Students of Nalsar University of Law, Hyderabad have launched the First Nalsar All Academic Review, a performance appraisal of the faculty and the university's academic methods. This student initiative takes the form of an online survey appraising teaching methods, pre-class preparation and the instructor's knowledge of the subject. The survey is run on an online server called Lime Survey, which automatically tabulates the responses. The survey has been formulated by Final Year students Aditya Swarup and Angad Mehta with a group of volunteers from other batches. Results of the appraisal will be distributed to the Vice Chancellor of the University and the teaching staff. The Vice Chancellor has stipulated that the results shall be made public to the student body only at his discretion, but has promised to implement any suggestions strongly brought out by the survey.

The survey, launched four days ago, has so far had a response of approximately 35 students per batch, of a strength of 80. Aditya Swarup says that the team is waiting for a response from an average of 45 students per batch before releasing the results to college authorities. "If this survey is successful, we will have a survey every semester", he adds. About the initiative, he says, "Students wish for some focus on research and discussions and for their teachers to give them innovative projects and papers that challenge their legal acumen. This survey intends to point out the deficiencies in the course and academic inputs to make the course better."

Nalsar is not the first academic institution to conduct such a survey. Lucknow University launched a teacher performance appraisal for its students in 2008. The National Law School of India University, Bangalore has also had a university-administered faculty appraisal for several years. However, its first student-run academic survey was launched last month, due to fears among the student body that their inputs were being disregarded.