National Assessment and Accreditation Council

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) is an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India in 1994 to assess and accredit institutions of higher education in the country. It is an outcome of the recommendations of the National Policy in Education (1986) which laid special emphasis on upholding the quality of higher education in India.

Vision of NAAC

To make quality the defining element of higher education in India through a combination of self and external quality evaluation, promotion and sustenance initiatives.

Mission of NAAC

To arrange for periodic assessment and accreditation of institutions of higher education or units thereof, or specific academic programmes or projects;
To stimulate the academic environment for promotion of quality of teaching-learning and research in higher education institutions;
To encourage self-evaluation, accountability, autonomy and innovations in higher education;
To undertake quality-related research studies, consultancy and training programmes, and
To collaborate with other stakeholders of higher education for quality evaluation, promotion and sustenance.

Guided by its vision and striving to achieve its mission, the NAAC primarily assesses the quality of institutions of higher education that volunteer for the process, through an internationally accepted methodology.

Assessment and Accreditation is broadly used for understanding the “Quality Status” of an institution. In the context of Higher Education, the accreditation status indicates that the particular Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) – a College, a University, or any other recognised Unit therein, meets the standards of quality as set by the Accreditation Agency, in terms of its performance, related to the educational processes and outcomes, covering the curriculum, teaching-learning, evaluation, faculty, research, infrastructure, learning resources, organisation, governance, financial well being and student services.

Importance of NAAC Accreditation

Institution to know its strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities through an informed review process.
Identification of internal areas of planning and resource allocation
Collegiality on the campus.
Funding agencies look for objective data for performance funding.
Institutions to initiate innovative and modern methods of pedagogy.
New sense of direction and identity for institutions.
The society look for reliable information on quality education offered.
Employers look for reliable information on the quality of education offered to the prospective recruits.
Intra and inter-institutional interactions.

Eligibility Criteria of NAAC

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), with a record of at least two batches of students graduated, or been in existence for six years, whichever is earlier, are eligible to apply for the process of Assessment and Accreditation (A&A) of NAAC.

NAAC has identified a set of seven criteria to serve as the basis of its assessment procedures.