CENTER FOR INTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE (CIQA)



I. About CIQA:

     In Accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the Commission, a Centre for Internal Quality Assurance (CIQA) was established in the Directorate of Distance Education, Annamalai University. The CIQA was created in order to develop and put in place a comprehensive and dynamic internal quality assurance system to ensure that the programmes offered by the DDE meet the requirements expected of Higher Education Institution.

     The CIQA will monitor the key performance in compliance with Open Distance Learning (ODL) Regulations, and will develop best strategies for quality enhancement in creating learner centric environment.

II. Objectives:

     To monitor, maintain and improve the quality of already existing programmes offered through DDE is the prime objective of CIQA. The centre will also focus on supervising and setting standards for the introduction of new programmes. To implement the periodic guidelines issued by University Grants Commission (UGC) is another main objective of the CIQA.

III.Functions:

  • To maintain quality in the services provided to the learners
  • To undertake self-evaluative and reflective exercises for continual quality improvement
  • To maintain quality in the key areas of Higher Education Institutions (HEI)
  • To ensure that the quality of ODL programmes match with the quality of relevant programmes in conventional mode
  • To interact with and obtain feedback from all stockholders namely learners, teachers, staff, parents, society, government etc for quality improvement
  • To suggest measures to the authorities of HEI for qualitative improvement
  • To organize workshops /seminars /symposium on quality related themes
  • To develop and collate best practices in all areas leading to quality enhancement
  • To ensure that programmes project report for each programmes is according to the norms and guidelines prescribed by the commission and ensure the proper implementation of PPR
  • To maintain annual plans and annual reports of HEI, review them periodically and generate actionable reports
  • To provide inputs to the HEI for restructuring of programmes in order to make them relevant to the job market
  • To facilitate system based research on ways of creating liners centric environment and to bring about qualitative change in the entire system
  • To Adobe measures to ensure internalization and institutionalization of quality enhancement practices through periodic accreditation and audit
  • The co-ordinate between HEI and the commission for various quality related initiatives or guidelines
  • To obtain information from other HEI on various quality benchmarks or parameters and best practices.

IV. Centre for Internal Quality Assurance Committee



1. Chairperson Vice-Chancellor
2. Three Senior Professors of HEI- Members Dr. R. Elangovan
Professor, Commerce, DDE
Dr. J. Arul Anand
Professor, English, DDE
Dr. T. Ramesh kumar
Professor, Zoology, DDE
3. Head of Three Departments- Members Dr. N.Venkatesan
Professor and Head
Department of Tamil
Dr. S.Kodhainayaki
Professor and Head
Department of Chemistry
Dr. S. Sriram
Professor and Head
Department of Mathematics
4. Two External Experts- Members Dr. S. Ravi
Professor, Dept. of Library Science,
Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur
Dr. R. Kannan
Professor & Head
P.G. Research, Dept. of Zoology
Periyar Arts College, Cuddalore
5. Officials:
1.Administration
Dr. K. Seetharaman
Registrar, Annamalai University
2.Finance Departments Mr. P. Srinivasan
Finance Officer, Annamalai University
6. Director- Full Time
CIQA- Member Secretary 		Dr. R. Singaravel
Director, DDE
Annamalai University

Meeting of the Minutes   -   View

V. Quality Monitoring Mechanism

  1. The guidelines on Quality Monitoring Mechanism as prescribed by the Commission is adopted in word and spirit, and practiced by the CIQA, DDE, Annamalai University.
    1. Governance, Leadership and Management:

      2.      To provide quality and job oriented higher educational opportunities to the sections of our society who are unable to continue their abruptly ended educational ambitions is the primary mission of the Directorate of Distance Education. Guided by the vision plan, AU-2030 of Annamalai University, the Directorate of Distance Education marches on with a well defined mission towards systematic fulfillment and the policies and practices of Annamalai University.

           In addition to the Cells, Centres and Committees of our university, the following specific Cells, Centres and Committees are established for better administrative purposes of DDE.

           Cells, Centres, Committees to facilitate and speed up the process of completing task-oriented academic and administrative works:

      • Learning Support Centres
      • Internal Quality Assurance Cell
      • Directorate of Academic Affairs
      • Student Grievance Redressal Cell
      • Training and Placement Cell
      • Centre for Environment, Health and Safety
      • Equal opportunity, SC/ST - Scholarship Cell

      (a) & (b) Organization Structure Governance and Management - View

           A well organized structure of governance and management is the critical pre-requisite of every Higher Educational Institution to ensure quality education to students.

           DDE, Annamalai University in the true sense, has well planned administrative and academic structures for better governance and execution, in spirit and practice, of the Vision and Mission of our university.

      (c) Strategic planning:

            The Annamalai University, Directorate of Distance Education undertakes efficient planning strategies to serve the students community that includes;

      • Study of changing needs and requirements of the society before curriculum designing
      • Curriculum designing as per the findings of the study and the prescribed practices of our university
      • Preparation of study materials in Self Learning Study Materials (SLSM) pattern through subject exports
      • Transparent admissions of students to various programmes through our own learning support centres and also online mode
      • Student support services to guide and motivate the distance learners
      • A well planned academic schedule for the contact classes (both theory and practical) to the learners
      • Encourage the students through counselling (both online and during the Personal Contact Programmes) to take part in competitive examinations
      • New programmes to empower the students to cater the emerging needs of the society.
      • Reformation of curricula of programmes to reflect the requirements of UGC and DEB with respect to course design

      (d) Operational Plan, Goals and Policies:

           The operational plan, goals and policies are well defined in our universitys Vision AU 2030. The goals and policies are realistic measurable and achievable

    2. Articulation of Higher Education institution objectives:

      3.      The objectives of the university i.e., "Providing educational opportunities to aspiring students to imbibe the essential concepts along with emergent developments in the chosen field of study, installing the mindset and motivation for cultural and social uplift, and contributing to the national paradigm of collective responsibility in the path towards growth and prosperity" is well articulated through the various programmes offered through the Directorate of Distance Education. The mission of the Government of India to provide quality education to all the sections of our society is also well reflected in the curriculum of DDE.

    3. Programme Development and Approval Process:- View

      4.      The various programmes offered through the Directorate of Distance Education are planned and developed after a careful study of the societal requirements and needs, in consultation with subject experts and Senior Faculty members of our University as well as other Universities.

           The new programmes are designed and approved by the Board of Studies of the department and the concerned Faculty. After obtaining approval from the Faculty, the new programmes are placed before the Academic Council and Syndicate of the university for permission and due approval.

      1. Curriculum planning, Design and Development: - View

        2.      The major academic activity of higher educational institution is curriculum planning which must reflect the needs and aspirations of any society. The programmes and curricular aspects implemented from time to time help elevate the nation by providing multiple streams of rightly educated, trained, and tech-savvy human resources leading to multi-faceted development at local, regional, national, and global levels. Proper planning and designing of the courses and course content, hence, is of paramount importance. A field study to find out the emerging changes and societal requirements is carried out before beginning the process of curriculum design and development. The findings of the study are placed before an expert committee to decide and design the curriculum, the designed curriculum will be placed before the statutory bodies for their approvals and then the programmes are introduced.

      2. Curriculum Implementation :

        3.      As per the guidelines issued by UGC the programmes offered through distance mode are converted into semester pattern. The programmes and the syllabi for the Semester Pattern mostly match the on-campus programme offered by the concerned departments. However, separate approvals from the Board of Studies, the Faculty, the Academic Council and the Syndicate of our university are obtained before the actual implementation.
             Approvals from all the Statutory Bodies of our university are necessary for the implementation of any new programmes and courses. After obtaining approval the programmes and courses are implemented.

      3. Academic Flexibility:

        4.      The Higher Education Institution shall adopt proper strategic for imparting academic flexibility.

      4. Learning Resources: - View

        5.      Learning resources or the Self Learning Study Materials for the Distance Learners are prepared by subject experts. Our learners are provided with both Soft and Hard copies of the learning resources. Soft copy of the Study materials are uploaded in the university website.

      5. Feedback System: - View

        6.      Feedback is an integral part of any development process and hence keeping this in mind, feedback is obtained from the students and other stakeholders, and utilised for the purposes of Curriculum designing and development.

    4. Programme Monitoring and Review:- View

      5.      The quality of all our Academic Programmes are periodically reviewed and the learning outcomes are assessed

    5. Infrastructure Resources:- View

      6.      There are as many as 55 Learner Support Centres equipped with libraries and e-learning materials to give learners access to all the relevant data and resources. Through student's web portal of the university and Directorate of Distance Education website, the students can gain access to various learning resources. Besides Annamalai University with a campus of about 1000 acres has well equipped infrastructure facilities and ensure suitable ambience for the students to improve their learning, mental and physical health.

      • Central Library
      • Yoga Centre and Meditation Halls
      • 6.5 acre Sports Pavilion
      • Stately Guest House
      • Multi-specialty 1400 beaded hospital with 17 modern theater

    6. Learning Environment and Leaner Support:- View

      7.      A viable learning environment for the distance learners is created mainly through our Personal Contact Programmes where the Faculty can personally meet the learners and provide academic classes and counselling. The learners are also well supported by Learners Support Services such as Library services, Grievance and Counselling centres.

           Our DDE Library is equipped with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) i.e. the technology that uses radio waves to automatically identify individual items. This technology was first implemented in our University Library and was extended to benefit the distance learners. It is an important milestone in the automation process in 2020. RFID is an integrated method of system with the University Library as central hub and other faculty libraries are kept as nodes of the Central Library as a part of the modernization drive.

           There are about 30,973 books have been tagged with RFID in the library and issue of smart cards has been initiated to the students and the faculty. Adoption of RFID technology in 2020 has changed the university DDE library as a smart, aesthetic and soothing library environment to attract the students in the library.

    7. Assessment and Evaluation:

      8.      All the assessment tools and evaluation methods and protocols as practiced by the Higher Educational Institution are followed to access the learning outcome of our distance learners.

    8. Teaching quality and Staff Development:- View

      9.      The staff members are encouraged to take part in Orientation and Refresher programmes, Seminars, Conferences, Workshops, and Faculty Development programmes in order to update their skills. Periodic workshops are conducted for Non-Teaching staff to update them about the changes and developments in technology and tools.

  3. Process of Quality Audit:
    1. Academic Planning:

      2.      A robust and appropriate academic planning is followed for offering programmes by the Directorate of Distance Education, Annamalai University, in relevance to National Economy. Here, a separate field study is carried out to assess the necessity and relevance before the implementation of any new programs. The DDE is well-equipped with adequate infrastructure and qualified teaching and support staff.

    2. Validation

      3.      All the programmes offered through DDE are academically viable and offer learners the best environment to learn.

    3. Monitoring, Evaluation and Enhancement Plans:
      1. Reports from Learners Support Centres: - View
      2. Reports from Examination Centres: - View
      3. External Auditor

        4.      The comments received from the experts from other Universities and third parties are implemented with due care to maintain the quality of learning. The external experts comments received during the meetings of the Board of Studies, Examinations, Passing Board, Viva-vice etc., are implemented for quality enhancement.

      4. Systematic consideration of performance data at programmes: - View

        5.      The university is utilizing web based technology for the entry of learners profile, submission of examination applications, down loading of hall ticket and result. The data collected from the web is used for performance analysis.

      5. Reporting and Analytics by the HEI

        6.      Web portal data is used at periodic intervals for the analyzing the learners and their academic performances. The analytical information is utilized for quality improvement and excellence in learning.

      6. Periodic reviews

        7.      Periodic reviews are prepared with the help of feedback from the stakeholders and self assessment by the institution.

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Training and Placement Cell:


1. Dr.R.Singaravel, Director Co-ordinator
2. Dr. B. Madhavan, Professor & Co-ordinator, Economics Wing Member
3. Dr.A. Selvarasu, Professor & Co-ordinator, Business Administration Wing Member
4. Dr. S. Kulasekara Perumal Pillai, Prof. & Co-ordinator, Education Wing Member
5. Mr. M.Anand, Assistant Professor & Co-ordinator, Engineering Wing Member

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     Given the importance of generation of employment in the present scenario in the India and global context, education coupled with employability is of utmost importance in this century.

     The Placement Cell was created in the Directorate of Distance Education for the benefit of students to help them secure placement in various sectors. Each discipline was given the opportunity to organize placement meeting for distance education students.

     Meetings were organized at Chennai study centre, Salem study centre and at Annamalainagar. More than 3000 students from various disciplines have attended the meeting and benefited.

     Entrepreneurship awareness programmes was organised with sponsorship by Kadhi and Village Industries Commission, Chennai for DDE students at Annamalainagar. One hundred and Twenty DDE students participated in this event.

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Best Practices:

  • Students Counselling and Grievance Redressal Cell was established to solve the grievances of the students who visit DDE premises in person.
  • 24x7 Wi-Fi access, Health care centre, full time electricity and water supply are ensured to students.
  • Fixed schedule is followed for admission, Personal Contact Programmes, Examinations, Evaluation, Publication of Result and issuance of Certificates.
  • Recommending the B.Ed. students to join Online / E-learning programmes through SWAYAM Portal based on Four-Quadrant Model suggested by UGC.
  • Online Fee Payment System and cashless transaction is followed and the students can pay their fee from anywhere and at any time.
  • The complete course material is made available online for the students to download and utilize from the website.
  • Students are regularly provided with updates and SMS notifications with regard to PCP classes, Internal Assessment, Examination Dates, and Fee Payments etc. In addition to this, alerts and reminders are being provided via email.
  • Faculty members are instructed to make use of Google class rooms for delivery of lectures.

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