The University Grants Commission on Tuesday announced that students will soon be able to avail joint or dual degrees from foreign universities through academic collaborations.
Making the announcement in a press conference, UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said that students will also be able to attend some semesters of their degree programme in a foreign university.
The decision was taken at a meeting held on Tuesday by the UGC, Kumar said.
He said that any Indian institution which is accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with a minimum score of 3.01 or is in the top 100 ranking of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) can collaborate with any foreign institution in the top 1000 of the Times Higher Education or QS World University ranking. “They will not need to seek any prior approval from the UGC,” Kumar said.
He added that students will need to have above 30 per cent credits from the foreign institution under the programme. “This condition will not be applicable to programmes offered online and in the open and distance learning mode,” he added.
Kumar said that as per the amended regulations that facilitate academic collaborations between Indian and foreign institutions, institutes will be able to offer three kinds of programmes – twinning programmes, joint degree programmes and dual degree programmes.
In the case of twinning degrees, students will need to complete 30 per cent of the course’s credits at the foreign university through an exchange programme, and the credits earned during the exchange programme will be counted as part of the marks in the programme the student is pursuing in India. Similarly, it will be applicable to foreign exchange students in India.
To award joint degrees, institutions will have to sign a memorandum of understanding, and Indian students will need to complete more than 30 per cent of their course credit at a foreign institute. The degree will be awarded by the Indian institution along with a certificate of credit recognition. In the case of dual degrees too, students must complete 30 per cent of credits at a foreign institute, and degree will specify which institute the credits were earned from.
Kumar said that currently, there are 4 crore students studying in higher educational institutions in India. “These regulations will lead to the internationalisation of our higher education and will also provide a great opportunity for our Indian students to acquire multi-disciplinary education for an internationally relevant career,” Kumar said.
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