UGC: Aadhaar Mandatory to Obtain Online Degree; Institutes to be Monitored

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released the draft for Online Education regulations 2017. Various norms have been introduced by the regulatory body in order to facilitate online degree courses. UGC has also sought public feedback regarding the same till August 18.

If these regulations are passed, students and working individuals will be able to pursue UGC-recognised degree courses online. Institutes will be allowed to offer all programmes online apart from engineering, pharmacy, dental, nursing, physiotherapy and architecture.

Currently, UGC does not recognise any of the degree courses offered online. From 2017, the universities were allowed to offer 20% of their courses through Swayam – a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) platform. Students enrolled in the programmes will be able to get their degrees after the completion of the course.

Requirements to start online degree courses:

• Institutes or universities planning to start online courses must have been in existence as recognised universities for at least 5 years.
• In order to provide online degree courses, the university must be NAAC-accredited with at least 3.25 points out of 4.
• Institutes will also have to undergo a third party audit once in every two years to ensure the quality of the online courses.
• Only those courses that are offered as regular courses can be offered through an online curriculum.
• If the number of online course takers exceeds 500, then there must be a teaching assistant for the course apart from the teaching staff already engaged in regular course activities.
• Institutes looking forward to providing online programmes must have a competent computer-based examination system to conduct proctored-online exams. This system must have features like Aadhaar authentication system as well as screens and webcam recording for invigilation purposes.
• Also, Institutes will have to pass through two stages for the approval of online programmes including the audit for assessment of infrastructure, academic, HR and technical facilities required to deliver the programme.
• A committee will also be appointed to analyse the teaching methodology, curriculum plan and effectiveness of the course provided by the respective institute.

These programmes will be delivered through a competent digital platform. Exams for these courses will be conducted online with the help of online surveillance. UGC has also stated that proctored exams must be favoured wherever possible for all online degree courses.

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UGC also stated that the exams for these courses can also be held on the campus of the respective institute. However, the campuses must have Aadhaar biometric authentication system in order to verify the identity of each student. Also, the campus must have the other digital invigilation facilities mentioned above.