HR ANALYSIS OF IQRA UNIVERSITY

 IQRA University Peshawar Campus

The Peshawar campus of IQRA university is the pioneer of IT education in NWFP, and
remains to this day the principal institution extending the frontiers of IT in the province.
This is being done in several ways.
The Peshawar campus is unique in the wide diversity of its student body. Students are
drawn not only from amongst fresh graduates and post intermediate levels, but also from
amongst a wide variety of working professionals, including senior engineers, doctors,
defense forces personnel, teachers, bankers, and other groups of professional managers.
IQRA university is active not only in teaching and implementing software, but also in its
development.The campus consists of well-furnished, air-conditioned classrooms,
equipped with latest audio visual aids, a spacious information Resource center, and state-
of-the-art computer labs, which provide a custom built infrastructure to achieve the
mission and objectives of IQRA university.

 INFRASTRUCTURE »

lqra University campuses are custom-built to address the needs of a modern and diverse
student body. Campuses are fully air-conditioned or heated, depending on the climate.
They consist of well furnished classrooms, fully equipped computer and engineering labs,
computerized libraries with all the latest and most relevant reading materials, and offices
for all the special services. They also contain cafeterias where students can relax, prayer
areas and sports complexes featuring all types of facilities for students’ use.

 CURRICULUM »

The curriculum being followed at lqra University is in complete alignment with the
curriculum followed at top American and British Universities. By virtue of this similarity
our students are receiving up to 1 00% credit transfers to foreign universities. The
curriculum is designed to focus on developing students not only in core areas of their
programmes of studies but harnessing their overall personality through courses like
psychology and interpersonal skill.We track our classroom performance on a daily basis
to ensure the highest standard of education.Our teaching methodologies utilize latest
videos, audios, software, field projects, case studies, simulated workshops and
presentations. To further groom the students, we are also authorized to conduct
institutional TOEFL program.

Liaison with Foreign Universities

In keeping with our commitment to quality, we have arranged collaborations with several
American and European Universities, among them are University of Incarnate Word,
Texas; American Intercontinental University; Richmond College, etc.These
collaborations make provision for student and faculty exchange programmes, as well as
exchange of research materials.

 FINANCIAL AID »

Admissions at lqra University are based on merit. This means that the university selects
the students regardless of their financial standings. Applicants should apply for financial
assistance along with their admission forms. Tuition fee details are available in the
enclosed annexure. The lqra University is committed to working with all deserving
students to assist them in financing their graduate education. Our financial aid
programme includes need-based grants and scholarships, merit-based fellowships,
educational loans, work-study, and teaching assistantships.

While paying for a graduate education is always a challenge, students at lqra find creative
solutions through a variety of sources; many employers, community and religious
organizations, and various agencies offer scholarships to students. The Registrar’s Office
at lqra University provides information about general fellowships, grants, and
scholarships.

 SCHOLARSHIPS »

Iqra offers freeships (1 00% off tuition fee) to all position holders of National Boards and
Universities in the programmes of their choice in the first semester of studies.
Merit Scholarships are awarded in each term to position holders on the basis of GPA
earned with full term load.Merit rating is determined as per rules.

 OFFICE OF STUDENT AFFAIRS (OSA) »

One of the primary sources of support for lqra University students is the Office of
Student Affairs (OSA), which collaborates with students, student groups and committees
to develop programmes that create o sense of community. Thus the office coordinates and
plans events such as the orientation, multicultural festivals, the commencement week and
other student social activities.

By providing a variety of services, from assisting students with housing to sponsoring

seminars on diversity, lqra University helps students meet the many demands of their
personal and academic life.
  PLACEMENT OFFICE »

The Placement Office provides individual career counseling for lqra students and alumni
and assists them in formulating career plans and creating individual job search strategies.
It also serves as a resource and information center, sponsoring a varied series of career
seminars and special events led by lqra faculty, alumni, students and leaders in business
and Industry. The Placement Office offers an online recruiting service, a credential
service, videotaped mock interviews, and recruiting visits from various organizations.

The Placement Office also sponsors special events that foster information sharing and
professional networking. The Career Days programme provides opportunities to visit
work-sites and network with alumni. Other events include career panels, networking
events and alumni receptions.

Placement department gets the annual graduate directory published for the graduates who
have completed all the requirements of the degree. The Placement Office encourages
graduates to use its services throughout their career.

The graduates directory is published for the annual convocation, a prestigious event, for
which students register to participate by payment of a degree fee.

 IQRA’S ROAD TO SUCCESS

Iqra University has provided a stepping-stone for the young minds nurturing them to
grow and develop and contribute to society at large Investment in education is investing
for a better future of Pakistan, and this is an important part of our objectives. We proudly
groom the youth of Pakistan for starting professional careers and meeting the
requirements of global market. The university takes very seriously its public commitment
to economic regeneration via knowledge and technology transfer. Iqra’s progress in the
last five years is the proof of the hard work and commitment.
 HR ACTIVITIES IN IQRA UNIVERSITY

We have talked to the top management of iqrauniversity, they said that there is no proper
HR department in Iqra university. But the HR activities can be classified as under.

 RECRUITMENT METHOD

Iqra University uses both external as well as internal methods for recruitment process.
External is done mainly through advertisement. Iqra University has a policy of Blind Box
advertisement in which the name of Iqra University is not revealed. Internal is done
through employee referral i.e., the management first announces the vacancy internally.
Employee referral is very good because their own interest is also involved in that because
after all they have to pass time with them and it’s also less time and cost consuming for
the institute. The management also looks in international as well as national market for
required people.

SELECTION METHOD

It takes time. First a preliminary interview is taken and nobody is expelled out or
disqualified in that interview. After that a demo is taken and the candidate is given a topic
of either the selection committee’s choice or of his own choice. After that he has to
deliver a demo in front of some fresh and some old students along with a penal of
teachers. He/she is asked questions at the end of demonstration. This is a part of initial
recommendations and he is recommended to registrar and again another penal interviews
him. His pitch of sound, subject knowledge, general knowledge, and eye contact are
examined. Preliminary interviews, Demonstration, Detailed interview, Writing skill,
Sound pitch tests etc. are taken in selection process. A semi-structured interview is taken
but the management knows how much importance should be given to different areas. So
far there are no exit interviews, i.e., the interviews taken from a staff member who is
leaving Iqra University for any reason but the management aims to introduce them as
well. The candidates for teaching are judged in their basic knowledge about their subject.
Some general questions about their subjects are also asked. There is a structured pro-
forma for evaluating the candidate, which overcomes the shortcoming of halo-effect up to
a great extent. An HR specialist, a teaching specialist, an English language specialist are
there in the selection panel in the demonstration session.

 ORIENTATION OF NEW EMPLOYEES

The newly selected candidate is introduced to all staff and also to the Vice Chancellor of
Iqra University. The orientation of the new employees is done formally and individually.
He is introduced to the students and teachers by any responsible authority. Because of
this practice he/she is familiarized with the staff as well as with the students. And due of
this practice the chances of rise of any conflict is lowered because due to this orientation
session, students come to know about their new teacher in a better way. In some cases
where this orientation practice was not done, some unnecessary conflicts aroused
between teacher and students and that was just because of the distrust of students over
their teacher because they were not well aware of their teacher’s abilities and past
experience and ware therefore not ready to give him any credit. New employees are
introduced even to librarians and to all those with whom he/she has to interact. In this
way a formal, serial, type of orientation is conducted.
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

There are different training programs. For example if it is come to know that a teacher of
M.Sc. Mathematics has the ability to adopt Discrete Mathematics even he has not learned
that subject in his educational life, but due to his/her potential abilities, it becomes a
challenge for him/her and tries to learn that subject as much as possible from various
sources. In this manner he/she gets more and more learning and brings improvement in
his/her teaching skills. Internet surfing facilities are also provided. Employees are sent to
different seminars as well. The management aims to materialize some ideas of training
session in summer vacations. Whenever it is felt that a specific subject needs more than
one teacher, the management used to send two subject specialists in a single class. For
example, there is a subject called “Consumer Behavior and Market Analysis” that needs a
subject specialist from Marketing discipline as well as a subject specialist from
Psychology discipline. So teachers of Marketing as well as of Psychology are sent in the
class at the same time. This improves the knowledge and understanding of both the
teachers and as well as of the students. This is a unique method of training and
development introduced by Iqra University in Peshawar specially. The results of this
practice are tremendous.

METHODS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

A pro-forma is there to judge the best employees. For good teachers on annual basis,
awards and shields are given to them. Personal increments and special increments on the
basis of performance are also given.

RESOLVE CONFLICTS

There has never been any conflict among employees but rather Iqra University faces
conflict between employees and management. The reason for no conflicts among
employees lies in its staff room where all the employees get together and share their ideas
and thoughts with one another and also help each other in their subjects. In the form of a
mutual staff room, a healthy environment is provided to them, which harmonizes their
mutual understanding. Internal discussion develops them a lot because that are conceptual
discussions and all the employees share their knowledge. Employees have mutual Iftar
parties etc. Diverse workforce is a challenge and a positive aspect and Iqra University
always welcomes them and manages such a diverse workforce just because of its policy
of equity. There is no such threat of lobbyism and grouping in Iqra University.

MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES

There are many factors. For example salary rise, learning and exposure, or giving them
some responsibilities for example, to tell them to computerize all the data of Iqra
University and this will increase their good will and reputation. So they get to be
motivated and do that task with immense pleasure and confidence. Moreover, old age
benefit schemes are also in consideration for employees. Iqra University does not believe
in snatching employees from other institutions rather it prefers fresh candidates and
develops them.

HUMAN RESOURCE INFORMATION SYSTEM(HRIS) OF IQRA UNIVERSITY

There are personal files of each and every staff member. A full detailed computerization
of data from each and every discipline is going to be done very soon. Online examination
is also in consideration. So far, the data of employees have not yet been deleted. A
complete database of the teachers, students and all the other working staff will be created
very soon. The data of any teacher is not removed so quickly because sometimes it
happens that those teachers who left Iqra University due to any reason, they come back
and join it with more pleasure and enthusiasm, so there is no need to set a selection
committee for them again because all their previous record is saved in their personal files.
So in that case, it becomes very easy for the management to decide whether to select that
person or not on the basis of his/her previous record.

 DISCIPLINE
Discipline is giving immense importance. Time-in and time-out are very strict for
employees. Some portion of salary is also deducted if an employee is not punctual for
more than two times. Feedback from students is received by the management for “What
is taught in the class” and “Are they satisfied”. Labor laws are strict and teachers have to
give the maximum of their performance.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CHALLENGE

Constant governmental change in educational policies is one of the biggest challenges for
Iqra University. For example Iqra University is accountable to HEC as well as to
Engineering board of Pakistan and it has to follow their rules and regulations strictly. For
example they have a rule that an employee must have a more than one-year experience in
an institution. Those employees that have not yet completed one year in Iqra University
are not given the status of employees by HEC. Moreover, they have formulated certain
rules for Ph.Ds and producing that large number of Ph.Ds is very costly but we have to
follow their instructions. Internal challenge is our scarce resources. Iqra University needs
a lot of funds for establishing a standard engineering laboratories and workshops and
fund rising is the biggest challenge for it’s survival.

VALUES OF IQRA UNIVERSITY

For Iqra University, Value is anything you value. Quality of education is valued very
much. From employee’s point of view, there are some flaws. But it is adopting some
values for example, good salary, employees old benevolent fund, and health insurance for
employees. Iqra University value interest free banking and that is the reason it does not
deal with banks very much. Iqra University is trying to insure itself with Islamic
Insurance System, Taqafal. From teaching point of view, we value only one thing and
that is QUALITY. The students of Iqra University are those that didn’t get admission in
Government institutes of Engineering, Management Studies and Business etc just
because of their marks. Iqra University believes in providing the students with every
facility, which will help them in enhancing their existing knowledge, assisting them in
exploring new fields and horizons by giving them the quality education and making them
groomed in every manner so that when he/she leaves us to join the practical world; he/she
is able to stand tall amongst the rest and achieve great heights of success. Iqra University
is building a community of leaders. It is learning and networking community, with an
impressive mix of both experienced business and IT professional people interested in
general management and knowledgeable instructors dedicated to looking at business &
IT oriented environment in an integrated way. If people join this community, expect to
change -- to change the way they think... the way they approach problem solving... the
way they look at their work environment. It is a transformative educational experience,
one that can move them to the next level of success.
NEED FOR HR DEPARTMENT

There should be proper HR and Employee Development departments. Because machines

cannot replace Human Resource. Iqra University has good infrastructure and quality
education but a need for proper HR department is still there.

RESULTS

This research work is conducted for an educational purpose by Asjad Jamshed,

Jawad Amjad, Nasar Khan & Imran Latif under the supervision of subject specialist
Ms. Aqsa Siddiq. The research analyses the human resource activities of one of the most
reputed educational institutions of NWFP, i.e., Iqra University.
Iqra University is providing the educational services for the last several years.
One of the very common problems of private institutions is that although they are
providing quality education and standard services but they lack funds and are mostly
short of finances. Moreover, the government policies are stricter for private institutions
while public institutions are given relaxation in this regard??? Iqra University is also
suffering from lack of sufficient funds these days.
In Iqra University Many teachers prove to be role models for their students. So
what are the criteria of Iqra University for selecting Role Models for their students? The
criteria are good as well as strict enough to choose the best faculty for their institution.
But the main thing is that how do you retain that good faculty with you, because to fulfill
material needs, one has to think beyond the environment and the quality of experience.
Let’s see what steps Iqra University has taken in order to make their vision more vivid
and substantial.
The interviewed person reveals in his interview that during recruitment process
they prefer Employee Referral because the staff working there is aware with the
environment and culture of Iqra University in a better way and for making personal
reputation good; they always refer a good and proficient person. Iqra University believes
in ‘Make Policy’ rather than ‘Buy Policy’ and that is the reason they mostly hire fresh
candidates. For this they have some very good reasons. According to them, fresh
candidates who have recently done their Masters are much more enthusiastic and
confident and also they need some respectable job. Moreover it is easier for them to
mould into our culture. This is a very appreciable approach.
The next step that is Selection process is lengthy and the criterion is very strict. A
candidate has to show a hundred percent performance regarding his/her personal abilities
and the subject in which he/she has done Masters. He/she must show a full command
over the subject. But here a question arises that whether is it possible for a fresh
candidate to show that much performance and fulfill the high expectations of the
selection penal? And aren’t they pressurized unnecessarily? But this practice also reveals
that whether the candidate can work under pressure or not. However, the courtesy
interview practice is proving to be a good public relations exercise for Iqra University
because this kind of interview increases the reputation of the organization in the eyes of a
candidate. But it is quite noticeable that nobody is eliminated in the preliminary
interview, which lengthens the selection process unnecessarily. In the selection process a
personality test i.e., the Bernsenter Personality Inventory test will prove to be very
helpful in evaluating the personalities of the candidates and decision-making on the basis
of that test. Another problem of Halo Effect during interviews is overcome by using a
structured pro-forma for the evaluation of the candidate but still it can’t be eliminated
totally.
The orientation of the newly employed candidates is done formally and
individually. Each employee is introduced to the students and all the other staff of the
institute by the Incharge or by any other responsible authority (experienced teacher or
other staff member). But the new employee is told nothing about the Vision, Mission and
the History of the institution. It is necessary to realize them the objectives and the vision
of Iqra University. This will give them a direction to channelize their efforts.
The training and development sessions are giving confidence to the employees
and used to learn new things. The most appreciable thing is that teachers are performing
dynamic activities and development constantly takes place. Including ethics in the
development program sessions can enhance their motivation level by making them job
loyal. In profession like teaching, positive attitudinal change is very necessary for
resolving conflicts but the management of Iqra University is not doing any efforts in this
regard.
Monetary incentive holds a strong place but it is not always the money that
enhances the motivation level of employees but the attributes like care for other’s self-
respect, share in decision-making, authorities in hand (although limited) are also better
incentives if realized. The employees of Iqra University are given confidence by handing
over more responsible tasks. Interestingly a sense of smugness and snobbery could easily
be created in the minds of the employees and they will put more and more efforts for the
sake of high repute unconsciously. The methods for performance appraisal and increasing
motivation level are not satisfactory and sufficient. The management should seriously
think about that because if the employees are not appreciated for their hard work, they
will opt to leave the institution and remember good employees are the assets for any
organization.
The computerization of human resource information system of Iqra University is
in its initial stages and it is strange why they started it so late? May be the previous poor
management is the reason but now it is good to see that the current management has
taken serious steps in this regard.
 In the last the discussion is concluded with a suggestion that, keeping in mind the
importance of Human Resource Management now days, it is good to have a separate HR
department in Iqra University. Although the University is running successfully but still
there are some issues that require full concentration and to be dealt with wisdom and an
HR approach; the most important one is employee’s motivation and performance
appraisal. Moreover, there are conflicts between employees and top management. The
only reason for such conflicts is a lack of proper human resource management
department because in the absence of that, employees used to discuss about their conflicts
with one another rather than with any authority. Although the Incharge is there to sort out
those issues but he has a limited set of authorities and cannot take decisions alone. It is
not wise to run four different campuses of a University without a proper Human Resource
Management Department. For the time being the University is running successfully but in
the future, they may face employee’s high turn over rate due to lack of proper and evident
handling of human resource.