The much-awaited new regulations for academic collaborations between Indian and foreign higher educational institutions are released by the University Grants Commission (UGC).  These include guidelines and minimum standards for setting up Twinning, Joint Degree, and Dual Degree programmes.  The regulations can be found here

Key changes from the 2016 UGC regulations

1) Minimal supervision role of the regulator (UGC) and no separate approvals needed.

2) Addition of dual degree as another collaborative modality.

3) No Assessment and Accreditation ratings are required for foreign higher educational institutions in their home country.  Instead, top 1000 in the QS or THE World University Rankings will be eligible.

4) For Indian HEI’s eligibility, the earlier requirement for it to be operational for at least six years or have had at least two batches of students graduating in India at the degree level has been dropped.

5) There will be no requirement to seek equivalence for the degree awarded under these regulations as the provision states that the degree awarded shall be equivalent to any corresponding degree awarded by the Indian HEI and there shall be no further requirement of seeking equivalence from any authority.

7) Exit pathways as a provision to be included in all the three programmes offer for students, who are unable to complete their programme.

8) Indian HEIs will need to set up an Office for International Affairs which will function as a nodal point for collaborative activities.

What has been retained from the old 2016 UGC regulations

1) No franchise arrangement will be allowed.

2) A memorandum of understanding or agreement will be required to formalise the arrangement between the two institutions.

3) No online or distance learning will be considered and permitted except as supplementary learning.

4) At least 30% credit of the total to be earned in foreign HEI.

British Council comments:

The positive changes in the regulatory conditions and simplification of processes for academic collaborations is another example of Indian government’s serious intent to implement the vision of the National Education Policy 2020 to internationalise and support the Indian HEIs to improve in global rankings.  However, the lack of confidence in the franchise model and delivery of degree programmes through distance and online learning continues, as it is perceived that this poses a greater risk around quality and accountability, and these cannot be compromised with.  

According to the top 1000 QS and THE World University Rankings 2022, over 90 UK universities will be eligible for such collaborations.  The  British Council’s ongoing Going Global partnership programme in India which was conceived to enhance the UK-India teaching-learning exchange and TNE relationship through co-creation of joint study of programmes will be a ready platform to explore these partnerships early on. 

With the expected expansion in higher education provision in India to meet the growing demand at home over the next decade, the government funded as well as private HEIs are expected to increase, and this means that wider options will be available for collaborations.  It also means that this will help expand the reach to more young Indians students who aspired to study abroad but could not afford it and the short-term mobility through this will be sustained.  It, however, does not mean that the young Indian students who originally planned to study abroad and could also afford it would now reconsider their decision.  Our recent student sentiment survey showed that campus life and multicultural experience along with having access to international employability opportunities are significant considerations for their study decisions. 

If you have questions, please contact Sandeepa Sahay

Further reading

Previous stipulation on the matter in 2016: https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/5003871_Foreign-Collaboration-Regulations-2016-(1).pdf

https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/4555806_UGC-Acad-Collab-Regulations.pdf

https://www.financialexpress.com/education-2/ugc-releases-guidelines-to-offer-twinning-joint-degree-and-dual-degree-programs/2514286/