BAC Standards & Criteria
Internationally recognized statements of good practice for accreditation
Defined vision, mission and objectives of the POE are in accordance with those of the HEI and demonstrate the way that will serve the purposes of the stakeholders and society at large.
Vision
Mission
Objectives of the HEI and POE
Minutes of meeting regarding approval
Visible display
Included in Handbook/Brochure
The POE has well-communicated strategic plan that effectively guide its activities and is effectively implemented to achieve the defined vision, mission and objectives of the HEI/POE.
Strategic objectives
Necessary actions and implementation plan
Specific timeline with budget
Indicators to measure the achievements
Minutes of meeting relating to approval of strategic plan
Mechanism or system to collect input from the stakeholders for preparing the strategic plan
Minutes of meeting referencing the way inputs from faculty, staff, and other stakeholders were considered in preparing the strategic plan
Communication link that shows the way strategic plan is communicated among the concerned stakeholders
The HEI has an administrative setup with well-defined and well-communicated policy to receive complaints and redress the issues on sexual harassment for safe and sound environment.
Policy and procedure for redressing sexual harassment issues
List and name of the members of the committee to handle sexual harassment issues
Records, agendas and minutes of meetings relating to management sexual harassment issues in last one year
Name and contact details of the person(s) responsible to receive the complaints
Communication link that shows the way policy is well-communicated among the concerned stakeholders
The POE strictly maintains the academic calendar containing schedule of all academic activities under the academic program.
Approved academic calendar with specific date of starting class
Closing date of class
Summative/semester final examination
Publications of results in each semester/year
Notice and routine for class
Attendance register
Notification/gazette of publication of summative/semester final results in last two years/semesters
The HEI/POE has a documented class size policy and maintains class size that is appropriate for effective management of the teaching-learning-assessment to ensure better attainment of learning outcomes.
Official list of total enrolled students and number of sections in a semester of the program
Attendance registers for each of the section/class
Documents that describe that the classroom size and other facilities are adequate for the number of students in a class/section
Class teaching observation by the EQA team shows that class size is appropriate to make the class interactive and ensures the participation of majority students in class discussion
The HEI/POE is maintaining IT based student database/portfolio with contact details of students and their next of kin, academic details and other credentials and managed by dedicated staff with easy access.
Number of students included in the database
Number of profile viewers
Physical verification by the EQA/academic audit team
Assigned staff to carry out the responsibilities
The HEI/POE has an organizational structure with defined responsibilities in accordance with the legal framework under which the HEI is established.
Official documents of the administrative structure of the POE
Official documents on defined roles and responsibilities of the key official, Head of the POE, and staff relating to the management of the academic program
The HEI/POE maintains a set of values to foster social responsibility, diversity and inclusivity.
Documented and communicated values of the POE toward social diversity and cultural differences
Policy to offer/create opportunities for the diverse groups in the society
Documents related to programs organized and participation of students of the POE, in last one year
The POE and Head of the POE have sufficient autonomy with financial support to introduce innovative approaches for effective teaching-learning, research and management of the academic program.
Defined roles and responsibilities of the Head of the POE
Minutes of meetings, work plan to implement the innovative initiatives, reward/recognition for innovative initiatives and progress monitoring report
List of evidence(s) of initiatives taken and implemented to improve the governance, and teaching learning environment at the POE
Document that shows the financial allocations and authority of the POE to implement the innovative initiatives
HEI/POE maintains a well-defined and well-communicated transparent, fair and appropriate policy for recruitment of both faculty and professional staff.
Documented copy of faculty and professional staff recruitment policy
Service rules for the faculty and professional staff and minutes of meeting related to the approval of the rules
Documents that demonstrate the application of recruitment policy in selecting faculty and professional staff for appointment during last two years
HEI/POE maintains well-defined and well-communicated code of conduct for the students, faculty and professional staff, and policy to promote and recognize morale values and ethical practices.
Up to date printed copy of Code of practice and handbook for faculty and professional staff
List of programs organized, in last one year, to make internal stakeholders aware of code of conduct, morale and ethical issues
Documented policy to promote and recognize ethical practices
Records of issues, agenda & minutes of meeting related to breach of ethical practices, code of conduct and to promote the ethical practices
The admission process ensures transparency and fairness in selecting the right candidate for admission in the academic program.
Copy of admission notice, web link and published admission policy including selection criterion for the program
Survey data in the SA report and opinion of students during site visit regarding transparency and fairness of admission process
The HEI/POE regularly publishes and provides student handbook containing mission and objectives of the POE, curriculum of the program, graduate profile, academic calendar, disciplinary rules, academic and examination rules etc.
Up to date printed copy (downloadable copy for online/blended learning) of student handbook containing mission and objectives of the POE, curriculum of the program, graduate attributes, academic calendar, disciplinary rules, academic and examination rules etc
Committee responsible to update and print the Handbook
Minutes of meeting as evidence related to printing of handbook
Evidence that shows the students have the copy of the handbook
The HEI/POE has a well-designed and informative website with easy access for all.
List of staff to take care of website
Documents relating to last updates
Feedback on the recently updated website
Access to the informative and interactive website and records on number of viewers
The HEI/POE has well-defined and well-communicated policy and procedure to redress student grievances and complaints on issues like abusive behavior, bullying, cybercrime etc. with fairness and transparency avoiding discrimination.
Documented policy and procedure to redress student grievances and complaints
List and name of the members of committee(s) to redress student grievances and complaints
Number of complaints received and resolved in last one year under this policy and procedures
Contact details of the person(s) responsible to receive the complaints
Communication link that shows the way policy is well-communicated among the concerned stakeholders
The curriculum of the program is designed and reviewed following a well-defined procedure by a specific body or committee with representation from the industry/employers and alumni.
Rules/provision of curriculum committee
Documented copy of the curriculum committee
Minutes of meeting on confirmation of the committee
Minutes of meeting of curriculum committee on approval of curriculum
Curriculum aims at producing graduates focusing on graduate attributes that are defined following the identified needs of the stakeholders and learning outcome domains of BNQF.
A copy of curriculum of the academic program with defined graduate profile
Documented process that is used to identify, collect and analyze the needs of the stakeholders
Minutes of meeting or evidence of workshop on identifying needs of academic program
Evidences of alignment/mapping of needs, GA, PLOs and BNQF
A copy of curriculum of the academic program developed following the standard template of UGC for outcome-based curriculum
Program learning outcomes (PLOs) are defined within the scope of mission and objectives of the POE and aligned with graduate attributes.
Documents showing the alignment of PLOs with the mission and objectives of the POE and aligned with graduate attributes
Program learning outcomes (PLOs) are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.
Documented copy of the PLOs
Curriculum of the program complies with the BNQF for higher education in terms of admission requirements, program duration, graduating credits and credit value.
A copy of program curriculum (Concerned sections of the curriculum) with graduating credits and notional hours
Program learning outcomes and courses are aligned to make the content of the curriculum appropriate and adequate.
Documents used for mapping to confirm the alignment of the PLOs and courses
Rationale/justification of all the courses are stated clearly in the curriculum
In case of Bachelor degree program curriculum of the program includes minimum 25% of total credits for general education courses with clearly defined course learning outcomes and mapped with PLOs and learning outcome domains of BNQF. In case of Master’s degree program curriculum of the program includes minimum 10% of total credits for general education courses with clearly defined course learning outcomes and mapped with PLOs and learning outcome domains of BNQF.
List of general education courses with credits and course learning outcomes
Documents that demonstrate the alignment of learning outcomes of general education courses with program learning outcomes and learning outcome domains of BNQF
The POE maintains documented course file with course plan specifying pre-requisite course(s) (if any), credit value, teaching learning & assessment methods and facilities/resources that are mapped out as necessary to facilitate the attainment of course learning outcomes.
Availability of course file in a standardized format for each course with course plan specifying course objectives, course learning outcomes, teaching learning and assessment techniques, co-curricular activities (if necessary, for attainment of learning outcome) with appropriate alignment
Course plan in the course file includes recommended text book(s), selected reading materials, criterion, processes, techniques, tools and rubrics that will be used to assess student performance
Evidences of mapping the resources/facilities that are critical to attain the learning outcomes of the course
Course evaluation report/Document(s) that demonstrates the level attainment of course learning outcomes and contribution to achieve the PLO(s)
Provisions of internship/project/dissertation/field work/work integrated learning opportunities are included in the curriculum.
Well-defined policy for effective management of internship program/project/dissertation/field work/work integrated learning process
Document(s) that demonstrates the opportunities of real-life learning
Teaching learning and assessment practices involve practical evidences and such practices do initiate critical thinking and inspire students to apply acquired knowledge in the real-life situations focusing on higher order thinking skills (HOTS).
Course plan specifying course learning outcomes, teaching learning and assessment techniques
Copies of question papers and tools that were used to assess the attainment of learning outcomes, answer scripts, assignments of both summative and formative assessments
Student and alumni opinion on the teaching learning and assessment practices during site visit
Student learning time (SLT), teaching learning and assessment activities in a course are in accordance with the credit value of that course and cover all the course learning outcomes.
Course plan with course learning outcomes, teaching learning activities, distribution of notional hours, number of classes etc
Student attendance sheet for all teaching learning activities signed by concerned course teacher
Log book/checklist/experiments, as applicable, properly signed by the concerned course teacher/instructor
Answer scripts, question papers and tools used to assess the defined learning outcomes
Statement signed by the course teacher that shows that all the course learning outcomes are addressed in teaching-learning and assessment
Course teachers strictly maintain class schedule, keep records of attendance, records of missed classes and make up classes (if any).
Copy of class schedule (routine) signed by the Head of the POE/course coordinator
Documented attendance sheet properly signed by the concerned course teacher
Copy of notice for makeup class(s) if any
Course plan/outlines are available to the students to make them well informed about the CLOs, topics to be discussed, teaching learning and assessment strategy and rubrics that will be used to assess performance/attainment of learning outcomes.
Availability of course plan both on website and in printed version for the students with criterion, processes, techniques, tools and rubrics that will be used to assess performance/attainment of learning outcomes
Students get timely feedback on the performance in all formative/continuous assessments for better learning and preparation for the summative test/semester final examination.
Evidences that demonstrate the timely dissemination of results/performance in formative/continuous assessments
Question papers for semester final examination are moderated by examination/moderation committee composed of both internal faculty and external member.
Terms of reference of the examination/moderation committee
Minutes of examination/moderation committee meeting
Report by each of the examination/moderation committee that demonstrates the learning outcomes under semester final/summative assessment
The POE maintains a clearly defined progression rules, which ensure that the students will move to the next higher level of the program after attainment of requisite qualifications.
Documented copy of progression rule
List of students failed to move to the next higher level of the program and list of students successfully moved to next higher level, which demonstrates the proper use/implementation of the progression rule
Course learning outcomes, teaching learning activities and assessment methods are properly aligned in all courses of the program.
Documents in standardized format that describe the alignment of course learning outcomes, teaching learning activities and student performance assessment tools and techniques
POE maintains provisions of tutorial classes for each course for better understanding of course content and attainment of course learning outcomes.
Tutorial class schedule and attendance sheet
Documents/evidences that describe the number of sessions held in last semester
The HEI/POE maintains a clearly defined and well-communicated admission policy with transfer and withdrawal provisions, entry requirements that reflect the level of qualifications required to match with the nature of the discipline and mission of the POE. Admission policy is effective to select students who have potentials and are able to afford the academic load to complete the program successfully.
Copy of admission notice, web link and published admission policy with entry requirements as specified in the BNQF and consistent with nature of the program
List of enrolled/selected students with their academic achievements considered in selection
Data on the degree completion rates and the number of students dropped out from the program in last few years/semesters
The HEI/POE maintains a separate administrative setup with a clearly defined and well-communicated comprehensive policy for the international students, which includes admission requirements and formalities, fees, exchange/credit transfer and withdrawal provisions.
Evidences that show the existence of a separate administrative setup for the international students
Documented policy for the international students, which includes admission requirements and formalities, fees, exchange/credit transfer and withdrawal provisions
Communication link that shows the way policy is well-communicated among the concerned stakeholders
List of international students enrolled in the program and completed the program in last two years
A well-structured student affairs department/office at the HEI and policy with clear objectives is functional to organize orientation and awareness sessions on health, stress management, food safety, hygiene, vaccination, cyber law, activities that violate law and order, fire safety etc. for sound physical and mental growth of the students.
Administrative set up with documented policy and objectives of the student affairs department/office
List and number of sessions on health, stress management, food safety, sanitation, hygiene, vaccination, cyber law, activities that violate law and order, fire safety etc. for sound physical and mental growth of the students were organized within last one year
List and number of students of the academic program attended these sessions
POE organizes orientation session(s) for the freshers to acquaint them with the POE, academic program, facilities, career requirements, career prospects and career pathways before the start of the program.
List of students attended the session(s) organized by the POE
List of speakers/resource person(s) conducted the session(s)
The POE formalized the practice of academic guidance and counseling on course content, good conduct and integrity including cheating, plagiarism, cybercrime/cyber law etc. on a regular basis under a well-defined policy.
Documented academic guidance and counseling policy of the POE
Documented schedule of academic guidance and counseling
List of students attended academic guidance and counseling by individual faculty members in last one year/two semesters
A well-organized alumni association of the POE is functional to support the POE in quality assurance efforts.
Documented copy of the constitution of alumni association
List of the executive committee members /officials of alumni association
List of programs/activities organized by the alumni association during last one year
POE ensures and facilitates the participation of students in co-curricular activities and community services under the management of the HEI on a regular basis to promote creativity, social responsiveness, leadership qualities, values, molding personality towards holistic development.
List of co-curricular activities including community engagement programs organized by the HEI/POE during last one year specifying the skills expected to be developed through each of the listed co-curricular activities
List of students of the academic program participated in those co-curricular activities
Document(s) that describe the achievement(s) of the students of the academic program in co-curricular activities
HEI organizes career counseling and guidance sessions for the graduating students and support them in placement on a regular basis.
Documented schedule of career guidance and counseling session(s) organized in last one year/two semesters
List of speakers and students attended those sessions
List of activities organized by the career counseling and placement office
Student progress and achievement monitoring system is comprehensive enough to identify the students who are showing poor progress, who are not achieving and who are at risk and to support them for improvement.
Policy and procedure of the POE to take care of the struggling students for improvement
Documented list of students and activities organized for the students to improve
The POE maintains suitably qualified, professionally skilled and experienced faculty to facilitate the attainment of learning outcomes, modify and update course(s) and curricula in their areas of interest.
List and profile of individual faculty members specifying academic credentials, teaching and professional experiences, research capacity & publications in the last five years, areas of interest and specialization, professional training/workshop attended to enhance professional skills in teaching learning and assessment and course(s) assigned to teach
HEI is maintaining salary structure with incentives to retain the talented and experienced faculty and professional staff.
Official documents of salary structure for the faculty and professional staff of HEI/POE
Policy related to incentives for the faculty and professional staffs
Documents that demonstrate turnover of faculty and professional staff of the POE in last two years
The HEI/POE has policy to support the faculty for further enhancement of academic excellence through advanced studies.
Documented policy with the provisions to support the faculty members for enhancement of knowledge through advanced studies
List of faculty members engaged in advanced studies with the support of the HEI/POE
Document that describes the contributions of HEI/POE to support initiatives for enhancement of knowledge through advanced studies
HEI/POE supports and motivates faculty and professional staff to attend seminar, training workshop, conference, and academic visits at home and abroad for professional development under a comprehensive faculty and professional staff development policy.
Documented faculty and professional staff development policy of the HEI/POE
Budget allocation for faculty and professional staff development
List of professional development program organized by the HEI/POE in last one year
List of faculty and professional staff attended seminar, training, workshop, conference at home and abroad for professional development in last one year
A comprehensive policy with a set of defined and documented key performance indicators (KPIs) including teaching, research, intellectual contributions of the faculty and professional staff and participation in community development, is well-communicated and in practice at the HEI/POE to evaluate performances of faculty and professional staff at three levels (i) Head of the POE, (ii) students and (iii) self-evaluation.
Documented policy for performance evaluation faculty and professional staff
Format or instruments to evaluate performance of faculty and professional staff in respect of the identified KPIs
Policy to recognize the best performance
Documented decisions relating to the use of performance evaluation in promotion or appointment to any higher position or assigning any responsibility at HEI/POE
The HEI/POE maintains a workload distribution policy balancing teaching, research and administrative activities.
Documented policy relating to the workload distribution of faculty and professional staff
Minutes of meeting relating to the use of such workload policy
Official documents that describe the workload distribution of existing faculty and professional staff members at the POE
The HEI/POE maintains provision to appoint the recognized and competent practitioners in the related field as guest speaker/faculty/adjunct faculty/contractual faculty at the POE and documented policy and process followed in case of such selection and appointment to bridge the gap between academia and industry/professional life and to provide the students with new ways of thinking and learning with practical orientation.
List of professionals(s) currently working as guest speaker/faculty/adjunct faculty/contractual faculty at the POE and documented policy and process followed in case of such selection and appointment
Number of sessions organized by the guest speakers in last one year
The POE maintains ideal combination of faculty with 10% Professor, 20% Associate Professor, 40% Assistant Professor and 30% Lecturer with reasonable teacher student’s ratio, depending on the nature of discipline, as necessary for effective teaching learning in the academic program/discipline.
List of part-time and full-time faculty and professional staff with designation
Official documents that describe the gender balance and age distribution of the groups of faculty and professional staff
The POE maintains a policy for student enrollment in a class/semester on the basis of capacity in terms of free space, number and size of class room, common room, washroom and other facilities like technology and equipment as necessary for attainment of learning outcomes depending on the nature of the program and discipline.
Documents that describe the number of students, available full-time and part-time faculty (if any) and teacher student ratio
Number of classroom and number of classes/sections in each semester/year
Free spaces within the POE and campus: Total floor space, washroom facilities for faculty and staffs, male and female students, common room, free space, etc.
Document(s) that describes facilities, infrastructure, equipment and other technological devices available for the students, faculty and staffs
Floor plans and floor space allocation for academic and administrative purposes
The HEI/POE has library managed by appropriate library management software and well-trained qualified library professionals with adequate space, workstation, e-library services, periodicals and journals in printed and electronic forms, electronic data bases, easy access, regular allocation of library budget, collection and weeding policy etc.
Documents that describe the availability of the books, journals, e-resources and services
Policy relating to weeding and maintenance of library services
List of staffs with qualifications engaged in management of the library
Necessary physical facilities like, office facilities including secretarial and technical services, fire and safety, free space, workstation, canteen, washroom, prayer room facilities etc. at the HEI/POE are in good condition with appropriate safety measures, adequate and accessible when needed by the students, faculty and professional staff of the academic program for congenial academic atmosphere.
Documents that describe the availability of the facilities and services
Policy relating to maintenance of these facilities
List of staff with qualifications engaged in maintenance of these facilities
Provisions and procedures relating to replacement of equipment that are out of order or not in good condition to use
Laboratory facilities, instructional technology & software, IT learning facilities that are identified through curriculum mapping as necessary to attain the defined learning outcomes of program and course(s) and to conduct research are in good condition with appropriate safety measures, appropriate, adequate and accessible when needed by the students and faculty members under a policy that ensures timely repair/replacement, supply and continuous improvement.
List of available discipline specific laboratory, equipment, software and other facilities
Documented copy of discipline specific laboratory manuals (if applicable for the program)
Adequacy of safety measures
Documents that describe the availability of the facilities and services to the academic staffs
List of staff with qualifications engaged in maintenance of these facilities
Policy relating to maintenance of these facilities
Document(s) that describes the process of supplying technological facilities and materials/equipment and replacement of the broken/out of order/outdated technological devices and equipment
The HEI/POE maintains a clear policy on adequate financial resource allocation and budgetary control to carry out the regular activities smoothly, to provide facilities and supports that are considered necessary to ensure quality education in the program.
A copy of the documented financial policy
Documents that describe the sources and allocation of financial resources, authority and guidelines to spend the allocation, and budgetary control mechanism
A comprehensive policy with budgetary provision is functional to develop capacity with appropriate measures to control plagiarism and research culture within the HEI through training and motivation for maximizing intellectual contributions and recognition.
Documented policy to develop research culture
Document that shows the allocation for research in annual budget
Documents that show the utilization of research fund by the faculty members of the POE in last two years
Number of training/workshops attended by the faculty of the POE in last one year
Number of research projects completed by the faculty of the POE in last two years
Number of ongoing research projects by the faculty of the POE
Policy and system to control plagiarism in research and publications
The HEI/POE encourages faculty to do need-based research focusing on local and global issues with external collaboration.
Number of research projects completed by the faculty members in last two years under collaboration at the POE
Number of ongoing research projects under collaboration at the POE
Number of MoU signed/functional to facilitate research activities at the POE
Number of research project funded by external sources at the POE
Amount of research fund generated through external research collaboration by the POE
HEI/POE maintains a policy and system to disseminate and transfer the research findings to the industry/community/stakeholders through extension services.
Policy relating to dissemination/patent/extension of research outcomes by the POE
Number of programs organized to disseminate research outcomes within last one year
Category-wise number of stakeholders participated in those programs
Documental evidences relating to the programs organized for extension of research outcomes
List of organization/industry adopted and using the findings of these research in practice
The POE produces high-quality intellectual contributions including research publication in peer reviewed journal that are consistent with its mission and objectives and that impact the development of the discipline and society or community at large.
List of publications in peer reviewed journals in last two years by the faculty and professional staff of the POE
List of patents(s) secured by the faculty of the POE (if any)
Documents that demonstrate the impact of research findings in industry, society or community at large
List of research achievement(s) by the faculty of the POE at national/international level
Well-established permanent Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) with documented policies and procedures for quality assurance is in place within the organizational set up of the HEI.
Documents including policy and guidelines that describes the establishment of IQAC to facilitate and oversee the QA activities at the HEI level
Minutes of meetings of the IQAC
Evidences related to the activities/interactions with QAC, FQAC and POE
List of QA related training/workshop/seminar etc. organized by the IQAC in last one year
List of participants in those programs
Summary statement demonstrating the efforts/changes in policies, procedures, curriculum, teaching learning and assessment practices made by the participants
The POE maintains a formal system of collection and management of stakeholder’s feedback, comments of the course teacher and student on the courses, emerging changes in the industry and working life, effectiveness of the courses and academic program.
Documented format/system to collect feedback from the stakeholders and process to use collected feedback for the purpose of improvement
Documented format of course evaluation by the course teacher and by the students
Documented format of curriculum evaluation by the alumni
Minutes of meetings where collected feedback considered as input in review of existing policies, procedures, curriculum, teaching learning and assessment practices
Summary statement demonstrating the changes in policies, procedures, curriculum, teaching learning and assessment practices in respect of stakeholder feedback
Using the feedback from the stakeholders the POE continually and systematically monitor, evaluate and review the effectiveness of the programs, policies and procedures to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and ratify those for sustainable quality assurance and continual improvement with achievable benchmark.
Number of meeting and minutes of those meetings that are held to review the policy and procedures for further improvement
List of policies, rules and regulations etc. that are reviewed for further improvement within last one year
The HEI/POE maintains university industry collaboration (UIC) for mutual benefits and improvement.
Policy on University Industry Collaboration (UIC)
List of programs/activities organized on UIC during last one year at the POE
List of organization under the UIC with the POE
Copy/copies of signed MoU by the POE
A statement on benefits received from University Industry Collaborations