Sunday, January 6, 2019

Top univs to offer all degree courses online

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 06.01.2019

In a move to improve access to higher education, top institutions have been asked to submit applications by the month-end to offer courses online, including those leading to a degree, from the 2019-20 academic session.

The University Grants Commission has invited higher education institutions (HEIs) to apply for starting online courses from January 7 to 31, 2019. While delivery of the courses will be online, the students will have to sit for exams at designated centres where they will undergo biometric authentication.

Only those institutions in the top 100 ranks of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) for two of the past three years and who are also accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with minimum score of 3.26 on a 4-point scale are eligible to offer online courses in which both Indian and foreign students can be admitted.

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‘Admissions will take place twice a year’

The gazette notification of the UGC for online courses or programmes regulations, 2018, was notified on July 4, 2018, as reported earlier by the TOI and UGC has now invited applications through a public notice on Friday.

Some key features of the online courses are, according to a senior HRD official, “admissions will take place twice a year and a higher education institution will offer the same course it has been offering under conventional mode or the open and distance learning (ODL) mode. However, the delivery will be online. ”

All courses which don’t have practical components and programmes as in the case of engineering, law, medicine, dental, pharmacy, nursing, architecture, physiotherapy and applied arts, are not permitted to offer courses on online or ODL mode.

As per regulations, “A higher educational institution may offer certificate, diploma and degree courses or programmes in full-fledged online mode subject to the condition that all such courses or programmes are duly approved by the statutory authorities.”

It also states, “No higher educational institution shall offer any online course or programme and admit students thereto unless it has been granted recognition by the commission and admission shall not be made in anticipation of the approval.”

“While the first cycle of admission will start from May 2019 for the 2019-20 session, aspirants should ensure the institution has UGC’s approval as well as in the top 100 of the NIRF ranking and has the requisite NAAC’s score,” said the official.

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