Three city colleges were under scrutiny last week, with NAAC teams on a visiting spree at the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Vile Parle, St Xavier's College, Fort, and Ruia College, Matunga. Two colleges -- Vaze College, Mulund, and Vithaldas College of Home Science, Santacruz -- have already received NAAC grading, in December last year, the first to get accreditation in Maharashtra.

While the NAAC was set up in 1994, the need to secure accreditation appears to have caught on only now. The reason: a good NAAC rating is the ultimate symbol of excellence. As Fr Joe Dias, principalof St Xavier's College, says, ``People want to know about quality, our rating... and this approach has come in with globalisation.''

But NAAC accreditation -- based on curriculum analysis, research and consultancy, infrastructure and student support, among other things, within an institution -- goes well beyond self-assessment. Very soon, grants from the all-important UGC are likely to be based on an institution's grading. It will also be the foundation for tie-ups with industries as well as foreign universities.

Says NMIMS Registrar R D Shetty: ``We were in the top 10 in a magazine survey conducted some years ago, but we intend to reach higher. NAAC tells you where you stand, whether there is anything lacking.'' Not surprising then that of the 627 management institutes in the country, NMIMS was one of the first to apply for accreditation.

NAAC assessment throws light on the lacunae in an institution as well, says Dr R T Sane, Ruia College principal. ``Every college has to submit a self-study reportbefore the NAAC team's visit. For this, a detailed questionnaire on the functioning of the college has to be answered,'' he says. During the course of self-study, colleges identify areas where they are lacking, like infrastructure or the teacher-student ratio. Says Shetty: ``We realised that our library budget was not enough, so we nearly doubled it. We also recruited more faculty members.''

An added advantage is the likelihood of increased opportunities for students in foreign universities. NAAC itself has an agreement with the Quality Assessment Agency for Higher Education in the United Kingdom as well as with an international body for assessing and accrediting institutes of higher education, says Dr M R Kurup, Vaze College principal. ``Therefore, if a student is from an accredited college, it is a value-addition when he/she goes abroad,'' he adds. Similarly, in the job market too, students from accredited colleges stand a better chance.

A major incentive though is the possibility of securing more UGCfunds. Says Dr Sane: ``At a recent workshop organised in Bangalore, NAAC officials were saying that accreditation should be made mandatory (at present, it is entirely voluntary).'' Furthur, in the 10th UGC Plan, grants are likely to be disbursed according to the NAAC rating of an institution, adds Dr Kurup.

Incidentally, the teaching fraternity appears to have learnt its best lessons from accreditation. Says Dr Sane: ``Teachers know that grading is related to their teaching programmes, which also includes research. Though the provisions exist, many teachers have not been claiming grants from the UGC for research. Now, they have become aware of the possibility.''

At Vaze College, which secured the topmost NAAC rating last December, Dr Kurup says accreditation has created awareness about the need for quality. ``The faculty input has changed. As ours is a new college, less research was undertaken earlier. But now there is a new direction,'' he explains.

So far, 50 of 10,000-odd colleges and three of the280 universities in the country have received NAAC accreditation and the number is expected to go up to 100 by the year-end. The increased awareness is also thanks to the various workshops organised by the NAAC. Further, the fees charged for accreditation -- Rs 25,000 per faculty -- has been made an admissible expenditure by the UGC.

Even if that is not the case, accreditation is worth one's money, say academicians. As Shalini Inamdar, acting principal of Vithaldas College remarks: ``People look at us from a different viewpoint now.''