HiEd Log

  The assessment for accreditation by NAAC is all set to switch to the new format with a binary framework. One key difference is that it will be data driven exercise, without physical visits. There are a lot of changes being brought in through the new format which moves into an input-process-outcome framework, with expected and necessary emphasis laid on outcomes. With input being primarily in the quantitative form, the old ways of excessively descriptive presentations with narratives that help no one will be eliminated. One recent SSR I had to go through had each descriptive part beginning with a definition of the key indicator, educating the assessor perhaps about what exactly the NAAC meant by it, rather than simply keying in what is it that the college has achieved during the assessment period. The new format will put paid to it.     But I would like to draw the focus to the emphasis on data driven approach, doing away with the physical visits. There could be many rea...

A recent meeting convened by an innovation promoting body was perplexed by the low number of students who have registered on their platform. They were wondering why a university which has more than lakhs students on the roll find it difficult to enrol even 10 percentage of their students on their platform. They seemed to indirectly, very gently, unspokenly, blame the coordinators and institutional leadership for this state of affairs. They wanted the number to be of a higher proportion. As usual the meeting came to an end with, reportedly, all those involved taking vows to bring in more registrations on the platform so that the numbers look promising. The question at the bottom is, where does innovation come from? Do we expect innovation to flow out of our campuses? Why do do we expect so? Can we switch innovation on the way we turn on a light? All those who wrote about creativity, lateral thinking, innovation etc have emphasised the fundamental contexts which inspire innovation. Whet...

How do you start a new university and create an appealing brand when nobody knows who you are? Where in the world do you get the money needed to build a top-ranked university from scratch and keep it financially viable? How do you attract faculty to commit their careers to an institution that does not yet exist, and then convince students and families to invest in the unproven institution? How does one design a new curriculum that is innovative and distinctive, that is responsive to the demands of the new century, and yet is recognizable to accreditors and employers? How does a founding team build an effective governance structure and an authentic    shared culture in a brand new institution, without any of the shared assumptions or traditions that most universities enjoy? To what degree are these new start-ups reflections of a distinctly American approach to the liberal arts, and to what degree do they reflect local traditions and aspirations? What are the diff...