STUDENTS PARTICIPATION IN QUALITY ENHANCEMENT Students perspectives

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STUDENTS PARTICIPATION IN QUALITY
ENHANCEMENTStudents perspectives

• Prof.Katre Shakuntala
• Senior consultant
• NAAC

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FEATURES OF A HIGH QUALITY LEARNING EXPERIENCE In
the 21st century context
Self learning Skills for moving with
times Communication skills
Significant and lasting learning Augmentation
of Intelligence Quotient IQ) Emotional
Quotient(EQ) Spiritual Quotient(SQ)
Student engagement Human dimensions Value
education
Practical skills
Foundational knowledge
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Evaluating Institution Effectiveness - Challenging

Social Experiences (Adventitious happenings)
I N T E G R A T I O N
Competencies and Life Skills acquired
M A R K E T D E M A N D S
Institution
Programs

Societal demands
Previous Academic Experiences
Courses
Students Central focus of learning
Aspirations, Goals, Commitments
Intentions, Goals, Commitments
21st Century global competition
Psychology of individuals
Empirical support Strong
Weak
Departure attributes and decisions
Pre entry attributes
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NAACs Primary Role NAACs Mission

• Assessment and accreditation of HEIs on
• a set of criteria and key indicators
• Promotes internalization of the quality
  sustenance and quality assurance process within
  the institution(IQAC and its planned
  activities)

• NAACs mission Quality awareness and
  consciousness amongst all stakeholders of the
  institution (Students, Teachers,
  Parents,Managers, Administrators
  Public)Promotes participatory management
  practices including student participation

• E x p e c t e d O u t c o m e
• Quality Enhancement of the Institution

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STUDENT PARTICIPATION N A A C s i n I t i a
t i v e s

• Every Peer Team that visits an HEI, has a
  specific slot for interactions with students.
  As on 21.05.2006, NAAC has accredited 128
  universities and 2,879 colleges. If the student
  responses at these 3,007 institutions were
  gathered and compiled, it would have been a
  treasure for discussion to day.
• During 2005, NAAC provided one session each,
  during the six state-level quality workshops held
  in Karnataka (Bangalore, Mysore, Dharwad,
  Gulbarga, Shimoga, Belgaum). Proceedings of
  these workshops would also have been helpful.
• It has initiated the Student Charter for
  appropriate interactions
• Declaration of the NAAC year 2006 as the YEAR
  FOR STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN QUALITY ASSURANCE
• --- slogan Nothing for us without us
• During July-September 2006, NAAC sponsored ten
  one-day seminars on Student participation in
  quality enhancement organized by the Academic
  Staff Colleges of ten universities.
• A compilation of these one-day seminar
  deliberations shall be presented here

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• It was expected that from these ten seminars,
  each with a random sample population of students
  numbering to 50 or more, a good number of
  responses could be elicited for purposes of
  meaningful interpretation thereafter
• The following three themes were suggested by
  NAAC, for inviting students to participate and
  share their views-
• 1. My understanding of Quality
• Students views matter
• Feedback mechanisms for quality
• enhancement
• How students can participate in quality
  
• assessment by NAAC

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Since freedom was given to the Directors of the
respective ASCs, to organize the seminar in their
own wisdom, the procedures adopted, the process
of seeking voluntary participation from the
student community and the modus of the
organization of the seminar varied to some
extent.Only at three out of the ten seminars, a
representative of the NAAC participated as an
observer (Kerala, Pune and Bangalore), and the
first- hand experiences of these in house
personnel at NAAC have been shared as narrative
observations.
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After each seminar the Director of each ASC was
asked to compile the proceedings and send a
detailed report to the NAAC. Since these are
compiled by organizers, it is assumed that the
contents of the report, (especially the language
used to reflect the students opinion, are those
of the students and not of those of the people
who have compiled the report.In all the ten
seminars, students were assured of their freedom
of democratic participation and they were also
given the choice to speak not necessarily in
English but also in any language in which they
were confident and comfortable of communicating
fluently. Therefore, it is also to be assumed
that the translations (if any) into the English
report submitted by the organizers are also a
true reflection of what transpired in the oral
delivery of the students.
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The Target group of students

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Overall analysis

• WomenMen Category of
• participants
  participants

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• From the Pune experience
• Category of participants at the Pune University
  workshop

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There were a total of 41 participants.All
the participants were highly vocal.Participants
were well prepared (some with OHP and power
point presentations),Since they had unique
ways of presenting (sometimes two or three
students of one institution presented
together), a total of only 34 response
sheets were received. Out of the 34
respondents 18 (52.5) responded to all the
three themes. 7(20.6) responded to the
first two aspects only and 9 (26.5)
responded to the first aspect onlyParticipants
were more at ease to respond to the first two
aspects than the third!.
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Theme 1 Concept of Quality(From Student
Responses).

• OXFORD DICTIONARY
• QUALITY IS THE STANDARD OF MEASUREMENT,
  OF HOW GOOD SOMETHING IS AS AGAINST OTHER SIMILAR
  THINGS
• Quality is never an accident. It is always the
  result of
• High intention
• Sincere effort
• Intelligent Direction and
• Skillful Execution
• It is a pursuit of Excellence with No finishing
  line

• STUDENTS ALSO RELATED QUALITY WITH THEIR
  EXPECTATIONS OF

• 1. a Quality Institution
• TO PRODUCE SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE, GLOBALLY AWARE
  AND CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS USEFUL TO THE NATION

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. Student expectations of Quality related to

• 3. Faculty
• Well-versed in their area of work
• Amiable personality
• Fair and impartial
• Using updated tools and techniques
• Working as a team
• Interested in molding students total personality
• Tapping and encouraging individual talent

• 2. Curriculum
• Should be modernized
• Should be practical application- oriented
• Suitable for developing communication skills
• Include value education
• Life-related assignments must be included

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Student expectations of Quality related to

• 4. Evaluation
• Present system outmoded needs radical change
• Need more objective type questions
• More weightage necessary for practical work and
  projects
• Introduce semester system
• Should be fair and unbiased

• 5. Infrastructure
• Clean, convenient, useful, welcoming environment
• Well equipped up to date Library with guidance
  facilities and suitable hours of working
• Up-dated laboratories in tune with global
  developmental needs
• Internet facilities and up to date teaching
  devices.
• Well-furnished clean class rooms.

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Student expectations of Quality related to

• 6. Students
• Punctual and regular
• Having enthusiasm to study
• Joyful and disciplined in their activities
• Have respect for rules and faculty
• Have a sense of belonging to the
• institution

• 7.Human environment
• Helpful non-teaching staff
• Competent Teaching faculty
• Dynamic Principal
• Students-Teachers Council
• Students grievance redressal mechanism

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Theme 2 Feedback mechanism for quality
enhancement(From Student Responses).

• Students held that their views are very important
  and may be obtained in various ways
• Through discussions
• Through appropriate questionnaires
• Through individual contact (formal or informal)
• Through opinions of select representatives
  (student union)
• Through suggestion boxes etc.
• Direct e-mail contact with NAAC
• Other Issues of responses (related more to
  quality issues)
• 1.Education needs liberalization
• 2.Significant role of privatization
• 3.Experiment with autonomy to institutions
• 4.Faculty must do both Teaching and Research
• 5.Importance of recruiting best teachers
• 6.Curriculum should be used for human capital
  building
• 7.Easy access to and availability of student
  loans.

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Theme 3 Student participation in institutional
assessment by NAAC(From Student Responses)

• Some practical methods have been suggested by
  respondents
• 1. Frequent meetings with faculty and
  management,
• to become fully aware of the parameters
  of A/A
• 2. Opinion polls to be conducted for students by
  
• NAAC
• 3. Responses through structured questionnaires.
• 4. Faculty performance assessment by students
• 5. Opportunity for students to generate new
  ideas.
• 6. Student representatives to be participants in
  
• decision making by managements
• 7. Self evaluation of learning by students
• 8. Constant review by student-teacher councils

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Theme 3 Student participation in institutional
assessment by NAAC(Student Responses from
participants of other such seminars)

• Students are central to the process of
  institutional assessment.
• For each assessment, the representative students
  body (may be the Students' Union) should have the
  opportunity to participate in the key meetings
  and to provide the audit team with a ' (written)
  student feedback submission'.
• Students should have an opportunity to directly
  send their feedback to the NAAC
• Students must have a greater opportunity to meet
  with and exchange their view with the Peer Team
• IQAC must have student representatives.
• NAAC visit should be a surprise and not a
  planned one!!!

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Quantitative analyses of other 9 seminars (Pune
university excluded) Total responses 337 Theme
I 121 (100 more came from Theme II 221) Theme
II 169 (Out of which 100 were related to
concerns of quality theme I Virtually,the
number of responses was 69 only) Theme III 47
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Highest expectations

• Data confirmed that students were more
  comfortable with the I and II themes rather than
  the III
• Highest areas of expectations were in quality of
  teaching and teachers, quality of learning
  ambience and quality of curriculum (including
  inclusion of interdisciplinary areas).
• It was evident that NAACs role, purpose, and
  need for A/A of institutions was hardly known to
  the students indicating that more awareness is
  needed on these aspects.

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POINTERS OF STUDENT RESPONSES

• Quality of education should cater to
• competition (for success?)
• social engineering (worthy citizens, social
  cohesion?)
• training (for work?)
• coping with societys demands?
• becoming everything ONE can be
• (self- actualization)?
• ----------------------------------

21st Century learning
NAAC s mission and role are hardly known to the
students
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Significant output of the seminars

• Students are Students!
• committed, participative, motivated and
  curious and this provides for valuable
  contributions.
• Given an opportunity there is a wide and
  positive attitude towards increased student
  participation in the quality of education in
  institutions.
• Students are the largest group within higher
  education
• Students are the main stakeholders.
• Students are quite well informed
• Students positive influence enhances the quality
  of higher education.
• Students may also be a driving force behind
  changes.
• Student participation is also important to
  enhance democracy within the institutions.
• The several dimensions of student
  participation often surpass the walls of the
  institution and other academic frontiers
  following the trend that induces (or obliges) the
  institutions to open up to the society.

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Conclusions

• Student voices (through documented feedback or
  oral responses) are significant inputs
• To understand the quality status of the
  institution
• To improve educational services for students
• To make the institution to accept the social
  responsibility of ensuring quick and effective
  corrective measures (internalization of quality
  may be through the IQAC), as it moves through the
  twenty-first century challenges in higher
  education.
• STRUCTURED FEEDBACK QUESTIONNAIRES ARE MORE
  USEFUL THAN ORAL RESPONSES
• (Therefore, NAAC has enclosed a compilation of
  revised questionnaires in be appended to its
  manuals of institutional assessment, which may
  please be perused by the participants and
  modifications suggested)

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Conclusions contd.

• It is necessary for NAAC to now work out
  strategies to utilize the useful responses of
  students towards fine tuning the instrument of
  assessment so that the student voices (which are
  always the loudest!!!) get addressed
  appropriately in the process and product of A/A.
• This will transform the A/A exercise into a more
  meaningful activity, to realize the expectations
  of the 21st century learning environment.
• It is hoped that this international conference
  with its elite participants will be able to
  deliberate on this important issue.

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Student feedback and institutional assessment
Self-Assessment of Institution (IQAC)
Expected interventions

Criteria and Standards Of NAAC
Student Feedback (Oral/written)
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From the Pune university experienceTowards
Perfection -The first step to perfection is
the realization of a need for itSource From
the student responses at Pune
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We did not do that !The student
responseswere spontaneous
Thank you