BITS Pilani

Academic
Regulations

innovate achieve lead

 ACADEMIC REGULATIONS

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE PILANI

(RAJASTHAN) 333 031
 Contents

Section Page no.

1. General 1
2. Some Structural Features 6
3. Registration 10
4. Teaching and Evaluation 20
5. Minimum Academic Requirements 27
6. Some Special Courses and Programmes 31
7. Flexibilities 36
8. Additional Clauses for Ph.D. Programme 44
9. Graduation and Eligibility for all Degrees 55
10. Additional Regulations for Off-Campus, Distance Learning and Collaborative Programmes 56
11. Linkages with Earlier Regulations 60
12. Follow-Through Actions 61
13. Revision 65

First Printing September 1981

Eleventh Printing, updated July 2000
Twelfth Printing, updated June 2001
Thirteenth Printing, updated July 2002
Fourteenth Printing, updated July 2004
Fifteenth Printing, updated July 2008
Sixteenth Printing, updated July 2010
Seventeenth Printing, updated March 2015
Eighteenth Printing, updated March 2023
 1

ACADEMIC REGULATIONS

1. General
The educational programmes of the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani 1.00
(BITS Pilani), hereinafter referred as the Institute are conducted on-campus at any of its
campuses as well as off-campus at various collaborating organisations. The programmes for
which instructions, except Practice School/Thesis/Seminar/ Dissertation, are given on-
campus at Pilani, Dubai, Goa or Hyderabad are classified as “on-campus” programmes. The
“off-campus” programmes are either structured collaborative programmes conducted at
collaborating organisations or are work integrated learning programmes without structured
collaborative programmes. These regulations govern “on-campus” as well as “off-campus
work integrated learning and collaborative” programmes (hereafter referred to as “off-
campus” programmes), unless specifically stated otherwise.
Every academic year shall be divided into two regular semesters known as the first 1.01
semester and the second semester. The maximum number of units, a first degree student
can register is twenty-five, a higher degree student can register is twenty, excluding
deficiency/Audit course(s). [for unit see Section 1.05]. Number of deficiency/Audit
course(s) for a higher degree student may not exceed 2 in a semester. For certain higher
degree programmes the maximum units/semester can slightly differ. For example, a
student of MBA in Business Analytics programme can register twenty one units in a
semester.
The programme of studies leading to a degree consists of prescribed courses 1.02
sequentially distributed over the required number of semesters. Whenever summer
months are used, either for academic or for administrative purposes, recourse is always
to be taken through what is known as Summer Term.
Summer term normally consists of eight weeks, provides for a special accelerated 1.03
pace and requires that the number of courses in which any student is permitted to register
cannot be more than three (subject to availability), provided the total number of units is
not more than 10 unless the semester wise pattern differs. Nevertheless, certain courses
like Practice School II, Thesis/Seminar, and Dissertation in the first and second tiers, and
other courses specifically so mentioned in the Bulletin cannot, by their very nature, be
offered as a single entity in an accelerated pace during the summer term. However, a
student who has already completed his/her entire normal duration of the programme and
is left with only the First Degree Thesis as a backlog and eligible for graduation after the
completion of 9 units of thesis, then he/she may be offered the 9 units thesis during the
summer term as an exceptional case subject to the recommendation of the Departmental
Committee on Academics (DCA) and approval by the Dean, AUGS. Please see Clause
6.16(d) for graduation requirements. Also, refer Clause 7.05 for further details about the
summer term.
While each programme has a normal duration indicated either in the Institute 1.04
Bulletin or prescribed by an appropriate authority, the eligibility for a degree is always
determined on the basis of number of courses and units completed. While the
regulations stipulate certain minimum number of units for each programme, for actual
requirement of any programme the Bulletin/appropriate committee has to be consulted.
The minimum stipulated number of units for various degree programmes are given
below:
 2

B.Sc. (Off Campus programmes) 105

Integrated First Degree 144
Higher Degree
M.E./M.Pharm. 64
M.S./M.P.H. 60
MBA 88
MBA in Business Analytics (On Campus Programme) 76
M.Phil. 50
Ph.D.(Thesis) 40
M.Tech./MBA (Off-Campus Programmes) 64
M.Sc. (Off-Campus Programmes) (for normal input of 3 year
72
Undergraduate degree)
The stipulated minimum number of units for Post Graduate Diploma (Off Campus) 1.04a
is 28 units.
A unit (Academic credits) is a convenient device to anticipate the number of hours 1.05
per week of total effort including the class work of a student, as the system recognises only
the formal contact hours in the class room and laboratory as a means for sustained self-
study. While the structuring of the courses in terms of classroom hours, lab. hours etc. is
done through the timetable each semester/term, the total hours of work for each unit is
approximately three hours per week. In the case of Ph.D. thesis, whatever may be the
number of units for which a student registers, the student has to devote all the available
time for the thesis work. The semester wise programme consists of a prescribed set of
courses described in the Bulletin, adding to a certain total number of units in each semester,
for an anticipated normal progress through the programme. This number is called the
normal load for that semester for that programme. Normal load is a mere reference point
for construction of a programme and would carry no other significance in these
regulations.
The academic objectives of a programme require a proper sequencing of not only 1.06
individual courses but also of a cluster of courses. For each programme, the Semester wise
pattern presented in the Bulletin conveys a sense of what comes first and what comes
later. Nonetheless particular attention is required in respect of local points of monitoring;
namely: (a) prerequisite of an individual course (see 3.13) and (b) the prior preparation
before registering in an individual course or a group of courses (see 3.14 & 3.15).
These regulations demand of the system certain operations which have to take place 1.07
during pendency of a student's progress through the programme. These are: monitoring
the pace of his/her progress (see 5.02), amendment/revision of the original registration in
each semester (see 3.26 & 3.27), registration of students who depart from the normal pace
(see 3.25), etc. These can be done only with reference to a ‘prescribed programme’. The
prescribed programme is defined as the whole series of courses required of students that
unfold as a package of courses in the requisite number of semesters. The prescribed
semester courses are those courses which appear in each of the above unfolding of
successive semesters.
Whenever these regulations and the Bulletin provide for policies, regulations, or 1.08
operations governing the programmes to be worked out, an Academic Governing
Committee (AGC) will work out the same within the broad guidelines given. The
Academic Governing Committee will consist of Dean, Academic-Under Graduate Studies
(AUGS), Dean, Academic- Graduate Studies and Research (AGSR), Dean, Practice
School (PS), Dean, Work Integrated Learning Programmes (WILP), Associate Dean,
AUGS from each campus, Associate Dean, AGSR from each campus and Professor-in-
 3

charge, BITS Entrance Examinations. The Convenorship of the Committee will rotate
amongst these members depending on the item to be discussed. The Committee may form
sub-committees to address specific academic matters either as standing committees or on
an ad-hoc basis. The Committee may also co-opt any other member of the faculty for
discussion on any particular topic. Generally the details to be worked out would be related
to admission with advance standing, admission with marginal deficiency, dual degree
programmes, transfer operations etc.
All academic matters regarding - first degree or higher degree programmes 1.08a
including the curriculum, listing or categorization of courses, pre-requisites of courses,
are to be worked out by the cross-campus Departmental Committee on Academics
(ccDCA) of the respective Department(s). They may approach the Dean AUGS / Dean
AGSR/Dean WILP for approval by the Senate. All other operational matters regarding
a student’s access to certain courses, exemptions/deviation from a student’s prescribed
path to graduation, etc. may be worked out by the Departmental Committee on
Academics (DCA) of the respective Department. To resolve any inter departmental or
institute level issues, the proposal submitted by ccDCA may be referred to Academic
Governing Committee (AGC) through Dean AUGS / Dean AGSR/Dean WILP before
submitting it to the Senate for approval.
A committee known as the Doctoral Counselling Committee (DCC), will look 1.08b
after the academic/operational details and also perform certain specific function in
respect of Ph.D. students. The committee will consist of Dean, AGSR (Convener),
Dean, Sponsored Research and Consulting, Dean, AUGS, Associate Deans AGSR of
each campus, one faculty member from each campus to be nominated by the Senate for
a period of two years.
For the anticipated normal population, the prescribed programme is the semester- 1.09
wise pattern as described in the Bulletin. For various categories of students who use the
flexibilities of the system (see section 7) the prescribed programme is given to him/her
at the time of commencement of the flexibility. For students who are permitted by these
regulations to follow a pace other than normal, appropriate clauses are to be consulted.
It cannot be overemphasized that the sequence of courses, semester after semester, 1.10
should be followed in the order presented in the Bulletin. Whenever it is detected that
this order has been upset and at a certain point of reckoning a backlog of courses (see
3.25) has accumulated, timely correction is imperative in order for the student to quickly
fall into the line of orderly progress in the programme. In the absence of this correction,
the student may suffer from an illusion of progress; He/she might have to pay dearly in
terms of total time spent on his/her programme and the total academic objective of
sequencing might also be permanently vitiated. These regulations, therefore, prescribe
procedures by which making up for the backlog can be done simultaneously with a
controlled forward movement on a course-by-course basis. When the student is unable
to respond to this task and his/her backlog becomes large, he/she comes under the
purview of Academic Counselling Board (ACB) (see 5.03).

*Note: Any reference to Dean, AUGS/AGSR within this document implies that
for operations and policy implementation the Dean will be approached through the
Associate Dean, AUGS/AGSR of the respective campuses.
 4

To operate a system providing certain flexibilities within broad boundary 1.11

limits, these regulations ensure supervision and monitoring at some key points.
One such key point is the beginning of every semester when the student has to go
through the requirement known as the registration procedure to work out his/her
programme for the semester. No student is permitted to attend classes, without
completing the appropriate registration procedure.
Another key point is the end of the semester when the student's performance 1.12
in each course is pronounced in terms of letter grades or non-letter grades or
reports (see 4.11 & 4.12). The letter grades have points associated with them in a
quantified hierarchy, whereas the non-letter grades describe a qualitative hierarchy.
The reports are not to be misconstrued as grades. All such grades and reports and
other pertinent information for a semester are given in a grade sheet (see 4.22).
Chronologically organised information from the grade sheets of a student with the
necessary explanation constitutes his/her transcript which is issued at the time
he/she leaves the Institute or at an intermediate point on request.
The grade sheet also contains the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA). 1.13
It is an overall performance as calculated by the method described in clause 4.21. It
is also used for the declaration of division as per clause 9.04 when the
programme/composite programme is completed.
While registration with the approval of the appropriate authority consistent 1.14
with these regulations is a token of permission to pursue studies, the grade sheet is
a complete record of the outcome of what was intended in the original/amended/
revised registration. The various grades and reports in clauses 4.11 & 4.12 would
be appropriately used to tally the grade sheet with the original/ amended/revised
registration. It would be evident that this tally between what was registered for and
what was obtained in terms of grades and reports will apply to all courses except
for any course which was originally registered for but subsequently replaced by
another course through substitution.
The tally is made on a course-by-course basis at the conclusion of the semester 1.15
to determine which of the courses have been cleared. A course is deemed to have
been cleared if the student obtains a grade in the course. However, mere clearing
of the prescribed courses on a course by course basis is not tantamount to fulfilling
the requirements of graduation, for which see clauses 9.01 and 9.02.
Every registration in a semester in a course must terminate in an outcome 1.16
which is a grade earned or report given. The completion of this linkage is defined
as performance in the course for the semester. In a future performance in a course
that has been already cleared, the status of clearing of the course would be
determined by the latest performance. The consequence of obtaining a grade which
is inadequate to fulfil the prerequisite conditions of a later course should be seen
in clause 3.13. The consequences of the various reports are described in clauses
4.13 to 4.20 with well-defined subsequent courses of action. Thus a course cleared
and subsequently subjected to multiple registration may lose the status of clearing
at a point of reckoning.
These regulations do not stipulate a minimum percentage of attendance before 1.17
a student is permitted to appear in any test/examination. But the Institute being a
fully residential university with internal and continuous evaluation system, these
 5

regulations clearly expect every student to be responsible for regularity of his/her

attendance in class rooms and laboratories, to appear in scheduled tests and
examinations and fulfil all other tasks assigned to him/her in every course. The
system has adequate resilience to accommodate unforeseen situations through
withdrawal, make-up, feedback from examinations and interaction with teachers.
When in spite of all these facilities a student fails to cooperate with the teacher in
the discharge of his/her part of the contract to such an extent that the teacher is
unable to award any grade, the teacher is authorised by these regulations to give a
‘Not Cleared’ (NC) report (see 4.19). The teacher concerned in a course or
associated with a course is defined, for the purpose of these regulations, as
Instructor or Instructor-in-charge (see 4.02).
A student who is duly registered in a semester or has been permitted, after 1.18
registration, to withdraw from the semester or has been given prior permission to
stay away from the Institute for the semester or has been asked to stay away is
considered to be on the rolls of the Institute for that semester. While such a student
retains the nominal advantage of being on the rolls of the Institute the loss of time
from studies and its consequences cannot be helped by the Institute. If for any valid
reason a student is unable to register in a semester, he/she must seek prior
permission from the Dean AUGS* (for on campus first degree programmes) or
Dean AGSR* (for on campus higher degree programmes) or Dean WILP (for off
campus programmes) to drop the semester. If such permission has not been
requested or after a request, the permission has been denied, the student will be
treated under clause 1.21 whereby his/her name would be struck off the rolls of the
Institute.
Any appropriate Board/Committee of the Institute authorised by senate, such as 1.19
Academic Counselling Board (ACB), Examination Committee (EC), Disciplinary
Committee (DC) may require a student to stay away from the Institute for a semester
or more when the authority is satisfied that by doing so the student will improve
his/her overall progress, performance and conduct after he/she comes back.
When a student who has been permitted to stay away from the Institute for a 1.20
semester or more comes back, his/her subsequent programme would be normally
governed by the current academic structure and regulations. He/she cannot, ipso
facto, claim to be governed by his/her earlier academic structure and regulations if in
the meantime these have changed.
When a student fails to register in a semester without any prior permission to 1.21
stay away, his/her name would be struck off the rolls of the Institute and he/she
would no longer be a student of the Institute. His/her case will be automatically
processed and the file will be closed. If, however, such a person, after his/her name
has been struck off the rolls of the Institute, is permitted to come back, his/her case
can be treated as in Clause 1.20 above with the proviso that all his/her previous
records as a former student are revived under the current structure, regulations and
schedule of fees.
These regulations incorporate many unusual flexibilities to allow innovations in 1.22
education, and can accommodate many worthy educational goals. These flexibilities
should, however, not be misconstrued to accommodate highly personalised
ambitions inconsistent with these goals. Although they are available, it should be
 6

understood that they are not for the asking; they are awarded on a competitive basis
and there are always limits to the total quantum of flexibilities.
No application of these regulations will automatically entitle a student to any 1.23
refund of fees except what is validated by the schedule of fees in force from time to
time. On the other hand, certain implementation of these flexibilities may require
additional fees.
The Institute may enter into collaboration with other universities whereby 1.24
students of those universities register courses within the framework of these
regulations according to mutually agreed guidelines. Such students will be known as
External Students. Reciprocally, BITS students may be permitted to register courses
in collaborating universities on a transfer of credit basis.
These regulations will apply uniformly to all on-campus and off-campus 1.25
programmes except where otherwise indicated (see clause 1.00). Some additional
regulations for off-campus programmes are given in Section 10.

2. Some Structural Features

The education at BITS is in three levels, called tiers, the first tier being the 2.01
integrated first degrees, the second being the higher degrees and the third being the
Ph.D. degree. The academic structure in each of these tiers is unfolded by various
components in a semester wise pattern.
First Tier
A reference to the Bulletin will show that various programmes are bunched in 2.02
different Groups. Without going into the details it is necessary to touch upon the
subject to obtain a better understanding of the regulatory process controlled by these
regulations in respect of operation within such Groups and across them.

There may be some restrictions from time to time in terms of flexibilities like 2.03
transfer or dual degree concerning the degree programmes within the groups and
among the groups. This will be notified in the bulletin as per periodic decision of
the Senate. All operational matters concerning this will be controlled by Academic
Governing Committee (AGC).
The various courses prescribed for a programme of study may be categorised 2.04
in terms of their academic affinity or their functional objectives. Depending on the
overall educational goals of programmes, it is possible to have fixed named courses
in a particular category, to have a fixed number of electives; to have a range of
named courses in a particular category, to have a number of electives within a
range. Named courses are those indicated by course number and the course title in
the semester-wise pattern prescribed for a programme.
For first degree students, the named courses include all mandatory courses 2.05
under the General Institutional Requirement and the Discipline-specific Core
courses for the program(s). The Elective courses fall under three categories:
Discipline Electives, Humanities Electives, and Open Electives. Open Electives
enable students to pursue courses that are not part of the discipline requirement nor
 7

part of the Humanities requirement. Normally any elective course will be treated
as an Open Elective once the student’s requirements under Discipline Electives
and Humanities Electives have been accounted for. Open elective requirement of
Dual degree students is met by counting the Discipline electives of one degree as
Open Electives of the other degree. A first degree student may also choose, where
permitted, upto a certain prescribed maximum of his/her elective courses from the
offerings in the second tier (i.e. higher degree), subject to the approval by the DCA
(see clause 1.08(a)) and the prerequisite requirements and clause 3.18 regarding
overpreparedness and underpreparedness. Provided that, if such a student after
graduation is admitted to a higher degree programme his/her total requirement in
the latter cannot ipso facto be reduced. A student may choose his/her Open Elective
courses in a cogent way to meet the requirements of a minor program (see clause
7.37 for minor programs). The Bulletin lists currently available minor programs
and their requirements in detail.
The prior preparation required of a student who intends to choose courses from 2.06
a higher degree programme of the Institute for the fulfillment of his/her elective
requirement(s) are given in clause 3.15.
In a programme all courses outside the elective categories are defined as named 2.07
courses, in view of the fact that they have already been named in the semester-wise
patterns in the Bulletin or have been named by an appointed authority through
subsequent operation on the basis of guidelines given in the Bulletin. The electives
are, on the other hand, selected by the student himself/herself from outside the named
courses in his/her programme. The intended regions where he/she goes for the search
will be designated as host regions. Certain specialised courses described in section
6 do not conform to the pool of courses which can serve as host regions in the elective
category. These courses are named courses for some specific programmes and they
are debarred to other students as electives in the same way as they are debarred to
students who wish to take them on audit (see 7.33).
For each programme the number of electives, under each of the categories (see 2.08
2.05), required to be taken by a student will be prescribed either through the Bulletin
or through an appropriate Committee. Over and above the prescribed number of
electives, a student of an integrated first degree programme will be allowed to take,
on his/her own option, upto a maximum number of four electives. In extraordinary
cases, the number may be increased by the DCA without violating limit mentioned
in 1.01. For the purpose of eligibility for degree(s), a student should get valid grades
in at least the prescribed number of electives – under each of the categories, of his/her
programme(s). Normally, a first degree student above a particular CGPA as
prescribed by AGC will be allowed to register in maximum of one higher degree
course per semester. This will be counted as an open elective unless the course is
listed in the pool of discipline electives for his/her programme.
Once a first degree student is declared to have fulfilled the requirements of 2.09
graduation the student may be permitted to register for at most one additional
semester with the prior permission of his/her Head(s) of Department and Dean,
AUGS. Any first degree student who is interested in pursuing open elective(s) above
the graduation requirements and/or completing a minor program he/she is pursuing
and if that necessitates overstay, he/she should obtain permission from Dean, AUGS
at least one semester before the start of the overstay period. The overstay period can
 8

be at most one semester during which the student must register for at least three new
courses of at least 9 units. In case a student withdraws from one or more of his/her
courses or otherwise is found not to be pursuing his/her courses in all earnestness
Dean, AUGS in concurrence with the student’s Head(s) of Department is authorized
to get him/her graduated and evacuate the student from the campus.
The structure contains a category of courses such as Practice School 2.10
(PS)/Thesis (TS), which attempts a synthesis of earlier courses and gives a glimpse
of the application of these courses. They carry a large number of units and are to
be pursued when students can ensure sufficient time and attention throughout the
allotted period. In particular, the Practice School components are to be pursued
exclusively full time throughout the allotted period. There is no provision for
taking other courses along with a Practice School component course. In case of the
Thesis a student may choose between 9 units worth of Thesis work or 16 units
worth of Thesis work with the concurrence of his/her supervisor. A student
pursuing a 16 units Thesis must pursue it exclusively full time throughout the
allotted period and there is no provision for taking other courses along with it. A
student pursuing a 9 units Thesis may concurrently pursue at most 3 courses
(totaling at most 9 units) and will not be allowed to pursue any other
course/component.
Students may be allowed to register for Thesis course operated at Off-campus
locations by the Departmental Committee on Academics (DCA) recommendation
and approval by the Dean, AUGS. A department may allow students to opt for a
Thesis course operated at Off-campus locations based on the following criteria:
• Students should normally look for reputed universities with well-
established research work in the area of proposed interest by an individual
or a group.
• The topic of the Thesis proposed by the student in consultation with the
supervisor should be broadly relevant to the student's degree and aligned
with research goals of the Institute. However, inter-disciplinary research
may be allowed and even encouraged.
• Credentials of proposed off-campus supervisor and letter of support for the
thesis plans would be reviewed by the department. Financial assistance, full
or partial, from the host university/organization is desirable but not
essential.
• Off-campus Research Organization/Universities which are listed as the
Practice School Stations of BITS- Pilani will be considered for allotment
by AUGSD only after consulting the PS Division. Students from BITS may
not be allowed to work on similar projects in the same department/division
of an industry under PS and TS options.
• If necessary, the department will interact with the concerned students to
evaluate their academic performance and research potential before
permitting them to opt for a Thesis outside the institute.
• The HoD of each department may form a committee of at least two senior
faculty members to ensure that the above is implemented appropriately.
 9

The AUGS division shall issue operational guidelines from time to time, in line
with the overall objectives of the Thesis course.

Second Tier
At the higher degree level, the structure of the programme is classified into 2.11
courses, such as, Research Practice, Technical Communication,
Core/Elective/General/Special Courses, Dissertation, Practice School, Internship,
etc. Registration in Practice School or Internship (only for M.E. Collaborative
programmes) can be done only after all other required courses have been
completed. In the case of Dissertation, while normal registration can be done only
after completion of all other courses, in extraordinary cases, the DCA may allow
registration in Dissertation, spread over various semesters, alongwith other
courses. A student of a higher degree programme can register up to a maximum of
one elective more than those prescribed in a semester. This additional elective can
be from the pool of electives of the concerned degree or named/electives courses
from other disciplines’ with the permission of DCAs – namely the DCA of the
student’s Department and the DCA of the Department offering the course that the
student wants to pursue. The grade obtained in such additional electives will also
be counted towards the CGPA. Each course in the Core Requirement or in the List
of Electives must be a graduate level (5th or 6th level) course or an advanced
under-graduate course (4th level) with the restriction that a student may use at the
most two 4th level courses to meet the requirements in above.
While a defined semester programme exists for M.E. (Collaborative) a case by 2.12
case identification of courses is done in M.Phil. (Applied) programmes. For all other
higher degrees, the semester wise programme is drawn up by the cross-campus DCA
concerned (see 1.08(a)) ensuring distribution of prescribed units into Practice
School/Dissertation/Research Practice/Technical Communication and other courses
including Core/Elective/General/Special courses earmarked for any particular
degree.
Third Tier
The Ph.D. programme is designed for the student to achieve a broad 2.13
competence before research begins. He/she is required to clear certain course work,
if not already cleared, and pass the Qualifying Examination to satisfy the Institute
that his/her spectrum of knowledge is such as to enable him/her to undertake the
demands of interdisciplinary research. Working knowledge of a modern European
language, wherever specified, Teaching Practice, Research Methodology and
specified units of Thesis course and Seminar are significant components of the
Ph.D. programme. The pursuit of research through the Thesis-Seminar course will
continue and terminate in a thesis which meets the standard and requirement of the
comity of scholars. University-Industry linkages that have been fostered over the
years by the Institute have resulted in the Ph.D. programme moving into domains
of up-to-date technology of national relevance, also enabling professionals of
collaborating, associating and sponsoring organisations to pursue Ph.D. research
of the Institute.
 10

3. Registration
It has been described in Section 1 how every student once admitted to the 3.01
Institute must pursue the prescribed programme which consists of a set of courses
in successive semesters. Because of the structural flexibilities in the Bulletin and
the flexibilities inherent in these regulations, the semester courses are not always
predetermined. One of the objectives of the registration process is to name these
courses at the beginning of each semester after allowing for the student's options
and working out the permissible details within the limits prescribed by the rules
and the announced Timetable. The Institute will always be in its right to refuse to
initiate the registration process if a student, without valid reasons or without prior
approval of the concerned Dean, has dues outstanding against him/her or has not
paid his/her semester fees in advance.
Registration is not merely a routine event but it is a process which guides a 3.02
student through the complexities of a flexible system. While these regulations
provide a guidance to a student, registration advisors, the teachers, and the Deans in
terms of all necessary detailed specifications of action, it is to be appreciated that
Associate Dean AUGS/AGSR is in overall charge of the entire process at respective
Campuses. It is in this capacity that he/she should be able to do all that is necessary
and permitted in these regulations to make the registration process always a vital
component and an instrument for furthering the cause of an innovative educational
system.
The registration process for on-campus programmes is controlled by and is 3.03
completed with the prior approval of Dean or Associate Dean AUGS (for first
degree programmes), Dean or Associate Dean AGSR (for higher degree/PhD
programmes) and Dean WILP for off-campus programmes; for the Seminar and
Dissertation courses they are guided by Dean, AGSR and the First Degree Thesis
is guided by Dean AUGS; wherever necessary for PS courses they are guided by
Dean PS; and for Teaching Practice/Practice Lecture Series they are guided by
Dean, AGSR. Dean or Associate Dean, AUGS/AGSR is assisted by a team of
registration advisors who are appointed by him/her.
Registration for the semester programmes for every individual student, whether 3.04
newly admitted or already on rolls, will be at the beginning of each semester on dates
to be announced. Every student is required to register for his/her semester programme
in person and to get his/her registration properly completed at his/her own
responsibility, failing which he/she shall not be permitted to attend any classes or use
any of the facilities of the Institute. The registration must be done at the location
where the student pursuing his/her semester of study.
 11

To meet unusual circumstances, Dean, AUGS/AGSR (for on campus 3.05

programmes) or Dean, WILP (for off campus programmes) is vested with the
discretionary authority to determine whether a late registration can be permitted on a
case by case basis and also to determine whether such a late registration can be done
with or without payment of requisite fine. In case of courses like PS, courses of off-
campus programmes, Thesis, and Dissertation, and courses of all the three tiers when
conducted at off-campus centres, or whenever Dean PS or Dean AUGS/AGSR or
Dean WILP, as the case may be, faces practical difficulty of maintaining proper
coordination between the campus and these centres, they will make suitable
recommendations to Dean, AUGS/AGSR.
Whenever a late registration is contemplated beyond one week of the beginning 3.06
of class work, in all the above cases, the concurrence of Dean, AUGS/AGSR/WILP
should be obtained for making the contemplated late registration possible.
The registration in a semester, when altered at the initiative of a student (see 3.07
3.26) will be called an amended registration. On the other hand, when a registration
already done is altered by other events, it will be called a revised registration (see
3.27). For the purpose of reference the first registration in a semester will be hereafter
referred to as original registration to distinguish it from subsequent amendments or
revisions, if any.
While drawing up the registration programme for the semester and subsequent 3.08
amendments and revisions, if any, the student, registration advisor and Dean,
AUGS/AGSR will pay particular attention to the conditions listed in the clauses as
under:
A. Original Registration: All students (see 3.09 to 3.20)
B. Original Registration: Additional regulations for students departing from
normal (see 3.21 to 3.25).
C. Amendment to Original Registration: All students (see 3.26).
D. Revision of Original/Amended Registration: All students (see 3.27).

A. Original Registration: All students

A student is not permitted to register in a semester if (i) he/she has dues 3.09
outstanding to the Institute, hostel, or any recognised organ of the Institute, or (ii)
his/her grade sheet in his/her immediately preceding semester is withheld, or (iii)
he/she has an ‘Incomplete’ report ‘I’ in his/her grade sheet in his/her immediately
preceding semester or (iv) he/she has been specifically debarred or asked to stay
away from that semester.
Where a ‘Grade Awaited’ (GA) report (see 4.15) appears in his/her grade sheet 3.10
in his/her immediately preceding semester, Dean, AUGS/AGSR/WILP will act in the
matter of registration, according to provisions of Clause 4.16.
Certain exigencies of situations may occur like registration in PS I, etc., where 3.11
the closing of the previous semester and the registration in such a course invariably
has a very thin time gap. In such situations, when the Dean/Associate Dean has
reasonable evidence of good faith on the part of the student that nothing under
Clause 3.09 will prevent registration, the registration in such a course will be
 12

permitted, which will be subject to cancellation without notice if the student is

discovered later on to be suffering from any of the conditions of Clause 3.09.
A student should not without sufficient justification depart from the normal 3.12
semester pattern as applicable in his/her case. The semester-wise pattern of various
programmes and combination of programmes are presented in the Bulletin or would
be made available at the time of admission for cases not available in the Bulletin.
Before a student can register in a course, he/she should have fulfilled the 3.13
prerequisite conditions attached to that this course.
Clause 1.06 has stated that before registering in certain courses or a group of 3.14
courses, a specified prior preparation is required. These requirements are described in
the following table where the second column describes the courses to be cleared by the
student prior to the registration in course or courses given in the first column, the two
columns having a one-to-one correspondence (Read in conjunction with Clause 2.07
for definition of ‘named courses’ and Clause 6.08 for the effect of delay of PS I on
Core Courses.
(a) For first degree students:
(i) PS I for single/dual degree (i) Normally all courses in the
semesters preceding PS I for
his/her programme/composite
programme.
(ii) PSII/TS for single/dual (ii) All named courses of his/her
degree programme/composite
programme including PS I, other
than TS/PS-II.
(iii) For any other prescribed (iii) All named courses in semesters
semester of single/dual and terms preceding this set of
degree courses in his/her programme.
However, in case of (iii) above, the DCA may examine the case of a student
who has not cleared at most two courses out of the prior-preparation package and if
the “not cleared courses” has no direct bearing on the Core courses, a modified
semester wise pattern may be recommended by the DCA so that the student meets
the prior-preparation requirements and is able to register in the prescribed semester
courses. As much as feasible, in the modified semester-wise pattern the backlog
course(s) must be given first. In modified semester-wise pattern, the pre-requisite
conditions must still be fulfilled. However, the finalization of the semester-wise
pattern is subject to availability and other operational constraints on courses and
therefore will be the prerogative of the Dean, AUGS/AGSR.
Clauses 2.09 give the student an opportunity to choose courses to fulfil the 3.15
elective category. In the search for courses the student may go to the general course
pool of the Institute offerings in that semester outside his/her own discipline(s) and
outside the Humanities Electives pool as well. However, before he/she is permitted to
register in any course from the above pool the following conditions have to be
remembered:
(a) General conditions: Prerequisites (see 3.13), overpreparedness &
underpreparedness (see 3.18),
 13

(b) Additional further conditions presented in the second column for the host
regions described in the first column in the following table on a one-to-one
correspondence. (Read in conjunction with clause 2.07 for definition of `host
region' and with clause 3.14 for prior preparation for core courses):
(i) Discipline (Core or Elective) (i) Must have completed the prior-
course of a degree other than preparation of the third year first
student's own degree(s) semester of his/her own
programme.
(ii) Courses of a higher degree of (ii) After clearing first set of his/her
his/her own discipline(s) own Discipline core courses in the
case of single degree. After
clearing the first set of his/her
Discipline core courses of the
corresponding degree in the case of
dual degree. Note that the first set
of Discipline core courses are
prescribed in the second year of the
semester wise pattern of a single
degree student; in the second year
for the first degree and in the third
year for the second degree of a dual
degree student.
However, special vigilance should be exercised by all concerned before 3.16
registration is done.
Further the appearance of any report like NC (see 4.19) or the outcome of a 3.17
course in which a student had registered even after obtaining a grade should be
examined for appropriate actions.
Unless specifically permitted by these regulations (see 3.25II) no student can 3.18
register in a course if He/she is considered to be overprepared or underprepared in
relation to the contents of the course.
The semester programme drawn up finally should be free from any Timetable 3.19
conflict.
If these regulations mandatorily require a registration for a specific course and 3.20
in the meantime the course has ceased to be offered, Dean, AUGS/AGSR/WILP
will name, for this limited purpose, another academically similar course from the
current offerings and assign to it the same units as that of the specific course.
B. Original Registration: Additional regulations for students departing
from normal
The departures from the normal pattern are to be pinpointed and quantified by 3.21
making a tally of courses in what is known as eligibility sheet. The eligibility sheet
of the student is updated at the conclusion of every semester by entering against
each course his/her performance in that course in that semester (grade or report).
This process when carried out every semester gives also the multiple performances,
if any, in a course over the semesters. The courses a student has repeated under
 14

clause 3.25 II or has been required to register again by appropriate authority

would thus be easily identified from the eligibility sheet. Before doing a semester
registration a student is first located in the proper point of reckoning (which is
invariably the beginning of a semester/term in the semester wise pattern of his/her
prescribed programme). For students admitted with advanced standing this
location is done on a notional basis. On the other hand, for students in single
degree, dual degree, students admitted with marginal deficiency, students admitted
in the second semester and students who have gone through one or more transfers,
this is done with reference to the student's date of entry into the Institute. Now, this
semester of operation is designated as current semester for the student. All
courses which appear in the current semester are called prescribed semester
courses, to be denoted by (PSC). Any course appearing before the (PSC) is said to
be a course appearing in the past region. Any course which appears later than the
(PSC) is said to be a higher level course (named course or elective slot). The
identification of (PSC) and the higher level courses, however, is subject to
occasional switching of courses between adjoining semesters as announced by
Dean, AUGS/AGSR through the Timetable.
A student may at his/her own responsibility depart from his/her (PSC) when 3.22
feasible and permissible in these regulations. The pattern and the pace such a
student follows for himself/herself cannot be offered as a modification of his/her
prescribed programme (see 1.07).
A student with an intelligent understanding of the application of these rules 3.23
can make a plan to graduate earlier or later than the time visualized in the Bulletin.
However, any student who departs from the normal pace should in his/her own
interest ensure that he/she remains outside the provisions of the sanctions described
in clause 5.02 and will be well advised to seek guidance from the Registration
Advisors or Dean, AUGS/AGSR to make suitable prior planning, consistent with
predictable information on Timetable constraints, prerequisite requirements, and
other registration procedures, so that his/her overenthusiasm or lack of application
does not cause him/her avoidable disappointment.
A student departs from his/her normal pattern whenever (i) He/she repeats a 3.24
course He/she has already cleared (see 3.25 II), (ii) takes a higher level course
concurrently with his/her current semester courses (see 3.25 III), (iii) accumulates a
backlog (see 3.25 I), (iv) decides to take the electives earlier or later than where they
are located in his/her programme.
The original registration in a semester and its subsequent amendment, if any, 3.25
for such students are subject to additional conditions attached to each item of
departure listed as under :
(i) Clearing the backlog with controlled forward movement (clauses (a) to (g)
in 3.25 I)
(ii) Repeating a course (clauses(h) to (l) in 3.25 II)
(iii) Taking a higher level course (clause (m) in 3.25 III)
(iv) Deciding when to register for electives (clause(n) in 3.25 IV)
 15

But in all cases a student has to first take up the task of 3.25 I before He/she
takes as an additional burden of either 3.25 II, III or IV or a combination thereof.
However, the computation of (BL) and (PSC) is further subject to clause (n) in 3.25
IV.
I. Clearing the backlog with controlled forward movement 3.25 I
(a) Continuing the procedure introduced in clause 3.21, the total backlog for
a student at a point of reckoning will consist of all courses located in the
past region of the semester wise pattern which are identified by the
following steps of operations:
(i) Any course from which the consequences of NC have not yet been
removed by the student;
(ii) Any course in which the student has not yet obtained a grade; and
(iii) Amongst the remaining courses with grades, any course (say,
course No.1) where the latest grade obtained by a student is
inadequate to meet the prerequisite requirements of a later course
(say, course No.2) and the student has yet to register in course No.
2 now (as part of (BL) or part of (PSC) or in future in view of the
fact that course No. 2 suffers from NC or has no grade or has an
inadequate grade for the prerequisite requirements of course No. 3,
for which the student has to register under the same circumstance
described for course No. 2 and so on until the last course of the
prerequisite chain has been accounted for (see 3.13).
The total backlog at the beginning of registration in the current semester taken
as the point of reckoning would be the union of the above three sets (i), (ii) and
(iii) and would be denoted by (BL).
(b) Every student in a semester must first register in his/her backlog courses.
In other words, (BL) is the first charge on his/her registration. Only when
He/she so registers in the full component of (BL) He/she can register in
his/her (PSC). And only when He/she is also registered in the full
component of (PSC) He/she can register in higher level courses/ repeat a
course which He/she has already cleared (see 3.25 II & III). Any
subsequent amendments (withdrawal or substitution) to the original
registration must be done stepwise first on the higher level and repeat
courses. Only when higher level and repeat courses are fully removed any
amendment can be done on the (PSC). Only when the (PSC) have been
fully removed, any amendment can be done on the (BL) courses.
(c) The general rule enunciated at (b) above for (BL) and (PSC) may not be
operable in certain practical situations. The particular course may not be
available in the Timetable in the current semester, the student may not have
met the prerequisite of some courses even if they are available in the
Timetable or the student may have already cleared with adequate grade one
of the courses in the current semester as a higher level course in an earlier
semester. For the purpose of this practical need, the (BL) will be suitably
reduced to the full component of its operative portion called (OBL) and the
(PSC) will be reduced to the full component of its operative portion called
(OPSC).
 16

(d) Recognising that there may be Timetable conflict even within the (OBL)
and also between a course in (OBL) and a course in (OPSC) which is linked
by prerequisite condition with a higher level course, Dean, AUGS/AGSR
is authorised to name in such a combined situation what the full
components of (OBL) and (OPSC) are in which the student must register.
In giving his/her decision the Dean will be guided by the overall
requirement that an attempt to clear up (OBL) may not create a situation
where delay in the above mentioned prerequisite course of the (OPSC)
would generate more backlog in future. Whenever subsequent operations
refer to (OBL) and (OPSC), care has to be exercised to find out whether
these are the full components of the (OBL) and (OPSC) or they are only
effective residues of (OBL), (OPSC) created by the above process.
(e) It should be obvious from the above that if a student merely remains
registered for a part of the (OBL) He/she has no opportunity to register in
any other course in that semester. Similarly, a student who has no (OBL)
to do and remains registered only in a part of (OPSC) cannot take any other
course in that semester. See (d) above for the usage of (OBL) and (OPSC).
(f) Recalling that the purpose of backlog computation was to determine what
controlled forward movement on a course by course basis is possible,
computation of backlog has no meaning where even one course as a
backlog prevents further registration. In such cases, it is the rule regarding
prior preparation which will determine what forward movement is
possible. The requirements of prior preparation for registering in PS/TS for
single or dual degree scheme situations are available in clause 3.14. A
somewhat complicated situation exists in the case of Core Courses for
single or dual degree scheme, where the prior preparation is given in the
same clause for the first registration in the Core Courses: When Core
Courses in a semester coexist with other courses, the backlog computation
and its application will apply to only the courses which coexist with Core
Courses; and for Core Courses the prior preparation clause will operate.
This process determines separately how registration has to be done for
these two portions of the semester courses. Further, once the clause has
been applied to any Core Course for the first time, a subsequent registration
in later semesters in any of the Core Courses will take place as if there was
no distinction between Core Courses and any other course, as far as the
backlog computation is concerned.
(g) It is to be noted that the emphasis on a need to clear up the backlog also
incidentally averts the sanctions of clause 5.02 (iii). When this does not
happen, the sanction clause 5.02 takes over and a student goes under the
purview of ACB as per provisions of clause 5.03. While a student is under
the purview of ACB he/she looses the freedom of operation envisaged in
this section. It is therefore very much in the interest of the student to take
advantage of the fact that backlog removal and a controlled forward
movement are far better than going under the purview of ACB, wherein
even this degree of forward movement is heavily reduced in view of the
burden which He/she places on ACB.
 17

II. Repeating a course 3.25 II

(h) If the Institute facilities permit, a student who is still in the process of
completing the requirements of a degree, may, at his/her own option,
repeat, with a view to improving his/her grade, a course which He/she has
already cleared, provided the course forms part of the current prescribed
programme for the student.
(i) This facility for repeating a course already cleared will automatically cease
to be available to a student when He/she has completed the requirements
of graduation or he/she is just short of graduation by courses like PS and
Thesis-Seminar (in first and second tiers) which cannot be taken
concurrently with any other course.
(j) The Practice School courses, Thesis, Seminar, Internship and other courses
of the M.E. (Collaborative)/M.Phil. (Applied), project courses and other
courses specifically so debarred in the Bulletin cannot, however, be
repeated except when ACB require a student to register again.
(k) Repeating a course is possible only after the full component of (BL) (if
any) and the full component of (PSC) has been registered for in the
semester and continues to be so registered. Any subsequent amendment to
the original registration can be done only according to clause 3.25 I (b)
above. Consult also Clauses 3.25 I(c) & 3.25 I (d) for the operative portions
of (BL) and (PSC).
(l) It would be obvious from (k) above and the general requirement of
progress from semester to semester, that it is not possible to spend an entire
semester exclusively for repetition of courses (see 7.07 for summer term
situation).
III. Taking a higher level course 3.25 III
(m) Registering in a higher level course is possible only after the full
component of (BL), if any, and the full component of (PSC) has been
registered for in the semester and continues to be so registered. Any
subsequent amendment to the original registration can be done only
according to clause 3.25 I (b) above. Consult also Clauses 3.25 I(c) & 3.25
I (d) for the operative portions of (BL) and (PSC).
IV. Deciding when to register for electives 3.25 IV
(n) With a view to planning his/her entire quota of courses under the category
of electives, a student may, at his/her own responsibility, delay or advance
taking the electives with reference to their prescribed appearance in the
semester wise pattern. To ensure this privilege the operation of Clauses
3.25 I, II and III above will be made after the components of electives have
been removed from the packages constituting (PSC) and (BL). It must,
however, be understood that this facility is only for the limited purpose of
registration as envisaged in these clauses and does not affect the
application of any other clause.
 18

3.26
C. Amendment to Original Registration:
Amendments to original registration are invariably initiated by the student
himself/herself and are covered by the conditions listed as under:
(a) Any time within two weeks from the beginning of the semester (or one
week from the beginning of the summer term) a student may request the
Dean, AUGS/AGSR (for on-campus)/Dean WILP (for off-campus) for
Substitution, by another course, of a course in which he/she has already
registered.
(b) If a student desires to withdraw from a course, he/she may submit a formal
application for Withdrawal from the course to Dean, AUGS/AGSR (for
on-campus)/Dean WILP (for off-campus) within ten weeks from the
beginning of the semester (or five weeks from the beginning of the summer
term).
(c) In exceptional circumstances, a student may be permitted by Dean,
AUGS/AGSR (for on-campus)/Dean WILP (for off-campus), to withdraw
from any course(s) or all courses when the Dean is satisfied as to the
genuineness of the extenuating circumstances.
(d) In the above matter of withdrawal within normal time and withdrawal in
exceptional circumstances, Dean, AUGS/AGSR will act on the
recommendation of Dean PS for Practice School courses; of Dean, AGSR
for a student who is registered in Thesis/Seminar/Independent study,
Dissertation, Teaching Practice/Practice Lecture Series course; of Dean
WILP for a student who is registered in any off-campus programme.
(e) No amendments through withdrawal or substitution in the original
registration can be initiated by the student if the net result of this
amendment is to undo the discretionary decision of the Dean concerned at
the time of the original registration in regard to certain courses and their
interdependence like (BL), (PSC), repeat/higher level course (see 3.25
I(d)).
(f) A student who has come under the purview of ACB ceases to have any
initiative in the amendment of his/her original registration. As provided in
Clauses 5.03 and 5.04 ACB determines the courses in which a student must
register during all the semesters in which he/she remains under the purview
of ACB. When any alteration in the original registration is called for it will
be done entirely at the discretion of ACB.
D. Revision of Original/Amended Registration: All Students
The revision of original/amended registration can be caused by concerned 3.27
authority any time during the semester/term as per details listed as under:
(a) If the registration of a student in a course is not found to be in accordance
with these regulations, his/her registration in that course will be
cancelled and the grade obtained, if any, will be rejected.
(b) The registration of a student in a course or complete set of courses in a
semester can be revised through the instrument of RC (see 4.18) by the
concerned authority when He/she is found guilty in cases of unfair means,
 19

breach of discipline, etc., or when He/she persistently and deliberately does

not pay off his/her dues.
(c) Dean AGSR may cause a revision of registration already done to
accommodate entry into the Ph.D. programme (see 8.08 and 8.44) or to
include Ph.D. Thesis registration (see 8.21) or to cancel a Thesis
registration (see 6.23). He/she should, however, ensure that whenever
He/she causes such a revision to be made in respect of courses where a
grade is required at the end of the current semester, He/she allows adequate
time for meaningful grade to emerge.
(d) Dean PS may cause a revision of registration already done by cancellation
of the PS option (see 6.13); Dean WILP by cancellation from the off-
campus programmes and in the special situation provided in clause 4.20(e),
through the instrument RRA/DP. (For symbols DP, RRA, see 4.12).
(e) Dean, AUGS/AGSR may cause a revision of registration already done,
when a student ceases to be on the rolls of the Institute by his/her own
action or by the action of the Institute, by cancelling registration in all
courses (see 4.18).
(f) ACB may cause a revision of registration already done of a student who is
under its purview (see 5.03 & 5.04).
(g) Revision of registration already done may be modified by the concerned
Dean/Associate Dean.
(i) by allowing students to register in additional courses;
(ii) by canceling the registration of a course in which the student has
already registered; when the situation warrants.
(h) If for a student who is already registered, there is a delay for unavoidable
reasons in the announcement of decisions on transfer, dual degree, etc.
the registration will be revised by an appropriate authority to
accommodate these decisions, if necessary.
 20

4. Teaching and Evaluation

The objective of class room education is to awaken the curiosity of the 4.01
student, generate habits of rational thinking in him/her, gear his/her mind to face
the unfamiliar and train him/her to be able to stand on his/her own. While class
room instruction helps the student in the organisation and correlation of facts, in
comprehension of ideas and the creative use of knowledge, the teacher has the
added responsibility to make the student search for knowledge on his/her own and
induce him/her to use the facilities like the library, laboratory and the environment
to optimize his/her learning process. Self-study by the student would therefore, be
an important factor in the planning of teaching and evaluation. The student is
required to cooperate and respond to this challenge. Teaching and evaluation form
a unity of function and operate in a climate of mutual understanding and trust. To
ensure a shared responsibility, the regulations indicate some formal guidance.
Every course whether single section or multi-section is conducted by a member 4.02
of the faculty called instructor-in-charge, with the assistance, where necessary, of the
required number of instructors who will be partners with him/her in meeting the full
academic perceptions and organisational needs of teaching the course and evaluating
the students. Wherever the instructor-in-charge is mentioned in these regulations it
connotes the team of instructors, acting as one entity under his/her captainship.
The instructor or the team of instructors should make a comprehensive plan in 4.03
respect of conducting the course even before the semester begins and in a multi-
section course remain in continuous interaction in order to ensure a smooth operation
of the course. While recognising variations due to personal attitudes and styles, it is
important that these are smoothened out so that the operation and grading in the
different sections in a course, indeed between courses across the Institute; are free
from any seeming arbitrariness.
Within one week of the beginning of classwork, the instructor-in- 4.04
charge/instructor must announce to his/her class/section through a hand-out, the
necessary information in respect of (i) the operations of the course (its pace,
coverage and level of treatment, textbooks and other reading assignments, home
tasks etc.); (ii) various components of evaluation, such as tutorials, laboratory
exercises, home assignment, several quizzes/tests/examinations (announced or
unannounced, open book or closed book), regularity of attendance, etc., (iii) the
frequency, duration, tentative schedule, relative weightage etc. of these various
components; (iv) the broad policy which governs decisions about make-up; (v)
mid-semester grading; (vi) grading procedure (overall basis, review of border line
cases, effect of class average, etc.) and (vii) other matters found desirable and
relevant.
 21

For all structured courses there will be minimum of three components of 4.05
evaluation including one Comprehensive Examination. The different components of
evaluation should be evenly spread out in the semester and would aim to draw out
response from the student in regard to various attributes like spontaneous recall,
ability to apply known concepts, capacity to work on his/her own, competence in
conceptualised arguments, ability to face unknown situations, etc. At least one of the
components (examination) must be comprehensive enough to include the whole
course and will be held at the end of the semester.
At least 20% of the evaluation component must be open book in the form of
written tests or take-home assignments for a first degree course. At least 40% of
evaluation components must be open book in the form of written tests/ take-home
assignments for a higher degree course. A higher degree course should also include
two or more research-oriented activities (Literature Survey, Seminars/ Presentations/
Research Summaries, Design/ Development of processes/ products/ artifacts,
Experimental or Quantitative Analysis of processes/ products/ phenomena, Design
of Experiments, etc.) and include at most 60% of evaluation components in the form
of Tests/Exams.
The components and the instruments of evaluation in certain courses like PS, 4.06
Teaching Practice, Research Practice, Thesis, Seminar, Dissertation and courses of
off-campus programmes follow a different regimen and methodology. Details in
respect of most of them are presented in section 6.
It shall be the responsibility of the individual student to be in attendance in all 4.07
classes and to take prescribed quizzes, tests, examinations and to submit properly and
promptly all homework. Any student who misses any component of evaluation must
immediately approach the instructor-in-charge so that the instructor-in-charge, if
He/she is satisfied as to the bonafide of the request, may arrange as soon as possible
a make-up approximating as closely as possible the circumstances of the component
of evaluation which the student missed. If, on a rare occasion, a student anticipates a
genuine difficulty of meeting the date of the component of evaluation, He/she would
do well to take his/her instructor-in-charge into confidence prior to the event. The
decision of the instructor-in-charge in all matters of make-up shall be final.
Just as evaluation is done in a continuous manner, feedback should also be 4.08
available in a continuous manner. Thus the answerscripts must be promptly
evaluated, shown to the students for them to obtain any clarification on their own
performance and returned to the students whenever practicable. The performance of
the students in the examination should be discussed in the class giving as much detail
as possible like the highest, lowest and average performances.
At the conclusion of the semester a student is awarded a grade in each of the 4.09
courses He/she has taken during this period. The grade awarded to a student in a
course will depend on his/her total performance in all the components of evaluation
as designed by the instructor-in-charge. Apart from grades the instructor-in-charge
also reports by suitable words, certain events/facts and these reports should not be
misconstrued as grades (see 4.11 & 4.12).
 22

The instructor-in-charge is responsible for holding the examinations, 4.10

awarding final grades and transmitting the grades/reports to Dean,
AUGS/AGSR/WILP within the deadline set by him/her. This deadline is set in
consistence with clause 4.25.

The list of letter and non-letter grades, their applicability and connotation are 4.11
given below:

(a) Letter Grades

Qualitative Grade Point
Where Applicable Letter
meaning attached
(All courses other than those A Excellent 10
specified in (b) below)
A- Very Good 9
B Good 8
B- Above Average 7
C Fair/Average 6
C- Below Average 5
D Poor 4
E Exposed 2
(b) Non-letter Grades

Seminar/Independent Study Good

Poor
Teaching Practice/Practice Lecture series Above
Average
Average
Below
Average
Internship (of M.E. Collaborative only) Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Average
Poor
Dissertation/Project Work/Project/Design Project/ Excellent
Capstone Project (for off-campus only) Good
Fair
Poor

Courses taken on Audit; Interim grade for Ph.D. Thesis Satisfactory

Unsatisfactory
Final grade for Ph.D. Thesis Acceptable
 23

Unacceptable
A one-time provision in view of the COVID-19 pandemic CLR*
crisis.
*Note: Non-Letter Grade ‘CLR’ indicates that the course is
cleared to fulfill graduation requirements. As this is a non-
letter grade it will not affect CGPA and was awarded on
meeting the minimum criteria set for clearing the said
course (i.e. even though some components are missed by
the student, the overall performance was good in other
evaluated components). This provision came into force
during academic year 2020-21.
The various reports listed below are elaborated in the subsequent clauses as 4.12
specified below:
(i) Incomplete ‘I’ described in clauses 4.13 & 4.14;

(ii) Grade Awaited (GA) described in clauses 4.15 & 4.16;

(iii) Withdrawn (W) described in clause 4.17;

(iv) Registration Cancelled (RC), Required to Register Again (RRA) and

Discontinued from the Programme (DP), all described in clause 4.18;
and

(v) Not Cleared (NC) described in clauses 4.19 & 4.20.

(vi) Thesis Grade Awaited (TGA) described in clause 4.15a.

(vii) Allowed to Continue (AC) described in clause 4.15b.

If the instructor-in-charge finds a student to have not fulfilled some of the 4.13
requirements of a course before the final deadline for transmitting the grade, and
he/she is satisfied that he/she is able to transmit some grade or a report with or without
this particular fulfillment, but at his/her discretion wishes to give the student an
opportunity, he/she may, within the deadline, send a report ‘I’ (Incomplete) and also
inform the student of the same. It shall be the responsibility of the student to contact
the instructor-in-charge in time for the replacement of the `I' report within two weeks
after the end of the semester (and within one week after the end of the summer term,
for a summer term course) which may be relaxed by Dean, AUGS/AGSR for on-
campus programmes and by Dean WILP for off-campus programmes, failing which
the instructor-in-charge will communicate whatever grade/report is possible for the
situation. Whenever such relaxation is made, Dean, AUGS/AGSR/Dean WILP will
specify at his/her discretion, with the consent of the instructor-in-charge, the date by
which `I' report has to be converted.
The requirements envisaged in clause 4.13 must be completed within the time 4.14
allowed by Associate Dean, AUGS/AGSR/Dean, WILP. If the extra time given
goes beyond the registration in the next semester/term (see 3.04) no registration in
the next semester/ term is possible and the student should seek permission to stay
 24

away as per clause 1.18. In the event either the instructor-in-charge or Dean,
AUGS/AGSR/WILP rejects the request for the extra time, the provisions of
clause 4.13 will operate.
There are many situations where operational and practical difficulties may cause 4.15
a delay in the communication of a grade. Certain situations which are visualised in
this connection are: (i) where a case of unfair means is pending; (ii) where a case of
indiscipline is pending; and (iii) where the courses are being conducted at an off-
campus centre for PS students, for off-campus students or for Ph.D. students and
where precise coordination between the Institute and these centres may not work in
a timely manner. In these circumstances, the Dean concerned (Dean, AUGS/AGSR
for (i), Associate Dean Students' Welfare for (ii), and Dean PS/Dean WILP for (iii))
may make a specific authorization for the instructor-in-charge to report GA (Grade
Awaited). The Dean concerned above will also simultaneously advise Dean,
AUGS/AGSR the estimated time by which the grades will be received.
Where a Ph.D. Thesis has been submitted and the final evaluation is pending, 4.15a
the Dean, AGSR/Dean WILP will report TGA as part of evaluation for thesis
submitted for PhD students.
For evaluation of Dissertation course, in case the Dissertation course is 4.15b
offered in split form in more than one semester, with the prior approval of the
concerned Dean, student may be given, in semesters other than the final one, an
interim report ‘AC’ (allowed to continue) when the teacher feels that there is
satisfactory progress and the student will be allowed to continue the dissertation
for the remaining units in the subsequent semesters. For operational purpose the
report AC will be same as I or GA. When the final grade in dissertation emerges,
it will replace AC report in the previous semesters. However, where the student
has not done any work the award of NC will continue to remain. Furthermore this
does not apply for the case of Dissertation of extended duration (see 6.16b) wherein
the student must be registered in a different(ly numbered) Dissertation course in
each of the semesters involved. In the latter case, a valid grade must be awarded
for that Dissertation course at the end of each semester.
Whenever the report GA appears in the grade sheet, permission for further 4.16
registration of such a student will be acted upon by the Dean, AUGS/AGSR on the
recommendation of the concerned authority (see 4.15).
Whenever a student is allowed to withdraw from a course, the same is 4.17
recorded in his/her grade sheet as W (Withdrawn). Whenever a semester
performance in a course is reported as W, for all operations of these regulations
which are dependent on performance the W will be ignored; this means one should
go backward to the previous performance, if any, which takes over and this process
must be repeated until one reaches a performance which cannot be ignored.
Where a student's registration for a course has to be cancelled this fact will be 4.18
reported in his/her grade sheet as RC (Registration Cancelled); however, since an RC
by itself may have many meanings, this reporting is subject to the following. If it is
clearly known that the student will be required to register again in the same course it
will be reported as RRA (Required to Register Again). If the RC amounts to
discontinuation from the programme or the programme option it will be reported as
DP (Discontinued from the programme), (see also 6.13, 6.23 & 4.20 (e)). If the
 25

cancellation of registration is not reported either as RRA or as DP but is reported as

RC, it does not necessarily mean that it is free from any constraint. The meaning of
the constraint has to be constructed from the context in which RC was reported. An
innocuous RC has to be ignored for all purposes of registration and operations of
these regulations which are dependent on performance. This means that one should
go backwards to a performance which cannot be ignored, as described in clause 4.17
for W.
Where a student continued to remain registered in a course but gave the 4.19
instructor inadequate opportunity to evaluate him/her by absenting
himself/herself from quizzes/ tests/ examinations/other components of
evaluation, or by appearing in the same for the sake of appearance without
applying himself/herself to the task in hand or by submitting a blank script
(answer book) this event will be reported as NC (Not Cleared) (also see 1.17).
The student so reported would have to register again in the same course as per
Clause 4.20 as soon as necessary. In the case of courses like
Thesis/Seminar/Dissertation etc. where the evaluation may not be arrived at
through such formalised structures as quizzes/tests/examinations the periodic
task given by the supervisor or the instructor would be the basis to determine
whether a student is cooperating with him/her for him/her to arrive at a grade
in any semester/term as provided in these regulations. For consequence of NC
report in Thesis/Seminar/Dissertation/Practice School see clause 4.20 (d) &
(e).
Whenever a student gets an NC report in a course irrespective of whether He/she 4.20
has a grade in the course or not earlier to this event the following will govern further
action. It is to be noted that an NC cannot be ignored, except under the situations
described in (b) and (c) below:
(a) Whenever a student gets an NC report in a course which is in the
compulsory package of his/her programme He/she is required to again
register in the same course and get a valid grade therein.
(b) If a student has an NC report in a course taken as elective, He/she can either
repeat the course to get a valid grade or ignore it to choose another course
(subject to a maximum limit as per clause 2.08). However, a student must
get valid grades in atleast the prescribed number of electives in his/her
programme.
(c) Whenever a student's record has an NC in a course which remains
unaccounted after a process of transfer has been completed (see 7.19), it
will not be possible for him/her to wipe out the NC report in such a course
because this course is not a part of his/her programme anymore; and he/she
can graduate with this NC.
(d) If a student is reported NC in Thesis or Seminar or Dissertation, he/she will
be required to register in the same for one more semester. Operationally
this is to be achieved by requiring him/her to register once again in as many
units of Thesis or Seminar or Dissertation in which he/she was registered
when he/she was reported NC.
(e) It is to be clarified that there cannot be an NC report in the PS courses,
M.E. (Collaborative)/ M.Phil. (Applied) courses and some other courses.
 26

Clearly it would amount to a breach of professional conduct required in

Clauses 6.13 & 10.18 and tentative possibility of NC report would be
converted into DP and discontinuation from these programmes will take
place as provided in these clauses. However when Dean PS/Dean WILP is
satisfied that the tentative proposal of NC does not amount to invocation
of this clause, he/she will cause registration in these courses to be revised
by reporting RRA and thus requiring the student to register again in the
same.
(f) If a student is reported NC in a project type course, it will be administratively
converted to RC by Dean, AUGS/AGSR and future registration in project
courses will be done only if the Dean, AUGS/AGSR is satisfied with the
genuineness of the candidate's interest in the course.
The Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) will be used to describe the 4.21
overall performance of a student in all courses in which He/she is awarded letter
grades, since his/her entry into the Institute upto and including the latest
semester/term as per the procedure given in this clause. It is also used for the
declaration of division when the programme is completed. It is the weighted average
of the grade points of all the letter grades received by the student from his/her entry
into the Institute and is computed as follows:

u 1 g 1 + u 2 g 2 + u 3 g 3 +.....+ u n g n
CGPA =
u 1 + u 2 + u 3 +.....+ u n

where u1, u2, u3, … un denote units associated with the courses taken by the student
and g1, g2, g3 … gn denote grade points of the letter grades awarded in the respective
courses. Since multiple performance in a course in which the student has already
received a grade is possible, whenever through such a process a new grade is
obtained, it will replace the earlier one in the calculation of CGPA. On the other hand,
if through this process merely a report emerges, this event by itself will not alter the
CGPA. A first degree student pursuing a minor program will be awarded an
additional CGPA specifically for the minor program. This will not affect the inclusion
of the grades of the courses related to the minor program in the calculation of the
CGPA for the student in the degree program(s) He/she is enrolled in.
A student's grades, reports, CGPA, etc. at the end of every semester/term will 4.22
be recorded on a grade sheet, a copy of which will be issued to him/her (see 1.12).
The grade sheet will be withheld when a student has not paid his/her dues or when
there is a pending case of breach of discipline or a case of unfair means against
him/her.
The instructor-in-charge is also responsible for maintaining the full records of 4.23
each student's attendance, performance in different components of evaluation,
section/ class average, mid-semester grading, copies of question papers, and any
record of evaluation that were not returned to the students. Such records should be
maintained for at least two semesters after completion of the course. The instructor-
in-charge is also required to submit to Dean, AUGS (if courses are offered for first
degree programmes) or Dean, AGSR (if courses are offered for higher degree
programmes) for permanent record in the Institute a requisite number of copies of all
 27

question papers and all hand-outs (see 4.04) given to the students. By the same token,
the convener of the respective DRC will forward to the Dean, AGSR the question
papers of the Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations together with connected course content
given to the students. If scrutiny or statistical analysis becomes necessary the above
records and any other pertinent information should be made available by the
instructor-in-charge of the course.
In a flexible system designed to give the responsibility to the student and which 4.24
authorises certain Deans/Associate Deans to monitor this system, it is not practical to
write rules as to how the individual teacher should play his/her own role. The
teacher's role must always remain active. It is only he/she who can detect incipient
problems and identify great promise. Moreover, there are several courses like Thesis,
Seminar, etc. where the structuring of the operation is open-ended. Whenever found
necessary, individual teachers may send their recommendations to the appropriate
Dean/Associate Dean suggesting changes as provided by these regulations in the
registration of a student.
The content and contours of certain courses like PS, Thesis, Seminar, and 4.25
Dissertation not only attempt an institute-wide meaning but they are also conducted
and pursued in various PS stations and off-campus centres of BITS as well as outside
these. In order to achieve the unusual educational thrust as well as maintain PS
interfacing with the world outside the campus, these regulations provide that Dean
PS will be the instructor-in-charge for all PS courses and Dean WILP for all M.E.
(Collaborative)/M.Phil. (Applied)/off-campus programmes. Associate Dean AUGS
of respective Campuses will be the instructor-in-charge for First Degree Thesis
whereas Associate Dean AGSR of respective Campuses will be the instructor-in-
charge of Dissertation, Seminar, Independent Study, and Dissertation courses. By
the same approach, Associate Dean, AGSR is named the instructor-in-charge of all
Teaching Practice, Practice Lecture Series, Reading Course, Study in Advanced
Topics, Research Practice, Research Methodology I and Research Methodology II
courses which are conceived and operated in such a way that the student gets a
practical experience in the art of teaching and communication.
Associate Dean, AUGS/AGSR of respective Campuses has the responsibility 4.26
for the offering of appropriate courses in a semester, for scheduling of examinations,
and for an overall monitoring to ensure the effective fulfillment of the contract
envisaged in these regulations between the teacher and the taught in each course.
Associate Dean, AUGS/AGSR, has further, the discretionary authority to devise
acceptable procedures for obtaining a feedback from teachers as well as students
about the status and progress of a course.
To ensure proper and full coverage of the syllabus, the date of late registration 4.27
of a student as well as the date of departure of a Ph.D. student before the completion
of the semester, even when permissible under these regulations, would have to be
fixed with the prior concurrence of Dean, AUGS/AGSR.

5. Minimum Academic Requirements

The educational philosophy of the Institute interlinks and at the same time 5.01
distinguishes between the performance of a student in a single course and his/her
overall cumulative performance. Accordingly, the expected minimum academic
 28

requirements for the integrated first degree programmes and the higher degree
programmes are described in clause 5.02 of this section. The corresponding
requirements for the Ph.D. programme are to be inferred from the clause 8.35.
While the Doctoral Counselling Committee (DCC) deals with the defaulting
students in the third tier (see clause 8.38), students in the first two tiers are placed
under the direct academic supervision, control and tutelage of the Academic
Counselling Board (ACB), consisting of Associate Dean, AUGS (Chairman),
Associate Dean, AGSR, Associate Dean, Student Welfare, two faculty members
and two students nominated by the Senate. The ACB takes immediate charge of
such a student and requires him/her to follow a specific path so that he/she could
be rehabilitated at the earliest. Failing the efforts that are described in the
succeeding Clauses of this section, the student would be required by ACB to leave
the Institute. It should be understood that ACB which has, over the years,
developed various internal procedures and techniques to achieve the objective of
steering the student out of ACB, is not necessarily bound by the procedures of the
past and would continue to innovate in order to maintain academic standards of the
Institute and arrive at a quickest method by which the student either meets its
rigours or leaves the Institute.
At the end of every semester/term the following minimum academic standards 5.02
have to be achieved by the students in various programmes:
(i) A student should not have secured more than one ‘E’ grade in the case of
integrated first degree/first level diploma and any ‘E’ grade in the case of
higher degree/higher level diploma, in that semester.
(ii) A student should have CGPA of at least 4.50 in the case of integrated first
degree/first level diploma and at least 5.50 in the case of higher
degree/higher level diploma.
(iii) A student should have at least cleared as per his/her latest performance,
such courses (counted from the point of his/her entry into the Institute) as
are prescribed for a period that corresponds to two-thirds of the number of
semesters spent by him/her since his/her entry into the Institute with
reference to his/her current programme. This means that at any stage of
reckoning the student should not have spent more than 50% extra time than
what is prescribed for him upto that stage.
(iv) While a minor program is optional for a student and a student who is
admitted to a minor program may graduate without completing the same,
the completion of a minor program requires the student to maintain a
minimum CGPA of 4.5 in the courses applied to the minor.
The requirements (i), (ii) & (iii) of clause 5.02 above are minimum 5.03
requirements that every student should meet at the end of every semester. Failure
to meet even one of these requirements is called ‘an affliction’. One or more of
these afflictions will automatically bring him under the purview of ACB or a
designated authority. During the pendency of this purview, the student will lose all
his/her options in regard to the various features permitted during the process of
registration, namely, option of naming courses, choice of courses under electives,
repetition of courses, taking a higher level course, a departure from the normal,
etc.; and will also lose all his/her options for an amendment to his/her original
 29

registration namely, substitution and withdrawal. However, ACB will be fully in

its rights to revise the original registration at any time during the semester. Indeed,
his/her entire semester courses will be determined by ACB and will have to be
followed to the satisfaction of ACB. If his/her performance in the course package
prescribed by ACB in each semester suffers from NC report or lacks the efforts to
remove the affliction(s) of clause 5.02 for which He/she came under the purview
of ACB, it would be construed that He/she is not working to the satisfaction of
ACB. It should be his/her single minded objective to fulfil the requirements of
clause 5.08 thus enabling himself/herself to go outside the purview of ACB.
(a) Recognising that the student comes under the purview of ACB on account 5.04
of one or more afflictions of clause 5.02, ACB is charged with the
responsibility to steer him/her out of ACB. The minimum conditions for
this will be fulfilled whenever application of clause 5.02 shows in a future
semester that the student no longer suffers from any of the disabling
conditions of clause 5.02. This however, will be the minimum
requirement. ACB may prescribe more than the minimum requirement as
permitted in clause 5.08 (also see 5.04(c) below). It is obvious that ACB
will be burdened with cases which may not only combine all the three
disabling conditions of clause 5.02, but also be burdened with heavy
backlog. Thus, ACB will have to prepare tailor-made remedies for each
case or a set of similar cases. It is to be clarified that ACB creates no new
regulations nor prescribes special PSC. ACB still functions within the
broad confines of these regulations and for registration of a student in each
semester during the pendency of the student's purview under ACB, draws
its general authority from section 3 with special guidance from
clauses 3.25 I, II and III. To act with promptness and to meet certain
specific minimum goals, ACB is freed from the restriction of following the
sequence and the special tags attached to courses in clause 3.25. In this
context, therefore, the familiar terminology such as backlog, higher level
courses, repetition of courses, under-loading or over-loading, etc. will lose
their usual meanings.
(b) ACB will estimate the degree by which a student falls short of the
minimum academic requirements of clause 5.02, will draw a time frame
(i.e. number of semesters), determine a package of courses for his/her
registration in each of the semesters and a specific task to be fulfilled in
each semester within the time frame and lay down necessary stipulations.
If it so happens that a summer course becomes available ACB will also
have the power to require a student to register during the summer term to
ease the pressure partially.
(c) While the minimum academic standard as per clause 5.02 is monitored at
the end of each semester, the requirement of graduation as enunciated in
clause 9.01 monitors an up-to-date integrated performance from the
beginning, and it is possible for a particular student to seemingly fulfil
clause 9.01 but have failed to meet the requirements of clause 5.02 (i) at
the end of a particular semester and thus come under the purview of ACB.
ACB is authorised to review the entire history of the academic record of
such a student and either declare him/her immediately out of its purview
 30

to facilitate operation of clause 9.01 and clause 9.03 or retain him/her

further under its purview.
(d) Since the only objective of ACB is to steer the student out of ACB, neither
the student's sojourn in ACB nor the responsibility of ACB towards the
student can be confused with any other ambition on either side.
(e) Whenever a student falls into the habit of going in and out of ACB at
frequent intervals or when a student has given an evidence of perpetual
misadventure, ACB will keep him/her under its purview, if necessary, for
even a longer time than it would otherwise keep him/her.
(f) For each student under its purview ACB will pronounce the number of
semesters within which afflictions are to be removed and additional
requirements, if any, are to be fulfilled; name the courses that He/she has
to take in each semester to the extent it is possible to do so ahead of time;
and lay down necessary stipulations for achieving intermediate targets
after each semester. When once the specific tasks have been so spelt out,
the student should fulfil these to the satisfaction of ACB. ACB will assess
at the end of each semester the student's progress towards the twin
objectives of overcoming the affliction of clause 5.02 which brought
him/her into ACB and at the same time not falling into other disabling
provisions of clause 5.02. ACB will also measure the extent to which the
student is making progress towards the ultimate goal. If it is discovered
that the student is not reaching the intermediate targets set for him/her even
at the end of the first semester under the purview of ACB, ACB is
authorised to completely jettison the earlier declared plan of action,
reassess the situation and give only one more semester as a final semester.
At the end of this semester either He/she should come through and re-
establish his/her credibility or, in the alternate situation of his/her
remaining unresponsive, He/she will be required by ACB to leave the
Institute.
(g) ACB may propose entirely at its own discretion as an alternative to leaving
the Institute, a transfer to a programme which is less exacting and which is
less sought after; provided ACB has, before making the offer, obtained a
prior concurrence, through timely action, of the appropriate authority who
decides on all transfer cases, consistent with conditions attached to each
request for transfer.
(h) ACB cannot be used as a parking place by the student either to stagnate or
to postpone the inevitable. The best use a student can make of ACB is to
follow its instructions implicitly to rehabilitate himself/herself in his/her
own programme, failing which seek a berth in a programme with which
he/she can cope or leave the institute before any further loss of time. In any
case, while He/she is in ACB he/she has simultaneously to remove his/her
backlog, overcome the afflictions of clause 5.02 and still move forward as
stipulated in these regulations, through a combination of operations as
instructed by ACB. All instructions of ACB must be taken as conditions to
continue in the Institute in order to fulfil the task within the semesters
assigned for the purpose. ACB will be under no obligation to either lay
 31

down any probationary condition or to obtain a written guarantee. Every

instruction, stipulation and condition laid down from the first day would
be binding.
ACB consistent with the basic principles of these regulations and policies 5.05
enunciated in clauses 5.01 to 5.04 can devise internal procedures of its own; but in
the overall interest of the student and academic standards of the Institute, ACB will
have to come to concrete decisions without undue loss of time or without a prior
obligation to go through a sequence of steps. In order to meet these objectives ACB
may use the instruments of revision of registration, if and when required, even
sometimes after the grades are awarded.
If however the student is not responsive to the efforts of ACB, ACB is 5.06
authorised to require the student to discontinue from the Institute.
To be effective, ACB will need the necessary time in order to establish proper 5.07
coordinates with the student and his/her teachers. Therefore, the mere fact that
ACB has not been able to counsel or act before the date of registration does not
preclude it from intervening after registration.
Once a student has been placed under the purview of ACB, He/she would 5.08
continue to be under its direct guidance until ACB, after being satisfied with his/her
overall progress and performance, declares him/her to be outside its purview.
All decisions of ACB shall be final. 5.09
As far as the minimum academic requirements of the Ph.D. programmes are 5.10
concerned, refer to clause 8.35.
As far as the minimum required academic standard and the academic monitoring 5.11
of students of Off-campus, Work Integrated Learning and Collaborative Programmes
are concerned, refer also to clauses 10.24 and 10.25.

6. Some Special Courses and Programmes

To capture a special educational flavour and goals of the various programmes 6.01
the structures provide for certain courses which must be pursued only after certain
academic base has been achieved. To ensure these objectives, the registration and
operation of these courses are to be specially regulated. While the features, of these
regulatory procedures are described in the following Clauses, it is to be noted at
this stage that these courses and programmes have not only been a hallmark of the
Institute’s innovative thrust but they diligently span the campus and the
professional world. Therefore, apart from the routine operation, even though
unusual, a theme and vision have to be continuously nurtured and expanded to meet
this unusual challenge and responsibility. Dean PS is overall in-charge for Practice
School courses and will cause all that has to be done within the framework of these
regulations to sustain and move further in these tasks. Dean WILP is in-charge of
all off-campus Programmes (see section 10 for details). Similarly, Dean/Associate
Dean AGSR who is in-charge of Thesis-Seminar, Dissertation will make all efforts
to move into mission-oriented interdisciplinary research of national relevance
conducted in the campus as well as outside the campus and take all necessary steps
to give meaning and shape to the Institute's vision.
 32

(a) Practice School Courses

PS and TS are alternative options available in the integrated first degree 6.02
programmes and PS and dissertation are alternative options in the higher degree
programmes. The PS option of integrated first degree programmes consists of two
courses PS I and PS II. These courses form a controlled simulation of the real life
whereby the circumstance of a link with environment is created. They require that
students undergo the rigour of the professional world in form as well as substance,
thus providing them an opportunity to apply their class-room knowledge to live
situations.
In all PS courses also the concept of continuous evaluation enunciated in clause 6.03
4.05 will be followed. Since the educational processes in the PS courses seek out and
focus attention on many latent attributes which do not surface in the normal class-
room situation, the process of evaluation in the PS courses should be designed with
care so that information on a continuous basis on the following attributes becomes
available: intellectual ability; team work; leadership; initiative; personality;
professional judgment; common sense; problem solving ability; sense of
responsibility; decision making ability; art of guestimation; punctuality; ability to
meet deadlines; ability to communicate through oral and written presentations; etc.
Each student will also be given at the time of graduation a Practice School 6.04
Transcript which contains, among other things, a rating sheet summarising the
assessment of the student's professional personality obtained by the above process by
the PS faculty resident at the practice station.
PS I can be taken by a student of first degree programme normally after prior 6.05
preparation visualised in the Bulletin. PS II, however, can be taken by such a student
only after all named courses (including PS I) of the programme have been cleared.
Regarding the prior preparation for PS I and PS II in the dual degree schemes, and
PS for higher degree programmes see clause 3.14.
While registering for any PS course no student can simultaneously register in 6.06
any other course.
The normal duration of PS-I is about 8 weeks and PS-II (or PS for HD students) 6.06a
is about 22 weeks. Since the duration of each of these PS components is closely
intertwined with various practical difficulties including the dynamics of the business
in the practice school stations, the actual duration, starting and ending dates are
worked out within the above broad guidelines taking all aspects into account in each
academic year. To accommodate these durations of the practice school components,
a substantial portion of the summer term of the academic year is utilized along with
the semester time. Hence, it is the responsibility of the students with PS option to
make himself/herself available for PS-I/PS-II strictly as per the starting and ending
dates prescribed in the calendar for each academic year, failing which he/she may be
moved out of the PS option. The decision of the Dean PS is final in this matter.
Dean PS has the authority to assign PS courses appropriate term/semesters at 6.07
various PS stations. Even when He/she asks for options and choices from the students
his/her decision in these matters shall be final.
In view of many practical difficulties Dean PS is further authorised to 6.08
advance/delay PS I by one year just as he/she has the authority to advance/delay
 33

PS II by one semester as seen from the point of view of a particular student. But
acting within his/her authority Dean PS will have to take note of the fact that a
specific prior preparation for the Core Courses is prescribed for PS option which
includes PS I. Thus when he/she delays PS I, he/she may have to simultaneously
authorise that the counting of the prior preparation in the case of Core Courses in
such a case would not include PS I. Likewise, to accommodate admission with
advanced standing with PS option or a late transfer into the PS option, Dean PS
may have to give the same dispensation. If delay of PSI/PSII occurs due to student's
own inability to follow up on the allotment because of illness or any such genuine
reason then, while the same dispensation as above can be given by the Dean PS,
He/she may also take this case separately, if the situation so warrants, in the further
allotment procedure.
If a student disregards the allotment of any PS course at the time made by Dean 6.09
PS for him/her, He/she may forfeit the PS option entirely. The consequential effect
of such an event will be to seek transfer to Thesis/Dissertation option as the case may
be.
In view of the preponderance of the PS option, all students admitted to the 6.10
various integrated first degree and higher degree programmes may be allotted to this
option. Any student of the integrated first degree, however, is free to move out of this
option and seek, from Dean PS, a transfer to the Thesis option before he/she is allotted
a seat in PS I. If a higher degree student wants to move out of the PS option, he/she
should seek the transfer no later than the completion of the first semester of his/her
degree programme, through Dean PS. Once Dean PS gives his/her permission, the
case will be referred to Dean/Associate Dean, AUGS (first degree case) or
Dean/Associate Dean AGSR (higher degree case) for transfer to the
Thesis/Dissertation option. The usual rules of transfer will operate (see section 7(d)).
The decision of Dean PS in this matter will be final.
If a student wants to move out of the PS option after attending PS I, He/she 6.11
should seek the transfer not later than the completion of one semester after PS I,
through Dean PS. After the above date, it would normally not be possible for a student
to seek such a transfer except where Dean PS agrees to the transfer in view of
extenuating circumstances.
A student who has once opted out of the PS option should not expect automatic 6.12
permission to get back to the PS option at a later stage unless He/she satisfies Dean
PS that these actions of opting out and seeking to opt in are based on bonafide
reasons.
Since the PS programme interfaces with the world outside the campus and is 6.13
heavily committed, whenever the progress of a student in any PS course is found
unsatisfactory and his/her conduct unworthy of the professional world, He/she may
be required to discontinue from his/her programme with PS option without any
reasons being assigned. However, He/she will be free to seek a transfer to the Thesis/
Dissertation option as soon as possible. His/her current registration will be cancelled
and the grade sheet will show DP (see 4.20 (e)).
A dual degree student who is required to discontinue from a PS course at 6.14
anytime will thereafter have to complete his/her degree(s) with thesis option only
after taking necessary actions for his/her transfer to the thesis option.
 34

(b) Thesis-Seminar, Dissertation, Project Work, Project, Design Project

Before registration in Thesis a student must complete the prior preparation 6.15
which differs from tier to tier. In the first tier a single degree student must have
cleared all named compulsory courses – this will include all named courses in
General Institutional Requirement and all Discipline Core courses. Regarding the
registration in Thesis for students in the dual degree schemes see clause 3.14. In the
second tier a student should normally have cleared all other courses before He/she
registers in Dissertation. In the third tier He/she should have completed the
requirement of clause 8.13.
(a) A Ph.D. student registering in Thesis cannot be simultaneously registered in 6.16
any other course; this rule will apply even when a student is registered in the
Thesis course or the Seminar course in the decoupled situation of clause 6.17.
Exceptions to this rule are the courses mentioned in clauses 8.08& 8.10,
applicable to Ph.D. students

(b) Concurrent registration in Higher Degree Dissertation with appropriate

number of units for higher degree along with other courses may be permitted
by DCA of the Department concerned. (see clause 1.08(a)). In specific cases
of Higher Degree programs, Dissertation with an extended duration is
explicitly mentioned in the semester-wise chart for the program. In such cases
students may opt for the same wherein coursework requirement may be
reduced (in number of courses and units) as per the chart in compensation for
increased units for Dissertation as stated in the chart for the program. However
such a decision should be made by the student in the semester prior to the start
of the Dissertation in concurrence with the supervisor(s) of the Dissertation
and the Head of the Department. Concurrent coursework may be permitted
during Dissertation only as stated in the chart for the program.
(c) A first degree student opting for a Thesis has two options: (i) register for a 16-
units Thesis, in which case the student cannot be simultaneously registered in
any other course; or (ii) register for a 9-units Thesis, in which the case it may
be necessary for the student to take additional elective courses to meet
graduation requirements (see clause 6.16(d)) and He/she may be permitted to
register in courses simultaneously with the Thesis (see clause 6.16(e)).
(d) Graduation requirements for a first degree student includes Thesis (16 units)
or Practice School I (5 units) and Practice School II (20 units) for each program
the student is pursuing. (i) If a single degree student opts for a 9-units Thesis,
he/she must complete at least 2 additional elective courses (of at least 6 units)
to meet graduation requirements i.e. the Open Electives requirement of such
student is assumed to have increased to at least 7 courses and at least 21 units.
If such a student pursuing a 9-units Thesis has completed PS-I, the PS-I course
and the corresponding units may be accounted towards the modified Open
Electives requirement. (ii) If a dual degree student opts for a 9-units Thesis for
either one of the two degrees, the modified Open Electives requirement would
apply. And as the discipline electives requirement of either degree is accounted
as open electives for the other degree in a dual degree program, the student
 35

would be deemed to have satisfied the modified Open Electives requirement if

the total number and units of discipline electives from the two programs
exceed 7 courses and 21 units respectively; if not the student may have to
complete additional electives to complete this modified requirement. Of
course, if a dual degree student is opting for PS-II in neither of his two degrees
but has completed PS-I, He/she may account the PS-I course and the
corresponding units towards the modified Open Electives requirement stated
above. (iii) If a dual degree student opts for a 9-units Thesis for each of the
two degrees He/she is pursuing the Open Electives requirement would be
assumed as at least 9 courses and at least 27 units; And the student would be
deemed to have satisfied the modified Open Electives requirement if the total
number and units of discipline electives from the two programs and those of
PS-I (if completed) exceed 9 courses and 27 units respectively.
(e) A first degree student registered in a 9-units Thesis may be permitted to
simultaneously register in at most 3 courses of at most 9 units total. Such
courses are normally accounted under Open Electives category.
Thesis and Seminar courses are permitted to be decoupled in the following 6.17
situations:
(i) when, his/her thesis and Seminar get separated because of the operation of
consequential action of NC report on one of them while there is no need to
register in the other (see 4.20 (d));
(ii) when, in the case of a Ph.D. student, he is required to register in Seminar even
before he is allowed to register in the Thesis course (see 8.16 (b));
(iii) When, in the case of a Ph.D. student, he/she has been specially permitted to
register during the summer term.
Whenever a programme does not visualise Thesis or Seminar to be time 6.18
bound, the time schedule is made elastic until the original tasks in these courses are
completed. In such a situation, after the units attached to each course have been
fulfilled the student will register in these courses for units as per clauses 8.16 (b) &
8.22.
When Dean/Associate Dean, AGSR is satisfied that the organisation of the 6.19
Seminar is not feasible, the student will register in Independent Study in lieu of
Seminar for the same number of units.
In the first two tiers, a student is assigned a topic of research as well as his/her 6.20
supervisor by DCA giving due consideration to the student's preference, the research
goals of the Institute, and the equalisation of the work load of the supervisors. The
decision of Dean, AUGS (first degree thesis case) and Dean, AGSR (higher degree
dissertation case) shall be final.
While the student has to be in residence throughout the duration of the 6.21
programme on the campus, Dean, AUGS/AGSR may, however, require him/her to
do part or whole of his/her thesis course at any off- campus centres. However, a
supervisor of the candidate must be from the Institute.
For the purpose of these regulations, the thesis/dissertation is defined as a 6.22
coherent document that embodies the investigations on the completion of the work
 36

and which has been prepared with the approval of the supervisor and which is ready
for submission to the examiners. In the first two tiers, the student must submit to
DCA, two typed copies of his/her thesis/dissertation (along with its soft copy) which
should also incorporate a certificate from his/her supervisor stating that the work has
been completed to the satisfaction of the supervisor. The thesis must be written in
English. For submission of the thesis in the third tier and for the language in which it
should be written see clauses 8.12.
The Thesis/Dissertation course in the first two tiers are visualised to be a time 6.23
bound activity and must coterminate with the successful completion of the assigned
units. The submission of thesis/dissertation must take place within the prescribed
time failing which, the registration in the last course will be cancelled and his/her
grade sheet will show RRA against the course. A student will be required to register
for the same number of units in the thesis course for which the registration was
cancelled (see 4.18) and for the dissertation course the number of units will be
decided by DCA.
For the purpose of evaluating the thesis/dissertation in the first two tiers, DCA 6.24
will appoint a panel of examiners (not exceeding two) of which the supervisor will
be one member. This panel will examine the thesis/dissertation, conduct the viva and
recommend a grade as prescribed in these regulations within the specified time. For
the third tier see clauses 8.28 to 8.34.
For details of operation of Ph.D. Thesis also consult Section 8 of these 6.25
Regulations.

7. Flexibilities
The various educational programmes of the Institute are distinguished by 7.01
structural and operational flexibilities to meet as far as possible many worthy goals
in a practical way. These regulations make an attempt to convert the concept of
flexibilities to reality. All these benefits are to be shared with responsibility and
goodwill. It is therefore necessary to enumerate at least some of these flexibilities and
describe, where necessary, the broad guidelines in their operation. These flexibilities
are: admissions in both semesters, admission with marginal deficiency, admission
with advanced standing, transfer, dual degree assignment, admission to a minor
program, the option of Thesis/Practice School, electives, repetition of courses,
amendment to original registration (withdrawal, substitution), departure from normal
pace, auditing of courses, summer term offerings etc. These flexibilities need an
administrative decision either through an admission process and/or a registration
process. It is to be clarified that any transfer or dual degree assignment will be treated
as an admission process. Enjoyment of a flexibility involves acceptance of a
responsibility both by the recipient as well as by the donor. This contract must be
understood if the system with these unique features is to continue to serve the student
and the educational system.
However, when a student who is under the purview of ACB becomes a 7.02
candidate for any of the flexibilities such as dual degree and transfer, the Chairman
of ACB will be requested for a full report on the student together with useful
comments, before the case is processed for award of the flexibility, irrespective of
 37

the fact that the student might have been promised such a flexibility at the time of
admission. While this promise, if any, will certainly be redeemed, the actual
implementation of the flexibility may have to be delayed in order for the student to
improve his/her academic standing to cope with the additional burden.
The various flexibilities are permitted to be worked out on the basis of broad as 7.03
well as detailed conditions presented in these regulations as well as in the Bulletin.
After implementing these flexibilities, the actions will be reported to the Senate
specially in connection with admission with advanced standing, admission with
marginal deficiency, special type of admission in the Ph.D. programmes, award of
dual degree programme, decisions on transfers, outcome of ACB actions, offerings
of summer courses, etc.
(a) Admissions in both semesters
The Institute makes admission in both the semesters depending upon 7.04
availability of seats and facilities. In the case of first tier of the formal system the bulk
of admissions are made in the first semester. In view of the available structural
flexibilities it may be possible to accommodate a small number of equally
competitive students in the second semester also, thus making feasible a unique
feature of the Institute, namely, admission in the second semester. But there is no
guarantee that second semester admissions will always be made.
(b) Summer Term
As already emphasized in clause 1.02, the only obligation the Institute can 7.05
recognise during the summer months is to conduct PS and other such courses
shown in semester wise pattern, Internship for students who had fulfilled the prior
preparation to register in the same. Even in the discharge of this responsibility the
Institute has to engage a large number of teachers who are detained for summer
duty to meet the commitments of the above courses conducted in various parts of
the country.
However, by further stretching all resources and by a great imposition on 7.06
teachers, the Institute has been disposed towards accommodating under certain
conditions, through summer term, few courses for the benefits of students
(see 1.03) may be able to graduate in that summer term. Since overtaxed resources
have been already stretched, the Institute will have to ensure that proper use of the
summer term is made by these students. Even these courses will be cancelled if the
clientele for which these courses were offered withdrew later. Even this position
will be continuously reviewed to ascertain whether these students ultimately will
benefit in graduation in minimum possible time.
Once it has been decided, under the above limited voluntary gesture, to offer a 7.07
set of summer courses, the students outside the above clientele may also be permitted
to register in these courses provided the conditions of registration as prescribed in
these regulations can be fulfilled by them for any of the courses thus being offered.
In this connection it is to be clarified that during the summer term no entity called
(PSC) or (OPSC) exists. By the same token backlog cannot be expressed in terms of
(OBL). All backlog has to be only expressed in terms of (BL). However, if backlog
courses are available the rule regarding (BL) being the first charge will apply. It is
also to be remembered that the offering of these courses has been purely fortuitous
so far as the other students are concerned and also that they can take only upto three
 38

courses. Such a student can register in these courses as a repeat or as a backlog. If the
course happens to be a higher level course for a student, He/she can register in it only
if He/she had no backlog at the end of the previous semester or He/she had only one
backlog which He/she is able to register concurrently with the higher level course in
the summer term. Further any amendment to the original registration can be
(see 3.26) only done provided subsequent registration continues to be consistent with
the above enunciation.
While these regulations do not stipulate that a Ph.D. student must register during 7.08
the summer term, it is really his/her own necessity to so register for purposes of full
enjoyment of his/her fellowship. While being sympathetic to this need of the student,
the particular course(s) in which He/she will register in the summer term will be
entirely at the discretion of Dean AGSR, consistent with the provisions of these
regulations.
Consistent with what has been stated above, the Institute will be free to amend 7.09
the procedure for voluntary offerings of courses during the summer term from time
to time.
(c) Dual Degree Scheme
These regulations provide an unusual opportunity to students who are capable 7.10
of accepting the challenge to work simultaneously for two degrees out of the
integrated first degree programmes, subject to the structural harmony defined in
terms of Groups of programmes (see 2.02 & 2.03), subject to the Institute's
announcements from time to time and subject also to the fact that dual degree is a
competitive admission process. Once a student is admitted to the dual degree
scheme his/her semester wise pattern for the single degree will be replaced by
another semester wise pattern which is composite but unique to the specific
combination of the two programmes.
The principle by which the composite programme is worked out is described 7.11
thus. The General Institutional Requirement and two sets of the Discipline
requirement (one for each of the two programmes) constitute the basic requirement
of the composite programme. On this basic requirement is superimposed the PS
and TS requirement for the two programs. All these courses are now properly
interspersed and resequenced to form the dual degree programme. Thus in every
dual degree scheme normally one degree would be with PS and the other with TS.
However, if a student of the dual degree programmes wishes to do PS for the
second degree also, the PS Division may accommodate his/her request, if feasible,
after accommodating all students doing PS for the first time. As a logical
consequence a student may be allowed to do both degrees with thesis. The Open
Electives requirement is considered to be subsumed by the combination of the two
sets of Discipline Electives.
The dual degree composite programme contains, among the compulsory 7.12
courses, PS, TS (or both PS or both TS as per clause 7.11), all General Institutional
Requirement courses excluding Humanities Electives, and the union of Discipline
Core courses for the two degrees. Thus courses common (or courses marked
equivalent) between the two sets of Discipline Core courses need be completed only
once by the student. Clauses 3.14 and 3.15 prescribe a prior preparation required
before a student can take any of these courses (see 2.03). A student in the dual degree
 39

composite programme cannot account a Discipline Core course of one his/her

degrees as a Discipline elective for the other degree; He/she cannot account any
course as a Discipline elective course in two disciplines.
The student in the dual degree would be free to make a request to which 7.13
degree He/she wishes to attach the PS component in order to call it a PS degree
and to which He/she wishes to attach the Thesis component. This option must
be expressed immediately after the completion of PS I but not later than the end
of one semester after PS I. If the student neglects to take this advance action
Dean PS will draw up the linkage. The decision of Dean PS shall be final.
However, this attachment selected by the student or assigned by the Dean must
conform to the basic condition that TS or PS II of either of the two degrees in
the composite programme must be done only after the corresponding Core
Course(s) of the same degree has been cleared. It is to be noted that whenever a
student has been unable to clear PS I at the appointed time, it may become too
late for him/her to exercise this option and the allocation of PS and TS will be
contingent on his/her ability to complete the prior preparation for these courses.
It would be obvious from clause 7.11 that the composite programme in the dual 7.14
degree scheme cannot be separately completed for each degree. Thus only when a
student has completed the entire composite programme He/she fulfils the
requirements of graduation for the two degrees in the scheme. Consequently the
divisions awarded for these two degrees would be the same.
Once a dual degree permission has been given the student must work according 7.15
to the scheme and semester wise pattern applicable to the particular dual degree
combination. For the frequently occurring combinations of dual degree scheme, the
semester-wise patterns are given in the Bulletin. Any willful departure from the
scheme without prior permission from Dean AUGS may entail the cancellation of
the dual degree facility. In such a case the student will be transferred back to his/her
first degree. (see also 6.14)
For a student in the dual degree scheme, transfer of first or second degree from 7.16(a)
one discipline to another discipline on a competitive basis is possible keeping in mind
the overall educational objectives.
A student in the dual degree scheme is not allowed to drop the first degree and 7.16(b)
do only the second degree.
If a student admitted to the dual degree scheme is unable to proceed with it for 7.16(c)
any valid reason he/she may submit a written application to Dean AUGS for
withdrawal from the dual degree scheme. If his/her request is granted his/her case
will be dealt with as a transfer from the dual degree scheme back to the scheme of
his/her first degree, subject to current structure and regulations.
Whenever a transfer from dual degree to a single degree as visualised in 7.17
clauses 7.15 and 7.16 takes place after the student has already exercised his/her
option visualised in clause 7.13, for the purpose of determining the eligibility for the
first degree either the PS option or the TS option may be accepted irrespective of
earlier declaration by the student.
(d) Transfer
The flexibilities of the system provide for transfer which is a movement of the 7.18
 40

student from one goal to another before completion of the first. In actual practice,
subject to stipulations given in the Bulletin, the structure provides for a transfer from:
one programme to another within the same tier; one optional stream to another within
the same tier (PS option to Thesis/Dissertation option and vice versa); one scheme to
another within the same tier (dual degree scheme to single degree scheme); a
programme in one tier to a programme in a higher tier or its reverse (see 8.33, 8.34,
8.35 & 8.36). Transfer is operated only at the beginning of a semester except where
otherwise provided.
At the point of transfer the student's entire academic record is scrutinised and 7.19
the additional courses He/she has to clear after the transfer are determined in the
following manner:
(i) Out of the courses taken by the student as per his/her academic record,
those courses which He/she has already cleared as of the latest
performance will form the set called the ‘course-mix’ from the past. The
set of the remaining courses for which there is a performance will be
called the ‘residual-mix’ from the past. The courses of the course-mix as
well as those of the residual-mix will now be stripped of any category
tag under which they might have been taken. The new programme to
which He/she is transferred would have an eligibility sheet which lists
all the courses pertaining to that programme in terms of named
compulsory courses and elective slots. All the courses in the course-mix
will now be exhausted, by allotting them to the new programme in
appropriate categories, that is, either in the named category or in the
elective category. The residual-mix will be booked for the new
programme only against the required named compulsory courses of the
new programme. However the residual-mix may be booked for elective
of the new programme at the point of transfer at the option of the student.
Once all this exercise is completed the courses left in the course-mix
together with courses left in the residual-mix will now be referred to as
the set of unaccounted courses. Among the unaccounted courses the
courses with grades or with NC reports will then be completely frozen
as long as the student continues in the new programme or graduates in
the new programme. In other words they cannot be booked for any future
necessity in the new programme nor can they be repeated. However if an
unaccounted course has a latest performance which is a report other than
NC, it will not be frozen and it may be allowed to be booked against a
future necessity for an elective slot, if any, in the new programme.
(ii) In the matter of booking the courses the student will have the option to
name a course from the course-mix of the past against the elective slot
in the new programme; it should be obvious that He/she has no other
option.
(iii) Further his/her entire up-to-date scholastic record including CGPA is
carried over at the point of transfer. Any previous event which
constitutes part of the sanctions of eligibility of the new situation will
now operate. It is obvious that no transfer is possible if a sanction in the
old situation has not been properly disposed of.
 41

(iv) Irrespective of whatever has been said above, if later events justifiable
by these regulations so warrant the student may be permitted to utilise
for credit in future an unaccounted course cleared earlier.
(v) Further, whenever a transfer is made the semester wise pattern in his/her
new programme would be as per the current Bulletin and for all purposes
of these academic regulations (such as 3.21 etc.) his/her date of entry
into the Institute would mark the initial semester of his/her new
programme.
Whenever the same student undergoes more than one transfer, at each point 7.20
of transfer the provisions stipulated for transfer must be implemented. It may be
clarified that through a process of more than one transfer for a particular student,
what was operative before the particular point of transfer may become inoperative
after this event and vice versa.
Since admission to a programme is done on assigned and competitive basis, 7.21
normally there may not be any scope of undoing the fact of an assigned admission
through transfer. However, whenever a student is not able to cope up with the
programme for which He/she is admitted, ACB in order to salvage the student may
recommend transfer to a suitable programme. Transfer will always be for motivated
students from one degree programme to another in the same tier or different tier in
terms of limited numbers and will be on a competitive basis.
(e) Advanced Standing
Whenever a meritorious candidate seeking admission to any programme of the 7.22
Institute comes with a preparation higher than the minimum entrance qualification
prescribed for the programme, He/she is considered for admission at some
intermediate stage in this programme under the provisions called 'Admission with
Advanced Standing'. If admission is feasible his/her previous academic record will
be scrutinised vis-a-vis the requirements of the programme to which He/she seeks
admission. If this exercise cannot give a firm conclusion as to which courses of the
Institute programme He/she is to be exempted from, specially designed tests will be
given to him/her. However, this exercise would be subject to the broad policies
mentioned in clauses 7.23 to 7.29 below.
Such exemption can be entertained only in respect of courses which are a 7.23
compulsory package of the new programme. Wherever the new programme provides
for a package of electives this whole package has to be done at the Institute.
Since the programme structure of the higher degrees is different from that of 7.24
integrated first degrees in terms of details like compulsory courses, electives, etc., the
requirement of a student admitted with advanced standing in a higher degree
programme will be worked out on a case by case basis by the DCA (See 1.08(a))
maintaining the standards of the programmes.
Further, whenever such an admission is made a student at the time of entry 7.25
would notionally be placed in a nominal semester in the semester wise pattern as of
the current Bulletin and his/her backlog courses would be correspondingly identified
(see 3.25 I).
As far as the programmes of the first tier are concerned, a basic distinction has 7.26
to be made at the entry point between candidates who possess an integrated first
 42

degree of BITS or its equivalent and those whose prior preparation is short of this.
Remembering that the dual degree scheme of the Institute is awarded under a 7.27
competitive situation it would not be possible to gain additional advantage by a route
of completion of one BITS degree or its equivalent and admission with advanced
standing for another first degree of BITS. In respect of such candidates there shall be
no provision of taking electives more than the minimum number required nor that of
transfer.
On the other hand, a candidate who at the entry point does not possess a 7.28
University degree or possesses a University degree which is lower than the integrated
first degree of BITS would have all the opportunities that are available for a normal
student who enters at the starting point of the programme, subject to any restrictions
stipulated at the time of admission.
For a student admitted with advanced standing into a programme the 7.29
CGPA/division awarded to him/her at the end of the programme will be based only
on the grades of courses taken by him/her in his/her prescribed programme at the
Institute.
(f) Marginal Deficiency
Whenever a brilliant candidate whose prior preparation has been marginally 7.30
deficient in terms of stated courses/subjects seeks admission to the Institute, he/she
may be admitted with the condition that Dean, AUGS/AGSR may require him/her
to do additional courses over and above those prescribed for a student with normal
preparation. It is, therefore, to be noted that such a student enters the programme with
a backlog (see 3.25 I).
For a student admitted with marginal deficiency into a programme his/her 7.31
CGPA/division will be determined on the basis of all courses prescribed in the
programme together with such additional courses mentioned in clause 7.30.
(g) Audit
The facility of taking a course on audit is principally conceived to give an 7.32
opportunity to a person to update his/her knowledge. It is expected to meet primarily
the needs of casual students (not enrolled for a degree). No degree of the Institute
can be acquired by merely taking courses on audit or having once taken some courses
on audit, offering these courses for credit whenever permissible in these regulations
like advanced standing etc. In this connection definition of the word “cleared” given
in clause 1.15 will not encompass a grade received for a course registered on audit.
There are certain courses amongst the offering of the Institute which are neither 7.33
part of a programme nor are available through electives. Any student who wishes to
take such courses can take them only on audit basis and also on payment of additional
fees.
Certain courses are not, however, available on audit namely, PS, Thesis, 7.34
Dissertation, all courses of the M.E. (Collaborative)/M.Phil. (Applied) programmes
and other courses specifically so mentioned in the Bulletin.
A person who has taken a course on audit cannot, even with a 'Satisfactory' 7.35
grade, automatically claim acceptance of that course for the fulfillment of
requirements of any programme current or future. As and when such a person seeks
 43

admission to any degree in the Institute, if that course happens to be a required course
in the new programme, he/she will be required to do another course in lieu of the
same as identified by Dean AUGS/AGSR, except as specifically provided
otherwise in Clause 8.09.
The Institute may offer discrete specialised courses on-campus and off-campus 7.36
on credit basis for the manpower development of a target population. A student who
registers for such courses will be known as an associate student as against casual
student (see clause 7.32). On the completion of a course the associate student would
be given a certificate mentioning the grade obtained. If an associate student has
secured valid grades in various courses in this manner, which together fulfil the
requirements of a degree/diploma programme, he/she may, if he/she so desires, seek
admission to the said degree/diploma programme to qualify for the same. AGC
would finalise the operational details for such associate students.

(h) Minor Programs

Minor programmes are offered in certain areas as options for integrated first degree 7.37
students with the intent of encouraging them to add focus to their supplemental
learning (outside a major area) as well as recognizing and certifying the knowledge
obtained in an area that is outside of their major area.
A minor option would allow a student to pursue the study of an area or a sub-area
through a set of courses but not as exhaustively as required to obtain a degree (i.e. a
major) in that area. A student may be admitted to at most one minor program.
A student – if he/she chooses to pursue a minor – should declare at the end of the 2nd
year that he/she will pursue a specific minor.
Each minor program may come with an exclusion Clause stating that students from
certain programs are not be eligible to pursue that minor.
While the option of a minor program is available to all first degree students, the
Department(s) offering a minor program may stipulate additional input restrictions
on the basis of academic performance of the student. In particular, the overall CGPA
and/or grades in specific courses relevant to the minor program may be considered
for admission to the minor programme. Such criteria will be stipulated by the Cross-
Campus Departmental Committee(s) for Academics for the Department(s) offering
the minor programme.
If and when he/she completes the requirements for the minor – as stipulated above
and as stipulated for the specific minor, then he/she may apply for a “minor”
certificate. If the requirements are met, then he/she will be awarded a “minor
certificate” (separate from a degree - i.e. major - certificate). A minor certificate will
be issued only on completion of a degree (i.e. a major) i.e. a student may graduate
without a minor but cannot graduate without completion of a degree (i.e. major). If
a student declares to pursue a minor after the end of his/her 2nd year, the award of
his/her minor programme may get delayed depending on offering of the requisite
courses and their availability.
Each minor program defines a minimum number of courses and a minimum number
of units as required to complete that minor. Each minor program also defines a certain
set of courses as core – and therefore mandatory – for that minor and a pool of
 44

electives from which a student may choose courses to complete the requirements.
A student may use at most one project / seminar type course to meet the elective
requirements of a minor.
Overlap requirements:
• At most 2 courses (and at most 6 units) out of the above requirement (of 5 courses
and 15 units) may be met by mandatory courses of the student’s degree i.e. major
(or degrees i.e. majors): i.e. from the general institutional requirement (excluding
Humanities requirement) or the (Major) discipline Core(s).
• There is no restriction of overlap requirement on electives (i.e. discipline elective
or open elective or humanities elective).
• No course may be used to meet the requirements of two different minors nor
may a course be used to the meet the requirements of two majors and a minor.

8. Additional Clauses for Ph.D. Programme

8.01
Creation of Departmental Research Committee (DRC)
Each Department will have a "Departmental Research Committee" (DRC),
consisting of Head of Department (HOD) as ex-officio member and chair-person,
and 4 to 8 faculty members, at the level of Assistant Professor and above, who are
active in research. The size of DRC may depend on the number of faculty members
in the Department. One of the members will act as its convener. The term of DRC
will be of two years. DRC will be approved by the Director of the campus on the
recommendation of HOD.
The role of DRC will be in executing operations from admissions to final thesis
submission that are outlined in each operation mentioned below.
Ph D Admissions:
Admission to the Ph.D. programme is, in the first instance, provisional. The
admission is formalized after the student passes his/her Qualifying Examination. The 8.02
various components of the programme are: Course-work, Qualifying Examination,
Foreign language, Teaching Practice/Practice Lecture Series/ Research
Methodology, Thesis, and Seminar/Independent Study. It shall be the responsibility
of the student to ensure, through timely actions, that he/she satisfies the requirements
of all the components of his/her programme. Throughout the duration of the
programme a full-time Ph.D. student must be in full-time residence in the campus/PS
stations and off-campus centres of the Institute or at outside centres as permissible in
the rules. A part time Ph.D. student will visit the respective BITS Pilani campus,
where he/she is registered for regular interaction with supervisor/co-supervisor and
present his/her research progress.
Input

To obtain a better understanding of the subsequent handling of cases, various 8.02a

possible inputs to the Ph.D. programme are classified according to backgrounds.
These are: (a) the preferred input, namely, a student coming with a higher degree of
the Institute or its equivalent; (b) a student coming after clearing all or part of the
coursework of a higher degree of the Institute or its equivalent without completing
 45

the degree; (c) a student who enters with an integrated first degree of the Institute or
equivalent; (d) a student who enters the Ph.D. programme after passing Qualifying
Examination as per clause 8.44 (e) a student, under faculty development, who enters
the programme after passing the Qualifying Examination as per clause 8.40 (f) a
Scientist, Engineer or professional belonging to collaborative, or other sponsoring
organisations. (g) a person working in a reputed research organization, academic
Institute and Industry, situated preferably in the close vicinity of one of the campuses
of BITS Pilani, can be admitted on part time basis provided (i) the candidate is
working in an organization which encourages and facilitates research (ii) candidate
meets the requisite minimum qualification for admission to Ph. D programme of
BITS Pilani as mentioned in (a), (b) or (c) (iii) candidate has minimum of one year
work experience in related field, and (iv) candidate furnishes a "consent &no
objection certificate" from his/her parent organization.
Each case once accepted would be treated under any of the above items
consistent with his/her background.
For each candidate admitted to Ph.D. programme, the DRC will recommend
a notional thesis supervisor or mentor on the basis of department need and student's
area of interest. Further, for each Ph. D student, the DRC will in consultation with
the notional supervisor of the students, appoint two additional members for a
Doctoral Advisory Committee (DAC). However, for student in interdisciplinary area,
there can be DAC member(s) from other department/campuses based on Topic of
Research. Student will be monitored by notional supervisor of the department. DAC
may counsel the student throughout his/her programme.
Course work
For students with first degree, depending upon the student's qualification and 8.03
background, the DRC will, in consultation with the student's notional supervisor and
DAC members, prescribe course work. The minimum number of courses shall be six
with minimum of 24 units. Candidate should not obtain less than D grade in any
course and should have minimum CGPA of 5.50. If less than D grade is obtained,
course should be repeated. On obtaining less than D grade in more than one course
or CGPA less than 5.50, and if the student fails to bring it up to 5.50 within two
subsequent semesters, student shall be discontinued from the programme.
Students with Higher Degree may also be required to do course work if he/she is 8.04
working in different area than his/her area of Higher Degree or having less than 6
courses in his/her Higher Degree. Number of courses will be decided by the notional
Supervisor and DRC members in order to prepare the candidate to undertake research
in chosen area. Number of courses can vary from 0 to 6.
Qualifying Examination
Before undertaking registration in Thesis, every student must pass the Ph.D. 8.05
Qualifying Examination within the prescribed time, namely, two semesters
(excluding summer term) after admission for students who are not required to take
any course work out of the first kind of course-work and two semesters (excluding
summer term) after clearance of courses prescribed by DRC. However, DCC is
authorised to examine the needs of candidates on case by case basis and give
additional time wherever needed.
 46

(a) As soon as a student has cleared the courses prescribed by the DRC 8.06
covered in the first kind of course work, he/she should make a formal
application to DRC for permission to appear for the Qualifying
Examination.
(b) For each student, qualifying examination will be conducted in two areas
from the list of qualifying examination areas approved for the
department. One of these must be in the area in which he/she proposes to
undertake research. The list will be available with Dean AGSR which can
be modified by the joint recommendation of DRCs of the campuses.
With the increasing emphasis on multi-disciplinary research, PhD student
can also choose one relevant area from departments other than his/her
own department in consultation with notional supervisor.
The candidate selected under (e) , (f) or (g) of clause 8.02 will also follow the
same pattern of qualifying examinationas mentioned in clause 8.06 8.07
A student who has passed the Qualifying Examination will be formally 8.08
admitted to the Ph.D. programme. His/her registration in the Thesis course can be
allowed only after the Research Proposal is approved and fulfilment of the of clause
8.13.
If a student fails in the Qualifying Examination or fails to appear in the same 8.09
in the first time, he/she may, at the discretion of DRC, be allowed to appear at this
examination only once more, provided he/she does so within the time limit
prescribed in clause. It shall be the responsibility of such a student, to approach DRC
immediately, for permission to take the Qualifying Examination once more. If this
permission is denied, the student will be considered to have come under clause 8.38.
The Qualifying Examination will test the student's knowledge, grasp of 8.10
fundamentals and his/her ability to use them in unknown situations. The Qualifying
Examination will normally consist of written and oral tests. The oral test will follow
the written papers and will attempt to probe the student further with reference to
his/her answers in written papers and to test his/her presentation of ideas and
concepts.
The Qualifying Examination will be conducted by respective DRC in every 8.11
campus.

Language Requirement
Every Ph.D. student is normally expected to demonstrate an ability to translate 8.12
a piece from current periodicals in the area of major interest of the student in one of
the modern European languages into English with the help of a dictionary. The
modern European language will be named by Dean AGSR and may vary from
student to student depending on his/her intended area of research. It will be in the
interest of the student to complete the language requirement as soon as possible.
However, the Dean AGSR may waive the language requirement for a student if the
Supervisor and DCC recommend that English is adequate for the intended research
work.
 47

The language requirement, if not waived (see clause 8.12), can be fulfilled by 8.13
any one of the following alternatives:
(i) If the student, before entering into the Ph.D. programme, has already done the
prescribed foreign language course(s) of the Institute or its equivalent elsewhere
and has obtained the minimum grade as prescribed by Dean AGSR, he/she
would be pronounced to have fulfilled the language requirement of the Ph.D.
programme.
(ii) Where a student has no previous exposure to the prescribed language, he/she
will take the prescribed Institute course(s) on audit and obtain `satisfactory'
grade(s) in such course(s).
(iii) Where a student has learnt the prescribed language through self-study and
claims that he is equipped to fulfill the language requirement, he/she should sit
in a specially designed test to demonstrate the above mentioned ability. If he/she
fails to pass the test, he/she may try again or take the special courses offered in
the Institute as per the decision of Dean AGSR.
Whenever a student plans to work for a Ph.D. in any Indian 8.14
language/literature, Dean AGSR may decide to exempt him/her from the above
European language and require him/her to show his/her ability in an Indian language
other than the language in which he/she proposes to pursue his/her Ph.D. research. In
this case, Dean AGSR will be guided in his/her decision by the spirit of clauses 8.12
and 8.13.
Teaching Practice/Practice Lecture Series 8.15
Teaching Practice I or when it cannot be arranged, its alternative Practice
Lecture Series I should be completed. These courses are normally registered
immediately after admission or after completion of prescribed coursework. These
courses attempt to train a Ph.D. student in the art, methodology and skill of teaching,
communication, etc.
Research Methodology:
Research Methodology I course should be done in the semester/term
following the semester of completing Teaching Practice I/ Practice Lecture Series I.
This course is designed to impart training in analysis of research problem,
mathematical and statistical analysis of data, experimental techniques etc. Students
who have done this course in their higher degree or students who have done Teaching
practice II/Practice lecture series II will be exempted from doing this course.
Seminar/Independent Study
(a) Clauses 6.15 & 6.19 on concurrent registration in Seminar (whenever Thesis 8.16
is registered for) and registration in Independent Study as an alternative to
Seminar, when the same cannot be arranged, also apply to the Ph.D.
programme.
(b) In addition, a Ph.D. student is required to register in Seminar/Independent
Study, starting from his/her first registration in the programme. Further, the
total number of units assigned to these courses can be taken only one unit at
a time in a semester/term until the units are exhausted, after which the student
will register for one unit every semester. However, while he/she is doing one
 48

or more courses of the First kind, he/she may not be required to register in
Seminar/Independent Study unless specifically directed to do so by Dean
AGSR.
Topic of Research and Supervisor: 8.17
Once a Ph D student clears the required qualifying examination, he/she, in
consultation with his/her notional supervisor will decide upon the topic, the
supervisor, co-supervisor (if required), prepare a research proposal and present it in
writing and orally before the DAC members. For PhD students admitted under "part-
time" or under PhD aspirant scheme, it is mandatory to choose BITS faculty as
supervisor.

The DRC will carefully evaluate whether the proposed topic of research is in 8.18
consonance with the Institute's research goals, the facilities existing in the Institute or
in the permitted locale for carrying out the work, the suitability of the proposed
supervisor for the particular topic of research, the number of students already working
under him/her and other relevant factors; and will forward the proposal to Dean
AGSR.
Dean, AGSR in consultation with Doctoral Counseling Committee members
will approve the research proposal.
A student can take up research only on a topic and under a supervisor at a 8.19
locale approved by the Dean, AGSR. Any change in the topic of
research/supervisor/co-supervisor or locale of work can be made only with the prior
approval of the Dean, AGSR.
It shall be the responsibility of such a Ph.D. student to approach the Dean, 8.20
AGSR through respective DRC well in time for a fresh decision on the question of
supervisorship, if there is a likelihood of his/her ceasing to be a faculty member of
the Institute or ceasing to be associated with a professional organisation. If no
decision of the Dean, AGSR is available on the matter, his/her current semester/term
registration in Thesis will be cancelled as soon as he ceases to be a faculty member
or a professional and he will not be allowed to register subsequently unless the Dean,
AGSR decides on the matter.
Thesis
The student will register for Thesis only after the topic of research and 8.21
supervisor have been approved by the Dean AGSR.
The total units assigned to this course in the Bulletin will be distributed over 8.22
several semesters/terms as determined by Dean AGSR. After the student completes
the unit requirements of Thesis, he will be required to register every semester
thereafter for 10 units till the submission of Thesis.
The title of the thesis will be recommended for approval by the DCC which 8.23
will subsequently be approved by Dean AGSR. Any change in the title of the thesis
can be made only with the prior approval of the Dean AGSR.
The thesis should be written in English; provided that a thesis for a Ph.D. 8.24
degree in any Indian language may be written in that language or in English.
 49

Submission of thesis
(a) On completion of research, the student will prepare a draft of the thesis and 8.25
its synopsis for preliminary but detailed evaluation by two members of DAC
followed by oral presentation. A student must submit his/her final thesis to
Chairman, DRC within ten semesters (excluding summer terms) to be
counted from the semester following the semester of passing the Qualifying
Examination. Whenever a student fails to submit his/her thesis within this
stipulated time, he will come under clause 8.38.
The duration for submitting final PhD thesis (including all extensions and
semester withdrawals) is limited to 14 semesters to be counted from the
semester following the passing of PhD qualifying examination. If a
candidate fails to submit his/her final thesis during this period, he/she will
be discontinued from the programme. The female candidates who have
availed maternity leave during this period may be given one extra semester
for thesis submission.
In exceptional cases where the progress of PhD thesis has been affected by
circumstances beyond control of the student like extreme medical condition
or trauma, being on National duty (if the candidate is from the armed forces)
etc. the duration of thesis submission can be extended to beyond 14
semesters, as a onetime exception for specific semester(s) with the approval
of the Vice-Chancellor whose decision in this regard shall be final.
(b) The submission of the thesis for the purpose of the above clause will be
considered to be in order only when approved by DRC and it has been done
in accordance with the clause 8.26 below; otherwise the thesis would be
returned to the student for removal of the inadequacy.
The submission of the thesis will 8.26
(a) require fulfillment of the following prior conditions:
(i) the semester/term in which the thesis is being submitted is such that the
immediately preceding interim grade in the Thesis course is
'satisfactory';
(ii) the student as of that date, has fulfilled all the requirements of graduation
in clause 9.02 except for para (vii), and
(iii) the student has given reasonable evidence to Dean, AGSR that at the
time of/ during submission of the thesis no NC report would emerge
causing embarrassment and dislocation of further processing of the
thesis; and
(b) entail simultaneous forwarding of the following to the DRC:
(i) two printed bound copies and one soft copy of the thesis with a title
consistent with the requirements of clause
(ii) the thesis must contain a certificate from the supervisor and co-
supervisor (if any) to the effect that the thesis embodies original work
done by the student under his/her supervision.
(iii) soft copy of synopsis of the thesis as prescribed by Dean, AGSR to
facilitate appointment of examiners; and
 50

(iv) the receipt for payment of the requisite fees.

(c) DRC will forward following documents to Dean, AGSR
(i) Thesis
(ii) Synopsis
(iii) Reports of the DAC members on draft thesis
(iv) The receipt for payment of the requisite fees.
(v) The list of 6-8 potential thesis examiners based on a list of examiners
submitted by supervisor(s)
In exceptional circumstances, where a student, who is registered in the last 8.27
components of the units assigned to Thesis/Seminar and may be also pursuing
courses or completing other components of the requirements of the Ph.D. degree
simultaneously in a semester, wishes to submit his/her thesis before the end of the
semester, he must supply strong evidence to Dean, AGSR that all his/her current
pursuits would co-terminate in such a way that conditions prescribed in the above
clause would be fulfilled. If Dean, AGSR accepts the thesis for further processing,
he does so with the stipulation that he will stop this processing at any stage and even
cause withholding of the final Thesis grade until all conditions stipulated in clause
8.17 have been fulfilled.
Examination of thesis
The thesis will be examined by two examiners appointed by the Vice- 8.28
Chancellor.
The examiners will give separate reports, each report concluding with a final 8.29
and unequivocal verdict on the thesis in terms of only one of the following five
alternatives:
(i) The thesis is approved for viva-voce examination, as is or minor
corrections suggested, if any, to be addressed adequately by the student
and approved by the supervisor(s), or
(ii) Thesis is approved for viva-voce examination; major corrections
suggested, to be addressed adequately by the student in consultation with
supervisor(s) and certified by the Doctoral Advisory Committee, or
(iii) Thesis is approved for viva-voce examination; major corrections
suggested, to be addressed adequately by the student in consultation with
supervisor(s) and certified by the examiner(s), or
(iv) The thesis requires revision and resubmission, or
(v) The thesis is rejected.
a. If one examiner approves the thesis for viva-voce (verdict i, ii or iii) while 8.30
the other examiner recommends revision and resubmission (verdict iv), the respective
campus Associate Dean, AGSRD will make arrangements to share the two reports
with the examiners and the supervisor/co-supervisor(s), and if necessary, convene a
meeting among them to arrive at a unanimous verdict.
When this process yields no unanimity, then the thesis will be sent for
evaluation to a third examiner, appointed by the Vice-Chancellor and the verdict of
 51

this examiner will be final and binding.

b. If both examiners recommend revision and resubmission (verdict 4), the
student will be required to revise and resubmit his/her thesis for re-examination by
the same examiners as far as possible.
c. If one examiner approves the thesis or recommends revision and
resubmission (verdict i, ii, iii or iv) while the other examiner rejects the thesis (verdict
v), the respective campus Associate Dean, AGSRD will make arrangements to share
the two reports with the examiners and the supervisor/co-supervisor(s), and if
necessary, convene a meeting among them to arrive at a unanimous verdict. When
this process yields no unanimity, then the thesis will be sent for evaluation to a third
examiner, appointed by the Vice-Chancellor and the verdict of this examiner will be
final and binding.
d. If both examiners recommend rejection of the thesis (verdict v), the thesis
stands rejected. When the thesis is rejected, the student's registration in the Thesis
course for that semester will be cancelled and he will be asked to discontinue from
the programme and his/her grade sheet will show DP against the Thesis course.
When a thesis has been unanimously approved by the external examiners, a
viva-voce of the thesis will be conducted by one of the external examiners at the
respective campus in presence of the supervisor and co-supervisor(s). However, in
extra ordinary situations such as a pandemic the viva-voce can be conducted online
using technology. The Vice Chancellor is authorized to reconstitute this team when
deemed necessary. At the end of the viva-voce, the external examiner in consultation
with the Supervisor / Co-Supervisor(s) will award the final Grade.
When a student has been required to revise and resubmit his/her thesis, his/her 8.31
status will revert to what it was, in all respects, before he submitted his/her thesis but
would not alter the original deadline for submission of the thesis. If the current last
date of submission of the thesis is considered to be inadequate he/she must
immediately request for extra time from the Doctoral Counseling Committee. The
revised thesis should be examined as far as possible by the same team of examiners.
When a thesis has been approved unanimously by the examiners, a viva-voce 8.32
on the thesis will be conducted at respective campus in presence of the (i) Supervisor
(ii)at least one external examiner, and (iii) Co-supervisor(s), if any. The Vice-
Chancellor is authorised to reconstitute the team of examiners for viva-voce
whenever deemed necessary. At the end of the viva-voce examination the team of
examiners collectively will award the final grade as per clause4.11, on the Thesis
course. In awarding this final grade the examiners will combine the assessment of the
thesis with the performance of the student in the viva-voce examination. All his/her
records pertaining to the interim Thesis grades would be made available to the team
of examiners.
In the case of a Ph.D. student, whose viva-voce examination is held during
the same semester in which he submitted the thesis, his/her performance in the
viva-voce will also be judged for awarding the final grade in the
Seminar/Independent Study course and the result for viva-voce will produce the
grade for thesis as well as for Seminar/Independent Study. The eligibility will be
worked out as soon as the viva-voce result is available without waiting till the end of
the semester.
 52

However, if at the time of/ during submission of the thesis any NC report 8.33
emerges the viva-voce will be postponed until this affliction is removed as per the
regulations. If however, the viva-voce has been already held the final Thesis grade
will be withheld.
The viva-voce examination on the Ph.D. thesis will be open to research 8.34
students, faculty members, staff members charged with similar professional duties
and any other person permitted by Dean, AGSR, all as silent observers.
Minimum academic requirements for continuation: 8.35
A student will not be permitted to continue in the Institute under any one of the
following situations:
(i) he fails to take or pass the Qualifying Examination within the prescribed time
(see 8.04 & 8.06);
(ii) his/her CGPA, where applicable, falls below 5.50 and he fails to bring it up to
5.50 within two subsequent semesters and his/her CGPA falls below 5.50 and
he/she fails to bring it up to 5.50 within two subsequent semesters (see 8.03);
(iii) He/she accumulates two consecutive interim 'unsatisfactory' grades in the
Thesis course;
(iv) He/she fails to submit his/her thesis/revised thesis within the time prescribed
for him/her, for such submission;
(v) his/her thesis is rejected by the examiners;
(vi) his/her thesis does not receive unanimous final verdict from the examiners
as required in clauses
(vii) He/she receives final grade as ‘unacceptable’ in Thesis.
(a) Of the above seven stipulations the first four, viz, specify the intermediate 8.36
steps necessitating monitoring for a student before submission of his/her
thesis. This monitoring is to be done by the DRC
(b) The last three stipulations, viz. specify the events after the submission of
the thesis and its examination by the appointed examiners. In such cases
a student will be discontinued from the programme. However, he may
appeal to the Dean, AGSR for reinstatement giving full exposition and
justification for the appeal. If the Dean AGSR decides to reinstate such
a student it will give clear instructions and conditions, consistent with
overall spirit of these regulations that the student must fulfil after
reinstatement. The verdict of the Dean, AGSR shall be final.
Doctoral Counselling Committee
In all matters where the student has to approach the DCC, applications must
invariably be submitted through DRC, who will assist the DCC with supporting 8.37
documents and their recommendations consistent with these Regulations, Institute’s
research goals, facilities available and other pertinent factors.
Registration and Monitoring
Registration of a PhD student will be done separately by registration cell of 8.38
each campus on recommendation of Associate Dean, AGSR, who will keep the Dean,
 53

AGSR informed. Whenever the lack of progress of a student forewarns the

application of Clause or when a student defaults under Clause the student will be
guided for his/her registration by the DCC. The DCC will function like the ACB for
monitoring the progress of the student. The DCC can give additional time/attempt to
pass the qualifying examination; it can prescribe additional course(s) or require the
student to repeat course(s) already cleared; it can require the student to drop some
semester(s), it can give extension of time for the submission of the thesis. In short, it
will take appropriate action to help the student to meet the minimum academic
requirements stipulated in Clause as early as possible. The DCC has also the authority
to conclude whether a student should be continued as a Ph.D. student or not. The
DCC will report its decision to the Senate.
Human Resource Development
With a view to accelerating human resource development, the Dean, AGSR 8.39
on the recommendation of the DRC concerned may permit, when possible, a faculty
member of the Institute or a staff member charged with similar professional duties to
appear in the Ph.D. qualifying examination even though he/she is not registered under
the Ph.D. programme. Similarly, the Dean, AGSR on the recommendations of the
DRC, may permit professionals (under Ph.D. aspirants scheme) to appear in the Ph.D.
qualifying examination even before he is registered for Ph.D.
If a candidate mentioned in clause 8.39 passes this examination, he/she has to 8.40
seek formal admission to the Ph.D. programme to pursue the same as per these
regulations. If he/she, however, fails to appear in or pass the examination, he/she can
avail of another chance also subject to necessary permission from the Dean, AGSR.
However, if he/she fails to appear in the examination on genuine grounds, Dean,
AGSR may condone such an absence, on a case by case basis.
Research at Outside Centres
(a) The Vice-Chancellor may entertain a proposal not covered under clause 6.21 8.41
from a student/professional seeking permission to carry out a part or whole of
his/her Ph.D. research at a suitable centre outside the Institute, if he is satisfied
that the proposal is consistent with the overall educational and research goals
of the Institute.
(b) If the permission is granted, the student will be registered for the 8.42
Thesis-Seminar/Independent Study only.
These regulations permit, through the scheme of linkage with sister
universities or research organisations, the possibility of pursuit of a prescribed portion
of Ph.D. work of a student of the Institute in another organisation, as well as of a
Ph.D. student of another university pursuing his/her programme at the Institute. The
Vice-Chancellor is authorized to implement the above within the general framework
of these regulations and report the same to the Senate.
Transfer from/to a First/Higher Degree
(a) A student of good standing in any of the integrated first degree/higher degrees 8.43
may be permitted, as a special case, by Dean, AUGS/AGSR to appear in the
Ph.D. Qualifying Examination, provided the requirements of Clause regarding
course package prescribed by DRC have been completed.
 54

(b) A Higher Degree student may be permitted to transfer to Ph.D. degree. Such a
student may also be awarded the higher degree on successful completion of
requirements of the same, while continuing to be a Ph.D. student.
(c) A bright and promising Integrated First Degree student may be transferred to
a Higher Degree/Ph.D. degree. Such a student will be automatically awarded
the intermediate First Degree(s) and Higher Degree in a concurrent way as
soon as all the requirements of the Degree(s) are completed. However, if a
student wants his/her intermediate First Degree/Higher Degree(s) at an earlier
time, he/she must opt for it within the semester after he/she completes the
requirements of First Degree/Higher Degree(s).
In case the CGPA of the transferred student falls below 5.50, he will
come under the purview of ACB, which will automatically transfer him/her
back to his/her Integrated First degree(s). Further, if a student does not
complete the requirements of Ph.D. degree, he may be transferred back at any
stage.
On passing Ph.D. Qualifying Examination under 8.05, the student may, with the 8.44
approval of Dean, AGSR, choose one of the following options to get formally
admitted to Ph.D. programme.
(i) He/she completes his/her present degree and joins the Ph.D. programme on a
date agreed to by the Institute.
(ii) He/she immediately becomes a Ph.D. student skipping his/her present degree
(telescoping). His/her current registration in the First Degree/Higher Degree
courses would be revised by cancelling registration in courses which are no
longer needed for his/her Ph.D. programme and adding courses which he/she
can use for his/her Ph.D. programme. The normal rule of transfer will operate
with the further condition that the total requirement in terms of courses and
other components for such a student would not be more than what it would
have been if he/she was directly admitted to the Ph.D. programme. As far as
possible, this formal transfer to the Ph.D. programme should take place in the
beginning of a semester. If, however, Dean, AGSR, in consultation with
DRC, is satisfied that sticking to the schedule will result in loss of time for
the student, he may permit such revision of registration even later than the
beginning of the semester.
If such a student does not appear in or pass the Ph.D. qualifying examination he/she 8.45
will be treated in the way described in clause
(a) A Ph.D. student may seek from Dean, AGSR a transfer to a Higher Degree 8.46
programme, subject to the general stipulation that he/she does not already
possess the same degree or its equivalent. If such a permission is given to
the student, he/she carries forward his/her up-to-date scholastic standing
in terms of courses, units, grades, CGPA and any sanctions, to this new
programme.
(b) Subject to the stipulation in clause above, it is possible for a Ph.D. student
who has been required to discontinue under clause 8.35, to seek a transfer
to one of the Higher Degrees of the Institute.
 55

(c) In both the above cases the transfer can be sought only in the beginning
of a semester and only to that Higher Degree which has been notionally
identified for him/her. The usual rules of transfer will apply. If this
permission is granted, the completed units for various courses and
research work wherever feasible may be credited for higher degree
subject to case by case examination.
The course work requirements of a higher degree may overlap with those of the 8.47
Ph.D. degree. When a Ph.D. student is doing higher degree courses, he may also
be permitted to register for additional requirements of the higher degree and may
be considered to be simultaneously a student of the higher degree as well as the
Ph.D. degree. He will be awarded the higher degree as soon as he completes the
requirements for the same and continue to be a Ph.D. student.

9. Graduation and Eligibility for all Degrees

A student is deemed to have fulfilled the requirement of graduation for an 9.01
integrated first degree (single or dual degree) or a higher degree when He/she has:
(i) cleared all courses prescribed for in his/her programme or his/her
composite programme, as the case may be;
(ii) cleared the total unit requirements of Thesis, Seminar and Dissertation
wherever applicable;
(iii) obtained a minimum CGPA of 4.50 in case of First Level
Diploma/B.Sc./Integrated First Degree programmes; and CGPA of 5.50 in
case of Higher Level Diploma/Higher Degree programmes unless stated
otherwise for a particular programmes.
(iv) remained outside the purview of ACB or been declared to be outside its
purview;
(v) overcome all consequential stipulations (see 4.20) of an NC report; except
where there if an NC report in an elective course over and above the
prescribed number of elective courses or in a course which has ceased to
be a part of his/her current programme as a result of the latest transfer
operations; and
(vi) satisfied all requirements of these regulations.
A first degree student admitted to a minor program is eligible to receive a minor 9.01a
certificate if he/she has completed the degree requirements stated above and has:
(i) completed the core courses required for the minor and the stipulated
number of electives from the pool for that minor
(ii) obtained a minimum CGPA of 4.50 in the courses applied to the minor.
A student is deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of graduation for a Ph.D. 9.02
degree when He/she has:
(i) passed the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination;
(ii) fulfilled the language requirement;
(iii) fulfilled Teaching Practice/ Practice Lecture Series / Research
Methodology requirement;
 56

(iv) cleared the total unit requirements, (including additional requirements,

if any) prescribed for Thesis and Seminar/Independent Study (see
8.22& 8.16);
(v) cleared all prescribed course-work;
(vi) obtained, where applicable, a minimum CGPA of 5.50 in coursework;
(vii) obtained a final grade in Thesis as ‘acceptable’;
(viii) overcome all consequential stipulations (see 4.20) of an NC report; and
(ix) satisfied all requirements of these regulations and those prescribed by
Dean, AGSR.
A student is deemed to have become eligible for the degree if, in addition to 9.03
satisfying the requirements of clause 9.01 or 9.02 as the case may be, He/she has :
(i) satisfied all rules of evaluation;
(ii) no case of indiscipline or unfair means is pending against him/her.
However, in case of a student having outstanding dues against him/her to be paid
to the Institute, Hostel or any other recognised organ of the Institute, his/her degree
will be withheld until the said dues are cleared.
(a) The following classification based on CGPA will be made for integrated 9.04
first degree programmes:
Distinction - CGPA 9.00 or more
I Division - CGPA 7.00 or more but less than 9.00
II Division - CGPA 4.50 or more but less than 7.00
Since the B.Sc. degree (for working professionals) also falls under a First
Degree programme of the institute, the criteria prescribed for the award of Division
for a B.Sc. degree shall be the same as that of other First Degree programmes as
specified under 9.04(a) above.
(b) No division will be awarded in diploma, higher degrees and Ph.D.
programmes.

10. Additional Regulations for off-campus, Work Integrated

Learning and Collaborative Programmes
While the Regulations described in earlier sections apply uniformly to all on- 10.01
campus and off-campus programmes of the Institute, some additional regulations
specifically applicable to the off-campus programmes are stated in this Section.
The on-campus and off-campus, Work Integrated Learning and Collaborative 10.02
programmes are defined in section 1.00.
While every on-campus degree programme can be theoretically offered as an 10.03
off-campus programme through the “Work Integrated Learning Programmes
Division” the Institute will decide from time to time, depending upon feasibility and
capability of maintaining corresponding standard, which on-campus degree can be
operated as off-campus programmes. However, certain off-campus degree
programmes, may not be offered as on-campus degree programmes. Since the
 57

admission criteria and the operational details may vary between on-campus and off-
campus programmes, transfer from on-campus to off-campus and vice versa, even
for the same discipline/branch, will not be automatic.
Whenever in a special situation the movement is permitted between on campus 10.04
and off-campus degree programmes, the same will not be conceived as a transfer, but
will be visualized as a notional readmission with the following criteria: “In the case
of a student permitted to move from off-campus to on-campus programmes, the
student should go through the competitive methodology employed for admission to
on-campus programmes and also satisfy other essential requirements. The students
who are permitted to move from on-campus to off-campus programmes have to
satisfy the conditions of the work environment in terms of facilities, mentor, etc. As
in the case of readmission, the academic credits will be carried over. Further
whenever such transfers take place, the degree awarded to a student will be the degree
in which He/she is registered during the last semester of his/her graduation”.
Since the off-campus the programmes invariably require suitable learning 10.05
environment for the students admitted to these programmes, the Institute will ensure
the viability of the physical facilities, availability of other manpower (who could act
as mentor/tutor for the students), motivation of students etc. before undertaking to
run any such programme. The off-campus programmes will normally be run for
students sponsored by their employers after ensuring the feasibility of converting
their work environment into a learning environment. The Institute may also decide
to run off-campus programmes as a manpower development programmes for the
employed professionals. An employed person admitted to any off-campus
programme will be treated as a full-time student and a full-time employee
simultaneously. However, there are some emerging areas where new manpower may
be required necessitating training of fresh students with the help of collaborating
organizations towards well defined professional goals. In such cases, the Institute can
also admit students who may not be already employed. However, all such students
would have access to all the infrastructural facilities and other resources of the
collaborating organization where the programme is conducted.
All the off-campus programmes will be conducted by the Work Integrated 10.06
Learning Programmes Division and its Dean will be the deciding authority in the
operation of all the necessary activities for the conduct of these programmes,
specifically, He/she will be the ex-officio instructor-in-charge for all courses offered
for the off-campus programmes and will be in-charge of registration, evaluation and
monitoring of the programmes. Wherever necessary, He/she will consult Dean,
AUGS/AGSR and Dean PS. The off- campus programmes will be conducted by a
team of instructors drawn from the Institute faculty with the active help and
participation of mentor/tutor from the host organisation or other organisations in the
same locale. The tutor/mentor will guide the students in self-study and serve as a link
between the instructor and student on all academic and other related matters. Every
student while applying for admission to an off-campus programme has to submit
consent of the organisation sponsoring him and also submit a detailed biodata and
consent of the tutor/mentor. Every tutor/mentor have to be approved by the Dean and
will be deemed to be a “teacher” of the Institute for the purpose of academic
regulation.
 58

Whenever the work environment of a student in any Work Integrated 10.07

Learning/Collaborative Programme ceases to be viable or when his/her sponsorship
is withdrawn by his/her employer, the student may be discontinued from the
programme and the Institute will have no further obligation in this matter. Similarly,
whenever an organisation, which agreed to collaborate with the Institute for running
a degree programme for a targetted population of the organisation, discontinues the
facilities necessary for the conduct of the programme, the Institute may cancel such
a programme without affording opportunity to these students registered therein to
complete their degrees. In such cases also, the Institute will have no further obligation
in this matter.
Students of the off-campus programmes may be permitted to take underload or 10.08
have gaps between semesters/terms. In such cases, pace of progress would be suitably
computed ignoring such gap(s) and clause 5.02(iii) will be applied accordingly.
For a targeted population with an aggregate level of background identified to be 10.09
of a higher level than the normal input level, certain truncated programmes consisting
of courses to be done by such candidates may be formulated. In working out such
truncated programmes, which will be deemed to be equivalent to full programmes
for the purpose of award of a degree, the AGC may, however, be not guided by a
course by course exemption out of a notional full programme as in the case of
students admitted on an advanced standing basis.
In addition to the general conditions specified in Section 7 of the Regulations for 10.10
operation of the flexibilities like transfer, dual degree, admissions with advanced
standing/marginal deficiency, etc., the following guidelines will be followed.
(a) Transfer:Transfers from one off-campus programme to another may be
permitted after a thorough examination of such a request on a case by case
basis by AGC (see also clause 10.04).
(b) Dual Degree: Conceptually dual degrees in the off-campus programmes
will not be valid because of their being target population oriented. Even
then, on rare occasions, requests for dual degrees may be entertained
provided in the corresponding alter-ego programmes in on-campus system
such dual degree combinations are permitted. Hence, each request for dual
degree will be examined on a case by case basis by the AGC.
(c) Admissions with Advanced Standing/Marginal Deficiency: There may
be cases for whom admissions may be considered on the basis of advanced
standing/marginal deficiency principle even in cases of students admitted
to truncated programmes.
The work integrated learning and collaborative programmes may have a 10.11
semester wise course structure with a view to sequencing of the courses. However,
such structures would not have the rigidity on-campus programmes' semester wise
course structures and as such prior preparation, backlog in registration, etc. will not
be very meaningful for the off-campus programmes. The courses like Work
Experience, Practice School, Thesis-Seminar, Internship, Dissertation, Project Work,
Capstone Project etc., have to be taken normally after completing all other course
work. Work Experience, Internship, Dissertation, Project Work, Capstone Project,
Project and Practice School courses are not interchangeable even if such courses are
 59

offered in the same locale.

The Institute may enter into collaborative arrangements with industries, R&D 10.12
labs., universities etc. and may introduce suitable degree programmes in all tiers of
education to match the needs of human resource development in host organisations.
The Institute may also introduce diploma programmes at the first level as well as the
higher level. The Institute may also permit in specific first degree programmes
multiple exit points leading to first level diploma or senior first level diploma in the
same discipline.
A higher level diploma may be part of a higher degree programme. Some 10.13
students admitted to the higher degree programme may be notionally considered
as the students of the diploma programme, upon completion of which they may be
permitted to continue for the higher degree.
Since the degree/diploma programmes are designed to suit the manpower 10.14
development needs and are based on student inputs with diverse qualifications/
and/or experiences, the unit requirements of such programmes will be spelt out when
the same are introduced if they differ from the existing programmes. The matter will
be reported to the Senate.
The eligibility for the award of First Level, Senior First Level and Higher Level 10.15
diplomas will be worked out as per clauses 9.01 and 9.03.
Certain contingencies may arise when the academic calendar of a Work 10.16
Integrated Learning and Collaborative Programme differs from the normal
academic calendar of the Institute. Whenever such a contingency arises, the
academic calendar of that programme will be worked out by the Dean, WILP in
consultation with the clause 1.08 Committee. If such a reworked calendar routinely
differs from the normal calendar, it may be termed as labile semester/term, if so
required for operational purposes.
Under very special circumstances, a student may be permitted to register in on- 10.17
campus as well as off-campus courses during any semester/term. Such registration as
well as the necessary credit transfer will be permitted by Clause 1.08 Committee in
the case of Integrated First Degree programmes and by the Higher Degree
Counselling Committee in the case of Higher Degree programmes, on a case by case
basis.
Since all off-campus degree programmes are heavily committed and are 10.18
operated in collaboration and association with named organisations, students
admitted to any such programme are also subject to the general discipline and code
of conduct applicable to the employees of these organisations. Failure of a student to
conform with the same may result in his/her being required to discontinue from
his/her programme.
Some off-campus degree programmes may have students without any affiliation 10.19
to a particular organisation and some may have students not affiliated to a
collaborating organisation but to certain like-minded organisations. However, for all
such students, consent of the collaborating organisations would be necessary.
In all off-campus programmes the pedagogy will emphasise self-study and 10.20
discussions along with traditional methods of instruction.
Since the off-campus programmes heavily depend on the facilities and the 10.21
 60

environment provided by the collaborating organizations, some unforeseen

exigencies may arise necessitating termination of a programme in the midstream. In
such exigencies the Institute may take possible steps to salvage the situation, if the
concerned students fully cooperate in such measures.
The location and pursuit of courses like dissertation, Project Work, Project, 10.22
Capstone Project, internship, work experience etc., of the off-campus programmes
need not necessarily coincide with the town and organization where other courses for
a same programme were conducted due to organisational needs or the nature of
special courses. However, wherever such courses are conducted there must be a
collaborating organisation to ensure the necessary facilities and environment.
Additional transcript, similar to the type of Practice School Transcript giving 10.23
pedagogy and details of the programmes may also be issued to the students of off-
campus programmes by the Work Integrated Learning Programmes Division.
At the end of every semester/term the following minimum academic standards 10.24
have to be achieved by the students in the various off-campus, Work Integrated
Learning and Collaborative Programmes:
(i) The student should not have secured any E grade.
(ii) A student should have CGPA of at least 4.50 in the case of integrated first
degree/first level diploma and at least 5.50 in the case of higher degree/higher
level diploma.
(iii) A student should have at least cleared as per his/her latest performance, such
courses (counted from the point of his/her entry into the Institute) as are
prescribed for a period that corresponds to two-thirds of the number of semesters
spent by him/her since his/her entry into the Institute with reference to his/her
current programme. This means that at any stage of reckoning the student should
not have spent more than 50% extra time than what is prescribed for him/her
upto that stage.
Students who do not meet one or more of the requirements given in clause 10.24 10.25
will come under the purview of Academic Monitoring Board consisting of the
following members: Dean, Work Integrated Learning Programmes (Convenor),
Associate Dean, Work Integrated Learning Programmes, Dean AUGS, Dean AGSR,
Dean Practice School.
This Board will function the same way as the Academic Counselling Board and
also will have all the authorities of the ACB mentioned in Section 5 of the Academic
Regulations.
Certain specialized programmes may require situation-specific/person-centered 10.26
operational rules. This will be approved by the concerned authorities and shall be
notified from time to time through Information Brochure(s) of Work Integrated
Learning Programmes Division, Institute Bulletin, etc.

11. Linkages with earlier Regulations

This Academic Regulation incorporates all the changes that have been approved 11.01
by the Senate after the printing of the previous version of the Academic Regulations.
These regulations will apply to the continuing students in all programmes 11.02
 61

admitted under earlier regulations in addition to the transitory provisions applicable

to them.

12. Follow-Through Actions

In a system of continuous evaluation where the various components of teaching
and evaluation culminate at the end of each semester, it is but natural to view the
registration process and all related activities as a continuous operation in search of
finding out when a student meets the requirements of graduation. To pursue this task
methodically and effectively, use is made of what is known as Eligibility Sheet,
which is actually a reproduction of the semester wise pattern for each student with
any additional components, if found necessary. Recalling that information on the
registration card is tallied against the grade sheet, all information available up to the
latest grade sheet is abstracted, entered and updated in the Eligibility Sheet semester
after semester. In the performance of this task it would be useful to recall certain
nomenclature which have been already defined in these regulations.
Whenever a student has properly registered in a course, the outcome at the end
of the semester will be a grade or a report (except for a course registered originally
but subsequently substituted by another course at the time of amendment of the
original registration). The above outcome is defined as a performance in a course.
When the performance is a grade, the student is said to have cleared the course. When
this grade does not fulfil the prerequisite requirement of a subsequent course, the
grade would be termed `inadequate' or 'not adequate'.
Now, these regulations provide for a student to repeat a course at his/her own
option or for a designated authority to require a course to be registered again, even
after this course has been cleared earlier with or without adequate grade. Visualizing
that the student may make several attempts at the same course throughout his/her
existence in the programme, the Eligibility Sheet will continuously record the grades
and reports against each course in his/her programme through this multiple
performance.
Above entries made against a course produce a series of performances. It is,
however, only the last performance which will guide action. A simplified procedure
is to ignore all Ws and all innocuous RCs and look at the latest performance in the
truncated series. If this latest performance in the truncated series is a grade, it
becomes the operative grade for the purpose of CGPA, prerequisite, repetition of the
course and all other matters of registration where the information about grade in a
course is necessary. If the latest performance in the truncated series is a report, the
nature of the report will control further action.
For the operation of these regulations, the meaning of the word Electives can be
understood only in the context in which it is being used. When it is used with
reference to a classification of a course by a discipline or a category, it denotes the
academic objective of that course in relation to other courses. When this term is used
in the context of the structure, it refers to a category of courses which are not named
in the Bulletin or by a designated authority. Thus, the elective courses in the context
of structure are simply the courses which a student selects from a pool of available
courses outside his/her own named courses. This pool, therefore, will contain, among
others, courses which are academically definable as Core Course(s)and their
 62

extensions known as Discipline Courses other than Compulsory (Discipline

Elective).
Structurally speaking, the specific discipline character of a programme is
bestowed by the categories Core Course(s), which is compulsory and Discipline
elective, which is optional. These courses simply cannot be placed in a general
cafeteria for non-majors to pick and choose. Before placing these courses in the
general pool, their integrity must be preserved by devising suitable protective
restrictions around them.
By the same token, the theme of flexibilities cannot be allowed to be overstated
to such an extent that the academic selectivity, challenge and rigour are to be relaxed
in any application of these flexibilities.
The meaning and the application of some other expressions in these regulations
will be clear only after a point of reckoning before a semester/term has been selected
in respect of each student in the semester wise pattern of his/her prescribed
programme. This point of reckoning depends on the efflux of time from the date of
entry of the student into the Institute and identifies the current semester for the
student.
Prescribed Semester Courses (PSC) are those courses which appear in the
student's current semester; while higher level courses are courses which appear in
his/her subsequent semesters and Backlog (BL) courses appears in his/her previous
semesters.
The specific meaning and operation attached to the term BL aim to determine
how the clearing of backlog can be simultaneously done along with forward
movement in a controlled manner. Further, according to this postulate of BL in case
like admission with advanced standing, admission with marginal deficiency, transfer,
etc., a student may begin with a backlog even at the point of entry to his/her
programme.
On the other hand, the requirement of prior preparation is stated in terms of what
courses a student must have cleared before He/she is allowed to register in certain
intended course like PS, TS or a set of courses like Core Courses. The lack of this
prior preparation, even by a single course, precludes registration in the above
intended courses.
The requirement of prerequisite is always described only in terms of a pair of
courses where grade obtained in the first must be adequate before a student is
permitted to register in the second.
Having thus introduced these terms, it would be illuminating to compare and
contrast the three expressions: backlog, prior preparation and prerequisite. In spite of
the apparent similarity in the concept and purpose behind these three expressions, it
should be clear that their definitions are unique, they are not interchangeable terms
and their applications are for meeting distinctly different needs. While prior
preparation and prerequisite are requirements without which forward movement is
prohibited, backlog is an information on a list of courses which measures the burden
of the past and perceives what supplementary efforts are needed to move forward.
While backlog and prior preparation estimates scan all courses (in different sets)
previous to the point of reckoning, prerequisite deals with a pair of courses on a one-
 63

to-one correspondence. Gradewise, prior preparation requires only the minimum

grade, prerequisite requires a specific grade which may be more than the minimum
and backlog is concerned with both minimum grades as well as adequate grades. To
appreciate and apply these regulations meaningfully, it should be borne in mind that
these three expressions have highly specific imports and applications. These are not
to be used synonymously or interchangeably.
Having described the format of the information base, three distinct parts of the
follow-through actions will now be enumerated for a thumb nail reference for all
concerned.
(a) Registration time
1. Clause 3.09 will inform whether the student can be registered at all in the
semester.
2. The correct courses of (BL) and (PSC) in which the student can be registered
are to be identified as per clauses 3.25(a),3.21 & 10.11.
3. (i) The first charge in the registration card shall always be (BL) which
reduces to (OBL). If the student remains content in registering in (OBL) or
less He/she will not register in any other course in the semester.
(ii) If the student wants to proceed beyond (OBL) his/her second charge must
be (OPSC) or at least a portion of (OPSC).
(iii) If He/she has only (OBL) plus a part of (OPSC), He/she cannot register
in any other course in the semester.
(iv) If the student registers in (OBL) plus (OPSC) only, then He/she can be
permitted to register in higher level/repeat course.
(v) Certain conflicts between (OBL) and (OPSC) in the full formulation can
be resolved only by Dean, AUGS/AGSR (clauses 3.25 I, II, III & IV).
4. Where a student has no (OBL), his/her first charge is (PSC) and the above
formulation will begin with (PSC) rather than (BL).
5. Courses belonging to a prerequisite chain should be fully scrutinized before
registration is permitted. Similarly, conditions of over preparedness, under
preparedness and banning of certain courses to specific group of students as
specified in the Bulletin (see clauses 3.13, 3.15, 3.18 & Bulletin).
6. Before permitting registration in courses like PS I, PS II, TS, Core Courses for
single or dual degree, the required prior preparation enunciated in clause 3.14
must be ensured.
7. In the selection of courses under elective/the conditions imposed in clause 3.15
must be fulfilled.
8. Registration in electives in addition to the required number needs certain
vigilance as described in clauses 2.08& 2.09.
9. For courses to be taken only on audit, clause 7.33 to be consulted.
10. It is to be noted that in the integrated first degree programmes and higher
degree programmes, there is no scope for taking any other course along with
PS or Thesis-Seminar or Internship I or Internship II.
 64

(b) Post-registration
(Soon after original registration and in the current semester)
1. Task envisaged in clause 1.12 regarding students who are on rolls of the Institute
or are off the rolls of the Institute to be completed.
2. Decisions to be taken in regard to cancellation, if necessary, of certain courses
(3.20, 3.27(g) & 7.06).
3. All registrations in the current semester to be checked for correctness and for
action and wrong registrations to be cancelled (3.27(a)).
4. Implementation of amendments revisions to the original registration to be taken
up (3.26 & 3.27).
5. Continuous overall monitoring of instruction and evaluation throughout the
semester to be maintained (4.26).
6. Identification of students who are anticipated to graduate at the end of the
current semester is to be made.
7. Action after submission of the Ph.D. thesis as per clauses 8.26 & 8.27 to be
initiated.
(c) Pre-registration
(Prior actions before registration in coming semester)
1. Grade sheets where necessary to be withheld. (4.22)
2. Eligibility sheet to be brought up-to-date and latest status in courses with more
than one performance to be ascertained after completing the pending provisions
for certain reports. (1.16, 4.13 to 4.20)
3. CGPA to be updated. (1.13)
4. The minimum academic requirements are to be fulfilled by each student. Where
any student falls below this minimum, his/her case is to be referred to ACB.
(5.02 & 5.03)
5. Requirements of graduation to be verified for those students who fulfil the same.
(Section 9)
6. Status on use of number of electives to be verified for further action. (2.08&
4.20 (b))
7. Identification to be made of an inadequate grade in course which is the
prerequisite of another course. (1.16)
8. Identification of NC reports and 'unsatisfactory' interim grades to be completed
for further action. (4.20, 8.26 & 8.35)
9. Copies of all question papers, hand-outs, and other necessary information to be
collected. (4.23)
10. Feedback received from previous semester to be analysed and to be acted upon.
(4.26)
11. Preparation to be made for implementing decisions on transfer, dual degree,
admission with advanced standing, admission with marginal deficiency,
admission in the second semester, conversion of the status of Ph.D. students
from provisional to formal. (Section 7, 8.01, 10.04 & 10.10)
12. Semester wise programme details, where not available in the Bulletin, to be
worked out. (1.08, 1.08(a) and 2.12)
13. Course offerings, proposed hand-outs and scheduling of examinations are to be
arranged. (4.26)
 65

14. Courses which are restricted to particular population and also courses which
can be offered only after the original registration date, are to be identified
(3.27(g)).
15. Timetable to be finalised.
16. Preparation to be made for determining the correct package of courses for the
semester for each student. For students in programmes which have to be
worked out on a case by case basis, consult 1.09. For students under purview
of ACB, section 5 has to be consulted.
17. Prior determination of whether or not the student has fulfilled the prior
preparation requirement for first time registration in Core Courses and as well
as registration in PS/TS to be made. (3.14)
18. For each student, the estimate of the (BL) is to be made as per clauses 3.25 I
& 3.25 IV.
19. As soon as information on (OBL) and (OPSC) are available, this task is to be
completed as per clause 3.25(d).
20. In regard to registration of students under the purview of ACB, estimates of
(BL) and (PSC) or (OBL) and (OPSC) are not to be used for registration
purposes but to be used by ACB itself. (5.04 & 10.08)
21. Allotment of students for PS, TS, Dissertation, project courses and
Internship in terms of timing, stations and other details to be finalised.
22. Record if any in the coming semester Thesis-Seminar are to be decoupled
(6.17)
23. Prepare for any delayed PS I or additional PS I as an elective operation.
(6.08)
24. Requested and workable summer courses are to be planned. (Section 7(b))
25. Identification of Ph.D. Inputs. (8.02)
26. Identification of Ph.D. course-work.(8.03)
27. Decision of Language requirement for Ph.D. students. (8.12 to 8.14)
28. Decision on Teaching Practice/Practice Lecture Series. (8.15 & 2.12)
29. Topic of Research for Ph.D. students. (8.19)
30. Monitoring of academically weak Ph.D. students. (8.38)
31. Discontinuation of Ph.D. students. (8.35)
32. Action to be reported to Senate (8.38,7.03,10.14) and Research Board
(8.38).

13. Revision
These regulations would be subject to modification and revision by the Senate 13.01
from time to time.
Note: The booklet has been corrected/ratified upto the 208th Senate held on September 8,
2022. Any decisions/guidelines passed after the 208th Senate shall be corrected in later
editions of the booklet. The regulations mentioned in this booklet is currently not
applicable for BITSoM, Mumbai Campus of BITS Pilani.
 66

Note: Gender Sensitive, Inclusive, Non-Discriminatory Use of Language

Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani) recognizes that human beings
have diverse gender identities. The Institute recognizes that all individuals of all gender identities
and all sexual orientations are entitled to the full enjoyment of all human rights. Therefore, BITS
Pilani is striving to use gender sensitive, inclusive, non-discriminatory language in all its
documentation and communications. Whereever there are acronyms/ images/ words/ phrases or
other forms of usages in this document that refer to a specific gender (or genders), it is intended
that those usages are applicable equitably to all gender identities including those that transcend
the gender binary. The Institute will periodically reassess linguistic usages as the gender
discourses continue to evolve.
innovate achieve lead

Academic
Regulations
Pilani-333 031, Rajasthan, India. www.bits-pilani.ac.in