After a delay of nearly four years,Mumbai University is finally ready with its report for re-accreditation which is expected to be submitted to the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) soon. It took almost six months to complete the report. NAAC,an autonomous institute of the University Grants Commission (UGC),is a rating agency that give accreditation to institutions of higher education. Institutes need to seek reaccreditation at the end of every five years. Mumbai University had got accreditated in 2001 when it was given a five-star rating. The five-year validity got over in 2006,when it was given a one-year extension. However,since 2007,it has been without an accreditation. Meanwhile,NAAC introduced a new methodology for assessment and accreditation from April 1,2007. It includes a grading system where institutes are graded under four categories: A (very good); B (good); C (satisfactory) and D (unsatisfactory). Ironically,the university website continues to maintain that it is now granted a five star status by the NAAC. To apply for re-accreditation,all institutes have to prepare a report,circulate the draft among its departments,and subsequently submit a final report to NAAC. It highlights the achievements of the university and the progress it has made in various areas,including teaching and research. For instance,the number of research papers published during 2001-05 at Mumbai University have doubled during 2005-10. The university was also granted the status of the University with Potential for Excellence (UPE) by the UGC last year. Similarly,money raised from projects have gone up from Rs 1.22 crore (2001-05) to Rs 24 crore (2005-10),excluding the projects that the university received from the UPE scheme. For the same time period,funding on research fellowships for doctorate students have gone up from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 64 lakh. All these parameters will be included in the NAAC report.
