A committee of the University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved amendments to the draft regulations for dual, joint, and twinning degree programmes with foreign universities, which had been in public consultation since February 2022. This does not mean that the new regulations are published but there is some insight available through a recent announcement made about the amendments. The official release of the final regulations is expected to be published soon following UGC’s internal approvals.
The high point of the approved amendment is that it will no longer be necessary for institutes to seek UGC’s approval to set up these collaborations. The qualifying criteria for institutions, will be that the Indian partner institution should be accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council with a minimum score of 3.01 on a 4-point scale or figures among the top 100 universities in the National Institutional Ranking Framework, and the foreign partner institution must be among the world’s top 1,000 in the Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings.
Outline of the three forms of collaborative programmes based on available information:
1) Twinning programmes – A student can physically visit the international institution, stay there for a semester or two and obtain the credits up to a limit of 30% of the total credits required for a given programme. The degree will be awarded by the Indian Institution. The foreign institution will give students a certificate for the 30% of the credits obtained from their university. As a part of same initiative, foreign student can visit Indian institute and obtain 30% credits.
2) Joint degree programmes- The curriculum will be designed jointly by the collaborating institutions, and the degree will be awarded by the Indian university. Both the partner institutions will have to sign a memorandum of understanding for developing course content jointly. The collaborating foreign university, on the other hand, will offer a certificate bearing the logo of both institutions upon completing the programme. Students from India will be required to complete more than 30 per cent of their course credit at the foreign institution.
3) Dual Degree programmes- This is a new modality being introduced. The degrees will be given by both Indian and foreign institutions separately and simultaneously upon completion degree requirements of both universities. The students will need to obtain more than 30% of the total credits at Indian and foreign colleges or universities. The course will have to be of the same discipline and at the same level.
These collaborative models will have to be offered in the conventional physical modes. No online and open and distance learning mode will be allowed. For professional programmes in disciplines such as engineering, medicine and law, the approval of statutory councils or bodies like the AICTE, National Medical Commission and Bar Council of India will be required.
British Council Comments
The wait for the new regulations is likely to be over soon. The early signals around revision in qualification criteria and simplification of procedures are very encouraging and it will boost the number of academic collaborations which have been few in the past.
This move will definitely open up a host of opportunities for Indian students to access international higher education at affordable costs. The international curriculum and exposure will enhance their employability prospects and would also be a reason for foreign students to consider India as an alternate study destination.
For UK universities, such an arrangement will still sustain mobility of Indian students into the UK as well as more opportunities will exist to offer UK qualifications. As per the top 1,000 QS World or THE University Rankings, more than 90 UK universities qualify. It is expected that there will no need to seek equivalence from any authority and degree awarded under these regulations shall be equivalent to any corresponding degree awarded by the Indian higher educational institution.
There are still a number of questions that needs answering such as what exit pathway will be provided to students if they wished to discontinue, what will be the fee structure, what does reasonable fee mean as stated by the UGC, will unaccredited institutions still be able to apply under an approval mode which was suggested in the draft regulations and how would this pan out for undergraduate students opting for the new dual degree option in relation to the GIR route? We expect more clarity when the final regulations are released and we would follow up with another note to address some of these areas.
If you have any question, please contact Sandeepa Sahay
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