Private sector partnerships for raising funds, ranking system for faculty members and the creation of "emotional infrastructure" are part of the updated UGC draft guidelines for the development of higher education institutions (HEIs) in the country.
The updated Institutional Development Plan (IDP) draft for HEIs was issued by the UGC on Wednesday after incorporating stakeholders' suggestions on the first version released in January last year.
"The new draft UGC IDP guidelines aim to help universities, colleges plan for academic, administrative, and financial 'self-reliance'," UGC Chairperson M Jagadesh tweeted.
According to the guidelines, the HEIs must identify and prioritise the sources of funding for the development of financial infrastructure such as government grants, alumni donations, private sector partnerships, and fundraising campaigns.
According to the guidelines, the HEIs are required to work on a sustainable revenue model where the revenues are derived from tuition fee from the students, government grants and subsidies, overheads earned on the sponsored research and development projects from the government and private sector and endowments.
The guidelines also pave the way for seeking philanthropic contributions and other income like Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), royalties on intellectual property (IP) or patents etc.
"In a fully developed HEI, each of these sources must contribute about a similar percentage to the total revenue, depending on the size of the HEIs. Therefore, HEIs must also focus on expanding their undergraduate programmes as additional students mean more revenue," it suggested.
The draft guidelines also recommended a faculty ranking or assessment around research-based Academic Performance Indicators (API) scores and subsequent additional incentives, to motivate faculty members.
"For teachers, the guidelines state that through university policy, a ranking system based on research-based Academic Performance Indicators (API) scores and subsequent additional incentives can reduce faculty oversight at every stage.
"Such a ranking will generate a winning spirit among faculty, and faculty members will constantly strive for excellence when their annual rankings are announced. Faculty oversight at every stage can be reduced in such scenarios," the guidelines stated.
The draft also suggested HEIs create "emotional infrastructure" by providing a good working environment for all stakeholders with ethical policies and transparent academic and administrative system and giving extra care in all service areas of both higher education and research activities.
For students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the guidelines proposed a "bridge courses" along with a socio-emotional and academic support system. It also directs institutions to ensure sensitisation of teachers, counsellor, and students on gender identity issue and its inclusion in all aspects of the HEI, including curricula.
The Commission, however, has also clarified the guidelines will be indicative.
"It is imperative that the autonomy of the institutes is maintained while developing and operationalising such a plan. Therefore, the IDP guidelines are self regulating in nature," it said.
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