IQAC Report 2016 - 2017



The Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), established in accordance with the NAAC guidelines, aims to work towards supporting and enhancing the academic and administrative performance of the Institution. It works towards developing a system for continuous performance enhancement of staff and students. The objectives of IQAC are enumerated as below:
a) Promoting innovative practices that continually improves the effectiveness of the learning experiences of students and staff.
b) Upholding the goals of quality enhancement and sustenance towards organizing various activities and programmes on the campus.
c) Promoting a learner centric environment for students and staff that foster the mission and vision of the Institution.
Below are listed strategies to realise the objectives of IQAC the above stated:
a) IQAC promotes qualitative measures for Institutional functioning towards internalization of quality culture and best practices.
b) IQAC is set up to ensure timely, efficient and progressive performance of academic, administrative and financial tasks. Steps are taken to ensure credibility of evaluation procedures and affordability of academic programmes for various sections of the society.
c) Qualitative steps are taken to integrate modern methods of teaching and learning to increase relevance and quality of Academics and Research programmes.
d) The Cell ensures the maintenance and functioning of the support structure and services.
e) The Cell promotes Research sharing and networking with other Institutions in India and abroad.

Major Initiatives of IQAC for the Academic Year 2016-17
A. Faculty Empowerment Programme (FEP)
An FEP for the Commerce and Management faculty was jointly hosted by St Joseph’s College of Commerce and Mount Carmel College from the 23 rd to 28 th of May 2016. The objective of this FEP was to give an overview of several recent trends in Commerce and Management. Some important highlights of the FEP were as below:

a) The 6-day Faculty Empowerment Programme (FEP) was conducted in accordance with the requirement of UGC.
b) For the first time a collaborative effort was made by SJCC and Mount Carmel College to jointly host an event spread over 6 days and comprising of sessions by several eminent speakers in the respective areas.
c) The first 3 days of the session focused on general topics pertaining to quality enhancement in teaching-learning, use of technology in classroom learning etc. While for the latter half of FEP, parallel sessions were conducted in specialized areas of Accounting & Finance, Marketing and Human Resources.
d) Several other colleges that participated in the FEP were NMKRV, St Joseph’s College, St Joseph’s Evening College and St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi, in addition to the faculty of St Joseph’s College Of Commerce and Mount Carmel College. Spread over a period of six days, eminent speakers shared deep insights into several issues and disciplines with the participants.
The deliberations on innovative teaching, learning and evaluation practices discussed in the sessions were useful to enhance quality in Higher Education. It also created a platform for educators to update themselves with the latest trends and developments in their areas of specialization.

B. Academic Audit of the College
The IQAC successfully organized an Academic Audit to evaluate the efficacy and robustness of our quality management procedures and to review our efforts towards continued enhancement of quality education. The Audit provided for a strategic overview of the entirety of teaching and learning activity. An External Panel of academic professionals with knowledge of Higher Education and experience of External Audit and Review visited our campus for the same purpose on 25 th July, 2016. A report of the review was produced by the team and the College responded to the report by preparing an action plan to address areas of recommendations and concerns that were identified.

C. UGC Visit for Extension of Autonomy
An expert committee of UGC, consisting of Prof. J.N. Mishra ( Chairman), Dr. B.T. Seetha (Member), Dr. Sudha Vyas ( Member), Prof. B.L. Shidramappa ( Govt. Nominee), Prof. K.K. Seethama ( University Nominee) visited the campus to review the autonomous status of the Institution on July 15 th and 16 th 2016. After which, the autonomous status of the Institution was renewed for a period of six years. ( 2016-17 to 2021-2022)

D. National Conference
A One Day National IQAC Conference on ‘New Approaches to Learning Outcomes and Assessment under Choice Based Credit System’ was organized on 10 th February 2017 with the objective to deliberate on innovative assessment and evaluation techniques that could be implemented to enhance quality in higher education. The Keynote Address session -“Traditional to Transformative Education - Are we Ready?” was delivered by Dr. Sheela Ramachandran former Vice Chancellor, Avinashilingam University, Coimbatore followed with 'Evaluation & Accountability' by Dr. Dhandapani R., Controller of Examinations, Amrita University Coimbatore and ‘ Learning Outcomes- Corporate Perspective’ by Mr. Tanvir Singh ‘India Leader for Campus Recruitments and University Relations’ - EY GDS, Bangalore. The highlight of the conference was the case study presentations via webinar by Ms Jane Towers-Clark Head of University Development, ACCA, London.

The deliberations at the Conference focused on the issues related to present examination system and suggestions for its improvement to make it adaptable to the present global scenario.

E. Exit Interview
Exit interviews, conducted for the outgoing students, are done in order to glean feedback from employees and use them to improve the quality of education. The exit interview process involves approximately 150 students taking up the interview in which a common questionnaire is answered by the students. The responses of students is later analyzed and incorporated into the Plan of Action. For the first time, this academic year, the exit interview was done online through Google forms.

F. Open House
Open House, conducted by the IQAC, is a platform for students to expresses their opinions, concerns and complaints regarding the day-to-day functioning of the college, academic and administrative aspects of the college. The main objective of the initiative is to strengthen the feedback mechanism to further accentuate the quality enhancement process.

As a part of this initiative, a general Open House was conducted on the 23 rd of January 2017 which consisted of both of UG and PG students. Students from UG and PG expressed few recommendations. The college was highly commended for its campus life and the exposure it provided, by the students.

G. Women’s Open House
To promote gender equality, the IQAC initiated a ‘Women’s Open House’, a session for the girl students to express their opinions, concerns and suggestions about issues concerning them in the college. The ladies’ representatives of all the classes, along with a few other girl students from the UG and PG department attended the session. Many issues were discussed and suggestions given for creating a gender equal space in college.

H. Gender Audit
To promote gender awareness, the IQAC initiated ‘Gender Audit’ for the first time in college premise in association with Women’s Forum. The major objectives of the audit were to foster gender equality in all aspects of college life and throughout the college community; to examine the policies and regulations of the college towards the needs and interests of both the male and female students of the college; and to take active steps to establish good gender balance in decision-making processes in all areas of the college activities. It was an effective attempt seeing the current status of women across the nation.