The Islamia University of Bahawalpur

786 The Islamia University of Bahawalpur REGULATIONS FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION UNDERGRADUATE/POSTGRADUATE/MPHIL & PHD ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES UNDER SEMESTER SYSTEM These rules will be called the Islamia University of Bahawalpur distance education rules and will be effective from the year 2011. Preamble The Institute of Distance Education intends to make a history of preparing professionals in all fields and to promote a culture of learning through modern technology. It aims to foster a culture of education within a diverse community of learners without limiting them within campus walls but to make their work and living places as learning stations. The distance education system will be operated through Program Committee, Program Coordinator and Course Coordinator. Each course coordinator will prepare self learning course material. The course material will include course outline with detailed contents, handouts, activities, assignments and examinations schedule. The same will be gradually prepared in electronic (CDs) format. The students will study the instructional material at their homes or work place through self-study approach and complete the assignments given to them. At the end of 7 weeks there will a face to face two days workshop for each course. The main areas of course contents will be discussed during the workshops along with student s individual/group presentations. Course Coordinator will conduct the workshop and at the end of each course workshop she/he will take the mid-term examination and announce the result before the end of workshop. Similarly, after 15 th week of the semester second workshop will be conducted of 2 days duration by the Course Coordinator and conduct final-term examination. The complete result of the semester will be announced at the end of final-term workshop. When possible the selected lectures and material will be uploaded on the varsity/institutes website for open access to all the students with log in details. Academic guidance will be made through e-mail, audio and video-conferences, Mobile technology and local study centers. The learning of the students will be 1

evaluated through mid-term examination (30%), final term examination (50%) and assignments/presentations (20%). Following table shows the details of the workshops and assessment. S. NO Workshops and assessment Orientation Workshop One day in the beginning of the program Mid-semester Workshop 8-12 days after seven weeks (02 days for each course) Mid-term exam At the end of each course workshop Final-semester Workshop 8-12 days after seven weeks (02 days for each course) Final-term exam At the end of each course workshop 1- Admission schedule and eligibility criteria The approved programs offered for students through distance education will be advertised with the formal admission schedule. These admissions may be once a year in fall semester or twice a year in both fall and winter semesters. Each year the fall semester will start normally from September of the current year and will continue to January of the next year while the spring semester will be operated from February to June. The eligibility for admission in each program will be determined by the department and it will normally be according to the criteria set for the same degree in formal mode and it should meet the basic admission requirements decided by HEC. 2- Scheme of study and distribution of courses Each of the programs offered through distance education will normally follow the rules already made for regular face to face teaching in terms of credit hours, duration, number of regular semesters and credit hours per semester. These durations and credits are based on the standards set by 2

HEC and are subject to change on the directions of HEC issued from time to time. Program BS four Master M. Phil PhD Year two year Total No. of Credit Hours 124-136 62-68 30 30 Semester Duration 16-18 Weeks 16-18 Weeks 16-18 Weeks 16-18 Weeks Number of Regular 8 4 4 2 Semesters Credit hours per Semester 15-18 15-18 15-18 15-18 Credit Credit Credit Credit Hours Hours Hours Hours Explanation: A department may swap the courses of different semesters according to the needs or the availability of teaching faculty. 3- Program and course coordinators Each department will have one program coordinator who will be responsible for smooth functioning of the program starting from admission to the end of graduation. If a department is offering more than one programs through DE it may have more than one program coordinators. Similarly, for each course within a program there will be one course coordinator for each course who will prepare course book/study guide/course guide. The course material will include course material on the selected contents according to the format provided by IDE. The same will be prepared in book/module/electronic (CDs) format and distributed among the students. The course coordinator will be responsible to conduct workshops of the assigned course in the form of presentations. She/he will also be responsible for preparing mid/final term papers at the end of each workshop and handover the marked scripts within two days to the program 3

coordinator to show the students and declare the result before the end of the workshop. 4- Program committee There will be a program committee that will consist of the following members: a) For Departments of Main Campuses in Bahawalpur i) Head of the department/chairperson ii) Program coordinator iii) Course coordinators (may be upto six) iv) One representative from IDE v) Controller of Examinations, IUB or his nominee not below the rank of Admin Officer. b) For Sub-Campuses of IUB i) Director ii) Chairperson/Head of the Department iii) Program Coordinator/s iv) Course coordinator/s v) One representative from IDE vi) Controller of examinations, IUB or his nominee not below the rank of Admin Officer. c) For Constituent Colleges of IUB i) Principal ii) Chairperson/Head of the Department iii) Program Coordinator/s iv) Course coordinator/s v) One representative from IDE vi) Controller of Examinations, IUB or his nominee not below the rank of Admin Officer. 5.1- Functions of the Program Committee i) Prepare and announce schedule of examination 4

ii) Conduct the examination process according to the schedule iii) Maintain secrecy where required iv) Maintain the examination record v) Entertain & dispose of rechecking cases as per university general rules 5.2- Functions of the Examination Committee The main functions of the Committee will be: i) Prepare and recommend course/s of program/s, Contents and material of the courses to the departmental Board of studies for further recommendations ii) Prepare and announce academic schedule of the workshops, distribution of material, submission of assignments, mid/final term examinations and any other mode of teaching-learning and evaluation. The academic schedule must be sent to the Controller of Examinations for information iii) Finalize the results after the completion of evaluation process for notification iv) Analyze the results for the purpose of maintaining uniform standards v) Review and make decision regarding learning material, assignments or marking of scripts on student/s request after the submission of prescribed fee vi) Take the necessary action against the student/s involved in malpractices or misconduct during the examination. The examination committee may impose a penalty/penalties mentioned below against each type of malpractice: Malpractices or misconduct Cheating during exam Seek help from others during exam Penalty Fine of Rs: 1000/- or Cancellation of paper or both Fine of Rs: 1000/- or Cancellation of paper 5

Misconduct during Exam Provoke to boycott Any other misconduct or malpractice Fine of Rs: 1000/- or Cancellation of paper Fine of Rs. 2000/- and placing on probation for the next semester Fine of Rs. 1000/- or Cancellation of paper or both 6) Rights of appeal A student who feels not satisfied with the assessment of her/his assignments, presentations, workshops, mid-term and final term papers may file an appeal to the Program Committee. The student must approach the Head of the Department within five working days from the date of declaration of the result by paying a prescribed fee of Rs: 500/-. The Head of the institute / Department shall forward the grievances to the program committee and it will be binding on the committee for hearing both sides (student and the instructor), and will give a final decision within 5 days or before the start of registration for the new semester. If the grievances are found false the result of the course under question will be cancelled. The functions of this committee will be: i) To resolve any dispute related to the evaluation of assignments, presentations and examinations ii) Quorum for the meeting will be 60% iii) In absence of a member the Vice chancellor will appoint another member iv) The decision of the Committee will be final Explanation: Where appeal is against a teacher who is the member of the Program Committee the next senior teacher will be co-opted. 7- Answer sheets record The course coordinator will prepare the objective and short answer parts of paper giving space for writing answers. The students will answer these 6

parts of the paper on the space given in the questions paper. For essay type part of the question paper the Controller of Examinations will provide answer/continuation sheets to all the departments on demand. The department concerned will keep the used answer sheets for one year after completion of the concerned session and declaration of its final term result. The record of blank answer/continuation sheets will be maintained as to be prescribed by Controller of Examinations. 8- Attendance and other requirements for examination a) 12 hours attendance will be required in each workshop of a course to qualify for appearing in the mid and final examinations of each semester in the respective course b) Inability to attend the workshop/s shall be treated as failure in that course c) In case a student due to some unavoidable circumstances (Performing Umra, accident or such other genuine reasons) has less than 12 hours attendance in the workshop but more than 8 hours must make up the deficiency in the form of extra assignment/s d) A student who fails to attend the workshops of all courses due to any reason will have to attend the workshops together with the next group of the same semester. In case of no such group the student has to request for a special workshop on payment of Rs; 1000 for M. Phil and PhD and Rs: 600 for BS and master level courses. e) The students who do not submit the required assignments within due date/s will not be eligible to appear in the mid/final examinations of a course. f) No student shall be eligible to appear in any examination unless he/she is registered in the department and has paid all the necessary dues. 9. Performance evaluation Students shall be evaluated through a system of continuous evaluation spread over the entire period. The details are presented below: 7

9.1 Theoretical Component There will be following stages/components of evaluation of each course during each semester. Assignments 10% Participation in two workshop 05% Two workshops presentation/discussion/group work 05% Mid-term Exam 30% Final term-exam 50% Sessional Marks 9.2 Criteria a) Assignment: One assignment (minimum) will be given to the students in each course. The teachers may give more than one assignments where necessary. However, the total marks will remain the same. The assignments will be assessed on the basis of information and references included, logical reasoning and organization of material. Separate guidelines will be provided to students for writing assignments. b) Participation in Workshop: A total of 5 marks are allocated to students participation in all workshops of the course. Out of 12 hours workshop 9 hours participations is mandatory to qualify for the next exam. c) Presentation/discussion/group work: A total of 5 marks are allocated to students presentation/discussion/group work during the workshops of the course. The students will in groups (Not more than 10) give comprehensive presentation of their assignments. Each presentation should not be longer than 15-20 minutes followed by a Q/A session. d) Mid-Term Examination: The mid-term examination will be conducted after the mid-term workshop that will normally be conducted after about 7 weeks of self study. There will be different types of questions. The type and 8

number of questions included in the exam, the division of marks and the time allocated for each component is given below: Types of No. of Questions Questions Marks Time Allocated Objective Type Questions 10 10 15min Short Answer Questions 5 10 25min Essay type Question 1 10 35min Total - 30 1:15 hour e) Final-term exam: The final-term examination will be conducted after the final-term workshop that will normally be conducted after about 14/15 weeks of self study. The pattern of the question paper will be same as mentioned earlier for mid-term examination. The type and number of questions included in the exam, the division of marks and the time allocated for each component is given below: Types of Questions No. of Questions Marks Time Allocated Objective Type Questions 20 20 30 min Short Answer Questions 7 15 35 min Essay type Questions 2-3 15 55 min Total - 50 2 hours Explanation: At the time of mid-term/final-term examinations the course coordinator who is normally course teacher will conduct her/himself the examination with the help of one assistant or clerk. If the students are more than 30 but less than 60 another teacher will help course teacher. For every additional 30 students one more teacher and clerk will be taken as invigilator. 9

9.3 Field work/internship Generally, programs of applied nature are not offered through distance education. However, if there is any program that has any course involving field work/internship the following procedure will be adopted to complete the course. The theoretical part of the course will be completed by the student through self study material and field work/internship mechanism will be evolved by the department. The division of marks for various components of the course is given below. Student must complete all the parts of the course. In ability to complete any part of the course shall be treated as failure in that course. A department may adopt a different division of marks for assessment keeping in view the requirements of the course with prior approval of the competent authority. Course components Marks Total marks Assignment/s based on the given material 10 Workshop with Mid-term 20 Field work/internship 30 100 Report/Dissertation/Progress report etc. 25 Final presentation/ Viva Voce 15 b) Theoretical examination: (20%) Type of Questions Marks Time Questions to evaluate understating principles and procedures of the work as well as critical thinking to 10 1.15 enhance problem solving hrs Preparation of portfolio/practical design and 10 implementation plan of proposed field work/internship 10

c) Field work/internship For each such course that involves field work/internship, the total number of hours required to complete the task will be calculated by the department. The student will be placed for field work/internship at the place of mutual convenience. This placement will be considered as the substitute of mandatory workshops and assessed by both the placement supervisor and the teacher concerned. Student must submit a report as evidence of her/his field work. If required the group of the students may be taken anywhere in Pakistan for field work at their own expenses. 10. Semester duration The total duration of a semester will be 16 weeks. Student will be given self study material for to study at home or at workplace and complete the given assignment within a period of 6/7 weeks. After 6/7 weeks a face to face two day workshop will be conducted for each theoretical course of 12 hours duration and 3/4 day (24 hours) for practical course according to the given schedule. The mid-term examination will be conducted at the end of the mid-term course workshop. Similarly, the self study material will be given for the second half of the semester and workshops of the same duration will be conducted after 14/15 weeks for each course followed by the finalterm examination or presentation of report/viva voce for the respective course. The final term exam will be based on the entire syllabi of the semester. However, the weightage of the syllabi taught before mid-term should be 20%. 11- Standard duration of credit hour Theory: 1 Credit hour is equal to16 credit hours in a semester Practical: 1 Credit hour is equal to 32-48 hours in a semester 12. Grading i) Students will be rated according to the 4 letter grade system i.e. A, B, C and D, with nine performance levels of A +, A, B, C and D for Master Degree. For these grades F will be the failing grade. Equivalence 11

between letter grades, grade points along with percentages shall be as follows: GRADING CRITERIA/READY RECKNOR TABLE Numeric Grade Letter Remarks Numeric Grade Letter Remarks Equivalence Point Grade Equivalence Point Grader 100 4.0 A+ Excellent 74 3.3 B Good 99 4.0 A+ Excellent 73 3.2 B Good 98 4.0 A+ Excellent 72 3.1 B Good 97 4.0 A+ Excellent 71 3.1 B Good 96 4.0 A+ Excellent 70 3.0 B Good 95 4.0 A+ Excellent 69 2.9 C Satisfactory 94 4.0 A Very Good 68 2.8 C Satisfactory 93 4.0 A Very Good 67 2.7 C Satisfactory 92 4.0 A Very Good 66 2.6 C Satisfactory 91 4.0 A Very Good 65 2.5 C Satisfactory 90 4.0 A Very Good 64 2.4 C Satisfactory 89 4.0 A Very Good 63 2.3 C Satisfactory 88 4.0 A Very Good 62 2.2 C Satisfactory 87 4.0 A Very Good 61 2.0 C Satisfactory 86 4.0 A Very Good 60 2.0 C Satisfactory 85 4.0 A Very Good 59 1.9 D Poor 84 3.9 B Good 58 1.8 D Poor 83 3.9 B Good 57 1.7 D Poor 82 3.8 B Good 56 1.6 D Poor 81 3.7 B Good 55 1.5 D Poor 80 3.7 B Good 54 1.4 D Poor 79 3.6 B Good 53 1.3 D Poor 78 3.5 B Good 52 1.2 D Poor 77 3.5 B Good 51 1.1 D Poor 76 3.4 B Good 50 1.0 D Poor 75 3.3 B Good Below 50 F Fail 12

ii) Fraction marks 0.50 and above obtained in a course is to be rounded up to the next whole figure such as 64.50 to 65.00. iii) SGPA of a student will be calculated as below: Course Marks Credit Obtained Hours (%) Grade GP Quality Point C G C x G I 2 95 A + 4.00 08.00 II 3 88 A 3.70 11.10 III 3 87 A 3.70 11.10 IV 3 70 B 3.00 09.00 V 2 67 C 2.70 05.40 Total 13 44.60 SGPA = Sum of QP / Sum of Credit Hours SGPA = 44.60/13 = 3.43 SGPA = Sum of n Quality Points / Sum of Credit Hours of n semesters 13. Maintaining enrolment/good standing To remain on the roll of the department a student has to continuously maintain in time submission of the assignments, minimum 80% attendance in the workshops, appear in mid and final term examinations and obtain minimum CGPA of 2.00 in each semester. Inability to meet any of the conditions mentioned above will make the student ineligible for the award of degree. However, at the end of first semester a student fulfils all the requirements with a minimum SGPA of 1.4 will be eligible for promotion to the second semester. 13.1 The minimum CGPA for award of degree will be 2:00 with no F grade 13.2 A student may clear his/her failed course/s or subjects in which obtained D grade by repeating the said courses at the end of the subsequent 13

workshops of the same course/s to be offered by the department on the payment of the prescribed fee of Rs: 1000 for each course 13.3 If a student has genuine personal problem or is seriously ill and produces a medical certificate duly signed by MS of the respective area and has completed all other formalities but missed the workshop coupled with mid/final term examination/s the department will arrange a special workshop/s and examination/s for the student on paying Rs: 1000 per course. The medical certificate and information of the personal problem must reach the department before or on the examination date. The genuineness of the personal problem will be determined by HOD/Chairman whose decision will be final. Such a student will be given incomplete (I) grade. 13.4 A student who fails to attend the workshops of all courses without any genuine reason will have to attend the workshops together with the next group of the same semester. In case of no such group the student has to request for a special workshop on payment of Rs; 3000 for M. Phil and PhD and Rs: 2000 for each BS and master level courses. 14 Repeating courses Student who fails in any course has to pass the course within the specified time duration of the degree. The student(s) desiring to repeat fail course(s) with subsequent workshop/s will request in writing to the HOD/Chairman concerned within ten days of the commencement of the workshop. If allowed by the HOD/Chairman, the student will have to deposit fee of Rs. 1500/- for each course. Similarly, a student can improve D & C grades with a view to improve CGPA. Following are the conditions for repeating a course: I. Whenever a student fails should repeat the course when it is offered to improve her/his grade. II. A student can repeat a maximum of three courses at BS and master levels and maximum two at M. Phil and PhD levels during a semester to improve or pass her/his grades. 14

III. In case a student repeats the course which has already been awarded D or C grade/s only better course grade should be included in her/his transcripts. IV. The student(s) shall have to deposit a prescribed fee of Rs. 3000/- per course at BS/ Master and Rs. 5000/- per course at M. Phil/PhD in advance. 15- Semester break//freezing 15.1 In case a student due to some unavoidable circumstances (prolonged illness, performing Haj or such other genuine reasons) is unable to continue his studies, she/he may apply for a semester break. This option, however, will be available only once during the course of his/her studies. The case will be put up to the Program Committee for consideration. In case, the Committee recommends to the dean who if approves, semester break will be allowed for a maximum period of one year. The student will join the next semester after the semester break and the parked semester will study after completing all semesters. 15.2 The total time period however, for completion of the program will remain same as already prescribed in these rules. 15.3 Withdrawal from a course will be allowed latest up to mid-term workshop. Withdrawn course will appear on transcript with letter grade W. Explanation: Where courses of a prior semester(s) are deemed as pre-requisite for subsequent semester(s) those who have availed semester break will have to clear such courses(s) of earlier semester before proceeding to the next semester. 16. Program duration Generally, there will be a two years Master and four years Bachelor program but a student repeating the course(s) shall be required to complete the course(s) within a maximum period of one additional academic year. Thus, the maximum time period to complete Postgraduate Program is three academic years and for undergraduate program it will be 15

five years. The maximum period for M. Phil and PhD will remain same as approved for such programs in formal system. 17. Thesis/Research Report Students at BS, MA/MSc, MS/MPhil and PhD levels may be required to conduct a small or large scale study as the partial fulfillment of their degree program. Students will prepare thesis/research report under the guidance of a supervisor. The supervisor will generally be a full time faculty member whether regular or contract and paid remuneration as per approved rates. However, the co-supervisor may be a full-time or part-time senior faculty member from within the Islamia University of Bahawalpur or from any other institution in or out of Pakistan. Explanation: Other rules for conducting research at M. Phil and PhD levels will remain same as already approved for formal programs. 18. Internship/Project Every student at graduate level is required to write a project report (similar to thesis with less intensity) or will do his / her internship in an organization which relates to his / her discipline. This is to be done when the student is at senior level, i.e. final year under the supervision of a full time (regular and contract) faculty member. 19. Thesis/Project evaluation For undergraduate and postgraduate programs there will be a departmental Research Committee (DRC) comprising HOD/Chairman and two senior most teachers of the department with one co-opted member of the concerned specialized area (if any). It will be approved by the Dean concerned on recommendations of HOD/Chairman. 19.1 Functions of DRC i) Provisional approval of research topics for each student/group ii) Approval of supervisors 16

iii) Recommendation of a panel of external examiners for approval by the Vice Chancellor. iv) Conduct of evaluation/viva Voce. v) Preparation of result and forwarding the same to the controller of examination 19.2 At BS and master levels four hard copies along with one soft copy in the form of CD of the thesis or project report shall be submitted by the student(s) on a topic approved by the Departmental Research Committee (DRC) within 2 months (extendable upto a maximum of 15 days by the Dean concerned) after the date of the last paper of final-term written examination. a) There will be three examiners for the evaluation of the thesis HOD/Chairman of the department, one internal who will be the supervisor and one external examiner. b) The evaluation of thesis by the examiners will be done in the department concerned. The student shall present himself/herself personally before the examiners for the defense of his/her research work. c) The candidate who does not qualify the thesis examination may revise the same in the light of the instructions given by the examiners or shall conduct research on new topic duly approved by the DRC. Student(s) failing to submit the thesis within stipulated duration may be allowed to re-submit thesis in the next session of the same program as to be scheduled by the department. Such student will pay additional fee of Rs. 2000/= for the evaluation of the thesis. d) Such student (s) as mentioned above will be awarded Grade I in thesis. The degree as successful candidate will be issued to the student if he/she passes this course (thesis/report) and fulfills the CGPA criteria. 17

20. Declaration of result and award of degree a) The teacher concerned is required to mark the mid/final term papers and show these to the students at the end of each workshop. At the end of final term exams and declaration of provisional result the course teacher will prepare three copies of the awards. She/he shall retain one copy as record, submit one copy to the Controller of Examinations IUB and submit the remaining copy to the program coordinator of the department along with the marked answer sheets/term Papers/Reports etc. b) The course coordinator will present the results to the Program Committee that will verify the results compiled and finalize the same within 10 days of the declaration of the provisional results at the end of the workshop. The result of each semester duly signed by the program committee will be notified by Controller Examinations within 15 days from the date of declaring provisional results except final semester result that will be notified by Controller Examinations within 15 days from the date of the final evaluation of theses/projects or completion of internship. c) At the end of each semester, each successful student will be issued semester result card while on successful completion of prescribed course of studies and other requirements a comprehensive transcript will be issued by Controller of Examinations. Accordingly, Graduate/Masters Degree/M.Phil/PhD will be conferred upon the students who quality for the same. 21. Criteria for position holders Three positions namely 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd shall be awarded (if applicable as per University rules and regulations.). The award of these positions shall be on the basis of CGPA. Incase of equal CGPA, positions will be determined on the basis of higher percentage of marks. Semester positions will be determined on the basis of SGPA of the respective semester. In order to qualify for the award of any of these positions; a student is required to: 18

i. Pass all the courses (both credit and non-credit) in the first attempt ii. Complete all courses opted and never withdrawn any course due to any reason. iii. Has completed all assignments in time and maintained 80% attendance in all workshops. iv. Appear in all mid and final examinations. In case of tie, the same position will be awarded to the number of students securing the same percentage of marks. NOTE: Semester procedures/rules other than these or any issue for which these rules have no explanation will be referred to Semester Implementation Committee for Distance Education whose decision will be final. 19