The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has introduced a revised grading pattern with effect from 1st July 2016. The NAAC has identified the following seven criteria to serve as the basis for its assessment of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs):

·         Curricular Aspects

·         Teaching-learning and evaluation

·         Research, consultancy and extension

·         Infrastructure and learning resources

·         Student support and progression

·         Governance , Leadership and Management

·         Innovations and Best Practices

As per the revised grading system, HEIs are awarded eight types of letter grades viz. A++, A+, A, B++, B+, B, C and D. HEIs with Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) ranging between 3.76 and 4.00 get the highest grade of accreditation i.e. ‘A++’ whereas, institutions with CGPA of 1.5 or less are not accredited. The revised grading pattern has the potential to make differentiation within HEIs in terms of their qualitative performance and to ensure healthy competition among these institutions to improve the standards of Higher Education.

Till 22^nd February, 2017, NAAC has accredited 1,256 HEIs consisting 1,197 Colleges and 59 Universities under the revised grading system.  The State/UT-wise institutions graded under the revised system of grading are available at http://www.naac.gov.in/docs/Institutions%20accredited%20by%20NAAC%20under%20new%20grading%20system.doc

 Under the new grading pattern, 01 University and 03 Colleges have been assessed and accredited at A++ between 1^st July, 2016 and 22^nd February, 2017. Higher education accreditation is a system of quality assurance under which services and operations of HEIs or programs are evaluated by an external agency to determine if applicable standards of education are met. The highest grade of accreditation depends on how the HEIs have taken steps to improve upon the education infrastructure as per the set standards/criteria outlined by NAAC under the revised grading system. The revised grading system provides a larger scope for healthy competition in the education sector and HEIs which are graded less than ‘A++’ are expected to strive towards achieving the standards set by NAAC for the award of the highest grading.

This information was given by the Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey today in a written reply to a Lok Sabha question.

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GG/AK/RK/ NEW GRADING PATTERN BY NAAC