Placement data for NAAC and NIRF: what to record and report

NAAC: check the framework and institution type first

Under NAAC's Revised Accreditation Framework (RAF), Criterion 5 covers Student Support and Progression. NAAC publishes separate materials for universities, autonomous colleges and affiliated or constituent colleges, alongside specialist institution types. Select the institution's own manual, data template and Data Validation and Verification (DVV) SOP before assigning metric numbers. [1] [2]

What is changing in accreditation?

NAAC's 27 January 2024 release announced binary accreditation, with accredited or not accredited outcomes, and Maturity-Based Graded Accreditation at Levels 1 to 5. It proposed binary implementation within four months and maturity-based levels by December 2024. These were announced targets. NAAC's 29 June 2024 notice subsequently allowed pending RAF applications to continue under RAF or opt for binary accreditation when launched. [4] [5]

Scope as at 23 October 2026: the current binary and maturity-based launch position could not be verified from accessible official notices. The NAAC examples below describe published RAF documents, not confirmed replacement criteria. Confirm the applicable process with NAAC before submission; do not transfer affiliated-college metric numbers to a university or autonomous college.

NIRF: Graduation Outcomes depend on the category

NIRF's published 2025 Colleges methodology gives Graduation Outcomes (GO) a 25% ranking weight. Within GO, placement and higher studies (GPH) carry 40 marks, university examinations (GUE) 40, and median salary (GMS) 20. Engineering assigns GO a 20% weight, with GPH 40, GUE 15, GMS 25 and PhD graduates (GPHD) 20. These are dated category examples, not a universal scoring formula. [6] [7]

The official Overall parameters page lists GUE and GPHD under GO. Do not assume that every category scores placement and salary in the same way. Keep examination and doctoral-award records with the relevant academic offices, then reconcile them with placement records for the category entered. [8]

Prepare the NIRF submission fields and median

NIRF's published DCS user manual illustrates separate programme-duration tables for the previous three years. Fields include intake, first-year admissions, lateral admissions where applicable, graduates completing within the minimum stipulated time, students placed, annual median salary in rupees and words, and students selected for higher studies. Use this as a field reference; take the actual years and programme groups from the submission cycle's form. [9]

The 2026 Skill University DCS manual explains the median method: sort placed graduates' annual salaries from smallest to largest. For an odd count, select the middle salary; for an even count, average the two middle salaries. For example, annual salaries of Rs 3,00,000, Rs 4,00,000, Rs 6,00,000 and Rs 9,00,000 give a median of Rs 5,00,000. A highest package or arithmetic mean answers a different question. [10]

Record students, offers and evidence separately

Use the following as a practical internal register, then map its fields to the selected template. Give each student a stable identifier and link every offer and evidence document to it. This lets the TPO review recruitment activity while IQAC checks the supporting records behind a reported outcome.

• Student: registration number, name, contact details, department, programme, qualification level, duration, admission year, lateral-entry status, expected graduating batch, actual completion date and completion within the stipulated time.
• Offer: offer identifier, student identifier, employer name and contact, role, recruitment route, placement cycle, offer date, salary amount, currency, annual or monthly basis, salary components and offer-letter reference.
• Outcome: acceptance, rejection or withdrawal; expected joining date; actual joined status and date; joining evidence; the offer associated with the student's placed record; reporting year and review status.
• Progression: destination institution, programme, qualification level, admission date, enrolment status and admission or continuation evidence. Keep examination qualification and confirmed admission as separate events.
• Evidence control: document identifier, student and offer references, issuer, date, storage location, verifier, verification date, missing items and correction notes. Keep the approved reporting version alongside the working register.

Check the common counting and evidence errors

The affiliated-college SOP counts multiple offers once per student and requires admission for higher-education progression. [3] For an internal reconciliation, 120 offers across 90 students should remain 120 offer records and 90 distinct students.

Keep an offer, acceptance and joining as separate dated events. An offer letter establishes an offer; record joining against its own evidence. Apply the submission's wording when deciding what to report. Where multiple offers or overlapping placement and higher-study outcomes create uncertainty, retain both histories and resolve the treatment before signing off the total.

Reconcile the graduating population with the examination office before calculating percentages. Check programme duration, batch and reporting year, duplicate student identifiers, withdrawn offers and missing salary evidence. Keep annual rupee values separate from monthly amounts and display units such as lakhs. Ask a second reviewer to reproduce the counts and median from the underlying records.

NIRF's 2025 report describes institutional submission through its online Data Capturing System. Maintain a field mapping between the approved register and the relevant DCS table, with the source record and calculation behind each total. An internal spreadsheet is a preparation tool; check the entered figures against the completed submission. [11]

How LineupX helps prepare the placement data

LineupX provides placement management software with offer entry, offer letters, joined status and one placed record per student. Its application tracker includes stages, notes and an offer-letter worklist. These features help the placement team maintain placement data for NAAC and NIRF submissions.

Standard reports include package-wise, company-wise, batch-wise and placement-cycle-wise reports, plus a job placement matrix. Custom Excel templates with a column builder let institutions choose the columns for their working files. Scheduled exports support regular reviews of recorded outcomes.

Agree the reporting period and field mapping with IQAC, reconcile exported totals, and attach the required supporting evidence before submission. Bring a sample institutional worksheet when you book a demo to discuss the placement records, reports and custom Excel columns your team needs.

Frequently asked questions

Requirements change: this guide quotes the official documents listed above, as read on the dates shown. Confirm every figure against the manual and data-capture form for your institution and year. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.