CIQA

Incorporation of CIQA

Uttaranchal University (UU) has established the Centre for Internal Quality Assurance (CIQA) for programs under Online mode under “Uttaranchal College of Online & Distance Education (UCODE)” to impart the quality education to the learners. As per the UGC (ODL & Online Programs) Regulations, 2020, the Centre for Internal Quality Assurance was established in 2022. The main aim of the CIQA is to maintain & check the quality in the courses offered through online mode by UCODE. The Centre has been established with the primary focus to shoulder the responsibilities of generating and promoting awareness for quality assurance and to work out the procedural details.

Vision

To realize an ecosystem where, quality is strived for in all processes of Programs offered under online mode.

Mission

To conduct regular academic and administrative audits.
To encourage self-evaluation, accountability, autonomy and transparency through quality circles in all processes.
To promote the effective use of latest technical know-how for automation of activities.
To develop protocols for all activities and refine them based on stakeholders’ feedback.
To develop human resources (Academic & Non-academic) for overall quality delivery of online resources.

Quality Policy

The UCODE is dedicated to deliver quality education for all round development of the students to meet the changing requirements of industry, business and society. There would be a periodic review of all the processes followed for the smooth conduct of online programs to ensure that the quality parameters are within the range as defined by the university.

Functions of CIQA

To maintain quality in the services provided to the learners.
To undertake self-evaluative and reflective exercises for continual quality improvement in all the systems and processes of the UCODE.
To contribute in the identification of the key areas in which UCODE should maintain quality.
To devise mechanism to ensure that the quality of Online Learning programs matches with the quality of relevant programs in the conventional or regular mode.
To devise mechanisms for interaction with and obtaining feedback from all stakeholders namely, learners, teachers, staff, parents, society, employers, and external agencies for quality improvement.
To suggest measures to UCODE for qualitative improvement.
To facilitate the implementation of its recommendations through periodic reviews.
To organise workshops/seminars/symposium on quality related themes, ensure participation of all stakeholders, and disseminate the reports of such activities among all the stakeholders in Higher Educational Institution.
To develop and collate best practices in all areas leading to quality enhancement in services to the learners and disseminate the same to all concerned in UCODE.
To collect, collate and disseminate accurate, complete and reliable statistics about the quality of the Programs.
To ensure that the Program Project Report for each Program is according to the norms and guidelines prescribed by the Commission and wherever necessary by the appropriate regulatory authority having control over the Program.

To put in place a mechanism to ensure the proper implementation of Program Project Reports.
To maintain a record of Annual Plans and Annual Reports of UCODE, review them periodically and generate actionable reports.
To provide inputs to the UCODE for restructuring of programs in order to make them relevant to the job market.
To facilitate system-based research on ways of creating learner centric environment and to bring about qualitative change in the entire system.
To act as a nodal coordinating unit for seeking assessment and accreditation from a designated body for higher level ranking and accreditations.
To adopt measures to ensure internalization and institutionalization of quality enhancement practices through periodic accreditation and audit.
To coordinate between UCODE and the Commission for various quality related initiatives or guidelines.
To obtain information from other Higher Educational Institutions on various quality benchmarks or parameters and best practices.
To record activities undertaken on quality assurance in the form of an annual report of Centre for Internal Quality Assurance.
It will be mandatory for “Centre for Internal Quality Assurance” to submit Annual Reports to the Statutory Authorities or Bodies of the UU about its activities at the end of each academic session. A copy of report in the format as specified by the Commission, duly approved by the statutory authorities of the UU shall be submitted annually to the Commission.

Centre for Internal Quality Assurance Committee:

The functions of Centre for Internal Quality Assurance would, inter alia, include the following, namely:

Category	Name and Designation	Position
Vice Chancellor	Prof. (Dr.) Dharam Buddhi, Vice Chancellor	Chairperson
Three senior teachers of Higher Education Institution.
	Prof. (Dr.) Rajesh Bahuguna, Pro- Vice Chancellor and Dean, Law College Dehradun (LCD)	Member
	Prof. (Dr.) Ajay Singh, Dean, School of Applied & Life Sciences (SALS) & Dean, Research & Studies	Member
Head of three Departments or School of Studies offering recognized programs in Open and Distance Learning and Online mode.	Prof. (Dr.) Pradeep Suri, Dean, Uttaranchal Institute of Management (UIM)	Member
	Prof. (Dr.) Sonal Sharma, Dean, Uttaranchal School of Computing Sciences (USCS)	Member
	Prof. (Dr.) Shravan Kumar, Dean School of Liberal Arts (SLA)	Member
Two external experts of Open and Distance Learning and/or Online education.	Dr. Gurpreet Singh, Director, Chandigarh University Institute of Open & Distance Learning	Member
	Prof. (Dr.) Data Ram Purohit, Former Head, Department of English, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, Garhwal	Member
Officials from the Administration and Finance Departments of the Higher Educational Institution	Mr. Akram Ansari, Finance Officer, Uttaranchal University	Member
Director- Centre for Internal Quality Assurance.	Dr. Kartikey, Director, Uttaranchal Coliege of Online & Distance Education (UCODE)	Member Secretary

Quality Monitoring Mechanism

The guidelines on quality monitoring mechanism will be adopted by the Centre for Internal Quality Assurance for conducting institutional quality audits, to promote quality assurance and enhance as well as spread best-in-class practices of quality assurance.

Quality monitoring will be addressed under the following broad areas, namely:

Governance, Leadership and Management
Organisation Structure and Governance
Management
Strategic Planning
Operational Plan, Goals and Policies
Articulation of Higher Educational Institution Objectives
Program Development and Approval Processes

This area of concern relates to the development and approval mechanism for the program (s) to be launched covering the following key aspects, namely:

Curriculum Planning, Design and Development:

Curriculum Implementation
Academic Flexibility
Learning Resource
Feedback System
Program Monitoring and Review
Infrastructure Resources
Learning Environment and Learner Support
Assessment and Evaluation
Teaching Quality and Staff Development

Process of Quality Audit:

Academic Planning
UU has a robust and appropriate academic planning procedure to ensure that the programs offered by it are relevant to national economy, reflects the institution‘s strategic direction and offers a high quality value-added‘ learner experience. The institution has adequate and appropriate teaching and other support staff along with infrastructure and technology support to ensure that the curriculum remains up to date and the institutional goals are achieved.
Validation
UU has a mechanism in place for validation to ensure that its programs are academically viable, that academic standards have been appropriately defined and that these offer learners the best opportunity to learn.
Monitoring, Evaluation and Enhancement Plans
Quality deliverance of the Online Learning programs and the outcome attainment and continual quality improvements ensured by UU, shall be broadly as follows:

Report from Examination Centre
Report of conduct of examinations in Online mode, along with report of observers/proctors for all examinations will be collected periodically from Examination Centre.
External Auditor or other External Agencies report
UU consider the comments made by external auditors and experts related to quality auditing and ensures to implement it accordingly.
Periodic Review
UU has an effective system for collecting feedback from the stakeholders regularly to improve its programs. The UCODE conduct self-assessments regularly and use the results to improve its systems and processes to finally improve the quality of programs.

CIQA Report 2022-23