Excellence in Higher Education: Emerging Concerns and the Road Ahead

This book titled "Excellence in Higher Education: Emerging Concerns and the Road Ahead" dwells on the issues relating to access, equity, inclusion, quality of research, privatization and financing which are integrally related with higher education. It tries to highlight the basic problems such as inadequate infrastructural facilities, less number of faculty, low enrolment rate, outdated teaching methods, declining research standards, low level of motivation among students, ethnic imbalances, gender bias, students drop out etc. It also addresses to some other leading challenges such as continuous upgrading of curriculum, globalization, mushroom growth of private institutions, scarcity of fund to meet the demand of various novel programmes etc. that has large impact on our higher education. Assuring quality and all-round excellence have been the major thrust area of the higher educational institutions during present times. Enhancement and sustenance of quality in the institutions, in academic programmes as well as in the overall performance of the learners lead the way towards excellence. There is the need for the colleges and universities of our country in general, and those of the upcoming states like Bihar in particular to adhere to qualities of higher standards in order to achieve excellence. We are presenting this book with a purpose that it might lead to draw up effective strategies in the field of Quality Assurance in Higher Education. Weight 0.500 Gm. Year 2020 Pages 272 Edition Hard Bound Author Name Amrita Chowdhury & Alok John About the Authors Dr. Amrita Chowdhury is currently an Assistant Professor of Geography at Patna Women's College. She also serves as the Coordinator of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC). She completed her Ph.D. in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Patna University on the topic 'A Geographical Study of Social Well-being of the Bengali Community in Patna. She is also the coordinator for the Add-on course of 'Travel and Tourism Management' conducted by the Department of Geography, Patna Women's College. She has published a number of research articles in reputed journals and co-edited the books on the topic "Urban Poverty: Issues and Challenges" and "Development of Management of Urban Infrastructure in India". She has undertaken UGC minor research projects on the topic 'Quality of Life of Working Women in Patna Municipal Corporation Area' and 'Pattern of Reproductive Health of Women and Child Health in Patna District of Bihar' and has supervised many research projects of the students under the "College with Potential for Excellence" scheme of UGC and Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi. She has also been appointed as the resource person for esteemed organizations like Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, Carmel High School, Patna, Global Forum for Disaster Reduction etc. Her area of research includes Development studies, Disaster Management, Gender Studies, Urban development and Sustainability. Alok John is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Business Administration and Advertising and Marketing Management at Patna Women's College. He is the Coordinator of Mother Veronica Excellence and Innovation Centre and also serves as the Assistant Coordinator of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of Patna Women's College. He graduated from the prestigious St. Xavier's College (Autonomous) Kolkata and post graduated from Xavier Institute of Development Action and Studies (XIDAS) Jabalpur with specialization in Human Resource Management and has been awarded NET certification by the University Grants Commission (UGC). As a founding member, he was instrumental in the establishment of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bodh Gaya in the year 2015 under the mentorship of IIM Calcutta and was responsible for establishing the unit with norms, standards and procedures. A dynamic personality with varied experiences in public & private enterprises and management institutions, he has delivered his professional services to other elite organizations like Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta and Aditya Birla Group's Hindalco Industries Ltd. He has handled consulting assignments from Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), New Delhi, Ministry of Trade and Commerce, Government of India, Indian Railways Catering and Tourism (IRCTC), TATA Motors etc. He has published various research articles and presented research papers at renowned National and International Conferences in India. He is involved in teaching, research activities, training and consultancy in the areas of Talent Management, Positive Organisational Behaviour, Corporate Social Responsibility, Higher Educational Reforms and Quality Management.