst all, which are impacting on the quality of the work undertaken.
5. To establish whether there are appropriate and effective procedures and mechanisms for QA, and that these are working to ensure that the intended attributes of the institute are being achieved, to serve accountability, and to identify good practices within the institution.

From a leadership and management perspective, QA enables to:

1. Cultivate and conduct evidenced-based decision-making and leadership.
2. Develop collaborative and collegial practices and improve morale.
3. Identify what the institution stands for and where it is going.
4. Identify and to understand the distinctive strengths, accomplishments, needs, and future plans of work, which also serves the purpose of accountability.
5. Identify areas of common interest and to meet identified resource needs.
6. Ensure that the task in question is aligned not only to its own aims, objectives and intended learning outcomes, but also that that, these, in turn, are aligned to the strategic direction of the institution.
7. Enhance communication; improve morale and a sense of working towards a common aim of the best performance and operation of the task, by enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the work.

 

Quality Assurance – A means for Excellence

QA enables the Institute to:

1. Formulate, clarify and articulate its mission, vision, goals and objectives and its relation to those elsewhere in the institute.
2. Identify the unique and / or distinctive attributes of the institute.
3. Bring internal benefits to the Institute, faculty, department, programme and student community at large.
4. Bring external benefits to the students and the reputation of the institution.
5. Continuously improve themselves, the students and the work of the institution; both in terms of the medium and outcome of QA.
6. Serve accountability and sense of responsibilities.
7. Meets the external demands for demonstrating quality, QA and QE.

QA is developmental and it enables to:

1. Receive feedback and to take action as a consequence of feedback, setting collective priorities, and disseminating good practice
2. Identify needs and resources
3. Develop and implement action planning
4. Monitor and evaluate themselves, each other, students and the work in the institution
5. Identify strengths and weaknesses in its work
6. Know the possible areas which require intervention so as to make effective, sustainable and continuous improvements
7. Improve the quality of the work, the staff and students, the learning and achievement of the intended outcomes.

 

Important Links

SQAC Composition 2021- 22
SQAC Criterion-wise Members 2021- 22

 

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