Page 468 - Compendium of UGC Regulations 1957-2023

Regulations pertaining to Credits, Academic Programmes and Award of Degrees:

Process of Quality Audit

(A) Academic Planning : The main purpose of academic planning is to ensure that the overall
portfolio of delivered programmes offered by the Higher Educational Institutions is relevant
to market needs, reflects the Institution’s strategic direction and offers a high quality ‘value-
added’ learner experience. Academic planning promotes robust and appropriate procedures
to help ensure that every new programme starts with the best chance possible to admit and
retain viable learner cohorts. The Institution has a streamline modification process to support
staff in ensuring that the curriculum remains up to date. The guiding principle behind this
process is that all relevant stakeholders are communicated and consulted with and learners’
needs are assessed while launching new programmes.
(B) Validation : The main purpose of validation is to assure the Higher Educational Institution that
a new programme is academically viable, that academic standards have been appropriately
defined and that it will offer learners the best opportunity to learn.
(C) Monitoring, evaluation and enhancement plans : Across the Higher Educational Institution,
there would be various levels from where the reports are being generated to ensure quality
deliverance of the Open and Distance Learning programmes and their final outcomes. The
same are described as follows :
(i) Reports from Learner Support Centre : The Higher Educational Institution shall
collect the report of academic activities and other related activities periodically from
Learner Support Centres. There should be details of all the activities related to academic
planning, counseling, learner support, etc. The Higher Educational Institution shall
adopt the technological solutions for easy receipt of these reports. These reports will be
the base for the quality audit.
(ii) External examiner or other external agencies report: Programme development
teams and Centre for Internal Quality Assurance team shall consider the comments
made by experts and third party of quality audit. The Higher Educational Institution
shall also encourage to consider the adoption of identified good practices that will
benefit and develop the programme.
(iii) Systematic consideration of performance data at programme, faculty and Higher
Educational Institution levels : In order to make a meaningful evaluation and audit,
the Higher Educational Institution needs easy access to performance monitoring
information such as course pass rates, learner entry profiles and progression and
achievement reports. These shall be produced and available through web-based
application. The data collected through the application will be useful for report making
at the Higher Educational institution.
(iv) Reporting and Analytics by the Higher Educational Institution: Further, the Higher
Educational institution shall generate the required reports out of such web-based
applications and analyze learner and academic analytics for deciding the improvements
to be executed for stronger performance.

(v) Periodic Review : The Higher Educational institution needs to have an effective system
for soliciting feedbacks from the stakeholders regularly to improve its programmes.
There is a need for an integrated quality assurance system for its programmes and
implementation units, including the Learner Support Centres. The Higher Educational
institution needs to conduct self-assessments regularly and uses the results to improve
its operations andprogrammes.

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University Grants Commission