UGC Guidelines - Recognition of Institutes.pdf - University Grants ...

GUIDELINES AND APPLICATION 

FOR OBTAINING FOR DEGREE AWARDING STATUS FOR 

STATE AND NON-STATE HIGHER EDUCATIONAL 

INSITUTIONS/INSITUTES AND FOR THE DEGREES TO BE 

AWARDED BY INSTITUTIONS/INSITUTES GRANTED DEGREE 

AWARDING STATUS 

The University Grants Commission has adopted a two-step procedure and prepared 

guidelines for evaluating application for granting Degree Awarding Status for State and 

Non-state Higher Educational Institutions/Institutes and approval for degrees to be 

awarded by such Institutes. The Institute which intends to obtain degree awarding status 

and offer degree or degrees must prepare two-part application in the form Self-evaluation 

Reports (SER) according to the format prescribed herein by the UGC and submit along 

with required information to the Hon. Minister of Higher Education. The Description 

given in the relevant section of the Self-evaluation Report must make due reference to the 

documents/documentary evidences and such documents should be attached with 

appropriate labeling as annexes to the SER. 

Once applications are received by the University Grants Commission, the Specified 

Authority to evaluate the applications, it will be referred to the Unit handing applications 

for degree awarding status (Unit on Recognition of Degrees & Degree Awarding 

Institutions -URDDAI) This Unit will assist the Standing Committee on Recognition 

Degrees & Degree Awarding (S/C on RDDAI). 

Upon receipt of the application from an applicant/institute, in the form of duly perfected 

Self-evaluation Reports (Part I of the Application perfected in the form of Self-evaluation 

Report of the Institution & Part II of the Application perfected in the form of Selfevaluation 

Report of the Degree Programme), the URDDAI will perform an audit on the 

set of application (s) received to ensure that the applicant/institute submitting the request 

has provided all required information. The incomplete application (s) will be returned with 

a request for resubmission along with the additional information as may be necessary. 

Duly perfected application is forwarded to the Quality Assurance and Accreditation 

Council of the UGC (QAAC) for the desk evaluation. The QAAC will conduct a thorough 

appraisal and prepare an evaluation report on the application and submit to the S/C on 

RDDAI. The application that has gone the desk evaluation will be tabled at the S/C on 

RDDAI will appoint panels of reviewers for the QAAC recommended applications; that is 

Institutional Review Panel for Part I and Subject Review Panel for Part II of the 

Application. The Institutional Review Panel will consist of specialists on institutional 

review, nominees from Specified Professional Bodies, as the case may be for an institute 

offering professional degrees, Director of QAAC and UGC Officers. The Subject Review 

Panel will consist of subject matter specialists, nominees from Specified Professional 

Bodies, as the case may be for professional degrees, Director of QAAC and UGC 

Officers. The panels will make one or more site visits and verify the information provided 

by the applicant/institute and inspect physically all the facilities available, and other

essential components as specified in the guidelines against the Checklist provided by the 

UGC. The reports of the Institutional Review Panel (on Part I) and the Subject Review 

Panel (Part II) will be reviewed by the S/C on RDDAI and the report of the S/C on 

RDDAI will then be forwarded to the Commission for consideration. The Commission 

will inform the Hon. Minister about the outcome and its recommendations for necessary 

action. 

It must be emphasized that the approval by the UGC and the Ministry of Higher Education 

for the degree awarding status and for the professional study programme does not 

automatically grant the registration for graduates of such programmes to practice the 

profession in the country. Therefore, it must be emphasized that the State / Non-State 

Higher Educational Institutions/Institutes which have been granted degree awarding status 

which offer professional study programmes leading to degrees such as Medical, 

Engineering, Architecture and other professional degrees must seek the compliance 

certification from the respective Specified Professional Bodies. Hence, they may be 

required to submit their study programmes for periodic review by the specified 

professional bodies who are vested with the powers by Acts of Parliaments for 

maintaining standards of the respective professional degree programmes/ professions and 

issue registration to practice. 

Part I: Application for seeking approval for Degree Awarding Status to 

State or Non-state Higher Educational Institutions/Institutes 

Evaluation is aimed at examining the capacity of the institution in terms of degree of 

fulfillment of the standards prescribed for 6 components, namely i) governance, ii) 

management, iii) financial viability, iv) physical resources, v) academic planning and 

development process and quality assurance procedures and vi) competencies of academic, 

professional and technical staff. 

The list of components and evidences that should be provided along with the application 

are given below. The information shall be provided in the form of SER and the format for 

SER is given in the Annex I. 

1. Governance 

There should be a governance structure with clearly defined hierarchy such as Board of 

Governors or Board of Management, Academic Syndicate (or Senate), Faculty Boards, 

Academic Departments, and Centers/Units. The composition and functions of such 

instruments must be clearly defined. Moreover, the roles and responsibilities of relevant 

officials involved (i.e. Chief Executive Officer, Deans, Heads of Departments, Registrar, 

Bursar, etc.) accountable for administrative, academic and financial matters should be 

identified and clearly stated.

Evidence/Information Required 

i) Government approval for the enterprise/company 

ii) Company Ordinance and By-laws 

iii) Governance structure 

iv) Registration of BOI/Registrar of Companies 

v) Strategic/Corporate Plans 

vi) Handbook of the Institution/Institute 

vii) Official Website of the Institution/Institute 

viii) Organogram of the Institution and functions/duties and responsibilities of 

divisions and higher officers 

ix) Profiles and Memberships of Governing/Academic Boards 

x) Minutes of Governing/Academic Board Meetings (during the site visit) 

2. Management 

The management of a Degree Awarding Institution should be carried out through the 

guidance of standing committees and management procedures appointed by the Governing 

Council/Board of Management. Such instruments should address all issues related to 

general administration, academic administration, financial management, and disciplinary 

and welfare matters. 


i) Documented administrative procedures for general administration 

ii) Recruitment and promotion of the staff and disciplinary procedures 

iii) Organizational charts and functions divisions and duties of higher officers 

iv) Qualifications of administrative staff and service conditions and entitlements 

v) Internal and external auditing mechanisms 

vi) Annual Reports of Institution/Institute 

3. Financial Viability 

The Institution/Institute must clearly demonstrate its financial capacity and viability. 

Further, it must provide assurance and place sureties in place to face contingencies / 

emergencies and meet the compensations for students and employees if the institution 

faced with suspension of its operation and activities. 


i) For established institution - Annual Audited Financial Statement – past 5 years 

ii) Newly established institutions – Assets and Liability Statement 

iii) Bank Balances past 3 years certified by the Banks 

iv) Five year financial forecast - for next 5 years 

v) Registration certificates - from BOI/Registrar of Companies 

vi) Company Directors Annual Declarations to the Registrar of Companies 

(evidences must be provided during site visit) 

4. Physical Resources

The institution must have established all physical facilities required to operate as a higher 

educational institution. The institution must have administrative complex and facilities for 

educational activities. These includes administrative complex/building, lecture rooms, 

auditorium, student teaching and training laboratories, library, computer facility, sports 

and recreational facilities, cafeteria and rest rooms, and in the case of professional courses, 

the institution must have its own training facility/hospital or have access to a suitable 

teaching facility/hospital, as the case may be. If the training facility/hospital is a 

government concern, that partnership shall have been formalized through Memorandum of 

Understanding and operationalized through Agreements. 


i) Physical facilities available for administration and academic faculties/units – 

lecture theaters, tutorial rooms, laboratories for practical classes, and facilities 

for clinical/in-plant training 

ii) Common amenities such as library, computer centre/unit, gymnasiaum and 

recreational facilities, cafeteria, rest rooms, etc. 

iii) 

iv) 

Infrastructure Master Plan of the Institution 

Memoranda of understanding and agreements with partner institution (i.e. 

Teaching Hospitals /Training Institutions) 

5. Academic Planning and Development and Process and Quality Assurance System 

The institution/institute shall clearly demonstrate its capacity to plan and conduct 

academic training programme that would meet the standards and quality assurance criteria 

defined by the Quality Assurance Accreditation Council of the University Grants 

Commission. This includes availability of qualified academic and technical staff for 

academic development and planning, teaching/training material development, and conduct 

educational programmes and examination and institutional arrangement for internal and 

external quality assurance mechanisms and procedures. 


i) List of Academic Study Programmes currently offered 

ii) Prospectuses/ Handbooks/Brochures giving details on academic study 

programmes 

iii) Credit and Qualification Framework of academic study programmes 

iv) Qualification Descriptors of individual academic study programmes 

v) Subject Benchmark Statements of academic study programmes 

vi) Details of contents of courses /modules 

vii) Internal and External Quality Framework and Procedures, 

viii) Codes of Practice 

ix) Human Resource Development Plan

6. Academic and Research Competencies of Staff (overall) 

The Institution shall have minimum number of academic staff on permanent basis or on 

long-term contracts. The academic staff must possess basic and post-graduate 

qualifications from recognized Universities in the relevant field together with sufficient 

teaching experience. The staff should also posses. They also should have gone through 

suitable staff development programmes to orient them towards teaching in a higher 

educational institution. Moreover, the academic staff should possess competencies and 

demonstrate continues engagement in research and development. 


i) Academic and non-academic cadre positions 

ii) Academic /professional qualifications of the staff 

iii) Staff development programme /continuing professional development 

programme offered/arranged for the staff 

iv) Staff/student ratio 

v) Institutional arrangements in place to promote research and development – 

such as Research Committees, Research Forums, Journal Clubs, etc. 

vi) Evidence of interaction with staff and Industry, 

vii) Database of research and research publications 

viii) Annual Reports of the Institution 

Part II: Application for seeking approval to offer Degrees to be 

awarded by an Institute which has passed the Institutional 

Review stage 

Part II of the Application deals with components and evidences required for assessing the 

capacity of the institution in terms of degree of fulfillment of the standards prescribed for 

6 components, namely i) Admission Criteria and Procedure , ii) Academic Programme, iii) 

Standards and Quality Assurance, iv) Academic and Research competencies of staff 

(specific to the study programme and disciplines), v) Teaching/Training /Hospital 

facilities specific to the study programme, and vi) Student Support Services and Welfare 

1. Admission Criteria and Procedure 

The institution must submit details as regard to entry qualifications for the degree 

programme, evaluation criteria and selection procedure. The procedure adopted by the 

institution must conform into the minimal entry qualifications adopted by the UGC for 

deciding eligibility for entry into state universities for undergraduate study programmes. 

Further, the selection procedure must be based on principles of objective assessment and 

transparency. 


i) Admission criteria and evaluation procedure 

ii) Profiles of students admitted previously and evaluation procedure and results

iii) 

Reports on the progress of academic programmes – number applied, number 

selected, number retained over the study period, number graduated (over past 5 

years) 

2. Academic Programme 

The academic programmes conducted should have relevance to the national needs. Such 

programmes need to be in conformity with the Vision and Mission of the Institute and 

compatible with the physical and human resources available and experience of 

institution/institute. The study programme must have been developed on sound principles 

such as a) qualification descriptors, b) credit and qualification framework, c) intended 

learning outcomes of courses/modules, d) assessment methods that includes end of the 

course and continuous assessments, e) student-centered, blended teaching and learning 

with good mix of conventional and modern ICT-based learning tools. 


i) Study Programme Prospectus/Handbook 

ii) Credit and qualification framework 

iii) Qualification Descriptors 

iv) Intended learning outcomes of the programme and individual courses 

v) Details of contents of courses/modules 

vi) Teaching and learning methods 

vii) Teaching panel – on regular/contract/visiting basis 

viii) Laboratory/practical/clinical classes and manuals of instructions on individual 

laboratory/practicals and clinical sessions 

ix) Rules and regulations of assessments 

x) Examination By-laws 

xi) Past question papers and answer scripts (if available) 

xii) Results of graduating class (over the past 5 years) 

3. Standards and Quality Assurance Mechanism and Procedures 

The institution must clearly demonstrate the internal and external quality assurance 

mechanisms and procedures that are in place. The courses conducted need to be of high 

standard, meeting national and international standards and conforming to relevant 

standards and benchmark statements. 


i) Internal Quality assurance mechanisms and procedures 

ii) External quality assurance mechanism and procedures 

iii) Subject-bench mark statement(s) 

iv) Credit and Qualification Framework 

v) Qualification Descriptors 

vi) Codes of practice for students and staff 

vii) Student feed-back and comments through questionnaire 

viii) Peer observations 

x) Labour market surveys and employer feedback

4. Academic and Research Competencies of Staff (specific to the Study Programme 

and disciplines) 

The staff should have required basic and post-graduate qualifications from recognized 

Universities in the relevant field together with sufficient teaching experience. They also 

should have gone through suitable staff development programmes to orient them towards 

teaching in a higher educational institution. Moreover, the academic staff should possess 

competencies and demonstrate continues engagement in research and development. 


i) Academic qualifications of the regular and visiting staff 

ii) Availability of required expertise in the staff 

iii) Prescribed recruitment criteria and job descriptions of academic staff 

iv) Staff development Programmes and in-service training programmes 

v) Databases of on-going research 

vi) Database on research publications by the staff 

vii) Interactions with the industry and methods of research information 

dissemination 

5. Teaching/Training Facilities Specific to Study Programme 

The institution must have established all physical facilities required to offer the specific 

degree programme. The faculty/unit that offers the degree programme must have 

administrative complex, and facilities for educational activities. These includes 

administrative complex/building, lecture rooms, auditorium, student teaching and training 

laboratories, library, computer facility, and also should have access to common amenities 

sports and recreational facilities, cafeteria and rest rooms. In the case of professional 

courses, the institution must have its own training facility/hospital or have access to a 

suitable teaching facility/hospital, as the case may be. If the training facility/hospital is a 

government concern, that partnership shall have been formalized through Memorandum of 

Understanding and operationalized through Agreements. In the case of study programme 

in medical sciences, the teaching hospital to which the student have access and provided 

with clinical training must conform into the standards stipulated by the Sri Lanka Medical 

Council. 


i) Availability of laboratories/clinical training facilities and related facilities for 

laboratory work / field work / practicals / clinicals, as applicable to the degree 

programme. 

ii) Academic support staff and their qualifications and experience 

iii) 

iv) 

Equipment for laboratory work/practical classes/clinical work 

In the case of professional degree programme in medical sciences, the 

availability of teaching hospital with professorial units for clinical 

teaching/practice and for gaining experience in advanced clinical / laboratory 

techniques

v) Memoranda of understanding and agreements with partner institution (i.e. 

teaching hospitals/ training institutions) 

6. Student Support Services and Welfare 

The educational environment should be conducive to make the students as well as the staff 

feel comfortable in carrying out the academic activities. The students should be guided 

from the day of entry into the programme through mechanism such as orientation 

prohrammes, academic, academic and student counseling system, career guidance unit., 

etc. There should be mechanisms for students to engage in extra curricular activities. The 

staff also should be provided with adequate resources and welfare facilities to enable them 

to be motivated to contribute towards improving academic standards of the institutions 

and voluntarily to guide students for student-centered learning and promote their welfare. 


i) Information on study programme, student support services and facilities in 

print and electronic media 

ii) Student Prospectus/Handbook 

iii) Management information systems and procedures 

iv) Teaching/practical/clinical and tutorial schedules 

v) Academic guidance and student counseling services 

vi) Availability of canteens, hostels, library, computer facilities, etc.

APPENDIX 

Annex I: Format of the Self-evaluation Report for Institutional Review 

(Not more than 30 pages excluding annexes) 

Executive Summary 

Background 

Chapter 1: 

Chapter 2: 

Chapter 3: 

Chapter 4: 

Chapter 5: 

Chapter 6: 

Governance 

Management 

Financial Viability 

Physical resources 

Academic Planning and Development Process and Quality Assurance 

System 

Academic and Research Competencies of Staff 

Appendix 

Annex 1.1 

Annex 1.2 

Annex 1.n 

Annex 2.1 

Annex 2.2 

Annex 2.n 

Annex n.1… etc. 

Annex II: Format of the Self-evaluation Report for Study Programme Review 

(Not more than 30 pages excluding annexes) 

Executive Summary 

Background 

Chapter 1: 

Chapter 2: 

Chapter 3: 

Chapter 4: 

Chapter 5: 

Chapter 6: 

Admission Criteria and Procedure 

Academic Programme 

Standards and Quality Assurance Mechanism and Procedure 

Academic and Research Competencies of Staff (Specific to the study 

programme) 

Teaching and Training Facilities Specific to Study Programme 

Student Support System and Welfare 

Appendix 

Annex 1.1 

Annex 1.2 

Annex 1.n 

Annex 2.1 

Annex 2.2 

Annex 2.n

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