KOCHI: The hard work and dedication of the administration, teachers and students of St Teresa’s College, Ernakulam, paid off when they were awarded the A++ grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). The college, which was established in 1925, became the first in the state and second in the country to be awarded A++ in the fourth cycle of accreditation by NAAC.
St Teresa’s College director Sr Vineetha said the college scored a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.57. “The scoring is out of 4. The fact that the college was the first institution in the state to be evaluated by NAAC as per the revised scheme, made the entire process even more challenging. In the previous scheme, before 2017, the entire assessment was based on peer team visit,” she said.
“However, under the revised scheme, 70 per cent of the assessment is based on the facts and data submitted online by the college. Only 30 per cent is based on the peer team visit. The entire process has been made tougher,” she said. However, the college, which started with just 41 students, was able to clear all the scrutiny, she said. The NAAC A++ grade has opened a lot of avenues for the college.
According to Sajimol Augustine, principal, the high grading has made the college eligible to apply for university status. “Our achievement is a clear statement of women empowerment and the first step towards emerging as a women’s university,” said Sajimol. The college is also planning to go in for international accreditation, she said.
“Once we get international accreditation, the college will be able to sign MoUs with global centres of education. However, the plans are in the initial stage,” she said.According to her, the college will not have to go in for the review of its autonomous status for at least 10 years, thanks to the grade. “Also, we become eligible for the `5 crore RUSA funds,” she said. “We missed out on the RUSA funds in the last assessment since we were able to garner just 3.4 CGPA points,” she said.