How undergraduate students could soon complete college degrees within longer or shorter durations

Here’s what the programmes mightiness look similar and however they could payment students.

What are ‘Accelerated Degree Programmes’ (ADPs) and ‘Extended Degree Programmes’ (EDPs)?

At the extremity of the archetypal oregon 2nd semester, but not beyond, undergraduate students volition beryllium allowed to opt for an ADP oregon an EDP. Students enrolled nether an ADP volition travel the aforesaid program and indispensable gain the aforesaid fig of credits arsenic required for a three- oregon four-year UG programme. However, they tin implicit their programme sooner by earning further credits starting from the semester they take the ADP.

Under this scheme, a three-year UG programme tin beryllium completed successful 5 semesters alternatively of the modular six (shortened by a maximum of 1 semester), portion a four-year UG programme tin beryllium completed successful six oregon 7 semesters (shortened by a maximum of 2 semesters) alternatively than eight.

On the different hand, students who take the EDP volition beryllium allowed to gain less credits per semester compared to the modular programme, allowing them to instrumentality longer to implicit their course. Their people duration tin beryllium extended by a maximum of 2 semesters.

What is the nonsubjective down ADP and EDP, and who whitethorn payment from it?

UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said the National Credit Framework allows students to implicit UG courses successful accelerated oregon extended programmes to accommodate “diverse world needs and cognitive abilities”.

“ADP allows high-performing students to implicit their degrees faster by earning further credits and allowing them to participate the workforce oregon prosecute higher studies sooner. Conversely, EDP supports students who look world challenges by offering them an extended timeline to implicit their degrees astatine a manageable pace. Together, these options beforehand equity, ensuring each learners person the means to execute their acquisition goals,” helium added.

How volition they beryllium implemented?

The UGC’s precocious approved Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) calls for higher acquisition institutions to acceptable up a committee to scrutinise the applications they person for ADP and EDP astatine the extremity of the archetypal oregon 2nd semester and prime students accordingly. According to the SOP, the committee volition measure the “credit-completing potential” of the pupil based connected their show successful the archetypal oregon 2nd semester. An instauration tin earmark up to 10% of the sanctioned intake for ADP students.

On the SOP not having specified a headdress for the fig of EDP students, Kumar said: “Students with weaker world show often necessitate much clip to recognize and use concepts. EDP enables them to instrumentality less credits per semester, allowing them to absorption intensely connected each people without the accent of dense workloads. This is wherefore we person not kept immoderate precocious bounds for EDP.”

The committee volition besides determine the minimum fig of credits a pupil indispensable gain successful each semester nether the ADP and the EDP, considering the UGC’s Curriculum and Credit Framework for Undergraduate Programmes.

Will the exams oregon degrees beryllium immoderate antithetic from modular ones?

The exams volition stay the aforesaid arsenic modular three- oregon four-year UG programmes. The SOP says that authorities departments, backstage organisations, and recruiting agencies should dainty ADP and EDP degrees connected par with degrees completed successful the modular duration. It adds that the grade should incorporate a enactment that states that the world requirements for a modular programme person been completed successful a shorter oregon extended duration.

Kumar said: “ADP and EDP use to some three-year UG programmes oregon four-year UG programmes with honours/honours with research. For students opting for either ADP oregon EDP, earning the full credits required successful a modular four-year UG Programme with honours/honours with probe would suffice for an Honours degree.”

When volition the options footwear successful and however volition institutions prepare?

Kumar said higher acquisition institutions tin commencement offering ADP oregon EDP from the July-August league successful the 2025-26 world year. It would beryllium up to the institutions to determine whether they would similar to connection these programmes.

“Institutions tin connection courses successful online oregon hybrid modes, leveraging the UGC’s support for up to 40% of courses being delivered online. This volition let students successful ADP oregon EDP to instrumentality further oregon less credits astatine their ain gait without disrupting regular people schedules. Additional classes tin beryllium scheduled extracurricular modular hours to accommodate ADP students. This enactment benefits students who privation face-to-face interactions but person a compressed timeline,” Kumar said.

He added: “ADP students tin enrol successful precocious oregon specialised courses already portion of postgraduate oregon precocious undergraduate curricula, allowing them to fulfil recognition requirements much efficiently. Micro-credentials tin beryllium introduced, enabling students to accumulate credits astatine their convenience. These tin see skill-based programs that align with grade requirements. Higher acquisition institutions could present an inter-semester word (e.g., summertime oregon winter) wherever ADP students tin instrumentality further courses. This would not interfere with the regular semester structure. Students tin instrumentality electives oregon halfway courses from antithetic departments to flexibly negociate their credits.”