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Journalism of Courage
In the next big reform after the semester system this year,Delhi University plans to convert its coveted undergraduate honours programmes into four-year courses by July 2013.
The move will give colleges more freedom to set courses based on the needs of students,Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh told The Sunday Express.
Replacing the current programmes would be a multi-disciplinary four-year programme with exit options at the end of second and third years. Those who exit the course at the end of two and three years will be awarded diploma and degree respectively while those who complete all four years will receive honours degree with specialisation.
The proposal,still in its initial stages,will involve colleges in the formulation of courses they teach.
A certain number of courses will be left to the preferences of colleges so that a sense of involvement and ownership is created. This will also encourage colleges to find out what students want to study instead of sticking to a rigid system, Singh said.
The university hopes to have a full-fledged credit system in place when the 2013 session begins,giving DU students the freedom to choose courses from different constituent colleges. This will effectively give a student the option of taking up and gaining credits for a course on offer at another college. The credit transfer system,Singh said,will also facilitate international exchange for DU students.
Students can also gain credits for participation in sports and other co-curricular activities.
The university had introduced a four-year B Tech/BS programme in Innovation with Mathematics and IT at its newly launched Cluster Innovation Centre. The centre will provide insights which will help create the four-year programme,the Vice-Chancellor said.
There are also plans to formulate a new,holistic undergraduate-level course on media studies and journalism to be offered first at university level.
The four-year switch
Exit options: Diploma at the end of the first two years; UG degree after third year; Honours degree with Specialisation after four years.
Scope of gaining credit from participation in sports and other co-curricular activities.
Credit transfer system that will allow room for interaction between institutions at international level and within the university.
