CRITERION VII: INNOVATIONS AND BEST PRACTICES

7.1 Environment Consciousness

7.1.1

Does the university conduct a Green Audit of its campus?

Energy Audits are conducted by the Maintenance Department to optimise
power consumption in KITS campus and also in the Hostels. The suggestions
given through audits are implemented. Students have carried out energy
audits on Computer Technology Centre and have also studied energy
consumption and optimization of Water resources in KITS. The Institution is
utilizing renewable energy and all our hostels are fitted with solar water
heaters. Water harvesting is implemented and all buildings are having water
harvesting system.
KITS practices waste water management system effectively, to keep the
campus clean, hygienic and free from any sort of pollution. Bio diversity
assessment of the Campus was documented and a book was released.
A project funded by United Board of Christian Higher Education (UBCHE),
Hong Kong on Solid Waste Management was carried out by the Department
of Extension and Continuing Education (DECE). Another Project funded by
the same agency (UBCHE) on Environmental Management is being carried
out by DECE. However, the University is planning to conduct a Green Audit
of its campus in the near future.

7.1.2

What are the initiatives taken by the university to make the campus ecofriendly?

Energy conservation
Energy Audit and Carbon Foot Print Analysis were made and submitted
to the Department of Extension and Continuation Education by the
School of Civil Engineering.
The following are implemented by the Construction & Maintenance
Department for the conservation of energy.
Copper chokes in tube lights are converted to electronic chokes
which consumes less energy.
Lifts consuming less electricity (having lesser power loss in
transmission) are fitted in new buildings.
Energy saving fans are used in new class rooms and hostels.
Capacitor banks are used in power houses to improve the power
factor.
Timers are introduced in Air conditioners in Computer Technology
Centre and the Schools and Departments which save energy.

 Sensors for switching on / off motor pumps are installed.

A Project work is carried out by 3 students of the Department of
Electrical and Electronics Engineering on Energy Consumption
and Optimization of Water Resources in Karunya.
A Project work was done by 3 students of the Department of EEE
on energy auditing of Computer Technology Centre and
suggestions are given on how to reduce energy expenditure. Of the
proposals made in the report, few that are practiced are: (i)
replacement of resistance regulator with electronic regulator (ii)
replacement of CRT monitors with LCD monitors, and (iii)
replacing DOT matrix printers with Deskjet printers.
Water conservation methods are adopted in hostels in taps. Spring
loaded stoppers are fitted to minimize water losses.

Use of renewable energy

Solar water heaters are installed in hostels for supplying hot water
to students. 7,000 litres capacity solar water heaters per hostel are
fitted in 12 hostels and 10,500 litres capacity solar water heater
per hostel are fitted in 3 hostels.
Solar street lights are used in KITS campus as well as in the
Karunya Guest house. 7 solar lights are in use. A study is
undertaken to convert new Science and Humanities building fully
powered by Solar Energy.
1 kW capacity solar panel is installed in Department of Electrical
and Electronics Engineering which supports Computers in the
department.
A project is carried out on Wind Resource Assessment of KITS
Campus by 2 students from the Department of Electrical and
Electronics Engineering. A wind turbine with a capacity of 650
watts is being commissioned.

Water harvesting
Rain water harvesting system is completely installed in University
and Hostel campus.
Soak pits are provided in all buildings of the Institution / hostels.
A rain water harvesting ferro cement tank is constructed to collect
the rain water from the main building of KITS. The collected
water is pumped to a overhead tank and the same is used in rest
rooms.

Check dam construction

There are two check dams adjacent to the boundary of KITS
constructed by the Government of Tamilnadu maintained by public
works department (PWD). Water flowing out of Western Ghats
are checked at these check dams.
Water level in open wells and bore wells of KITS are maintained
due to these check dams.

Efforts for carbon neutrality

The campus is situated at the foot of Siruvani hills in a lush-green
environment.
Every building in the campus is surrounded by trees and lawns.
Allemande and bougainvillea plants decorate the campus and the
campus looks beautiful.
Solar water heaters are widely used in hostels for supplying hot
water.
Solar Energy is used in street lights and also solar power is used
for operating a few computers.
Automobiles are not permitted inside the campus except a few to
keep the campus pollution free. The main road in front of the
campus ends with Siruvani dam. Hence not many vehicles use
the road and the entire area is pollution free
The campus is pollution free and it is felt that carbon neutrality is
very much present in the campus. It can be seen that 129.94 tons
of CO2 release per year is prevented by the use of solar water
heaters as per the calculations presented below:

Energy Conservation in the Hostels of KITS

(Usage of Solar Water Heaters)
In the hostels of KITS, 3 numbers 10,500 litres capacity solar water heaters and
12 numbers 7,000 litres solar water heaters are used for heating purpose. By
using these water heaters water temperature is raised up to 70 C from 20C. Cp
value for water is 4.186kJ/kg 0C
The total amount of water heated per day

=(10500*3)+(7000*12)
= 115500 litres/day
The amount of heat required
= M*Cp*(T2-T1)
=115500*4.186*(70-20)
=24174150 kJ
The collector efficiency is 80%, then total energy obtained from solar
collector is
24174150/0.8=30217687.50kJ
= 30217687.50kW-sec = 8393.80 kW-h
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 One day, unit of Electrical Energy saved is = 8393.80 kWh.

1kWh energy production releases 0.000086 tons of CO2
Considering six months of water heater usage = 8393.80 *180 *
0.000086= 129.94 tons of CO2 emission per year is prevented by using
solar water heaters.

Plantation
The extent of plantation in KITS is:
80 acres of coconut farm;
20 acres of Casuarina, Manjium (Australian Teak) along with
Eucalyptus (maintained by Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree
Breading);
100 acres of Eucalyptus trees;
3 acres of Neem trees; and
Tamarind, Cotton and Mango trees are spread in the KITS
Campus.
Apart from the above plantations, buildings of KITS have lawns, flower
pots and trees. Both sides of access roads are planted with trees and
plants.

Hazardous waste management

Soak pits are built separately for discharging waste water from
Chemistry lab, Biotech labs and Community Hospital labs.
Water based chemical reactions are carried out minimizing
hazardous solvent chemical usage.
Grease trap (to remove oil and solid) is used for discharging the
water into soak pit in the Food processing and Engineering lab.
Polythene bags and other non - decomposable are separated and
sold to vendors before disposing the organic wastes.

e-waste management
Obsolete Computers, printers and other equipments used for
Information Communication Tools (ICT) are donated to
charitable organizations if they are in working condition.
Computers, Printers and other ICT equipments which cannot be
used are sold to vendors who do the recycling.

any other (please specify)

Nil
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7.2 Innovations
7.2.1 Give details of innovations introduced during the last four years which have
created a positive impact on the functioning of the university.
Various innovations have been introduced during the past years in
Administration, Academics, Admissions and Academic Administration. These
have produced definite tangible benefits on the functioning of the University. Few
of them are:
i) ADMISSIONS - SINGLE WINDOW COUNSELLING (SWC)
KITS attracts students from various states of India belonging to various streams of
education and different Boards of Examinations. There arose a need to bring all
these students to a common platform to evaluate their levels of intellect and skills.
Secondly, the dates of announcement of results of various Boards spans over a
period of a month and a half from the month of June in any year. This called for a
testing procedure on one single date in any calendar year.
Lastly and more importantly, transparency needs to be in place in any system that
is adopted to avoid any criticism or any complaints.
With an objective of addressing the above challenges, after lot of brainstorming ,
Single Window Counselling (SWC) for admissions was adopted. The process of
SWC is explained below in simple terms:
(1) An All India Entrance Examination (Karunya Entrance Examination KEE) is
conducted on April last week in any year in 60 different cities across India.
(2) Results of KEE are published on first week of May in KITS website.
(3) SWC is held in KITS campus for three days.
(4) Candidates are called on the basis of ranking in KEE during one of the three
days. During these days stalls with full details of various courses offered by
KITS like curriculum, funded projects, research & development of any School
or Department and the like are displayed in SWC centre for them to make the
final choice of course of study.
(5) The administrative part of admissions like verifications, submissions are made
to start with.
(6) After the completion of administrative procedures the candidates choose their
course of study based on the availability on the day of SWC.
By adopting this innovative SWC, the challenges KITS was facing in the
admission process were addressed.

The single window counseling road map is given below:

ii) ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATIVE DECENTRALISATION

As KITS grew in size, numbers and courses, the challenges grew in academic
administration, finance management, resource sharing and the like. Another
challenge which KITS had to handle was communication between and within
Schools, Departments and Offices.
KITS opted for Administrative Decentralisation seeking to redistribute authority,
responsibility, financial resource and infrastructure among the different levels of
organisational setup.
In this following major reforms were carried out:
1. DECONCENTRATION
Decision making power were shifted to Schools / Departments and Offices
with an objective to improve administrative efficiency, enhance better
delivery and ensure adequate representation to the lower levels of
governance.
2. DELEGATION
Responsibilities were shifted to Schools, Departments and Offices, which
will work with increased accountability. This is a more extensive form of
decentralisation.
3. DEVOLUTION
Fiscal powers were shifted with decision making responsibility to Schools,
Departments and Offices. In this shift, the Schools / Departments / Offices
have clearly demarcated recognised boundary to exercise function based
authority and within which they function.
As a part of Administrative Decentralisation, every School / Department shall
present to the KITS Administrative Body a 5 year plan for their entity. Area of
growth is identified and investment is made only on that area. On approval, the
School / Departments moves forward to achieve the milestone set for them.
Periodical reviews are conducted on key areas such as Teaching Learning
Process, Administration, Finance Management and Revenue Generation. Broad
areas of review are:
1. Faculty strength, expertise, training and performance
2. Student - strength for each course offered by the School or Department;
monitoring of students performance;
3. Infrastructure level of infrastructure provided for the course content,
augmentation required;
4. Research & Development Publications, product development,
placement, Industry Institute Interaction, Consultancy and Research;
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5. Funding External funding and status of projects; and

6. Accreditation Accreditation of courses and University with Government
Bodies.
The fruits of administrative decentralisation are:
1. Better communication and human relationships are promoted;
2. Clear demarcation of duties and boundaries;
3. Schools / Departments / Offices can be innovative and creative in their
working style and other Offices can also adopt the same style of
functioning; and
4. Skill set of staff improved with enhanced administrative authority with
responsibility.
iii) ADMINISTRATION - CENTRE FOR e - GOVERNANCE
KITS centre for e-governance offers software based IT services to the Institution
for performing its day-to-day operations transparently and efficiently. The
centre has developed a web based ERP information portal that is hosted in KITS
data centre and managed by in-house IT team. The services cover the entire
Admission process - Karunya Entrance Examination, Single Window
Counselling and Student Enrolment.
The ERP information portal is integral part of KITS administration of academic
activities related to the collection of attendance of students in class and hostel,
internal assessment marks, and fees payment details.
The information portal can be accessed by parents via the URL
www.my.karunya.edu. Parents are provided with user IDs and password to
access the portal and watch progress and performance of ward online. Further,
updated details of their wards attendance, absenteeism, fees dues and test marks
through SMS and email can also be viewed. The information portal also helps
parents to pay the fees of their wards online and receive their receipts via mail.
Students use the portal to make requests for no-dues certificate, Bonafide
certificates, etc. and they receive status alerts about the request through SMS and
email.
Features
Online fees payment using Debit/Credit Card
Automated SMS/email for student class attendance, hostel attendance,
fees dues, test marks, etc.
Digital storage of student records such as 10th certificates,
12th certificates, circulars, letters and other documents.
Internal Test Assessment Reports online for parents and students
Mentor reports and comments available for parents online
Parents and Mentor interaction online
End Semester examination results online.
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iv) ACADEMICS CHOICE BASED CREDIT SYSTEM (CBCS)

Choice based credit System is introduced in KITS from July 2013 onwards.
Students are able to choose subjects of their choice by following the CBCS
guidelines. Fast/slow learners are able to take more / less number of credits in a
semester based on their intellectual capacity.
v) ADMINISTRATION MENTORING and MANAGEMENT OF
STUDENTS
The mentoring of each student under the care of a Mentor shall include
monitoring of students performance - attendance at assembly, class, residence,
academic performance, research, participation in extracurricular /sports activities,
competitions, academic events, extension activities, placement, value inculcation,
etc. required for support for further growth or initiating correction to ensure that
each student is produced as a Shining light to dispel the darkness in the world by
the practice of technology and good works through divine empowerment of love
and compassion. One mentor is assigned for 22 students and this systems works
very well.
7.3 BEST PRACTICES
7.3.1

Give details of any two best practices which have contributed to better
academic and administrative functioning of the university.
Best practice No I

Title of the Practice

(This title should capture the keywords that describe the practice)
1. Academic Audit & Research Audit
Academic Audit is conducted once every semester and Research Audit once every
academic year. Every faculty member maintains course files for the theory as well as
Laboratory subjects. The following are placed in course files for audit:
(i) Attendance record;
(ii) Internal Marks Statement;
(iii) Copies of test question papers;
(iv) Samples of answer papers;
(v) Assignments;
(vi) Quality Assessments;
(vii) Samples of PPT slides and other teaching materials;
(viii) Laboratory manual, observation book, record note books and list of
experiments conducted.

Academic Auditors invited from premier Institutions audit these files and give
feedback to faculty, HoD, Director and Deans.
Records of Doctoral Committee meetings and progress reports are maintained by
Ph.D. Supervisors (Red book). Minutes of the Doctoral Committee meetings,
progress reports, fee receipts and record of discussions with Supervisors indicating
date, progress made and guidance given are recorded in this book. External auditors
assess this book during Research Audit and give their feedback to Directors, Deans,
HODs, Supervisors and Ph.D. scholars.
2. Objectives of the Practice
Objectives
1. To ensure every faculty member is performing well in teaching and research;
2. To give feedback to faculty members on areas which need improvement; and
3. To monitor the progress of Ph.D. work of full time/part time Ph.D. scholars.
Intended Outcome

Students are trained well in academics and Research.

Quality of teaching-learning process and Research improves.
Problems related to teaching-learning and research is brought to the notice of
decision makers for solutions.

Underlying Principles / Concepts of this practice.

Work culture and output improve when there is monitoring.

Best Practices of other Institutions are brought into KITS through the
suggestions given through Auditing processes.
Through Continuous development, the quality of the Institution is improved.

3. The context
Educational Institutions around the globe are growing at a rapid rate. Educational
providers from Overseas are interacting with Institutions in India. Universities of
abroad are trying to have their presence in India. Many students prefer to study in
a foreign university than studying in Indian universities. The survival of the
fittest phenomenon is applicable to Educational Institutions also. The Academic
Audit and Research audit help the Institutions to improve quality in educational
programs.
Challenging issues in designing and implementing Audits:

One Auditor may not be able to scrutinize the course files of the faculty
members who belong to the Department. Another Auditor needs to be
appointed for verifying the contents of the Course File.
As soon as one audit is completed, the suggestions for improvement are to be
implemented to achieve the desired results.
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The documents in Course Files are to be arranged in order and checklists are
to be provided to check whether all required documents are filed.
Faculty members are to be motivated to receive the feedback from the auditor
with a open mind and to improve his/her teaching/ research skills.

4. Practice
Academic Audit is conducted by the end of every semester and Research Audit is
carried out once every year. It is a unique practice introduced in KITS and not
practiced in many Universities in India.
Constraints and Limitations

Finding experts to audit departments like EMT (Electronics and Media

Technology) is difficult since the programmes are interdisciplinary in nature
and they are not offered by other Institutions.
End semester exam answer papers and the evaluation processes could not be
audited during every audit since the confidential documents cannot be disclosed.
Ph.D. (Part-time external) candidates and external Ph.D. Supervisors / Joint
Supervisors find it difficult to attend Research Audits conducted by the
Institution.

5. Evidence of Success

The Evidence for success is seen in the feedback received through subsequent
audit reports. Some of their comments are given below:
The audit system has improved the performance of the faculty members
and teaching quality and their integrity;
The data recorded in the attendance and assessment record by the faculty
members are very good;
Overall performance of the students in their written exam is satisfactory
which exhibits the effective and innovative teaching methodology of the
Faculty. Most of the students have performed well taking care of the
minute details of the English grammar;
With regard to the preparation of assignments, the students have excelled
in their creative skills and have come out with wonderful outputs such as
chart work, collages, write ups and handwritten manuscripts. These works
showcase the creative skills of the students; and
The assessment pattern especially the components of Quality Assessments
adopted by the members of Faculty were found to be quite innovative and
unique.

6. Problems encountered and Resources required

For departments like EMT (Electronics & Media Technology) 2 or 3

academic Auditors are required to audit course files belonging to different
specializations.

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7.

For Mechanical Engineering 3 or 4 academic Auditors are required based

on the number of specializations.
For Ph.D. (Part-time external) candidates and external Supervisors/ Joint
Supervisors, Research audit can be carried out using Skype Video
conferencing.

Notes

Expertise for implementing Academic Audit and Research Audit in Higher

Education Institutions is available in our Institution. A set of checklists and
guidelines can be obtained by other Institutions from our Institution.

A sample copy of the Red book, the record of Doctoral Committee

meetings and Periodic progress reports (Maintained by Ph.D. research
supervisors) can be obtained from our Institution.

Best practice No.II

1. Title of the Practice
CAMPUS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
One of the important innovations which KITS has introduced is Campus Management
System (CMS). Campus Management System is a compact package, designed to
provide a sophisticated, state of the art web technology, aimed at bringing about total
quality in Education management. CMS focuses on excellent coordination between
university and students, making e-education scenario "a reality". CMS provides the
detailed structure of the KITS and its departments. It covers all aspects of the
University, Students, Faculties, Schools / Departments, Assessment Marks,
Attendance, Examination Time Table, Results, Placements and other Co Curricular
and Extra - Curricular activities. KITS provides various information about staff and
students through the website: www.karunya.edu.
mykarunya is a new addition to CMS which helps the Faculty members, Parents and
Students of KITS to keep track of the day-to-day activities such as Attendance
Management, Mentee Management, Management Information System (MIS), Internal
Assessment Management, Reports generation etc. The following are some of the
highlights and best practices of our user friendly package mykarunya System.
1. The process of Course Registration, Student Registration, Mentee Registration
is simplified in mykarunya system.
2. The attendance marking system in mykarunya is very user friendly.
3. The online leave submission, OD submission, Medical leave submission and
their corresponding approvals are decentralized.
4. The change/delete attendance, late attendance entry, internal assessment
correction/deletion goes through automated hierarchical approvals.
5. The attendance and the internal marks are transparent and can be viewed by
students, parents, teachers and HoDs. This information is also disseminated to
parents through SMS.
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6. Mentors are provided with an efficient reviewing system for their mentees.
7. A reminder through SMS helps the mentees to enter the attendance on time.
8. Color coded report facilitates the mentors to easily track the reviewing/
status/approval processes.
9. The internal assessment reports can be generated from the myKarunya system
itself which will then be sent to parents through postal communication.
2. Objectives of the innovation:
The Main objective of Campus Management System is to provide an easy way
to automate all functionalities of University, thus reducing human error and
paper work. The technology, solutions and features are aimed at providing
unlimited "scalability". CMS provides various types of Education Management
related service, operations and high level of efficiency in recording and
information dissemination.
3. The Context

Effective communication between Faculty, Parents and Students

Complete automation of operations
Centrally stored information with zero redundancy
Best possible resource optimization
Enhanced interaction with teachers, parents and students
Access to attendance, timetable, marks, grades and examination schedule
Freedom to browse through library books catalogue and to find the circulation
status of the book(s).
Prior information about university events and holidays
The effectiveness of CMS is measured based on the overall benefits to the
Management, Staff, Faculty, Parents and Students.

4. The Practice
CMS in KITS is loaded with features like admission module, curriculum staff
details, salary management, fees management, online notices, online attendance,
online examinations, online time-table, report card generation, Library
Management, etc. All these features together create a blended learning
environment, easy data access and effective communication for students and
teachers alike.

The following information is available in the University website,

www.karunya.edu

Complete information regarding admissions;

Details of Courses offered, Curriculum and Syllabi of every
course;
Detailed period wise attendance of all students;
Detailed internal assessment marks of all students;
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Individual Timetable and Results of End Semester

Examinations;
Details of placements and organizations recruiting our
students;
Information on Campus Life;
Information on International Association of Exchange of
Students for Technical Education and Collaborations;
Karunya Mail for all students and staff;
Information regarding Career opportunities available in
Karunya;
Photo Gallery and Digital Campus Tour; and
Manual for RTI Act.

5. Evidence of Success
Student records have piled up over the years in record rooms. Paper forms have
been stacked over the years. Accounting ledgers have been filling file space on
shelves. Students wait in long queues in front of counters. Teachers and staff alike
wait patiently to have their salary and service records updated. The slow pace
processing environment makes these colleges out of step with the smart and
dynamic world that awaits the students in later life.
When information technology has made impact in each area of life, there are
certain places where information technology is still far behind. One of the places
is Education which nurtures human resources and produces intellectuals in the
world. CMS in KITS is a complete automation system that fulfils every need of
an education institution. This helps University to function smoothly, reduce
human error and handle critical tasks intelligently.
After introducing mykarunya as a component of CMS, the attendance percentage
of students improved and the number of students who lacked attendance was just
17 students out of about 8,000 students.
6. Problems Encountered and Resources Required
Problem in accessing the database, when network is down,
When data files get corrupted, the entire management system gets collapsed.
Compatibility with new set of software is a problem.
7. Notes
Nil

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