Guide for colleges
NAAC criteria 5
NAAC criteria 5 (criterion 5, Student Support and Progression) assesses how a college supports its students and where they go next: scholarships, skills and career guidance, grievance redressal, placements, higher studies, competitive exams, sports and cultural activity, and alumni. For affiliated UG colleges it carries 140 of 1,000 marks under NAAC’s Revised Accreditation Framework.
- 140 / 1,000
- Criterion 5 marks for affiliated UG colleges (130 for PG)
- 4
- Key indicators, 5.1 to 5.4
- 13
- Metrics for UG colleges, most on five years of data
What are the key indicators of NAAC criterion 5?
Criterion 5 has four key indicators. Their weightage depends on the type of institution:
| Key indicator | Affiliated UG colleges | Affiliated PG colleges | Autonomous colleges | Universities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 Student Support | 50 | 50 | 30 | 30 |
| 5.2 Student Progression | 30 | 25 | 30 | 40 |
| 5.3 Student Participation and Activities | 50 | 45 | 30 | 20 |
| 5.4 Alumni Engagement | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Criterion 5 total (of 1,000) | 140 | 130 | 100 | 100 |
Weightages are out of a total score of 1,000. NAAC lets an institution opt out of non-applicable metrics worth up to 3% of the total, which changes its total accordingly.
Which metrics does NAAC criterion 5 have?
For affiliated UG colleges, criterion 5 has 13 metrics. Most are quantitative (QnM) and use the last five years of data; two are qualitative (QlM) descriptions of up to 500 words.
| Metric | What it measures | Weightage |
|---|---|---|
| 5.1.1 | Students who got government scholarships and freeships (average %, five years) | 20 |
| 5.1.2 | Students who got scholarships or freeships from the institution or non-government agencies | 5 |
| 5.1.3 | Capacity building: soft skills, language and communication, life skills, ICT and computing | 10 |
| 5.1.4 | Students helped by guidance for competitive exams and career counselling (average %) | 10 |
| 5.1.5 | Grievance redressal, including sexual harassment and ragging cases | 5 |
| 5.2.1 | Placement of outgoing students (average %, five years) | 10 |
| 5.2.2 | Students progressing to higher education (average %) | 15 |
| 5.2.3 | Students qualifying in state, national or international exams such as GATE, CAT or NET | 5 |
| 5.3.1 | Awards and medals in sports and cultural activities (a team award counts once) | 20 |
| 5.3.2 | Student representation in administrative and co-curricular bodies (QlM) | 10 |
| 5.3.3 | Sports and cultural events students took part in (average per year) | 20 |
| 5.4.1 | A registered alumni association that contributes to the institution (QlM) | 5 |
| 5.4.2 | Alumni contribution in the last five years (in ₹ lakh) | 5 |
PG colleges, autonomous colleges and universities have their own versions of these metrics; check the manual for your type of institution.
What records should the placement cell keep for criterion 5?
The placement cell supplies most of the data for key indicator 5.2 and part of 5.1. Keep it year by year, for five years:
Placements (5.2.1)
- Number of outgoing students placed, year by year
- Name of each employer with contact details
- A self-attested list of the students placed
Higher studies (5.2.2)
- Students moving from UG to PG, PG to MPhil or PhD, and onwards
- Supporting data for each student or alumnus
Competitive exams (5.2.3)
- Students who appeared and who qualified, year by year
- Exams such as JAM, CLAT, NET, SLET, GATE, GMAT, CAT, GRE, TOEFL, civil services and state government exams
Guidance and skills (5.1.3 and 5.1.4)
- Each skills initiative: name, year, students enrolled and the agencies involved
- Students who got guidance for competitive exams and career counselling, by scheme
- Students from those schemes who passed exams or were placed
How is the placement percentage for NAAC 5.2.1 worked out?
Metric 5.2.1 is the average percentage of outgoing students placed over the last five years. Work out the share of the outgoing batch placed in each year, then take the average of the five years.
Keep the evidence behind each year’s number: the employer’s name and contact details for every student placed, and a self-attested list. The placement cell guide covers the records to keep through the year.
Is NAAC criterion 5 changing?
NAAC has proposed a Basic (Binary) Accreditation, followed by Maturity-Based Graded Levels (MBGL), to replace the graded Revised Accreditation Framework. Its public notice of 22 April 2026 says the new framework is still to be launched, and extends RAF accreditations that expire between 27 January 2024 and the MBGL launch for up to six months after it.
Until then, the RAF manuals are the ones NAAC publishes, and this page follows them. Check naac.gov.in for the framework that applies to your next cycle.
Can software help with NAAC criterion 5?
Partly. Kaabil Campus, from Kaabil AI by Redrob, does not file your self-study report, but it keeps a running record of student readiness and assessments that the placement cell can draw on.
Readiness by batch
Readiness and activity by batch, department and student, kept semester by semester.
Skills assessments
Faculty-authored assessments, graded automatically, with each student’s results on record.
Learning paths
Gap-closing paths assigned by batch or department, with reassessment to check the gap has closed.
Kaabil Campus
See who is placement-ready, batch by batch.
Kaabil Campus shows your placement cell readiness by batch, department and skill area. Faculty build assessments from their own material, graded automatically.
How Kaabil Campus worksFor colleges and universities
Questions placement cells ask
Criterion 5 is Student Support and Progression, one of NAAC’s seven criteria. It covers student support (scholarships, skills, career guidance, grievances), progression (placements, higher studies, competitive exams), student participation and activities, and alumni engagement.
140 of 1,000 for affiliated UG colleges and 130 for affiliated PG colleges. For universities and autonomous colleges it is 100, under NAAC’s Revised Accreditation Framework manuals.
Metric 5.2.1 is the average percentage of outgoing students placed over the last five years. For affiliated UG colleges it carries 10 marks, and NAAC asks for the employers’ names and contact details and a self-attested list of the students placed.
State, national and international exams such as JAM, CLAT, NET, SLET, GATE, GMAT, CAT, GRE, TOEFL, civil services and state government exams. NAAC asks for the number who appeared and the number who qualified, year by year, for five years.
NAAC has proposed Basic (Binary) Accreditation followed by Maturity-Based Graded Levels. Its 22 April 2026 notice says the new framework is still to launch and extends expiring RAF accreditations until six months after it. Check naac.gov.in before your next cycle.