Foreign universities’ Indian campuses fees, classes, admission process and more – all FAQs answered

UGC approval compulsory

All foreign universities that wish to set up their campus in India will be allowed to do so only after getting approval from the University Grants Commission (UGC). “No foreign higher education can set up campuses without the approval of the UGC,” the chairman said.

However, foreign universities setting up campuses in the country will get initial approval for a period of 10 years only. The approval granted will be renewed in the ninth year, subject to them meeting certain conditions.

To set up a campus in Indian foreign universities will either have to be in the top 500 to apply or will have to be “highly reputed” in their respective countries (if the varsity does not participate in global rankings). If their ranking is between 500 and 100, but the subject-wise ranking is higher than overall, then in such cases, the institutions will be permitted to set up their campuses only for those ranked subjects.

Procedure for coming to India

The process for getting approval for setting up a campus in India will be strictly online in the beginning. Interested institutions have to apply at the UGC portal with a non-refundable fee, and then submit some documents (asked by the UGC). After the applications are received, a committee formed by the Commission will examine these applications on these factors:

— Credibility of the institution

— Programmes to be offered by the institution

— Their potential to strengthen academic opportunities in India

— Proposed infrastructure

This process will be conducted within 45 days of the date of application, and the committee will provide its recommendations to the institute. After that, these recommendations will be examined by the Commission and the commission may decide to give a grant in principle approval and issue a letter of intent to the foreign higher educational institutes (HEI) to set up their campus. The Commission will give two year to the institute to set up their campus. If an extension is required, the Commission will take the decision on a case-by-case basis. Once the campus is set up, the Commission will check the readiness of the campus within 45 days of receiving the information of readiness from the HEIs.

Offline classes only

All the foreign universities that open their branches in India will be allowed to conduct offline classes only, i.e. foreign universities can offer only full-time programmes in physical mode.

Freedom to choose admission process, fee, faculty

Kumar has assured that all foreign varsities will have the freedom to come up with their own admission process. However, the universities will have to ensure “quality of education imparted at their Indian campuses is on par with their main campus.”

In addition to this, foreign higher educational institutes (HEIs) will also have the freedom to devise their own fee structure, provided it is transparent and reasonable. Regulations also state that the institutes can award partial or complete need-based scholarships from their own endowment funds, alumni donations etc.

The UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations 2023 also provide foreign institutions complete autonomy to hire faculty and other staff members either from abroad or in India. However, if the faculty members are flown into India from other countries, the faculty members will have to reside in the campus for a considerable amount of time and dedicate resources to the Indian campuses. “We have also said in our regulations that campuses established by foreign HEIs shall ensure that the foreign faculty appointed to teach at the Indian campus shall stay at the campus in India for a reasonable period. It’s not that they will come here for a week or two and then go back. They should be here for a reasonable time, i.e. at least for a semester or two, and then there could be rotation of these faculty members, as decided by these universities,” he said.

Can international students also get admission to these institutes?

Yes, foreign higher educational institutes will have the freedom to enroll Indian as well as international students on their Indian campuses.

International funds transfer

To ensure that there is no chaos in funds transfer, Kumar said that all matters related to funding will be as per the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999. More details about the same will be notified by the end of the month.

Additionally, the UGC will reserve the right to inspect these Indian campuses of foreign HEIs at any time, and they will not be outside the purview of anti-ragging and other criminal laws.