SOL eyeing students from outside Delhi

The online courses introduced by DU's School of Open Learning in 2019-20 will enable outstation students to enrol in various programmes
Delhi University's School of Open Learning (SOL) is aiming at increasing the gross enrolment ratio (GER) from 24% to 30%. For this, the university is planning to increase its reach to students outside Delhi through online courses. Currently, most students enrolling in SOL are from Delhi, but the authorities want to enrol students from the rest of India, particularly from tier II and tier III cities.

"A large number of students enrolling in courses offered by SOL come from Delhi. It created a geographical barrier for students belonging to other parts of the country. We are focussing on enrolling students from all across the nation and world by offering courses in online mode," says CS Dubey, director, SOL. The programmes are designed to provide academic support to students, working professionals, and people who want to restart their education after a break. The School is also focussing on digitising the examinations and shifting the whole process to computer-based tests.

The School will offer five courses in online mode, namely, BA programme, BCom, BCom (Hons), BA (Hons) Political Science and BA (Hons) English. These programmes are currently offered in regular and distance learning mode, wherein a student has to attend a few classes conducted on weekends and also have to appear for the exams held in Delhi. This restricts students from outside Delhi to join the courses. The decision to offer programmes in online mode was taken up by the varsity after a gazette notification issued in July 2018 by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

"We have followed SWAYAM's four-quadrant approach where students will get access to e-tutorial, e-content, assessments and discussion forums. The online courses will allow students and teachers to engage in other activities for enhanced experiential learning," he adds.

Apart from creating an online dashboard for every student to access the study material, the process of making e-textbooks available for the students is also underway. "We were awaiting copyright approvals in the cases of some textbooks. Now, the students will be able to access the e-textbooks from anywhere as per their convenience," adds Dubey.

Why opt for evening colleges

With only a slight difference in the cut-off between day and evening colleges, this option can help students who want to study and work
Evening colleges are emerging as an attractive option for working professionals and students who aim to use their morning time by enhancing their skills or work part-time. A large number of students are considering evening colleges in institutions like Delhi University (DU), where seats are elusive due to high cut-offs.

There has been a common notion that only low scorers consider evening colleges, which is far from being true. In fact, there is a slight difference in the cut- off between the day and evening colleges. For example, last year the first cut- off for English (Hons) at Dyal Singh College (Day) was 95%, while it was 93% in Dyal Singh (Evening) College.

How to choose a new-age media school?

When you search for media schools on internet, it will show you thousands of options. But with so many media schools available across the country and abroad, selecting the right one becomes difficult. Here are some of the points that you should consider to find out the right media school for higher studies:

1) Teaching staff

You should consider a school whose faculty has industry-experience. A teacher who has worked in the in a newspaper, television channel or advertising agency can make you industry-ready by teaching how to write a news article, create a feature story, cover a video content or make a television commercial. You should also check about visiting faculties at the school. 

2) Course design

Check all the details of the curriculum offered by the media school carefully. See if the curriculum offered meets the industry requirements of today. The program should aim at preparing you in the new age media fields such as - Mobile media, social media, data journalism etc. 

3) Practical work

Along with the theory study, the students learn a lot with practical experience. Check whether the school brings out a student newspaper, what is the frequency of paper, and what type of articles students write. The school should also encourage students to make mobile videos since and TV news bulletins.

4) Job placements

Beware of media schools that guarantee 100% placements. No school can guarantee jobs. The maximum that a school can do is to organise a job interview, either on the campus or in a company. Media houses are always open to candidates who have the right skills. 

Important Notice for BA, B.Com and B.Sc students enrolled till January 2019 session

NOTICE 

Sub: Non-availability of credit transfer facility in BA, B.Com and B.Sc Programmes offered under Choice-based Credit System (CBCS)

The University is offering its Bachelor Degree Programmes (BA, B.Com and B.Sc) under the Choice-based Credit System (CBCS) from July 2019 session. Students who are enrolled till January 2019 session in these Programmes shall be allowed to complete their programme within the maximum validity period of six years. 

In case they fail to complete all the courses within the maximum validity period, they will be allowed to seek ‘Re-admission’ as per University rules whereby the validity of their registration shall be extended by a further period of two years, subject to the condition that the total period of validity including Re-admission period shall not exceed eight years.

In case a student is not able to complete all the courses even after taking Re-admission and joins the same Programme offered under CBCS, s/he will not be allowed to transfer the credits earned under old enrolment. Students enrolled in BA, B.Com and B.Sc Programme till January 2019 session are therefore advised to complete their programme within the maximum validity period plus re-admission period. 

IGNOU launches 6-month certificate programme in yoga

New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has launched a certificate programme in yoga (CPY) ahead of the upcoming International Yoga Day, according to a PTI report. The course will begin from July 2019 session. The course will be imparted in English language, and anyone who has passed Class XII from any recognized board, irrespective of their stream, will be eligible to get enrolled in the programme.

IGNOU's School of Health Sciences (SOHS) launched the programme under which the learner shall understand the basic principles and practice of yoga. The course will be for six months and students will be given maximum of two years to pass the course. Candidates will have to pay a fee of ₹10,000 for the entire programme.

The Certificate Programme in Yoga will be offered through the regional centres of Delhi, Dehradun, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Ladnun, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune

The programme will contain 3 courses with 16 credits.

Demand for agriculture programmes is on a rise

Until a decade ago, agriculture was not a career option for urban students. Aspirants and their parents’ associated agriculture jobs with working in the fields in a remote, rural area. However, that perception has changed over the last few years with the state and central government’s focus on this sector. Experts speculate that there will be more jobs in agriculture and allied industries, than ever before. “India being a land of agriculture, the future of agriculture education must grow in an extravagant way,” says Rajendra Prasad, vice-chancellor, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore.

Citing economists, Prasad says that agriculture is four times more effective than other sectors in reducing poverty. The demand for trained professionals in the field of agriculture is high. Besides, agricultural process has become more diverse than ever before, offering a wide variety of jobs. Banking, insurance, regulated market (mandies), central and state agricultural departments, irrigation industries, NGOs are some of the prominent areas where agriculture students find a job in India. Research and education is also an option one can opt for.

Govt. puts IGNOU out of the ambit of UGC regulations.

The government has exempted the IGNOU from the University Grants Commission's (UGC) open and distance learning regulations, ending a protracted turf war between the higher education regulator and the country's first national open university.

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/govt-puts-ignou-out-of-the-ambit-of-ugc-regulations-738772.html

UGC issues guidelines for recruitment of faculty in higher educational institutions

The University Grants Commission (UGC) issued guidelines on Tuesday for recruitment of faculty members in institutes of higher education to address the issue of shortage of quality teaching staff in such institutions.

In a letter written to the vice-chancellors of universities and to colleges and institutions deemed to be universities, the UGC said the shortage of quality teaching faculty in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) was a major concern and needed to be addressed immediately for improving the quality of higher education.

"Shortage of quality teaching faculty in HEIs is one amongst the many issues presently confronting the higher education system in the country. This is also affecting the quality of higher education. Therefore, the guidelines should be followed by HEIs to ensure timely filling up of vacant faculty posts with appropriately eligible and competent candidates," the UGC said.

The guidelines said the HEIs should ensure that the details of all the vacant posts, along with the reservations details, were uploaded on the online portal -- . The monitoring of the filling up of vacancies would be done by the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry and the UGC through the portal.

The HEIs should initiate and complete the selection process within a period of six months, the UGC said.

Examinations at IGNOU to begin today June 2019

The term-end examinations of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will commence today 1st June 2019