Higher education institutions will soon be able to offer undergraduate students the option of shortening or extending the duration of their studies instead of the standard duration of their degree programs, according to UGC President Jagadesh Kumar.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) approved the SOPs for higher education institutions to offer Accelerated Diploma Program (ADP) and Extended Diploma Program (EDP) in a meeting this week. The draft standards will now be made public for stakeholder comments.

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Although diplomas carry a stand-alone notation indicating that the academic requirements required in a standard duration have been completed in a shortened or extended duration, they will be treated the same as standard duration diplomas for academic and recruitment purposes.

“Students can use this option to shorten or extend the duration of their studies based on their learning abilities. ADP allows students to complete a three- or four-year degree in a reduced amount of time by earning additional credits per semester , while EDP allows an extended schedule with fewer credits per semester,” Kumar told PTI.

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“Under ADP and EDP, students earn the same total credits as in the standard duration program. Higher education institutions will establish committees to assess student eligibility for these programs. These degrees will be equivalent to standard duration degrees for all jobs and academic degrees for purposes,” he added.

According to the SOPs, institutions can devote up to 10 percent of permitted admissions to ADP. HEIs may constitute a committee to review applications received at the end of the first or second semester under the EDP and ADP and select students accordingly.

In the ADP, students will follow the same program content and total credits prescribed for the program for a standard duration.

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“The only change will be in the duration of the program. Students will have the option to choose ADP either at the end of the first semester or second semester and not beyond. Students opting for ADP will earn additional credits per semester starting from the second or third semester, depending on when they move to ADP,” Kumar said.

“If they join ADP after the first semester, they will start earning additional credits from the second semester. Similarly, if they join the ADP after the second semester, the additional credit load will start from the third semester,” he added. .

In a three- or four-year undergraduate program, the duration can be extended up to a maximum of two semesters.

“As a result, students may earn fewer credits each semester. Based on the credit structure of the degree program and the credit framework for undergraduate programs, the committee will decide the minimum number of credits that a student must earn over the course of a semester in EDP,” he said.

The commission noted that higher education institutions may award diplomas to students upon completion of the program for the chosen duration (shortened or extended duration) and should not wait to complete the standard duration for the award of the diploma formal.

“For accelerated and extended degrees, a self-contained notation must be added in the degree indicating that the academic requirements required in a standard term have been completed in a shortened or extended term.

“For an ADP from a four-year undergraduate program, the grade must specify that the student completed the academic requirements of a four-year program in six or seven semesters, as applicable,” Kumar said.