Saturday, March 27, 2010
Students can aspire to get three degrees in five years of higher learning

• University to adopt choice-based credit system, and continuous assessment and grading pattern
• The concept of declaring a student ‘Failed' in any paper will be done away with

Mysore: Students of the University of Mysore will never be declared “failed” in future and can aspire to get three degrees in five years of higher learning, including an honours degree which will be introduced from the next academic year.

What is more, inter-disciplinary approach will enable them to study Economics along with Physics or Sociology in addition to Geography and so on. This is part of the overhauling of the existing system by the university.

The university has decided to adopt the choice-based credit system (CBCS) and continuous assessment and grading pattern (CAGP) for the postgraduate (PG) level from the academic year 2010-11 and the scope will be extended to the undergraduate level from 2011-12.

V.G. Talawar, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mysore, told The Hindu that the new system was more student-centric and they would be given a plethora of optionals as the thrust was on inter-disciplinary approach in learning across different disciplines and flexibility apart from mastery over their core areas of specialisation.

When fully implemented, the university will be the first in the State and one of the few in the country to have moved completely towards the CBCS and CAGP approach to education.

“As a result of continuous internal evaluation and assessment, the students' learning process will be enriched and they will move away from the conventional approach to learning by rote,” Prof. Talawar said.

Under the CBCS, a candidate can register for as many credits as permissible per semester. The student would have completed the requirements for a bachelor's degree if he/she attains 120 credits in six semesters and in a maximum of 12 semesters.
The concept of honours course is being introduced for all streams including BA, B.Sc., B.Com., BBM and BCA for which a student should acquire 40 additional credits within two semesters. Attaining an additional 36 credits in another two semesters will qualify the candidate for a master's degree.

A salient feature of the proposed system is the “add-on” facility under which a student who registers for an excess of 40 credits in addition to 120 credits for the bachelor's degree will earn an additional diploma in that subject. In the event the student registers for different subjects other than the core papers, then an add-on certificate will be issued to the candidate listing the papers studied and the grades earned, according to sources in the university.

The focus will not be restricted to receiving education through lectures alone. The “L-T-P” structure, in which lectures, tutorials entailing learning through self-study, and practical sessions, will receive due importance. Students will have to answer common papers, core papers and elective papers to successfully complete their respective course.

Under the new system, the students will also have a provision to go on a slow pace by registering for a minimum of 12 credits per semester or opt for accelerated pace by registering for 23 credits.

The concept of declaring a student “Failed” in any paper will be done away with. In the event a candidate is unable to complete a paper, it would be declared “Dropped” instead of “Failed”, and the candidate can also exercise the option of registering for a different paper, according to the sources. The details of the “Dropped” paper will not appear in the grade card.

All students who complete the requirements of earning the requisite number of credits for a bachelor's degree course will be issued a consolidated grade card and a similar system will be in practice for the master's degree and the honours course as well.
In the event a student is dissatisfied with the grade, he or she can approach the Grievance Cell which will not only be empowered to revise the grade in genuine cases but also initiate disciplinary action against the evaluator if the grievances of the students are found to be genuine.