IRQAOA Department

The Institutional Research and Quality Assurance (IRQA) Department is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of quality and excellence in alignment with HUC’s Vision and Mission. It strives to enhance the quality of academic and support services, benchmark best practices from national and international institutions, and ensure compliance with guidelines, standards, and accreditation requirements set by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR) and global accreditation agencies.  The functions and responsibilities of the Institutional Research and Quality Assurance (IRQA) Department are broadly categorized into the following key areas, with detailed descriptions provided in the subsequent sections:

Institutional Research

The Institutional Research Unit provides accurate and timely data to support strategic planning, decision-making, and institutional effectiveness. It manages data collection and analysis for the MOHESR OBEF Framework, supports regional and international benchmarking, and contributes to ranking and rating initiatives. The unit prepares the Annual Report and Institutional Fact Book, and provides data inputs for program reviews and curriculum enhancement. It ensures that institutional decisions are evidence-based and aligned with national and international performance standards.

Quality Assurance

The Quality Assurance Unit is responsible for the development, review, and updating of institutional policies, publications, and procedures. It oversees the planning and closing of institutional units, conducts gap analyses, and monitors strategic plan achievements to ensure continuous quality improvement. The unit manages risk assessment, coordinates Explorance regional benchmarking reviews, and disseminates feedback outcomes to relevant departments for corrective action. Through these activities, it ensures consistent quality standards and promotes a culture of ongoing institutional improvement.

Accreditations and ranking

The Accreditation and Ranking Unit coordinates and facilitates national and international accreditation processes, including onsite visits, documentation, and data submissions to agencies such as CHEDS, QAA, AACSB, and ABET. It supports program reviews, manages curriculum and syllabus updates within the ERP system, and prepares Course Files, Tables of Content (TOC), and Institutional Effectiveness Reports. The unit also oversees program benchmarking and ranking efforts in collaboration with academic schools, ensuring institutional programs meet global standards and enhance academic reputation.

Audit and Compliance

The Audit, Compliance, and Risk Management Unit ensures adherence to internal policies, regulatory requirements, and accreditation standards. It conducts internal audits, evaluates internal controls and operational efficiency, and identifies potential risks. The unit develops and monitors mitigation plans, maintains compliance documentation, and coordinates with external auditors and regulators. It also provides training on audit readiness and compliance, and regularly tracks audit performance metrics to strengthen institutional accountability and governance.

1. To develop and maintain quality standards in the institution.
2. To strengthen Institutional Effectiveness and Quality Assurance for evidence-based decision-making by providing reliable data.
3. To function as a custodian for the collection, compilation, and analysis of information.
4. To create a centralized, organized, and easily retrievable digital repository of all institutional documents.
5. To facilitate and support the attainment of international accreditations, ratings, and rankings in alignment with institutional goals and global standards.
6. To conduct regular institutional benchmarking to evaluate performance against national and international standards.
7. To implement effective internal audit processes and evaluate risk management systems for strengthening institutional governance and operational efficiency.

Institutional Research

• Planning and Decision Support
  Institutional Research unit identifies the data requirements, plan and develops assessment tools helpful in gathering appropriate information for increasing institutional effectiveness. IRO compiles, analyzes and disseminates information for decision making in the process of institutional effectiveness. It provides inputs for preparing and evaluating Strategic Plan, annual and semester plans.
• Feedback Surveys
  The department designs and administers surveys targeting students, staff, graduates, and employers to assess institutional performance and stakeholder satisfaction. Survey results are analyzed and shared with relevant units for informed decision-making and continuous improvement
• National and International Accreditation
  IRQA coordinates accreditation processes by collecting, organizing, and submitting institutional data and documents required for both national and international accreditation reviews.
• Feedback Survey
  Conducting various surveys that helps in assessing the status and requirements of HUC among the stakeholders is a major responsibility of the Institutional Research Unit. Student, staff, graduate and employer perceptions and opinions are imperative in determining the future directions of HUC. Therefore, IRO reviews, develops, plans and implements appropriate survey tools and analyzes and disseminates the results for appropriate action.
• Performance Evaluation System
  The department develops evaluation tools and collects data to assess the performance of the Board of Trustees, University Council, faculty, and staff. The results are analyzed and presented to leadership for decision-making.

Quality Assurance

• Quality Enhancement
  HUC is committed to excellence in all aspects of academics and academic support service departments as envisioned in the vision statement. The Quality Assurance unit ensures there is continuous enhancement of the institutional goals in meeting the specified standards and requirements across all areas of Academics and Academic Support Services.
• Developing Institutional Policies
  IRQA department is responsible for preparing, amending, ensuring compliance and evaluating the policy and procedures of HUC.
• Benchmarking
  Benchmarking serves as a key mechanism for continuous improvement. HUC compares its key performance indicators (KPIs), academic processes, and operational standards with leading institutions locally and internationally.
  The university formalizes benchmarking collaborations through Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to ensure realistic and impactful comparisons.
  Internally, departments establish annual KPIs based on prior performance. IRQA reviews and guides updates to these benchmarks, ensuring alignment with institutional goals.
• Best Practices
  HUC’s policies and procedures are modelled on MOHESR guidelines and international best practices in higher education. IRQA conducts annual reviews at the end of the spring semester to evaluate existing practices and incorporate necessary updates for the upcoming academic year.
• Risk Management
  The IRQA Department manages and reviews the institutional Risk Register, prepares consolidated analyses of risk incidents, and submits risk management reports to the President. Post-implementation evaluations are conducted to assess the effectiveness of risk mitigation measures.

Accreditations and ranking

• International Accreditation and Ranking
  IRQA supports HUC in securing prestigious international accreditations such as QAA (institutional) and program accreditations like AACSB and ABET. It also liaises with global ranking agencies, including QS Rankings, Times Higher Education, and Shanghai Rankings, to enhance institutional reputation.
• Facilitate data for awards, ranking and listing
  The Quality Assurance Unit provides data to other departments which are working towards achievement of renowned awards, and listing of HUC at national and international levels. The department helps in preparing documents, evaluating and developing application forms and equivalencies for Programs.

Audit & Compliance

• Ensuring compliance with accreditation standards
  The IRQA Department keeps track of all the latest updates in the MOHESR standards and reviews its impact on the institutional policy and procedures. It is the responsibility of the IRQA Department to ensure that all the necessary amendments as per the latest updates are reflected in the appropriate policies. It ensures that all the important documents of the Institution are amended as per the changes in the standards set by the MOHESR
• Quality Auditing
  IRQA, in coordination with the Quality Assurance Committee, conducts audits of academic and support service functions. Academic audits cover curriculum, course syllabi, course files, reports, and assessments, while support service audits review semester readiness, website and portal updates, and operational procedures.
  Audit reports outlining identified gaps and recommended corrective actions are shared with relevant units for implementation.