NEW DELHI: College older than 20 years can now hope to get deemed university status, as per new rules framed by the University Grants Commission (UGC). UGC officials told this newspaper the new norms stipulate that National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC ) grading of an institute should be above 3.26 for three consecutive years and there should be minimum 2,000 students—with at least one third of them registered in PG and research courses— in order to get the status.
Also, the institutes should have at least 100 teachers and a teacher-student ratio of 1: 20. In addition, the institute should figure in the top 100 list of overall best institutes of higher education as per the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings or in top 50, in case of a specific category of NIRF ranking carried out by the Union Human Resources Development Ministry every year.
“These new norms have been brought in to simplify the process and at the same time ensure quality of the institutions that get the tag,” a senior UGC official said. Deemed universities will also be sub-categorised. Type one institutions will be those with NAAC grading of over 3.51 and will be allowed to open three campuses in five years.
These institutions will also be permitted to open offshore campuses. Type two institutions will be those under NAAC grade of between 3.26-3.51 and will have permission to open two campuses in five years. All deemed universities can also start correspondence courses as per the new guidelines.