Students to benefit via UGC credit bank system
Move Gives Freedom To Finish Courses At Own Pace
Chandan.Chatterjee@timesgroup.com
Pune:18.01.2019
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has set the ball rolling for the introduction of an academic credit bank, similar to that in some foreign countries, where students can accumulate points and graduate with a degree before the stipulated time.
The credit bank system will also enable students from non-science courses like arts and commerce to take up science degrees after completing a bridge programme.
The proposed National Academic Credit Bank (NACBank) will help students plan their learning objectives and the pace at which they would like to learn, said Bhushan Patwardhan, vice-chairman of the UGC.
Explaining the system, Patwardhan said, “Let’s suppose a BSc (Physics) student needs 100 credit points — 80 of which are mandatory from the core subject(s) — to finish the course. During the vacations, the student can accrue 20 points from a non-conventional or massive open online or hobby course (maybe sports, music and dance) from another institution. The student can get the required 80 credits in the core subject(s) before time and move on to the next level without spending the stipulated time in the course by redeeming the 20 points earned.”
Patwardhan, who had floated the idea of the NACBank earlier this month at the 3rd National Teachers’ Congress at the MIT World Peace University in Pune, said, “If this concept is accepted, it may take a few months for the NACBank to become a reality.”
The academic credit system is prevalent abroad. In South Korea, it enables students to earn a degree by combining credits from different systems. UGC chairman D P Singh has constituted a sixmember expert committee to explore the innovative concept. The panel’s maiden meeting is slated in the last week of this month.
The committee comprises R P Tiwari, chairman (member commission) and vicechancellor of Hari Singh Gour University, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh; Indu Shahani, retired principal of H R College in Mumbai; Raj Kumar, vicechancellor of O P Jindal Global University, Sonipat; Sandeep Sancheti, president of Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and vice-chancellor of SRM University; C M Chitale, emeritus professor, Savitribai Phule Pune University; and, Ameeta Chatterjee, former vice-chancellor of Presidency University in Kolkata.
The main objective of the NAC-Bank would be to facilitate student mobility across the higher education system.
“The NAC-Bank is proposed to be linked with the National Academic Depository and other students’ services,” Patwardhan said.
CREDIT FOR ALL: The credit bank system will also enable students from non-science courses like arts and commerce to take up science degrees after completing a bridge programme
Move Gives Freedom To Finish Courses At Own Pace
Chandan.Chatterjee@timesgroup.com
Pune:18.01.2019
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has set the ball rolling for the introduction of an academic credit bank, similar to that in some foreign countries, where students can accumulate points and graduate with a degree before the stipulated time.
The credit bank system will also enable students from non-science courses like arts and commerce to take up science degrees after completing a bridge programme.
The proposed National Academic Credit Bank (NACBank) will help students plan their learning objectives and the pace at which they would like to learn, said Bhushan Patwardhan, vice-chairman of the UGC.
Explaining the system, Patwardhan said, “Let’s suppose a BSc (Physics) student needs 100 credit points — 80 of which are mandatory from the core subject(s) — to finish the course. During the vacations, the student can accrue 20 points from a non-conventional or massive open online or hobby course (maybe sports, music and dance) from another institution. The student can get the required 80 credits in the core subject(s) before time and move on to the next level without spending the stipulated time in the course by redeeming the 20 points earned.”
Patwardhan, who had floated the idea of the NACBank earlier this month at the 3rd National Teachers’ Congress at the MIT World Peace University in Pune, said, “If this concept is accepted, it may take a few months for the NACBank to become a reality.”
The academic credit system is prevalent abroad. In South Korea, it enables students to earn a degree by combining credits from different systems. UGC chairman D P Singh has constituted a sixmember expert committee to explore the innovative concept. The panel’s maiden meeting is slated in the last week of this month.
The committee comprises R P Tiwari, chairman (member commission) and vicechancellor of Hari Singh Gour University, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh; Indu Shahani, retired principal of H R College in Mumbai; Raj Kumar, vicechancellor of O P Jindal Global University, Sonipat; Sandeep Sancheti, president of Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and vice-chancellor of SRM University; C M Chitale, emeritus professor, Savitribai Phule Pune University; and, Ameeta Chatterjee, former vice-chancellor of Presidency University in Kolkata.
The main objective of the NAC-Bank would be to facilitate student mobility across the higher education system.
“The NAC-Bank is proposed to be linked with the National Academic Depository and other students’ services,” Patwardhan said.
CREDIT FOR ALL: The credit bank system will also enable students from non-science courses like arts and commerce to take up science degrees after completing a bridge programme
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