DOCUMENT CONTROL AND INDEX

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION, PURPOSE AND SCOPE

1. INTRODUCTION

Accreditation is treated as a continuous quality system rather than a periodic documentation exercise. This policy integrates institution-level quality assurance for NAAC with programme-level Outcome-Based Education and accreditation for NBA. It establishes governance, evidence, internal audit, gap closure, stakeholder participation and truthful reporting requirements for all accreditation cycles and applicable transition frameworks.

2. PURPOSE

To maintain continuous institutional and programme readiness for NAAC and NBA, improve educational quality through evidence-based review, protect the integrity of submissions and convert accreditation observations into sustained academic and administrative improvement.

3. SCOPE

All academic programmes, departments, statutory and non-statutory bodies, IQAC, Controller of Examinations, R&D, placements, student support, administration, finance, library, laboratories, infrastructure, digital systems and stakeholders contributing data or evidence to NAAC, NBA or related quality reviews.

OBJECTIVES

4. OBJECTIVES

• Establish an integrated governance structure for NAAC institutional accreditation and NBA programme accreditation.
• Maintain authentic, current, traceable and auditable evidence throughout the year rather than creating records only before a visit.
• Implement Outcome-Based Education through curriculum, teaching-learning, assessment, attainment and continuous improvement.
• Align programme outcomes with the applicable NBA Graduate Attributes, Knowledge and Attitude Profiles and professional competencies.
• Use internal and external academic audits, stakeholder feedback and benchmarking to identify and close quality gaps.
• Ensure accurate submissions, responsible communication, visit preparedness and timely action on recommendations.

POLICY FRAMEWORK

5. GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Quality improvement is the primary objective; accreditation scores or status are outcomes of effective systems.
2. Every claim shall be supported by approved, retrievable and non-duplicated evidence linked to an accountable data owner.
3. Original operational records shall not be altered to improve an accreditation claim; corrections shall be traceable and authorised.
4. NAAC and NBA requirements shall be implemented in accordance with the latest applicable manuals, notifications and transition arrangements.
5. Students, faculty, alumni, employers and community partners shall participate meaningfully in feedback and improvement.
6. Accreditation evidence shall respect privacy, confidentiality, intellectual property, examination security and legal obligations.

6. GENERAL POLICY COMMITMENT

The Institution shall implement this policy through approved roles, adequate resources, documented procedures, transparent communication and measurable review. Decisions and exceptions shall be recorded and authorized by the competent authority.

INTEGRATED ACCREDITATION GOVERNANCE

7.1 NAAC AND NBA — COMPLEMENTARY QUALITY SYSTEMS

7.2 QUALITY ASSURANCE CYCLE

Accreditation preparation shall be embedded in normal work. The Institution shall not create retrospective evidence, alter original records or present a pilot activity as a fully institutionalised practice.

NAAC INSTITUTIONAL QUALITY FRAMEWORK

7.3 CONTINUOUS READINESS

The Institution shall comply with the current applicable NAAC framework, including any notified transition to basic/binary accreditation or maturity-based graded accreditation. During transition, IQAC shall maintain evidence compatible with the latest manual and preserve continuity of the established institutional quality domains.

NAAC EVIDENCE, DATA AND REVIEW CONTROLS

7.4 EVIDENCE ARCHITECTURE

• Every metric shall have a primary source, responsible data owner, approving authority, retention period and approved repository path.
• Data used across SSR, AQAR, annual reports, NIRF, AICTE and statutory returns shall be reconciled and differences explained.
• Evidence shall show implementation and outcomes, not only policy documents, circulars or photographs.
• Personal data shall be minimised or redacted before uploading to public or external systems.
• Hyperlinks and digital evidence shall be tested, stable and backed up before submission.

7.5 INTERNAL QUALITY REVIEW

• IQAC shall conduct quarterly criterion reviews and an annual institutional quality review.
• Departments shall submit action-taken reports with measurable closure evidence.
• Best practices shall demonstrate context, objectives, process, resources, outcomes, limitations and evidence of institutionalisation.
• Stakeholder feedback shall result in analysed, approved and communicated action rather than collection alone.

NBA REVISED OBE FRAMEWORK

The NBA January 2025 GAPC Version 4.0 SAR for undergraduate engineering programmes places Outcome-Based Curriculum, Teaching-Learning and Assessment at the centre of programme accreditation and introduces explicit Knowledge and Attitude Profiles (WK1–WK9) supporting Program Outcomes (PO1–PO11).

NBA KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE PROFILES (WK1–WK9)

Programmes shall map curriculum and assessment evidence to WKs where required and shall not treat WK mapping as a purely decorative intermediate layer.

NBA PROGRAM OUTCOMES (PO1–PO11)

NBA CRITERIA, ATTAINMENT AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

7.6 PROGRAMME-LEVEL CONTROL AREAS

7.7 ATTAINMENT INTEGRITY

• Assessment questions shall be mapped to COs before conduct and moderated for validity.
• Attainment methods, thresholds, weights, targets and data exclusions shall be approved and consistently applied.
• Direct and indirect measures shall be traceable to source records.
• Failure to meet a target shall trigger root-cause analysis and an implemented improvement action, not retrospective target reduction.
• Improvement shall be demonstrated through evidence across subsequent cycles.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

8. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• The Governing Council/Management reviews strategic quality goals and provides resources.
• The Principal is the accountable institutional authority for accreditation integrity and implementation.
• IQAC coordinates institution-level NAAC readiness, quality benchmarks, AQAR and evidence verification.
• The Accreditation Steering Committee integrates calendars, risks, data ownership, mock reviews and corrective actions.
• Dean Academics, COE and Academic Council ensure academic regulations, curriculum, assessment and OBE compliance.
• HODs and programme coordinators maintain programme-level NBA systems and evidence.
• Criterion coordinators and data owners validate records and certify submissions within their responsibility.
• IT/e-governance teams provide secure repositories, role-based access, backup, version history and dashboards.
• Faculty and staff maintain source records and implement approved improvement actions.

IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURE

9. IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURE

1. Publish the annual accreditation and quality calendar with owners, evidence cut-off dates and review milestones.
2. Map each criterion, metric or SAR requirement to source systems, evidence owners and approval authorities.
3. Conduct periodic data validation, internal academic audit, departmental review and institutional mock assessment.
4. Record gaps, root causes, risk level, corrective actions, budget, owner and target date.
5. Verify narrative claims against data and evidence before submission or publication.
6. Prepare stakeholders for peer interaction without coaching false or uniform responses.
7. Record visit observations, submit clarifications through authorised channels and implement post-accreditation action plans.

RECORDS AND COMPLIANCE

10. RECORDS AND EVIDENCE

• NAAC manuals, data templates, AQAR, SSR, DVV and peer-team evidence
• NBA SAR, programme files, curriculum, CO-PO-PSO-WK mappings and attainment records
• Accreditation calendars, responsibility matrices and evidence indexes
• Internal/external academic audit reports and action-taken reports
• Stakeholder feedback, analysis, approvals and continuous-improvement records
• Visit communications, clarifications, decisions and post-accreditation improvement plans

11. MONITORING INDICATORS

• Percentage of evidence validated by due date
• Closure rate and ageing of audit/accreditation gaps
• CO, PO and PSO target attainment and improvement actions
• Stakeholder participation and feedback action closure
• Number of data discrepancies, unsupported claims or duplicate evidence items
• Accreditation status, validity, recommendations and sustained compliance between cycles

12. CONFIDENTIALITY, RETENTION AND ACCESS

Records shall be accurate, retrievable and protected against unauthorized alteration, disclosure or destruction. Access shall be role-based and limited to legitimate institutional need. Retention and disposal shall follow the approved schedule and applicable requirements.

13. NON-COMPLIANCE

Non-compliance may result in corrective action, withdrawal of access or benefit, recovery of loss, disciplinary action, referral to a statutory body or other proportionate action after due process.

REVIEW AND APPROVAL

14. REVIEW AND AMENDMENT

The policy owner shall review this document at the stated cycle or earlier due to changes in law, regulation, institutional structure, technology, risk, audit findings or stakeholder requirements. Amendments shall take effect only after approval and version control.

15. REFERENCES

• NAAC manuals, AQAR guidance, notifications and applicable accreditation framework
• National Board of Accreditation SAR Format for Undergraduate Engineering Programs, GAPC Version 4.0, January 2025, and applicable manuals
• National Education Policy 2020 and applicable UGC/AICTE/Anna University requirements
• Institutional IQAC, Academic Audit, Examination, OBE, Research, Student Support and E-Governance Policies
• Applicable Washington Accord graduate-attribute and professional-competency framework as adopted by NBA

16. APPROVAL AND SIGNATURES

This is a controlled institutional document. Printed copies are uncontrolled unless specifically stamped and issued by the authorized office.