BU to offer 4-year degree courses from 2014-15

Varsity will abolish grading system in internal exams; scores will be as per CGP

Bangalore University (BU) will introduce four-year degree courses from the academic year 2014-15 onwards, Vice-Chancellor Prof B Thimme Gowda announced on Tuesday at an interactive session with students at the Jnanajyothi Auditorium of the Central College. 

The course, already on offer at Delhi University, gives students plenty of options. It is being introduced at BU after tailoring it to local needs, he added. 

“After two years, students can take away diploma certificates. Or after three years, they can walk away with bachelor’s degrees. If they complete four years, they will get honours degrees. They can get master’s degrees by studying for another year. This is known as credit-based education system,” he explained. 

The vice-chancellor clarified that students need not study for four years. They can pursue postgraduate courses even after studying this course for three years, either at the university or any of the affiliated colleges.

“This decision has been taken to give a new outlook to existing courses. All four-year courses will have interdisciplinary and skill development subjects,” the V-C said. 

The four-year courses will be revised every three years. The university will address the problem of lack of buildings and the shortage of faculty before introducing the four-year course, he added. 

“The University Grant Commission (UGC) has also asked all universities to introduce credit-based degree and postgraduate courses, and accordingly the Karnataka State Higher Education Council has issued necessary guidelines,” he said. 

Further, the existing grading system in internal examinations of degree courses will be abolished, Gowda said. The university will instead have 30 marks for internals and 70 marks for written examinations. 

The new guidelines also entail that all universities replace the existing grading system with the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). Under the present system, students are given distinction, first class, second class and third class. 

To ensure there is no confusion among students, BU will award marks both under the existing system as well as the CGPA for the next few years. Once the confusion is cleared, only the CGPA will be followed, he said.