Assessment Report on

Institutional Accreditation of the

Presidency College (Autonomous),

Chennai, Tamil Nadu

 

Section 1: Preamble       

The Presidency College is one of the prestigious educational institutions of higher learning in the country.  It made a humble beginning as a preparatory school in a rented building in 1840. Within months of its starting, it was elevated to a High School. Ten years later, it emerged as a collegiate department and was given the name as Presidency College and it shifted to the present campus on the famous Marina beach providing serene atmosphere.  Initially, the college was offering B.A. level courses. Subsequently, in 1911, it started honours and M.A. courses; and the M.Sc. courses were started in 1931.

 

The college has a large campus and spacious buildings; it has 23 departments offering 19 PG  programmes and 17 UG programmes. Most of the departments offer research facilities leading to M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees. Development continued with the passage of time and many courses in UG and PG departments were subsequently offered. The college celebrated its centenary in 1940 and was granted autonomy in 1987. After receiving  autonomy, the college started offering relevant courses of study some of which are inter-disciplinary. In the 23 departments there are 244 faculty members, out of whom 140 are Ph.D. degree holders and 92 are M.Phil. degree holders. The college has two hostels one for boys and one for girls and there are facilities for sports.

 

The college volunteered for assessment by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. They furnished the necessary documents related to physical, financial, academic and co-curricular inputs. NAAC constituted  a peer team with the following members for visiting the college:

 

1.      Prof. T. Navaneeth Rao, Hyderabad

2.      Prof. Rajen Harshe, Hyderabad

3.      Prof. Ravikala Kamath, Mumbai

 

The Peer Team visited the institution for three days from March 9th to 11th, 1999, to validate the self-study report submitted by the institution to NAAC. During the visit to the institution, the team visited all the departments and facilities, perused the documents presented and interacted with the various constituents of the institution - members of the executive council, faculty, staff, students and alumni. Based on the inputs collected and validated through all these sources, the peer team has arrived at a collective assessment about the functioning of the institution and the quality of education offered. The assessment of the Peer Team of the functioning of the institution is given below.

 

Section 2: Criterion-wise Analysis

Criterion I: Curricular Aspects

The curricular aspects in the overall development of the college were viewed in the broader and changing social context by the Peer Team. It was noted that the faculty along with students worked hard to maintain good educational standards. Although the college did not state its goals in explicit ways, it was evident that the existing establishment was struggling to carry out the admirable institutional practices set by preceding generations.

 

It could be safely asserted that in its endeavour to build up curricular aspects, the college was gifted with some obvious assets. For instance, a large proportion of faculty members already have obtained Ph.D. Moreover, the autonomous status of the college and financial support of the UGC, have certainly helped the college in taking a closer look at the curricular aspect.

 

It was quite obvious  that the college is finding out ways and means to design job oriented courses. In this context, the peer team was appraised about the ongoing dialogue between captains of  industry and lawyers. The college has already started “Electrical Equipment” as a vocational subject. The Peer Team also paid adequate attention to the system of periodical updating of courses. This is being done with the help of external members who act as consultants in various academic bodies.

 

The college offers a wide variety of programmes. Such diversity in programmes has also been useful in developing inter-disciplinary courses. Hopefully, with constant inter-departmental as well as inter-institutional co-operation, the college would be able to initiate more inter-disciplinary courses.

 

Criterion II: Teaching-learning and Evaluation

The Peer Team carefully analyzed the process of Teaching-learning and Evaluation. Indeed, the college has certain obvious advantages in this area. To start with, classes are regularly held and students take periodical tests and seminars. There have been bridge or remedial courses for weaker or newly initiated students. The student-teacher ratio  is quite favourable. This has, plausibly, encouraged the well-qualified faculty to integrate research with teaching. In fact, the number of students completing M.Phil.. and Ph.D. has been impressive.  The college is also equipped with computer and Internet facilities.

 

The college has followed the practice of dual evaluation. In spite of the cumbersome process, the college is able to announce the results in time. The college administration does deserve appreciation for regularity in conducting academic programmes and promptness in announcing results.    However, the Peer Team also noted that there are very few faculty members from states other than Tamil Nadu. Further the teacher performance of both teaching and research, is not inclusive of assessment by students.  The faculty development programme, on the whole, has been weak.  The programme needs to be strengthened by allowing more number of teachers to avail themselves of the benefits such as study leave or ‘leave on duty’  to attend national and international seminars/conferences/other academic assignments.

 

Criterion III: Research, Consultancy and Extension

More than 60% of the faculty members are engaged in research activity and they guide scholars for M.Phil.. and Ph.D. degrees. The rate of publication of papers in various departments in the national and international journals is quite satisfactory.  With the constraints of a government college, the faculty members are doing research, publishing and attending seminars and conferences at their own expenses. Some of them were unable to attend international conferences because of the undue delays in getting permission from the government.  The number of M.Phil. and Ph.D. awarded during the last five years in the college is 525 and 104 respectively. The number of books published by the faculty members is noteworthy in spite the lack of encouragement from any funding agency. 

 

Most of the research scholars working for their research degrees do not get scholarships from any agency. The faculty have not highlighted their expertise and competence sufficiently.  There is not much consultancy activity and hence finances could not be generated.  The college has NSS and NCC units which carry out  outreach programmes.  Other than this, not many extension activities are carried out.

 

Criterion IV: Infrastructure and Learning Resources

The infrastructure facilities like playgrounds for outdoor games have certainly enhanced student participation in sports and games.  On the whole, the performance of students in sports at different levels i.e. inter-college, inter-state etc. has been satisfactory.  In this context, an active physical education department can always be useful. Certain other facilities like hostel and canteen services do take care of the accommodation and refreshments required by the students. However, these facilities need to be improved. In addition, the college takes care of the health services through compulsory medical check-up.

 

The college must bestow greater attention upon development and maintenance of existing infrastructure and learning resources.  In fact, the central library facility needs to be strengthened. In addition, the equipment in laboratories needs to be upgraded. 

 

Criterion V: Student Support and Progression

The college has a good record of high pass percentage and low dropout rate.  The progression to employment and further studies has not been recorded regularly but through informal contacts and alumni information some data is available. Some departments arrange for campus interviews and successfully place their students. A  few departments  enable students to have  training inputs in the industry during the summer vacation, as a result of which the students are employed by those institutions.

 

The college has a very facilitative  and transparent admission policy. The financial aid schemes offered to needy students are commendable.  The college also arranges to conduct tutorials, give remedial courses and offer assistance to students to improve communication skills.

 

There is a need to strengthen the alumni association to help the college through obtaining feedback on various aspects of the curriculum design, teaching-learning processes, resource generation, on-the-job training and placement services. The Parent Teacher Association also can actively contribute to the welfare of the college through well structured plans. 

 

Academic counselling and career guidance are services that the college could enhance to support the progression of students.  The provision of opportunities for  recreational activities on the campus require improvement.  The college can organise  extra-curricular and co-curricular activities regularly and document the same. A placement cell to cater for the needs of students from various departments is another requirement  that merits attention.

 

Criterion VI: Organisation and Management

In a government college, the rules, regulations and service conditions of faculty and employees are governed by the state. However the college has an executive committee, comprising a representative from the government, the Principal of another college, an educationist, three academics and the principal of the college.  They meet frequently and take decisions from time to time to enable smooth functioning in all academic and co-curricular activities.

 

The college receives entire grants from the State Government for its functioning. The college does not generate any resources through donations or consultancy or from any other sources excepting from the government and meager development grants from UGC. The college does not offer any self-financing course. However, the grants received from the government are adequate.

 

Criterion VII: Healthy Practices

Within the constraints noted above, the committed and loyal faculty work for the benefit of their students. The group of non-teaching staff ably carries out its duties with dedication.  The healthy practices that deserve mention are:

-          Some faculty are being given computer training;

-          Remedial classes/courses are offered to the students particularly in communication and spoken English;

-          Interdisciplinary and inter-departmental activities are prevalent;

-          Campus interviews are arranged for the benefit of students;

-          Teachers are consciously aware of the need for research and are deeply interested in maintaining research culture despite constraints;

-          Many teachers have  presented  papers in seminars;

-          A large number of publications are made by faculty by individual initiative;

-          Departments and individual faculty members have sent proposals for conducting or organising innovative programmes, refresher courses, seminars and research projects;

-          The UGC vocational course has been introduced in one department and others are motivated to apply for courses in their field of specialisation; and

-          Many teachers have come together to offer coaching to students for competitive examinations for Class I services.

 

Many of the practices and attempts to improve the teaching-learning processes occur within the limiting circumstances of the college and as such reflect the intrinsic motivation of the academic fraternity.  The external environment, support system and the management need to strive to strengthen and enhance these efforts and practices.

 

Section 3: The Summary Recommendations

The peer team is unanimous in its appreciation of this premier institution’s contribution to higher education, with inputs from qualified teachers committed to the cause of sound holistic education.  Particular mention needs to be made of a wide variety of programme options available in the college; regularity in conducting courses; punctuality in announcing examination results, and the noteworthy research culture maintained amidst constraints. Such culture can be further strengthened by encouraging faculty to attend national and international academic events. It must also be noted that the entire academic  ambience  has been ably supported by the non-teaching staff .

 

The existing infrastructure facilities which have served the purposes of promoting good education in the past, require to be upgraded as the college is set to meet new challenges of contemporary times.  Nevertheless, the college has been able to uphold its primacy in teaching through a worthy record of high pass percentage and low drop out rate. To maintain such record in the future, sustained and systematic efforts are required on the part of the Management. Indeed, it is the Management that can shape the initiatives from the departments by co-ordinating intra and inter-departmental activities harmoniously. Further, the Management can give direction for generating of resources and for providing the impetus to the academic initiatives stemming from the teaching fraternity. Such efforts would help to minimize procedural delays and enhance the quality of overall performance. This would enable the college to produce excellent students like their illustrious predecessors.