UGC Draft Guidelines Allow Biannual Admissions, Multiple Entry-exit, Flexibility Of Degrees

NEW DELHI: Undergraduate students from any stream can now join any course if they pass a relevant national examination and admissions will be done twice a year, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced.

The Draft UGC (Minimum Standards of Instructions in the Award of UG and PG Degrees) Regulations 2024 has proposed many sweeping changes in admission and the structure of courses such as multiple entry, recognition of prior learning, and promotion of multidisciplinary learning.

The draft guidelines proposes that two UG or PG courses can be pursued simultaneously and accelerated and extended degree programmes may allow shortening or lengthening of the courses. Such changes will come into effect once it is published in the official gazette.

“We have decoupled eligibility for UG and PG admissions from the rigid discipline-specific requirements of school education. Under these regulations, students can choose to study any programme irrespective of their past disciplinary qualification if they demonstrate their competency by clearing the relevant entrance examinations. These regulations provide autonomy to HEIs to determine student attendance requirements, ensuring they align with evolving academic needs,” UGC Chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said.

Major takeaways from the draft UGC guidelines

• These draft regulations have introduced greater flexibility, remove disciplinary rigidity, bring in inclusivity, and multidisciplinary learning opportunities for students.
• Biannual admission has been allowed for those higher education institutes (HEIs) who are prepared to handle biannual admissions and may admit students twice a year, in July/August and January/February.
• Provisions for multiple entry and exit, continuous formative assessment, recognition of prior learning, pursuing two UG/PG programmes have been made.
• Irrespective of the disciplines taken in class 12 or UG, students can take admission in any discipline of UG programme or PG programme if they qualify the national level or university level entrance examination in the discipline.
• A student has to earn a minimum of 50% of total credits in a discipline to earn a UG degree with a major in that discipline. For the remaining 50% credits, the students may choose skill courses, apprenticeships and multidisciplinary subjects.
• Considering the diverse learning modes and holistic and multidisciplinary learning opportunities suggested by NEP 2020, the HEIs shall decide on the minimum attendance requirement of students in different programmes with the approval of their statutory bodies.
• The duration of an undergraduate degree shall be either three or four years, and a PG degree shall normally be either one year or two years. However, the duration of an undergraduate degree can be shorter or longer.
• Students completing a four-year UG course (Hons/Hons with Research) in relevant subjects  — level 6, e.g. BSc (Hons) in Physics, BSc (Hons) in Biology, BSc (Hons) in Mathematics, BE, BTech — will be eligible for the two year/ four semester PG programme (level 7, e.g. ME, MTech etc).
• There shall be continuous evaluation in each course in addition to semester/year-end examinations, and the credits in respect of each course shall be prescribed by the appropriate academic body and made known to the students.

Key provisions of the Accelerated Degree Programme (ADP) and Extended Degree Programme (EDP)

• ADP and EDP are applicable at the undergraduate level only.
• HEIs can earmark up to 10% of sanctioned intake for ADP with no cap for EDP.
• The Committee constituted by the HEI will evaluate the credit-completing potential of a student based on performance in the first or the second semester and give recommendations
• Students shall have the option to choose ADP/EDP either at the end of the first semester or the second semester.
• In the ADP/EDP, students will follow the same curriculum content and total credits prescribed for the programme for a standard duration.  The only change will be in the duration of the programme. The number of courses to be completed in each semester will be more or less according to the duration opted by the students.
• The degrees of ADP and EDP will contain a self-contained note stating that the academic requirements required in a standard duration have been completed in a shortened or extended duration.

To see the full Draft UGC (Minimum Standards of Instructions in the Award of UG and PG Degrees) Regulations 2024, click here.