Institutional Distinctiveness

Elevating Massive Rural Youth through Higher Education

The institution was founded by RaoBahadur Sri A.VeeriyaVandayar along with his illustrious brother Sri A. KrishnaswamyVandayar, with a noble vision to educate rural youth and thereby uplifting the downtrodden, economically poor and socially under privileged rural masses around the delta region. As an institution with the largest student strength in the Cauvery Delta zone, AVVMSPC operates with a prioritised agenda to create skilled and knowledgeable human resource by continually updating academic forces and implementing nationally recognised best practices.

When the college was established in 1956, degree attainment rate in the surrounding region was miserably low. To actualise the dream of the founder, the college caters predominantly to the need of the first generation learners from agricultural families who constitute more than half of its total strength. Even though the institution was started with very sparse staff and student strength, with the stakeholders’ unwavering trust, the college has grown today with a strength of nearly 8300 students and 360 teachers carrying out their education activities in a conducive and sprawling landscape facilitated with all high standard infrastructure required for the pursuit of knowledge in higher education. The institution maintains the academic excellence in Teaching, Research and Service, the three integral dimensions of a higher education institution.

Teaching:

The incremental growth in demand ratio for all the programmes reveals the effective functioning of teaching, learning and evaluation process of the institution. Being one of the pioneer institutions attained autonomous status in 1987, it strives to fulfill the quality benchmark by designing the curriculum with utmost relevance to social and national development on par with international standards. The college offers enrichment courses on soft skills, job oriented non-major electives and extra disciplinary courses which are relevant to regional needs. In addition, to develop employability skill, career-oriented courses are integrated in the curriculum.

To enhance soft skills, essential courses such as communication skill, personality development, language lab practical, soft-skill development and general knowledge are included in the curriculum. Special coaching classes for UPSC, NET, SET and other competitive examinations are conducted. As ensuring employability is one of the prescribed best practices of a Higher Education Institution, an extension centre Sri Pushpam Institute for Vocational Education & Technology (SPIVET) is operated effectively in V.O.C. Nagar, Thanjavur to offer Diploma and Certificate Courses. To promote entrepreneur skill, courses such as Tally, Laptop and mobile service, beautician and tailoring are being taught with minimum fees and free transportation.

Research:

The institution resolutely believes that research is the backbone of a Higher Education Institution and an efficacious tool for elevation of rural youth and thus provides them with productive ambience for original and innovative thinking. The college fosters the culture of research based learning, independent and self-guided academic inquiry and it constantly encourages the students to involve in research activities ranging from hands on training, student projects, seminars and paper publications. To inculcate research attitude, the college is facilitated with best organised infrastructure, full-fledged research laboratories, well equipped library and a vibrant Research Nodal Centre where researchers from other institutions are permitted to avail the resources. A sum of Rs.69.5 lakhs received as research fund from DST-FIST facilitated the purchase of advanced equipments which include SEM, FTIR, Lyophilizer, inverted phase contrast microscope and PCIM. Material science research laboratory for nanomaterials and thin film preparation, computational phytochemistry laboratory with Del work station and ethnopharmacology laboratory were established from the fund received from DST-SERB, CSIR and UGC. One of the key infrastructures that the institution takes pride is the largest Library with 96,565 books and 5858 back volumes of periodicals and subscription to e-resources.

Prolific research publications of the institution serve as a testimony to the fertile research ambience that prevails in the college. More than 750 research articles were published in this assessment period of which 143 in SCI and 590 more in SCOPUS indexed journals. Highest individual h-index is 35 and i-10 index is 94. The institution takes pride to pinpoint that a faculty member Dr. K. Ravichandran, Associate Professor from the Department of Physics has figured in the World’s Top 2% scientists listed by the Stanford University, USA and another faculty member Dr. A. Panneerselvam from the Department of Botany has submitted D.Sc. thesis in Periyar University, Salem.

Service:

Academic service

Due to the expenses for tuition and other fees, rural women around the delta localities could not access the tertiary education. To address this concern, the institution provides cost effective education and transportation covering every nook and cranny of the rural locality. The agrarian parents find it affordable to pay the moderate fee since the institution follows the same fee structure for both aided and self-finance streams.

Apart from the Government scholarships grants, the management exempted the students belong to downtrodden families from paying tuition fees. In addition, free boarding and lodging are offered every year to the students from economically backward families, the practice which is long standing since the formative years of the institution.

Community service

To mould the social cohesiveness and moral responsibilities, students are engaged in NCC, NSS, YRC, RRC, Eco club and Nature Club tied up with Planning Forum, Consumer Forum and Legal Aid Service.

EDC empowers the SHG women in the nearby villages. UBA of the institution has adopted 5 villages and carry out multi-faceted developmental activities. As the institution has a rural setting with nearly 88 villages in and around Thanjavur, non-profitable consultancy is provided to NGOs, farmers and Self-Help Group on vermicomposting, mushroom cultivation and herbal technology in addition to fund generating consultancy services.

The institution’s uncompromised priority and thrust is the upliftment of rural youth population, a dream which is consistently materialised. The alumni adorning prestigious and distinguished positions in the nation and abroad bear witness to this dream comes reality. MPs, MLAs, Ministers, IAS, IPS officers, Government officials in different sectors and top class scientists (ISRO and IGCAR) have emerged from this rural institution and have contributed significantly to the growth of the society.