UGC New Regulations For Online Courses Of Indian Universities

University Grants Commission Approved New Regulations For Online Courses- Details, Features

The University Grants Commission (UGC) on 24th May 2018 has approved new regulations for online courses offered by Indian universities.

The UGC has now agreed that the higher educational institutions and universities will be able to offer Graduate, Postgraduate and Diploma Programmes online from the upcoming academic session.

The UGC approval will help top-rated institutions to offer certificate, diploma & degree programs in full-fledged online mode.

Features

Under the UGC (Online Courses) Regulations-2018, Institutions can now offer online programs in those disciplines in which they are already running the same or similar programmes in regular, open and distance learning mode.

Now, the Institutions will be able to offer online degrees in all fields, except the ones that require practical or laboratory classes including engineering, medicine, dental, pharmacy, nursing, architecture and physiotherapy.

Under the UGC (Online Courses) Regulations-2018, examinations would be conducted in proctored mode and in conformity with any norms for such examinations stipulated by the commission.

The online learning courses offered will have a minimum of 4 quadrants, video lectures, e-content, self-assessment and a discussion forum to clarify doubts.

Under the UGC (Online Courses) Regulations-2018, all higher education institutions that have been into existence for at least 5 years and are accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with a valid minimum score of 3.26 on a 4-point scale are eligible to offer online programmes.

The higher educational institutions should also be in the top-100 in overall category in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) for at least two years in the previous three years.