Tracking Access Measures and Women Success Rate at Amrita

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is committed to gender diversity and helping women students succeed in their educational goals. Currently, 41% of the undergraduate student population is made up of women students.

As a key measure of academic achievement and one of our student success goals we systematically track, monitor and evaluate women application admissions and graduation rates including first-time women students.

The graphs below summarize the application, admission and completion levels for Undergraduate students  for the last 6 years:

To track women’s applications, Amrita University uses the following method:

1. Data Collection: Application forms include a mandatory field for gender, to be able to identify female applicants.
2. Database Segmentation: Once applications are submitted, data are segregated based on the gender field.
3. Data Analysis: Data can be analyzed to understand the number of female applicants for higher studies at Amrita University and design adequate strategies to promote gender equality in terms of women’s access to education.
4. Reporting: Reports detailing the number of female applicants can be created. These reports can provide insights into trends and help assess the effectiveness of outreach efforts aimed at encouraging female applicants.
5. Continuous Monitoring: Data are compared over multiple application cycles.
6. Feedback Mechanism: Within the application form, applicants provide information on how they learned about Amrita University. This feedback help assess the effectiveness of outreach strategies.
7. Outreach strategies can be adjusted (cf. criteria 5.3.3: Women’s access schemes)

Example of an Application Form for the B. Tech. Admission:

In addition to its current tracking measures, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is going a step further by organizing global events and gathering best practices from other institutions in India and around the world. This allows us to keep our tracking system aligned with best practices and standards.

In 2023, as part of its work for Civil20 India, the official Engagement Group of the G20 chaired by the Chancellor of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, we gathered and published 64 best practices (Udaharans) related to gender equality and women’s empowerment, with some of them directly focusing on the importance of systematically tracking, monitoring, and evaluating women’s access to education. This was the case of an initiative called Manzil, striving to improve adolescent girls’ vocational and economic potential in Rajasthan. The project’s primary strategies include systematic tracking, through the monitoring of enrollment and completion rates via a dashboard to measure impact and drive accountability. 

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Surveys are an effective way to gather insights on factors influencing women’s access and enrollment decisions. Analysis can be done per cluster of gender to track the difference of behaviour in the application process, understand what attracted them to the university and any challenges they faced during the admissions process. Their insights can help refine recruitment and support strategies.