The University Grants Commission (credit framework for online learning courses through Swayam) Regulation, 2016, which was passed at a recent meeting of the Commission and received the approval of the HRD Ministry, will be notified soon, official sources said.
The guidelines have been framed keeping in mind the HRD Ministry's massive open online courses (MOOC) platform Swayam (Study Web of Active Learning by Young and Aspiring Minds).
2,000 such courses are expected to be launched for three crore learners under the government's ambitious Swayam project.
According to the new UGC norms, institutions can, keeping in view their academic requirements, decide upon the courses which they shall permit for credit transfer.
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However, an institution can allow only up to 20 per cent of the total seats being offered in a particular programme in a semester through online mode under Swayam.
"The aim is to widen the access to higher education and bring down its cost by using technological advances," a senior official said.
Swayam will notify to the Registrars of institutions on June 1 and November 1 every year the list of online courses to be offered in the forthcoming semester, the UGC regulations say.
Institutions, however, must designate a course coordinator to guide the students during the programme, practical sessions and examinations.
Final marks or grade shall be communicated to the students as well as the parent institution of the student within four weeks from the date of completion of the final examination, the guidelines said.