Higher Education Institutions will soon offer undergraduate students the option to shorten or extend the duration of their degree programmes, instead of adhering to the standard duration, according to UGC Chairman Jagadesh Kumar, as reported by news agency PTI. 

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to offer the Accelerated Degree Programme (ADP) and Extended Degree Programme (EDP) in a meeting held this week. The draft guidelines will now be made available for public feedback from stakeholders.

These degrees will include a note stating that the academic requirements typically completed in the standard duration have been fulfilled in a shortened or extended timeline. However, they will be considered equivalent to standard duration degrees for both academic and recruitment purposes.

"Students can use this option to shorten or extend their study durations based on their learning abilities. ADP allows students to complete a three-year or four-year degree in reduced time by earning additional credits per semester, while EDP enables an extended timeline with fewer credits per semester," Kumar said, as reported by news agency PTI.

"Under ADP and EDP, students earn the same total credits as in the standard-duration programme. The higher education institutions will establish committees to evaluate students' eligibility for these programmes. These degrees will be equivalent to standard duration degrees for all employment and academic purposes," he added.

According to the SOPs, institutions may allocate up to 10 per cent of the sanctioned intake for the ADP. HEIs can form a committee to review applications submitted at the end of the first or second semester under the ADP and EDP, and select students accordingly. In the ADP, students will follow the same curriculum and complete the total credits required for the standard duration of the programme.

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

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

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In a three-year or four-year undergraduate programme, the duration may be extended by a maximum of two semesters.

"Accordingly, students can earn fewer credits in each semester. Based on the credit structure in the Curriculum and Credit Framework for Undergraduate Programmes, the committee shall decide the minimum number of credits a student must earn in a semester in EDP," he said.

The commission has stated that HEIs may issue degrees to students upon completion of the programme in the chosen duration (whether shortened or extended) and are not required to wait until the standard duration is completed to award the formal degree.

(With PTI Inputs

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