Courses

Accreditation

 

 

1. What is the IAF?

 

The International Accreditation Forum, Inc. (IAF) is the world association of Conformity Assessment Accreditation Bodies and other bodies interested in conformity assessment in the fields of management systems, products, services, personnel and other similar programmes of conformity assessment. Its primary function is to develop a single worldwide program of conformity assessment which reduces risk for business and its customers by assuring them that accredited certificates may be relied upon. Accreditation assures users of the competence and impartiality of the body accredited. IAF members accredit certification or registration bodies that issue certificates attesting that an organization's management, products or personnel comply with a specified standard (called conformity assessment).

 

2. Role of IAF

The primary purpose of IAF is two-fold. Firstly, to ensure that its accreditation body members only accredit bodies that are competent to do the work they undertake and are not subject to conflicts of interest. The second purpose of the IAF is to establish mutual recognition arrangements, known as Multilateral Recognition Arrangements (MLA), between its accreditation body members which reduces risk to business and its customers by ensuring that an accredited certificate may be relied upon anywhere in the world. The MLA contributes to the freedom of world trade by eliminating technical barriers to trade. IAF works to find the most effective way of achieving a single system that will allow companies with an accredited conformity assessment certificate in one part of the world, to have that certificate recognised else where in the world. The objective of the MLA is that it will cover all accreditation bodies in all countries in the world, thus eliminating the need for suppliers of products or services to be certified in each country where they sell their products or services. Certified once - accepted everywhere.

 

About IAF

 

8. Standards & Conformity Assessment

 

What are standards?

 

Standards are documented agreements containing technical specifications or other precise criteria to be used consistently as rules, guidelines, or definitions of characteristics, to ensure that materials, products, processes and services are fit for their purpose.

 

Example:

 

The format of the credit cards, phone cards, and "smart" cards that have become commonplace is derived from an ISO International Standard. Adhering to the standard, which defines such features as an optimal thickness (0,76 mm), means that the cards can be used worldwide.

 

Industry-wide standardisation results from consensus agreements reached between all economic players in that industrial sector - suppliers, users, and governments. They agree on specifications and criteria to be applied consistently in the choice and classification of materials, the manufacture of products and the provision of services.

 

Why do we need international standards?

 

International commerce, exports and imports would be impossible for many industries if different countries had different standards for the same product. International standards for products would result in the same standard set for the same product internationally, a fall in production costs and, an increase in competition between manufacturers therefore lowering prices for consumers.

 

Where different countries have standards for the same products with different requirements, manufacturers in other countries face increased costs if they wish to export to a country with different standards. This is called "technical barriers to trade". If all countries agree to adopt the same standard for the same product, the cost of production falls and competition between manufacturers in different countries increases, making it possible for consumers to get lower prices.

 

In many industries international commerce would be impossible if countries adopt different standards. For example telecommunications, information processing, banking and financial services could not operate across national boundaries if they did not all obey the same rules.

 

Standards facilitate trade, exchange and technology transfer through:

 

  • enhanced product quality and reliability at a reasonable price;
  • improved health, safety and environmental protection, and reduction of waste;
  • greater compatibility and interoperability of goods and services;
  • simplification for improved usability; · reduction in the number of models, and thus reduction in costs;
  • increased distribution efficiency, and ease of maintenance.

Customers and users need to be assured that products and services conform to the same standard internationally. Certificates of conformity to specified standards issued by certification / registration bodies accredited by IAF MLA members, gives customers and users the assurance they need to conduct business.

 

What are the benefits of conformity assessment?

 

Conformity assessment is the process by which a body, that is known to be competent and credible, issues a certificate that a particular business or product will comply with a particular standard. The competence and credibility of a certification / registration body is normally assured when it is accredited by an IAF MLA member. Conformity assessment provides benefits for manufacturers and service providers, consumers and government regulators, as well as for international trade in general.

 

For conscientious manufacturers and service providers, having their products assessed and certified as conforming to a particular standard allows them to distinguish themselves from less reputable suppliers.

 

Consumers benefit from conformity assessment because it provides them with a basis for selecting products or services. They may have more confidence in products or services that bear a mark or certificate of conformity that attests to quality, safety or other desirable characteristics.

 

Regulators benefit from conformity assessment which gives them a means of enforcing governmental health, safety and environmental legislation.

Harmonizing conformity assessment procedures around the world also has far-reaching benefits for international trade in general. Agreements among nations or regions on the mutual acceptability of requirements, assessment methods, inspection or test results, etc., can all help to reduce or remove so-called technical barriers to trade.

IAF works closely with ISO and the WTO to ensure that the benefits of conformity assessment are available to all businesses and customers in all countries.

 

How does conformity assessment work?

 

First-party assessment. This is the technical term used when conformity assessment to a standard, specification or regulation is carried out by the supplier organisation itself. In other words, it is a self-assessment.

 

Second-party assessment. This indicates that a customer of the supplier organisation carries out the conformity assessment. For example, the supplier invites a potential customer to verify that the products that it is offering conform to relevant product standards.

 

Third-party assessment. The conformity assessment is performed by a body that is independent of both supplier and customer organisations. An example is ISO 9000 certification where an organisation's quality management system is assessed by an independent "certification" or "registration" body against the requirements of an ISO 9000 standard. If the system conforms to the requirements, the certification/registration body issues the organization with an ISO 9000 certificate.

 

The value of third party assessment lies in the independence and competence of the third-party certification/registration body. Accreditation of a certification/registration body assures customers, users and government regulators that a product or service fully complies with relevant standards. Standards are constantly under careful surveillance by the accreditation body, which demonstrates the independence and competence of the certification/registration body.

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Profile

The NATIONAL ASSESSMENT AND ACCREDITATION COUNCIL (NAAC) is an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India to assess and accredit institutions of higher education in the country. It is an outcome of the recommendations of the National Policy in Education (1986) that laid special emphasis on upholding the quality of higher education in India.

The system of higher education in India has expanded rapidly during the last fifty years. In spite of the built-in regulatory mechanisms that ensure satisfactory levels of quality in the functioning of higher education institutions, there have been criticisms that the country has permitted the mushrooming of institutions of higher education with fancy programme and substandard facilities and consequent dilution of standards.To address the issues of deterioration in quality, the National Policy on Education (1986) and the Plan of Action (POA-1992) that spelt out the strategic plans for the policies, advocated the establishment of an independent national accreditation body. Consequently, the NAAC was established in 1994 with its headquarters at Bangalore.

Governance

The NAAC functions through its General Council (GC) and Executive Committee (EC) where educational administrators, policy makers and senior academicians from a cross-section of the system of higher education are represented. The Chairperson of the UGC is the President of the GC of the NAAC, the Chairperson of the EC is an eminent academician in the area of relevance to the NAAC. The Director of the NAAC is its academic and administrative head, and is the member-secretary of both the GC and EC. The NAAC also has many advisory and consultative committees to guide its practices, in addition to the statutory bodies that steer its policies. The NAAC has a core staff and consultants to support its activities. It also receives assistance from a large number of external resource persons from across the country who are not full time staff of the NAAC.

Vision and Mission

The activities and future plans of the NAAC are guided by its vision and mission that focus on making quality assurance an integral part of the functioning of higher education institutions.

The vision of the NAAC is:

To make quality the defining element of higher education in India through a combination of self and external quality evaluation, promotion and sustenance initiatives.
The mission statements of the NAAC aim at translating the NAAC's vision into reality, defining the following key tasks of the organisation:

  • To arrange for periodic assessment and accreditation of institutions of higher education or units thereof, or specific academic programme or projects.
  • To stimulate the academic environment for promotion of quality of teaching-learning and research in higher education institutions.
  • To encourage self-evaluation, accountability, autonomy and innovations in higher education.
  • To undertake quality-related research studies,consultancy and training programme.
  • To collaborate with other stakeholders of higher education for quality evaluation, promotion and sustenance.

Guided by its vision and striving to achieve its mission, the NAAC primarily assesses the quality of institutions of higher education that volunteer for the process, through an internationally accepted methodology.

The Methodology

For the assessment of a unit, the NAAC follows a three-stage process which is a combination of self-study and peer review. The three stages are:

  • The preparation and submission of a self-study report by the unit of assessment.
  • The on-site visit of the peer team for validation of the self-study report and for recommending the assessment outcome to the NAAC.
  • The final decision by the Executive Committee of the NAAC.

The self-study report to be validated by peers is the backbone of the whole exercise. Manuals have been developed to suit different units of higher education, with detailed guidelines on the preparation of the self-study report and the other aspects of assessment and accreditation.