Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) Mandatory for HEIs, says UGC

UGC Chairman Mr Jagadesh Kumar’s Statement?

Recently, University Grants Commission chairman Mr Jagadesh Kumar made an announcement that every Higher Education Institution (HEI) in the country that provides online and distance learning courses has to create an Academic Bank of Credit (ABC). Further, the LMS of all Universities offering online programmes is to be integrated similarly with the ABC portal.

The ABC is envisioned in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 as a national-level facility to promote flexibility of curriculum frameworks and interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary academic mobility of students.

What is the Academic Bank of Credits?

In simple terms, ABC is a “Digital Repository” of credits having provisions to store, verify, transfer and redeem academic credits earned by the students of various HEIs within the country. The GoI envisioned it in NEP 2020 to enable the cross-transfer of credits within Institutions. For instance, a student pursuing a degree in one college can pursue an elective course simultaneously in another college, and their credits would be accumulated universally.?

ABC is a “Digital Repository” of credits having provisions to store, verify, transfer and redeem academic credits.

• The bank of credits would be extended to various types of learning like vocational, distance or online education, internships etc., which would promote distributed and flexible learning experience.??
• The credits stored in the credit bank would also be helpful to a student who wants to exit education mid-course or degree and use the accumulated credits to re-enter later.
• To maintain safety and security against cyber crimes, an Aadhaar-enabled Digilocker will be used to subside the whole credit recognition and verification process.??

How Does Academic Bank Of Credits Work?

Academic Bank of Credits would act as a reference point for faculty to check the credit records of students. When a student pursues any course and clears exams, credits will be automatically awarded to them. The credits earned by students will be valid for seven years.

?What are the Merits of ABC For Students?

1. By making higher education more accessible and liberal, ABC broadens its scope. Part-time enrollment allows students to advance through the system and take advantage of Multiple entry and exit points.?
2. Since the courses offered through the online modes would also be considered for Credit transfer and accumulation, a more flexible form of education is provided for the students.??
3. Students get a great opportunity to experience learning from multiple institutions and industry experts and get the privilege to Customize Degrees with the subjects according to their taste and industrial demand.

?How do HEIs Benefit from ABC?

1. ABC mandates HEIs to maintain continuous development in terms of quality, as only those Universities and Colleges accredited by NAAC with at least an ‘A’ Grade are eligible to be registered under the ABC scheme.?
2. ABC membership shall cease to exist if their accreditation status goes below an ‘A’ Grade at any point in time. But students enrolled before the change of accreditation status would still be able to transfer credit for the award of a degree.
3. ABC also improves course delivery across disciplines. On implementing the ABC scheme, the department’s demand or specific course will come into the limelight based on the acceptance of the course among the students.

Overall, the Academic Bank of Credits announced by the UGC is a new stage setter in providing autonomy to the student’s participation in the Higher Education system. The fruitfulness and the pitfall in this system are yet to be tested as it is only in the state of infancy in our national context. However, one relevant thing is that this change focuses on a complete transformation of the Higher Education ecosystem.

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