The University Grants Commission (UGC) has created a lot of buzz by introducing the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS). UGC wants to develop a “learner-centric” approach in the entire education delivery mechanism to help achieve the goals of the New Education Policy (NEP) initiated by The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Govt. of India.

Here are 5 things that you need to know about the structure and implementation of Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS).

 1)   Learner-Centric Approach

The most important change brought by the CBCS system is making the learning system “Student-Centric”. CBCS will allow students to choose inter-disciplinary, intra-disciplinary courses, skill oriented papers (even from other disciplines according to their learning needs, interests and aptitude) and provide more flexibility for students in learning. Students will be allowed to obtain credits by combining unique subject areas such as, Physics with Economics, Microbiology with Chemistry or Environment Science etc. CBCS offers flexibility for students to study at different times and at different institutions to complete a course, thereby providing ease of mobility to students. Credits earned at one institution can be transferred to another institution as well. Thus, if effectively implemented the CBCS system provides good flexibility to meet the needs of every student.

2)   Subject Categories

CBCS system allows students the flexibility of selecting the subjects of their choice. The subjects are categorised in to various groups allowing students to select subjects of their interest under each group. The categories specified by UGC are given below

1.    Core Course
2.    Elective Course
•    Discipline specific elective Course
•    Generic Elective
•    Project
3.    Ability Enhancement Courses
•    Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses
•    Skill Enhancement Courses

UGC provides guidelines for the minimum credit required to obtain a BA/B.Com Honours, B.Sc Honours, BA/B.Com and B.Sc degree and also the number of credits to be obtained in each group specified above. The central and state universities are allowed to deviate the syllabi from the stipulated norm by up to 20%.

3)   Grading

The CBCS system follows the semester pattern where two consecutive semesters (odd & even) constitute an academic year; Grading and evaluation of students performance in each subject takes place at the end of each semester. CBCS uses a credit-based grading system and not a percentage-wise system. Though the use of credit-based grading is common among universities, the credit system specified by UGC is specified below.

The following illustrations could be taken as an example for computing SGPA and CGPA from credits for honours courses in all disciplines, degree Program courses in Science subjects and degree Program courses in Humanities, Social Sciences and Commerce subjects:
1. Grades and Grade Points

2) Sample illustration of computing SGPA (Semester Grade Point Average) and CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) for subjects under CBCS system

4)   Ballot System

Though the CBCS system have been around for a quite a number of years, it is only recently that lot of emphasis has been put in its implementation.

The easiest and simplest way to implement CBCS system at an institution for a small cohort of students is the ballot system. At the beginning of each semester all the available subjects (based on UGC guidelines & teacher availability) for students are made available as empty bins. Students then can select the subject of their choice by dropping a paper with their name on it in bins of the relevant subject. This way the institution will be able to collect data on the preferences of the subject by students. This type of subject selection method is feasible only for a small number of users.  Once the subject selection is complete then the list of students for each subject is digitised by the subject-specific teacher and all subject specific information (Time table, syllabi etc,.) are shared to the students. Attendance and Grading as per the CBCS system should be done by the teacher manually and reviewed on a regular basis.

This type of system is appropriate for a small cohort of students and become tedious and confusing for a larger numbers.

5)   Online System

When CBCS system has to be implemented for a large group of students, the better alternative for manual work would be an automated online system built to meet your requirements. An online system should ensure effective and easy implementation of the CBCS system at your campus and let you improve, customise and make changes in the future. A good online system to implement CBCS system at your campus should help you do the following.

Subject Selection by students:
Once the institution has finalised the subjects, credits, paring, pre-requisite courses etc, for the particular course, the data has to be uploaded in to the system. The system should allow students to select the subject and teacher as per their interest. The system should be able to restrict the selection of subjects by students based on the criteria that fits the requirement of the institution. This way of subject selection will remove the complication that may occur when following a manual system. Teachers should also be able to share notes, conduct tests, discuss on subject areas with students thus making learning an engaging experience for students.

Timetable Generation:
Once the subjects are selected by each student, a time-table should be generated by the system for each students based on their subject selection. This should be made available for students all the time and also to teachers, so teachers are aware of the students in their class for various subjects.

Attendance:
The timetable available for teachers should also allow them to take attendance for each subject they handle. This will reduce any paperwork involved in maintaining attendance registers and the complication while calculating the total attendance percent for each student.

Grading as per CBCS:
For institutions that already use the credit based system for evaluation, the CBCS system would not involve too much change. Institutions where Controller of Examinations (CoE) already making use of online system for evaluation will understand the ease and simplicity an online system can provide them. The online system should be able to generate the SGPA and CGPA based on the inputs received by the teachers of each subject. Though there are many online systems that provide with such a service, the best one’s would be those that are user friendly and simple for the teachers to use. The online system capable of printing mark sheets based on institutions requirements makes the work even simpler for universities and autonomous colleges.

Reports and Analytics:
The online system should be able to generate report at anytime to analyse the progress and effectiveness of implementation. The reports should fit the requirements of the institutions. A few of the important reports are student performance reports, subject-wise performance reports, usage reports, subject-wise student list, attendance reports etc,.

Store and Access past data:
The system must be able to store past data and make the data accessible by institutions whenever necessary. This way institutions can evaluate the effectiveness of implementation and improve upon their progress in the future.

The recent efforts by UGC and NBA to make Indian education system competitive to their global peers is commendable but the test lies in the effective implementation of the proposed system. Though nothing can be expected to change overnight, time will tell on how well we faired at implementation and on the future of education system in India.