THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major reform aimed at enhancing academic flexibility, students pursuing the Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP) in the state can now opt for inter-college transfers at the beginning of semesters four, six, and seven. Previously, this option was available only at the start of semesters three and five.
The proposal, put forward by the state-level FYUGP monitoring committee, has been ratified by the state government and forwarded to universities for implementation. Students in the eight universities under the higher education department that have adopted the FYUGP will benefit from this reform.
Last year, arrangements were made to allow students to switch between colleges and universities, and also to change their major subject of study, coinciding with the commencement of the second year of FYUGP implementation. “Even though inter-university transfer applications were very few, there were many requests for inter-collegiate transfers within the same university,” said an official of the FYUGP monitoring committee.
Meanwhile, the uniform academic calendar for universities, rolled out last year, is now fully operational, enabling smooth inter-institutional transfers. The K-REAP software, which facilitates credit transfers between institutions, has also expanded avenues for inter-collegiate transfers.
“For instance, if the parent institution of a student does not have the facilities to offer an honours programme with research, he or she can switch to a college that offers this programme at the beginning of the seventh semester,” the official explained. This allows the student to secure admission in a vacant seat in the same programme at another college.
Uniform academic calendar
Earlier this month, the state-level FYUGP monitoring committee finalized a uniform academic calendar for the 2026-27 academic year for universities in the state. This calendar allows students a semester break during a one-week in-campus valuation camp after the first, third, and fifth semester examinations.
For the upcoming academic year, the valuation camps are scheduled from November 16 to 21. “Owing to the structured valuation schedule prescribed in the uniform calendar, result publication could be significantly expedited this time,” the official said.