Mumbai University Instructions for Admissions & Assessment During COVID-19

"I understand your troubles but there was no other way to wage war against CoronaVirus...It is a battle of life and death and we have to win it."- Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

From following the ‘Janata Curfew’ to lighting lamps, it’s been three months now since the COVID-19 intruded tiptoeing & turned the regular pattern of living upside down. This pandemic situation is something nobody expected even in their dreams. Even the ‘WHO: World Health Organization’ is clueless about when the situation will end.

Corona Virus has left the majority of industries suffering.

“Suffering” is a small word. The effects are quite nerve-wracking.

The educational industry is no exception. The lockdown restrictions have brought a complete paradigm shift in traditional ways of teaching-learning leaving the K12 faculty & educators worried.

In case you missed it, Mumbai University has taken the initiative to help students continue their learning & changed its guidelines with respect to admission & assessment for the Ad-Hoc Board of Studies in Information Technology.

The old Educational Landscape

‘Students, please be present for the exam tomorrow on time. No excuses!’

Sounds familiar?

Well, every student has grown up hearing such instructions from their teachers. Earlier, no matter what, students had to go to college to attend the following set of examinations to clear their semester successfully. Even in times of sickness.

• Internal examinations
• Theory papers
• Assignment work submission
• Practical examinations including viva
• ATKT examinations

Everything was conducted in the campus ‘face-to-face’ under the supervision of the faculty. This is how students dealt with exams for their entire lives. It was the ‘normal’ until the new ‘normal’ arrived.

The New ‘Normal’ Educational Landscape

I know it sounds like a bad thing, but it isn’t awful at all.

The current educational landscape is simple – It’s virtual. Not physical.

Why virtual?

Unfortunately, the daily count of patients affected by Corona is growing at a fast pace. And healthcare experts have predicted that the upcoming months will be worse than what we are facing. Sensing the situation, Mumbai University has rolled out digital protocols that are not just helpful for empowering the education system, but also in terms of faculty & students safety.

As per the new guidelines of Mumbai University, educational institutions need to take their complete assessment procedure online for courses that fall under the umbrella of information technology fields such as – B.Sc and M.Sc for all semesters.

No more in-house conduction of examinations until the next instruction.

Here’s the crux of Mumbai University’s circular instructions –

• Subject Mapping – While brainstorming for the subject mapping from Semester I to IV, the higher education institutions don’t need to declare the results even when students fail in certain subjects. The post-evaluation steps should be kept reserved strictly & only be revealed after they appear for subsequent examinations.
• ATKT – Colleges are not allowed to conduct practical and exams for ATKT subjects at present. They have to conduct an exam within 120 days from the day of the reopening of the academic year 2020-2021.
• Internal Marks - Institutions need to conduct & submit the internal examination marks for students online. The student performance can be judged on the basis of assignments, project work, and problem-solving skills, or any other suitable parameters. In case, HEIs have already conducted exams before lockdown, they can directly upload the marks online.
• Admission Provision – Students who’ve got ATKT will also be admitted to the next semester. Even the drop out students will be given a chance to take admission in the new session.
• Grade Cards – Students’ grades will be evaluated on the basis of three important parameters: Course Credit, Internal Marks, and Semester End Marks. A composite score of current and the next semester will be calculated for declaring the end results.

For instance, if a student is learning in Semester I of the first year, his/her marks of the Semester I will be reserved & added to the next semester results. The composite score will decide whether they’ve passed or failed the exam.

Laying the Groundwork

Whenever there’s any transition, the foundation of the entire procedure is vital, especially when you want rewarding outcomes without any ounce of mediocrity. Achieving the best results in the first attempt for colleges is difficult, but not impossible.

The two major pillars that can ensure online education success are – effective learning management system & educational software implementation strategy.

Therefore, start researching the best educational ERP software integrated with LMS to provide ease of conducting online assessments, result evaluation, and smooth admission process.

If you are an educator & require assistance for the ‘real’ to ‘virtual’ transition, get in touch with our team today!

Read More: How to Manage Online Assessment