QS I-GAUGE is a comprehensive and independent rating system for India’s universities and colleges. It provides academic institutions to effectively benchmark their performance with reference to key indicators and further lays down developmental roadmap for upgrading their educational services.

The QS I-GAUGE consists of Seven Core criteria and Six Advanced criteria (from which an institution can opt any two). Every institution is thus evaluated on a total of nine criteria. The QS I-GAUGE rating provides a unique 360-degree perspective of India’s institutions for higher learning. After the assessment, the institutes are awarded with an overall rating which ranges from Bronze to Platinum+, depending on the number of points achieved through the evaluation.

This rating system, which is specially curated for India, will help the students, parents and a diverse set of stakeholders understand the areas an institution is good at and the areas which the institutions needs to work on. By referring to QS I-GAUGE ratings, students will now be able to see the true and complete picture of an institution before taking admission, rather than after, allowing the students to match their interests with the institutions that are strong in the topics that matter to them.

The rating also functions as an institutional score card, and institutions receive a detailed and confidential report on their strengths and areas of improvement, providing a roadmap for further development. As the QS I-GAUGE rating is re-assessed every two years, it is acts as an invaluable tool for institutional research and planning. The following criteria, the basis for QS I-GAUGE rating, were selected as the key pillars of what makes a world-class institution for higher education:

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Classroom-based teaching and learning engagements form the core building blocks of an institution of higher learning. The indicators such as faculty student ratio, completion rate, best practices in learning, overall student satisfaction etc. are focussed to measure institution’s performance against fixed thresholds.

FACULTY QUALITY

This is captured through a quantified measurement of indicators such as faculty qualification, retention rate, faculty with experience or engagement outside academia, publications per faculty etc.

EMPLOYABILITY

Common indicators in this area are campus employers’ presence, employment rate and career services support etc. The active involvement of students in forums/clubs encouraging extracurricular participations also boosts the employability at the institution.

STUDENT DIVERSITY AND ACCESSIBILITY

The more diversity an institution incorporates in terms of culture and economic background, the more inclusive and comprehensive the atmosphere is in a university or college. The institution should be pro-active in maintaining student and faculty diversity from across the country. It should strive to provide equal opportunities for diffrently abled students, and also maintain international diversity.

FACILITIES

Facilities such as sporting, IT, library and medical facilities, accommodation, and catering facilities etc. are considered within this criterion. Also, It is essential that an institution makes available adequate infrastructure for the differently abled students and faculty on the campus.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

It is the responsibility of the institution to engage students in community development activities and contribute to sustainable development, including health and wellbeing, of a society.This feature measures the social involvement of the students, faculty and institutions and the recognition received for its community outreach activities. 

GOVERNANCE AND STRUCTURE

Governance & structure evaluates the policies and processes that are required for institutions to function effectively. National accreditations and recognitions awarded to universities and colleges add to the credibility of the institutions and become vital in assessing their performance.

ARTS & CULTURE

Effective indicators are the number of concerts and exhibitions organized by the institution and the number of credits and cultural awards achieved by the faculties and students. Additionally, the facilities available, and the cultural investment by the institution is also evaluated. 

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Along with training programs, QS I-GAUGE rating checks the percentage of faculty and alumni with entrepreneurship experience, and the aspirations of students in terms of likeliness to pursue a start-up. 

RESEARCH

Indicators considered here include assessments of research quality amongst the faculties at the institution, productivity (i.e. number of papers published), citations (i.e. how recognized and referred to are the papers of the respective faculties) and funding obtained for research projects. 

INNOVATION

The institution is assessed on a set of indicators such as investment in creating intellectual property, legalising and commercialising the patents and formation of spin-off entities etc. to measure its achievements in fostering innovation through education and research activities. Also, the faculty involved with experience of external consultations, and industry connect contribute significantly towards motivating the students. 

INTERNATIONALIZATION

Indicators considered here include international students with respect to the total student population, student exchange program, faculty exchange program and international collobaration etc. 

ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT

The academic development comprises of activities focused on enhancing all dimensions of teaching and learning. Presence of Continuous Professional Development for faculty in terms of activities, certification programs, and technology[1]enabled training for faculty. Educational policies/workshops to integrate essential skills on the importance of academic integrity, plagiarism and to increase academic engagements are also evaluated.