Academic excellence means establishing a healthy teaching and learning environment and maintaining it on a sustained basis for the betterment of students and fundamental contributions to the society.
The importance of quality teaching is linked to various changes in Higher Education: Increased International Competition,Increasing social and geographical diversity of the student body,Increasing demand of value for money, Introduction of numerous technologies,student mobility etc To quote Alan Skelton” The importance of education for economic success and the need to raise the status of teaching next to research are the reasons for the link between excellence and teaching”
Excellence and learning with quality education have become the modern Holy Grail.Meeting individual need through specialisation provides a way to universal systems of Higher Education.
According to Little and Locke” A teaching mission necessarily embraces both a concern for teaching and a concern for the end product of the teaching process i.e the student’s learning experiences”
The conflict arises when University policies and Stakeholders priorities don’t converge. This leads to the difficulty in defining a clear cut policy and strategy for Academic Excellence but with deliberations the harmony can be maintained.
Skelton identifies 4 understanding of teaching excellence
Traditional approach which is based on disciplinary knowledge and has the purposes to build up social elite and teacher is judged by his or her disciplinary knowledge. Second is performative understanding based on rules and regulations that emphasize the effectiveness of the system where employability and work – based learning are emphasized to increase system’s efficiency.Third is psychological understanding where individual learning achievement are in focus and the role of teacher is to recognize the individual need and aptitude of the student and go for student centric appropriate method for teaching to pave way for excellence.
Fourth is the Critical View, teaching excellence is understood as a contribution to emancipation and change. This approach focuses on the broader prospects of Higher Education and underlying educational values that involves teacher’s technical and practical help.
Among all these teaching learning in present times performative and psychological understanding is used for Academic Excellence.
However there are many teaching models which define Academic Excellence in different perspectives but the common objective of all these models is Quality Education, a vibrant and versatile culture where intellectual curiosity is raised and taken care of.
Teachers need to prepare their discourse in such a way that it enables the student to develop critical thinking along with willingness to participate in discussion and derive pleasure out of it.
This can further lead to various assessment techniques which determine student’s grasp over the subject but not using the stereotype method which force student to memorize and regurgitate.
The goals and intellectual challenges should be crisp and clear with focus on active participation of students. A good teacher can create learning tasks appropriate to the student’s level of understanding and instead of imposing “mass production” standards should devise methods that suit each learner. This may lead to increase teacher’s load but good teaching and learning demands both teacher and student to go beyond the prescribed roles.
Further the most vital factor in ensuring excellence in Academics is quality of faculty.Clarity and transparency in the process of recruitment of faculty and feedback system.
Visible welfare measures be formulated to motivate teachers in achieving highest academic pursuits.It should be mandatory for the Managing Authority to implement University Act, Statutes, Ordinances,Rules and Regulations for healthy environment and effective functioning to execute the defined objectives of Higher Education Institutions.
There is a need to evolve exceptionally unique factors leading to exemplary academic outcomes.Following factors need to be taken up for vertical growth of an institution.
Research-oriented faculty
Regular Lectures by leading scholars for faculty as well as students ,Improving teaching learning environment ,Focus on achievements and success of students.For this Student training programs ,Incentives to talented students,Development of their critical thinking, Innovative skill based projects and academic fundamentals to be evolved through targeted student – centric activities by preparing Academic Calendar, Collaboration between students and teachers specifically at PG Level.
Introducing Relevant Strong Programme that generate employability, Generating Good Resources by MOUs, By recognizing and rewarding teaching excellence, Vibrant and versatile culture where intellectual curiosity must be supported, Academic Audit, Expanding E- Resource Availability and urging faculty and students to use it, Measuring teaching Effectiveness objectively, Innovative Outlook, Sensitization of Students regarding availability of different Course Options,Strive for Quality and then Excellence rather than Quantity in Higher Education ,Establish an ‘Excellent Forum’ where each HEI pools and shares resources and existing expertise on educational development in general and teaching pedagogy development in particular across borders.
However Academic Excellence can only be achieved when Higher Education Institutions is willing to promote above mentioned factors leading to significant learning and help teachers learn how to achieve these aims and objectives.The Stakeholders need to create such environment in which student learning of this kind can take place and teachers are judiciously rewarded for engaging in such practices.
Dr Ritu Kamra Kumar, Academician, Educationist, Column writer Author and Poet