Three Andhra Pradesh varsities get UGC approval for fully online courses

UGC has granted approval to a total of 38 universities in the country to offer a total of 196 undergraduate and postgraduate courses online.

Three universities of Andhra Pradesh, including Andhra University, Gitam Deemed-to-be University and KL Deemed-to-be University have received approval from the University Grants Commission (UGC ) to offer 13 full-fledged online degrees without any prior approval of the UGC. According to UGC’s communique to these institutions, “Andhra University can now offer BCom (Accountancy) and Master of Arts (Sociology) course online, while Gitam can start five Master’s programmes and one undergraduate course online. KL Deemed-to-be University can offer online courses for two Master’s programmes and three Bachelor’s programmes.”

UGC has granted approval to a total of 38 universities in the country to offer a total of 196 undergraduate and postgraduate courses online. According to the order released by UGC (Open and Distance Learning Programmes and Online Programmes) Regulations, 2020, higher education institutions with a National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) score of 3.26 and above or a rank in the top 100 in the university category of National Institutional Ranking Framework, at least twice in three preceding cycles, shall be permitted to start full-fledged online programmes. With the approval of its statutory authorities, the institutions can start a maximum of three undergraduate and 10 postgraduate programmes.

Earlier, the Distance Education Bureau of University Grants Commission invited applications from all entitled institutions willing to offer online programmes. Each institution was asked to submit an affidavit to ensure compliance with provisions of the UGC.

While commenting on the approval granted by UGC, Gitam Deemed-to-be University vice-chancellor Prof K Sivaramakrishna said, “Students can pursue these programmes while located in any corner of the world. Gitam already has one lakh students pursuing various courses in the distance mode. The entire programme would be conducted online, which makes education more accessible. Upskilling has become a necessity in today’s fast-paced world.”

Director, School of Distance Education, Andhra University, Professor K Visweswara Rao said, “Covid-19 has accelerated the adoption of virtual education. The online courses approved by the UGC would be launched soon. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the university is already conducting online classes for various courses. But these two courses would be full-fledged online courses.”

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