Calicut University Distance Education's Review and Verdict by CollegeDekho

Campus at a Glimpse

Calicat University Distance Education, commonly known as the School of Distance Education, University of Calicut (SDE-UoC) was established in 1981. Recognized as the “Institute of Correspondence and Continuing Education” by the University of Calicut, the School of Distance Education is recognized by the Distance Education Bureau (DEB) and approved by UGC. Currently, Calicut University Distance Education has 15 undergraduate study centers and 10 postgraduate study centers.

Course-wise, Calicut University Distance Education offers 4 undergraduate courses, namely, Bachelor of Arts in Afzal-Ul-Ulama, Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) and Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). At the postgraduate level, Calicut University Distance Education course list consists of 8 courses. They are Master of Arts in Arabic, Master of Arts in Economics, Master of Arts in Hindi, Master of Arts in Philosophy, Master of Arts in Political Science, Master of Arts in Sanskrit, Master of Science in Mathematics, and Master of Commerce.

Infrastructure-wise, apart from study centers across the state, the School of Distance Education has a library and a Students’ Grievance Redressal Committee (SGRC). However, there are a few areas where students have raised a bit of concern. Students have opined that the functioning of the university administration and management needs a recheck. Delays in conducting exams and releasing results are the two main areas that the students have highlighted. 

Calicut University Distance Education Academia and Batch Size

Academic Composition

Calicut University Distance Education Academia is a mix of contact classes (online/offline), assignments and assessments.

According to the official website, the undergraduate programs under the CBCSS system comprise 5 types of courses:

• Common Courses (Code A)
• Core Courses (Code B)
• Complementary Courses (Code C)
• Open Course (Code D)
• Audit Courses (Code E)

Similarly, for the Calicut University Distance Education postgraduate program, the courses are divided into:

• Core Courses
• Elective Courses
• Audit Courses

Our Take:

Calicut University School of Distance Education has adopted the Choice-Based Credit and Semester System (CBCS) both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It allows students to select the course of their choice as per their needs. It is compulsory for students to take up the core courses available under each program. They can choose their choice of course/courses from the list of courses available under elective courses.

According to the official website, the following is a list of Calicut University Distance Education study centers at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Calicut University Distance Education- UG Study Centers

Calicut University Distance Education- PG Study Centers

Batch Size

Following is the list of students that were enrolled in each program in the 2023-24 July session, as shared in the Student Consolidated Report 2023-24:

UG Programs

Our Take:

Calicut University Distance Education provided education to 17,098 students at the undergraduate level. Analyzing the data above, it is evident that B.Com and BA Political Science programs are in high demand compared to the other two programs, i.e., BA Afzal-Ul-Ulama and BBA.

PG Programs

Our Take:

A total of 5,403 students were enrolled at the postgraduate level. Among all the programs offered, the M.Com and MA Arabic programs are the most demanded courses, with the highest number of student enrollment.

Fees

The fees charged for the Calicut University Distance Education courses are as follows:

UG Programs

PG Programs

Our Take:

Students have expressed that the fees are reasonable. However, they have expressed the need for a smooth payment process from the university management.

Calicut University Distance Education Infrastructure

SDE Library 

School of Distance Education, Calicut University, claims to have a library well-stocked with a good collection of books, periodicals, newspapers, reference books and so and so forth. Students have access to all the library resources on all working days provided they have the SDE identity card when visiting.

Students’ Grievance Redressal Committee (SGRC)

Calicut University Distance Education boasts about its Students’ Grievance Redressal Committee. SGRC was launched with the motive of solving the issues faced by students.

Our Take:

Despite the university’s attempt to ensure fast and on-time solutions to student grievances, students are not happy with the academic processes, especially during the examination and admission sessions. It is apparent that the functioning of the committee has not been fruitful, and Calicut University Distance Education needs to reframe its policies to ensure increased effectiveness.

SDE Study Center

School of Distance Education, University of Calicut, has a PG study center on its campus offering MSc. Mathematics, MA Philosophy, MA Political Science, MA Hindi and MA Sanskrit classes.

Calicut University Distance Education Diversity and Demographics

UG Programs- Gender Ratio Index

PG Programs- Gender Ratio Index

Our Take:

The male-to-female ratio of Calicut University Distance Education is considerably balanced, with 8,099 males and 8,999 female students at the undergraduate level. However, at the PG level,  the male-to-female ratio is 1:1.1, with a higher percentage of female students.

Calicut University Distance Education Faculty and Administration/Management

As per the Calicut University Distance Education prospectus 2023-24, here is the list of faculty members assigned to each program:

UG Programs:

PG Programs

Our Take:

Faculty-wise, Calicut University Distance Education has done the needful. The statement can be justified by two points:

• 2 teachers are allotted to each undergraduate program, and 1 teacher is allotted to each postgraduate program, which is also the sanctioned faculty count.
• According to the official website, the SDE classes are taken by Calicut University-affiliated college teachers and academic experts in the field concerned, apart from the teachers assigned especially for the SDE classes.

Administration-wise, the non-teaching staff appointed to Calicut University Distance Education is given in the table below. The data has been extracted from the university prospectus 2023-24:

Our Take:

After analyzing the student comments on Quora, it was found that there is mismanagement in the School of Distance Education, Calicut University administration and management. The statement is backed by the given points:

• An M.Com student from the 2019 batch has stated that the university did not conduct any exams for 2 years, even after successfully registering for the course.
• Another student commented that there is always a delay in publishing results. He further added that the customer service facility is not effective as students fail to get their queries solved on time.

Calicut University Distance Education Location

The Calicut University Distance Education Center is located inside the Calicut University campus. Located at Tirur, Calicut Road, Thenhipalam in Kerala, the nearest railway station is Vallikunnu Railway Station, at a distance of 9.5 km from the campus. The closest airport is Kozhikode International Airport, located at a distance of 9.4 km from the university campus. For those travelling by public transport, the nearest bus stop is 400 meters away from the campus premises.

Our Take:

As it is a distance education center, apart from those taking classes in the SDE study center, other students do not need to travel to the university every day.  With all the processes being online, students can fill up the form or submit their assignments online or in their nearby study centers. 

Calicut University Distance Education Expectation vs Reality - CollegeDekho Verdict

It can be concluded that Calicut University Distance Education Center is a good choice for those willing to take admission in B.Com., BA Political Science, M.Com in the distance mode, and MA Arabic programs as a large number of students can be seen taking admission in these programs. A total of 25 study centers are available across the state. Students are provided access to the library which helps them refer to numerous resources related to their subjects. Students have opined that the fees are reasonable as well.

However, students have also raised a few concerns regarding the administration. They have expressed that it becomes difficult to communicate with the university authority at times. Delays in conducting exams and releasing results are other issues that the students struggle with.

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