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BENGATURU Augusl 2014 UNIVERSITY OF KERALA Senate House Campus, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695 034 www.keralauniversity.ac.in (Established as University of Travancore by the Travancore University Act in 1937 and reconstituted as University of Kerala by the Kerala University Act of 1957 and presently governed by the Kerala University Act of 1974 passed by the Kerala State Legislative Assembly) SELF STUDY REPORT for ACCREDITATION (Re-accreditation -2nd cycle) Submitted to NATIONAL ASSESSMENT AND ACCREDITATION COUNCIL Nagarbhavi BENGALURU - 560 072 August 2014 VISION To have institutional autonomy and academic freedom To have strong but impartial public governance To be campus rooted but internationally oriented To be knowledge based and student centred To be research driven and learning focused To be quality and cost conscious but socially responsible To be technologically sophisticated but community dependent To be professionally attuned but humanly sensitive and above all To be publicly accountable and socially committed MISSION To emerge as a centre of academic excellence through holistic education and development of right skills To be recognized as the hub of original research and innovative thinking that caters to the needs of the Industry and Policy Makers To strengthen the Consultancy services of the University through a full-fledged University- Industry tie-up and thereby tap resources of the Industry for its teaching, research and extension services To actively respond to the momentous issues of our society and socio-political environment of the world To transform our traditional University into a University of global standard that makes significant contribution at the international level To ensure that Departments and centres in the University have autonomy within the frame work of the established system and facilitate the same choice to the affiliated colleges. To produce young entrepreneurs who can provide job opportunities rather than be job seekers To be known across the globe for the diversity of its teachers and students, and the quality and employability of its graduates, in diverse fields To produce internationally known leaders, scholars/scientists and sports persons ******* Members of the Steering Committee on NAAC Accreditation Chairman: Prof. P.K. Radhakrishnan, Vice - Chancellor Vice- Chairman: Dr. N. Veeramanikandan, Pro Vice - Chancellor General Convener: Dr. Jayaprakash R.(Member, Syndicate) Joint Conveners Dr. M. Jayaprakas (Director, College Development Council) Prof. Gabriel Simon Thattil (Steering Committee Coordinator) Conveners: Dr. S.N. Kumar, Professor & Head, Department of Geology (Criterion I- Curricular Aspects) Dr. K.C. Sunny, Professor & Head, Department of Law (Criterion II- Teaching- Learning and Evaluation) Dr. Ashalatha S. Nair, Professor, Department of Botany (Criterion III- Research, Consultancy and Extension) Dr. Mohammed Basheer K., Registrar (Criterion IV- Infrastructure and Learning Resources) Dr. C.R. Prasad, Professor & Head, Department of Malayalam (Criterion V- Student Support and Progression) Dr. G. Raju, Professor, Department of Commerce (Criterion VI-Governance, Leadership and Management) Dr. Achuthsankar S. Nair, Professor & Head i/c, Department of Computational Biology & Bioinformatics (Criterion VII-Innovation and Best Practices) Other Members: Dr.A.Bijukumar, Associate Professor& Head, Department of Aquatic Biology& Fisheries. Dr.P.M.Radhamany, Associate Professor& Head, Department of Botany. Dr.V.Biju, Assistant Professor& Head, Department of Physics. Dr.P.P.Ajayakumar, Professor, School of Distance Education. Dr.B.Hariharan, Associate Professor, Institute of English. Dr.A.M.Unnikrishnan, Associate Professor, School of Distance Education. Dr.K.Satheesh Kumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Futures Studies. Dr.Rajesh Reghunath, Assistant Professor, Department of Geology. Dr.Aji S., Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science. Dr.Manoj Chacko, Assistant Professor, Department of Statistics. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction The Trivandrum Observatory and the University College set up in the 19th century created the impetus to conceive of what was originally the University of Travancore. The University College was initially founded as the Maharaja’s Free School by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal in 1834 and it soon grew into a college in 1866 affiliated to the Madras University. When the University of Travancore was founded, the Departments of this college became University Departments. The Trivandrum Observatory was founded in 1838 and had the renowned scientist John Caldecott FRS as its first Director. It became a part of Travancore University, but for some time was administered as an independent government institution. It is now the oldest institution in the University of Kerala. The University of Travancore was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharaja of Travancore, Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma who was also the first Chancellor of the University. Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Ayyar, the then Dewan of the State was the first Vice-Chancellor. Modelled after the best universities of the United Kingdom, our university later on introduced the system of affiliating colleges. In 1954, the unified state of Kerala came into being with most of Travancore and whole of state of Cochin and Malabar area of Madras presidency becoming part of it. In 1957, the Kerala University Act, Act 14 of 1957, was passed and the University of Travancore was renamed University of Kerala. The University had three campuses located in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode in the State. In 1968, the University Centre at Kozhikode became the University of Calicut. The Cochin University of Science and Technology – CUSAT - (1971), Kerala Agricultural University (1971) and Mahatma Gandhi University (1983) were subsequently established. The University of Kerala has now in its jurisdiction Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha Districts and some parts of Pathanamthitta District. Academic and Support Services The University has forty two PG teaching and research departments, including the School of Distance Education under eleven identified Schools. There are thirty two centres, including the Astronomical Observatory, a UGC Area Study Centre, seven university Institutes of Technology (UIT), ten Teacher Education Centres, University Institute of Management with seven Centres and a College of Engineering as its constituent college. The University also has support services like Computer Centre, Central Library, Campus Library at Kariavattom and Department level libraries in the teaching departments and centres, University Press, University Science Instrumentation Centre, Engineering Unit, Health Centre, Department of Student Services, Physical Education Centre, Publications Department, Employment and Information Guidance Bureau, Placement Cell and Finishing School. Inventory of Teaching, Learning and Research Eighty two research centres of which some in affiliated colleges apart from teaching departments with around 1000 students and 2000 research scholars 38000 students in the distance education stream. 244 colleges affiliated to the University with about 1 lakh students. Academic Staff College functioning under UGC guidelines, which is rated as the best in the country. Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education of the University of Kerala is managed by the Sports Authority of India, Government of India. University Library and Publications The Kerala University Library, established in 1942, has over 3 lakh books and over 1000 bound volumes of journals. It is a depository of UN and World Bank publications and provides access to over 9000 on-line journals. The Campus Library at Kariavattom also offers similar services. The Department of Publications, one of the oldest Departments of the University, has brought out a series of glossaries in science subjects, popular science books and translations of classics. The five volumes of Kerala Sahitya Charithram written by Mahakavi Ulloor S. Parameswara Aiyar and the series Sahithya Nayakanmar and the Chitra Ramayana, based on palm - leaf manuscripts are some of its most prestigious publications. In 2003, the University published the first ever complete English translation of Hortus Malabaricus, the classical treatise on the plant wealth of Asia and the tropics. Its Malayalam version was published in 2008. Eight volumes of the Malayalam Lexicon have been published. The University has been publishing since 1946, the Journal of Indian History, a significant publication on historical studies and research. The first e-book Swathi Tirunal’s Bhakthimanjari was published in 2013. A quarterly newsletter entitled The University Herald is also published. Sports and Physical Education The Department of Physical Education has gifted to the country outstanding sportsmen and women. The University was the first in the state to have a synthetic track. The construction of a new Stadium with governmental support in Kariavattom is also in progress. The establishment of the Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education in Kariavattom is another landmark in the history of the University. Another significant development is the starting of several short term courses like TV News reading and Functional English in the Centre for Adult Continuing Education