NAAC Awards A++ Grade to GITAM

Visakhapatnam : GITAM (Deemed to be University), a premier higher education institution with campuses in Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru, has been accredited with a highly coveted A++ grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), which was established as an autonomous and independent entity by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Following peer team visits in February 2023 and third-party blind evaluation during the previous six months, the institution received a CGPA of 3.54 out of 4 in the third cycle of accreditation for a seven-year period (the validity of accreditation is usually for a period of five years).

GITAM (Deemed to be University) is one of the Top 3% of Higher Education Institutions in India, and one of the most sought-after HEIs in Southern India, thanks to its NAAC A++ accreditation.

As part of its accreditation process, NAAC assesses higher education institutions on a set of seven identified criteria: curriculum aspects; teaching-learning & evaluation; research, innovations & extension; infrastructure & learning resources; student support & progression; governance, leadership & management; and institutional values & best practices. The apex education accreditation body has also revised its grading framework, where 74% of the evaluation is carried out by a third party from remote locations. Moreover, three-fourths of the overall evaluation matrix is now quantitative.

According to the NAAC website, 4201 institutions have been accredited by NAAC across the country, of which only 3% have been awarded A++ grade. Thanking and congratulating staff, students, and other stakeholders on this meritorious feat, Prof. Dayananda Siddavattam, Vice Chancellor, Prof. Jayasankar E Variyar, Pro Vice Chancellor (Academics) and Prof. Raja Prabu R, Director (IQAC), GITAM (Deemed to be University), said, “As a NAAC A++ accredited university, GITAM has raised the bar even higher and has come one step closer to fulfilling its mission of providing a futuristic, world-class, and comprehensive education to all, as well as, contributing to the community. The A++ grade also retained the Category – I status for us, opening access to many opportunities and privileges for GITAM, such as more academic & administrative autonomy, admitting foreign students up to 20%, starting offshore campuses etc.,”.

Previously, GITAM was awarded A grade in the 1st Cycle (2011), A+ grade in the 2nd Cycle (2017) and now A++ in the third Cycle (2023).