UGC Chairman On Transitioning From 3-Year to A 4-Year Undergraduate Program
UGC Chairman Mamidala Jagdish Kumar has shared details about the procedure for students to move from a three-year undergraduate program to a four-year program on his ‘X’ handle. Chairman Kumar furnished information about the bridge courses provided by the university to ease the transition for the students.
M Jagdish Kumar shared that students have been asking him how they can move from a third-year to a four-year undergraduate program. Answering the queries of scores of students’ he said that the circular has been shared with universities and institutions on the process of smooth transfer of students from 3rd year to 4th year. The universities will provide bridge courses to the students in hybrid mode or fully in-person to move. The chairman advised students to request the head of the department about the suitable bridge course which can help them to go through the process easily and seamlessly.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has made a noteworthy announcement: any third- or final-year undergraduate (UG) students enrolled in the choice-based credit system (CBCS) are eligible to prolong their enrolment period by one year to pursue an honors or research degree.
Reportedly, following the guidelines of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 over 200 universities have effectively instituted a four-year undergraduate curriculum by utilizing their strong postgraduate program and research infrastructure. As a result, it is advised for these colleges to urge enrolled students to continue their education into their fourth year.
With the implementation of the four-year program, students will get a UG ‘Honours’ degree with research specialization and the duration of the postgraduate degree will be 1 year instead of the 2-year structure.
However, this is optional, the 4-year program allows students to choose between a 3-year UG degree. According to the guidelines students will be offered an ‘Honours’ degree only after completing four years instead of 3 years.
The decision was taken to align education with global standards to achieve international parity in education for students seeking higher education opportunities abroad.
