Institutions gear up to start online distance learning courses

 

Institutions gear up to start online distance learning courses

 Source: https://www.aicte-india.org/

 For the first time, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the state will be following the guidelines of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to start online Open and Distance Learning (ODL) education in universities.

 AICTE had recently issued guidelines, which were meant for online ODL institutions for offering courses in management and allied areas, computer applications, artificial intelligence and data science in the engineering and technology domain, logistics and travel and tourism. 

 Accordingly, these guidelines will apply to HEIs such as standalone institutions, institutions-deemed to be universities and universities for conducting various courses. 

 Referring to the recent gazette, a senior official from the Directorate of Technical Education (DOTE) told DT Next that the online ODL programmes will be equivalent to the certificate, diploma, PG Diploma and PG degree level programmes offered in conventional mode. 

 Explaining the salient features of the guidelines, he said students’ intake will be a maximum of three times of the sanctioned intake of specific programme in regular mode. 

 “At present online distance education mode is only for very limited programmes and that too in few institutions,” he said adding “now institutions could offer many full-fledged courses through online mode.” 

 The official said that after scrutinising the applications sent by the institutions for AICTE to conduct online courses through distance mode, the expert committee consisting of council authorities will inspect all facilities available in the colleges and universities to conduct online courses. 

 

Stating that AICTE being satisfied with all the parameters specified, would pass an order granting approval to institutions in respect online programmes, the official said recognised institutions will also undergo an assessment of online and ODL programmes and annual academic audits by Centre for Internal Quality Assurance (“CIQA”) once in a year. The official said, “the CIQA report after assessment must be placed on the institution’s website and presented to the AICTE.” 

 “However, certain courses such as pharmacy, architecture, hotel management, applied arts, crafts and design has not been permitted by the AICTE for online distance learning,” he said.

Here’re UGC Instructions For Accreditation Of Higher Education Institutions

Bhubaneswar: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued fresh instructions for accreditation of higher education institutions in the country.

As per the UGC (Mandatory Assessment and Accreditation of higher Educational Institutions) Regulations 2012, it is mandatory for each higher education institution to get accredited by the accreditation agency after passing out of two batches or six years, whichever is earlier.

The UGC also set a target that colleges and universities should get accredited with a minimum score of 2.5 by the year 2022.

To achieve the target, the UGC introduced a new initiative called ‘Paramarsh’ in the year 2019 for mentoring the non-accredited institutions.

“This initiative intends to promote well-performing accredited institutions to mentor the NAAC accreditation aspiring institutions to upgrade their academic performance and get accredited. A well-designed scheme of Mentor-Mentee relationship will not only benefit both the institutions but also lead to quality education for the students who are currently enrolled in the Indian higher education system,” stated a UGC notification dated January 29, 2021.

So far, 167 Mentor Institutions have been approved under ‘Paramarsh’ to mentor 936 non-accredited higher education institutions. The list of the Mentor Institutions can be found on the UGC website, www.ugc.ac.in.

The UGC in the notification said that there are still a large number of institutions which are yet to be accredited. These institutions are expected to make all out efforts to get themselves accredited at the earliest. Moreover, the NAAC accreditation aspiring institutions may seek guidance from the Mentor Institutions as well as other high performing institutions so that they can get an exposure to the best practices.

The higher education institutions are therefore expected to come forward for accreditation so as to maintain global standards and ensure quality of our higher education system, the notification read.

Source: https://sambadenglish.com/herere-ugc-instructions-for-accreditation-of-higher-education-institutions/