Assessment of engineering faculty performance in the developing academically autonomous environment - VIT, Pune, India - A case study

Abstract

The necessity of Documenting and quantifying the accountability of faculty in Higher Education Institutes (HEI) is gathering momentum in countries all around the globe. In India, where Academic Autonomy is slowing spreading its wings outside the Indian Institute of Technologies, National Institute of Technologies and Government Engineering colleges, into the group of Private unaided Engineering Institutions, the need is felt to develop a rubric for assessing faculty performance in a Quantitative manner. Addressing to that need, various attributes are identified which are essential for assimilating a `complete faculty performance'. This paper details out these efforts and its outcomes in one of the leading Private Engineering Autonomous Institute in the academically progressive western part of the country. The teaching performance of the faculty along with academic, co-curricular, extension and research activities is quantified into a credit based assessment system (CBAS). This system is run under Quality Management Systems adopted at the Institute. This faculty performance assessment is observed to have helped in identifying better performing as well as poor performing faculty. Also the targets for the subsequent Academic year can be set up with clarity and transparency.