CREDIT AND SEMESTER SYSTEM (CSS)

Guidelines
Programme and Course Design
Student Admission
Course Teaching
Evaluation
Internal Assessment
End-Semester Examination
Viva Voce
Details of Scholastic Probation and Repeating of Courses and Examinations
Grading system

Guidelines


The School follows the Credit and Semester System (CSS)

M.A programmes are spread over 4 semesters (2 years)

Successful completion of MA requires a minimum of 72 credits and maximum of 84 credits*

Students can choose electives from other Schools under the CSS

The M.Phil programme is spread over one year (2 semesters)

Successful completion of M.Phil requires a minimum of 36 credits.**

Each course normally carries 4 credits

50 percent of the credits for each course is assigned to internal assessments and 50 percent for the end semester examination

A minimum of two assignments are required for each course

Students may consult the Faculty Advisor before registration


*M.A. Programmes **M.Phil Programme
Core Courses (12 x 4 credits ) = 48 credits
Electives ( 4 x 4 credits ) = 16  “
Dissertation = 6  “
Viva-Voce examination = 2  “
Total Credits (minimum) 72
Core Courses (2 x 4 credits ) = 8 credits
Electives (1 x 4 credits ) = 4  “
Dissertation = 20  “
Viva-Voce examination = 4  “
Total Credits (minimum) 36




 
Programme and Course Design

The broad framework of the programme and the courses – both Core and Electives – constituting the programme shall be designed by the Boards of Studies of the respective Schools based on the regulations. The number of courses to be taught in a programme and the course titles shall be decided by the Board of Studies. The Faculty Council of the School will decide the content of each course, the textbooks to be taught etc. Periodic, even semester-wise, updating of the courses can thus be ensured.


Student Admission


Admission for all the courses will be made by the Schools concerned on the basis of the marks obtained in the qualifying examination as well as the marks obtained in the written test and the interview conducted by the respective schools. The School’s Faculty Council shall be competent to decide on the relative weightage to be given for each of these components.


Course Teaching

Courses shall generally be taught by the member of the faculty who designed the course, though it is possible for the Faculty Council to assign the teaching of a course to more than one member of faculty.


Evaluation


Evaluation of the courses shall be done by the faculty themselves on the basis of continuous internal assessment and end-semester examinations. The project/ dissertation shall be evaluated by an external examiner to be decided by the School’s Faculty Council. There will also be an external expert in the Board conducting the viva voce examination at the end of the semester.


Internal Assessment


The students’ attendance and classroom performance as well as the feedback received from tests, tutorials, assignments and term papers shall form the basis for internal assessment. Stipulations regarding academic requirements like the number of term papers and assignments to be submitted as part of the course etc. will be decided by the Faculty Council and notified at the commencement of the course. Internal assessment will account for 50% of the evaluation.


End-Semester Examination


The end-semester examination will account for the remaining 50% of the evaluation, which will be conducted internally by the School itself, except for the evaluation of the project/dissertation.


Viva Voce

The viva voce at the end of the programme, which accounts for 2-4 credits, shall be conducted by a Board of Examiners constituted by the School’s Faculty Council. The Board will in addition have an external expert from outside the university to be appointed by the Director of the School on the advice of the Faculty Council. The grading by the Board shall be by consensus.


Details of Scholastic Probation and Repeating of Courses and Examinations


Only students who secure the minimum attendance requirements of 75% and above in the first semester will be allowed to continue the programme in the second semester. A student who has failed or who has obtained a letter grade of B or below in any of the courses in any of the semesters can improve his/her performance course-wise by writing a supplementary examination to be conducted in the semester that follows immediately. The grades obtained for the fourth semester courses can also be improved in the same manner. The grades obtained for the project/ dissertation and the viva voce, however, cannot be improved. A student will be permitted to improve a course only once. Supplementary examinations for a batch will be held along with the next end-semester examinations.


Grading system

The grading system followed is that of relative grading on a ten-point scale. The following table indicates the performance range and the relative value of the grades (grade points) on the scale. Wherever an examiner awards marks, either in the internal assessment or in the end-semester semester examination, percentage of marks awarded will be converted into grades according to the following formula:

Grade
Numerical Equivalence
Grade Point Range
Percentage Range
Performance
S
10
9.5 to 10
95% and above
Outstanding
A+
9
9.0 to 9.5
85% to 94%
Excellent
A
8
8.0 to 8.99
75% to 84%
Best
A-
7
7.0 to 7.99
65% to 74%
Better
B+
6
6.0 to 6.99
55% to 64%
Good
B
5
5.0 to 5.99
45% to 54%
Average
B-
4
4.0 to 4.5
40% to 45%
Below average
C
-
Below 4.0
Below 40%
Poor

The Grade Card given to the student at the end of each semester will indicate the grades he/she has obtained as well as the Semester Performance Index (SPI), which is the weighted average of the numerical value (grade point) obtained by him/her in the semester. Weighted average is calculated by dividing the sum of the products of the grade point or numerical value obtained for each course and the credit that it carries by the total number of credits earned. The Cumulative Performance Index (CPI) for the whole programme will be calculated in the same manner, which will also be indicated in the Grade Card.