BHUBANESWAR: Utkal University has retained its A+ grade in the re-assessment by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). The grade was announced by the NAAC on Thursday.Sources said earlier this year, the university’s grade had dropped from A+ to an A in its third cycle of accreditation following which it had applied for re-evaluation. This time, the university has earned a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.26 while it was 3.16 in May this year.
NAAC evaluates universities on curriculum, teaching-learning, research, innovations and extension, infrastructure and learning resources, governance, leadership and management, institutional values and best practices.
As per the re-assessment, Utkal has scored the maximum criterion-wise grade point average (CrWGP) of 3.65 in infrastructure and learning resources while it fetched 3.15 for research and innovation. Similarly, it has scored 3.33 for teaching-learning, 3.11 for student support and progression, 3.37 for institutional values and the lowest 2.62 for governance and leadership.
The NAAC peer team visited the campus in September this year for re-assessment. According to the accreditation rules revised recently, institutes scoring a CGPA of 3.01 to 3.25 are given an A grade, and those getting 3.26 - 3.50 are put in A+ bracket.
While NAAC re-assessment report has not been revealed yet, it had last time pointed out shortage of teaching and non-teaching staff, limited university-industry linkage and consultancy work, fewer number of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with international institutions and lack of diversity of students for the downgrade.
It had, however, appreciated the university’s teaching-learning process, remedial coaching for slow learners, start-up ecosystem and most importantly, the exploration and excavation of a number of historical sites done by the Archaeology department. In its last NAAC assessment in 2016, the university had secured A+ grade with a CGPA score of 3.53, becoming the only public university in the state to do so. Currently, the only public university in the state with the highest A++ grade is Ravenshaw University.