The full form of NAAC is “National Assessment and Accreditation Council”. It was formed in 1994 by UGC(University Grants Commission) and its headquarter is in Bangalore. It conducts assessment and accreditation of colleges, universities and any other recognised higher education institutions. NAAC evaluates “Quality Standards” related to education processes, curriculum, infrastructure, financial status, faculty, resources availability, organization etc.
Assessment is the evaluation of the performance of an institution. Accreditation is a certificate that is valid for five years and is given by NAAC. The main goal of NAAC is to maximize capabilities and opportunities, and continuous improvement and empowering resources. The Absolute Grading System is used to grade institutions by NAAC.
NAAC grading categories are divided into eight categories. Based on various performance measures NAAC provides grades to institutes.
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The UGC made it mandatory for Higher Education Institutes to undergo assessment and accreditation from 19th January,2013.
NAAC’s grading criteria depend 30% on the peer team report and 70% on the Institutional grading.
Engineering colleges, Pharmacy colleges, Open Universities, Dental colleges, Health Sciences, B.Ed colleges, Teacher Education, Distance Learning, Libraries and Affiliated colleges can apply for NAAC accreditation.
Whenever an institute undergoes the process of accreditation by NAAC for the first time it is mentioned as Cycle-1.
The Motto of NAAC is “Excellence, Credibility and Relevance.”