Examinations

CMS College Kottayam (Autonomous)

Regulations for Under Graduate Programmes under Choice based Credit System 2018

Preamble

1. CMS College Kottayam (Autonomous) was conferred with the Autonomous status as per UGC No.F.22-1/2016 (AC) dated 9^th March 2016 and Mahatma Gandhi U.O.No.2732/VII/2016/Acad. dated 12^th May 2016. The Governing Council of CMS College Kottayam (Autonomous) at its meeting held on 6^th April 2018 approved the regulations for the Under Graduate Programmes under Choice Based Credit System 2018. The Governing Council of CMS College Kottayam (Autonomous) hereby states the following regulations for Under Graduate Programmes under Choice Based Credit System 2018.
2. Title
   • These regulations shall be called “CMS College Kottayam (Autonomous) Regulations for Under Graduate Programmes under Choice Based Credit System 2018”
3. Scope
   • Applicable to all regular Under Graduate Programmes conducted by the CMS College Kottayam (Autonomous) with effect from 2018 admissions.
   • Medium of instruction is English except in the case of language courses other than English unless otherwise stated therein.
4. Definitions
   • ‘Academic Week’ is a unit of five working days in which the distribution of work is organized from day one to day five, with five contact hours of one hour duration on each day.
   • ‘Semester’ means a term consisting of 90 working days, within 18 five-day academic weeks.
   • ‘Choice Based Credit System (CBCS)’ means a system that enables a student to choose interdisciplinary courses in addition to the courses of specialization within a degree programme.
   • ‘Programme’ means a three year programme of study and examinations, spread over six semesters, with a set of courses, the successful completion of which would lead to the award of a degree.
   • ‘Course’ comprises a set of classes or a plan of study on a particular subject which will be taught and evaluated within a semester of a study programme.
   • ‘Common Course I’ means a course that comes under the category of courses for English.
   • ‘Common Course II’ means a course that comes under the category of additional languages which includes Malayalam, Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Syriac, French, and German.
   • ‘Core course’ means a course which should compulsorily be studied by a student as requirement in the subject of specialization within a degree programme. It includes a course on environmental studies and human rights.
   • ‘Complementary Course’ means a course which would enrich the study of core courses.
   • ‘Choice Based Course’ means a course that enables the students to familiarize the advanced areas of core course.
   • ‘Open Course’ means an optional course which the student is free to take at his/her will. Open course shall be a non-major elective course offered by the Departments other than the parent Department.
   • ‘Generic Elective (GE)’ means an elective course chosen from any discipline/ subject, in an advanced area.
   • Extra Credit Course means a course through which an opportunity is given to the students who are highly capable to undertake optional work independently on core area of study, in addition to their compulsory courses, in order to gain additional credit.
   • Add on course means a course through which an opportunity is given to the students to acquire skills relating to the core or complementary courses with the support of a mentor.
   • ‘Credit’ is the numerical value assigned to a course according to the duration of the classes or volume of the syllabus of the course.
   • ‘Department’ means any teaching department in the college.
   • ‘Private Study’ means the study of additional language courses which are not offered by the teaching departments in the college.
   • Dean of Academic Affairs is a teacher nominated by the Academic Council to coordinate the academic affairs of the college relating to academic planning, curriculum implementation and review.
   • Dean of Student Affairs is a teacher nominated by the Academic Council to coordinate the admissions, grievances and other student related services.
   • ‘Department Coordinator’ is a teacher nominated by a Department Council to co-ordinate the In-Semester examination of the UG programme in that department.
   • ‘Department Council’ means the body of all teachers of a department in the college.
   • ‘Faculty Advisor’ means a teacher from the parent department nominated by the Department Council, who will advise the students of a class on academic matters.
   • Course Teacher means a teacher who is in charge of a course. If a course is taught by more than one teacher, one teacher should be assigned as course teacher, nominated by the HOD.
   • In-Semester Assessment (ISA) means continuous assessment consisting of Attendance, Assignment/Seminar/Viva and Examination
   • End Semester Assessment (ESA) means Examination conducted at the end of each semester for all courses (theory and practical).
   • Internal Examiner means a teacher working in the college
   • External Examiner means a teacher from outside the college
   • Grace Marks shall be awarded to candidates as per the orders issued by the Dean of Academic Affairs from time to time subject to the regulations in the Examination Manual
   • ‘Grade’ means a letter symbol (A, B, C, etc.), which indicates the broad level of performance of a student in a Course/ Semester/Programme.
   • ‘Grade Point’ (GP) is the numerical indicator of the percentage of marks awarded to a student in a course.
   • ‘College Average (CA)’ means average mark secured (ISA+ESA) for a course at the college level.
   • ‘Parent Department’ means the department which offers core course/courses within an undergraduate programme.
   • Words and expressions used and not defined in this regulation shall have the same meaning assigned to them in the Act and Statutes of the University, UGC Regulations and the Constitution of the CMS College Kottayam (Autonomous).
5. Eligibility for admission and reservation of seats
   • Eligibility for admission, norms for admission and reservation of seats for various Undergraduate Programmes shall be according to the regulations framed/orders issued by the Mahatma Gandhi University in this regard. Academic eligibility as prescribed by Mahatma Gandhi University should be satisfied as on the last date of submission of academic data. In the case of candidates who have passed examinations of other Boards/Institutes/Governments, except CBSE/CISCE, they shall be admitted only if these examinations have been declared equivalent to the qualifying examinations of Mahatma Gandhi University. If an applicant for admission is found to have submitted fraudulent information to obtain admission, indulged in ragging or any other misconduct in the past, admissions shall be denied or, he/she shall be expelled from the educational institution. No candidate shall be admitted to the degree programme unless he/she possess the qualifications and minimum requirements thereof.
6. Duration
   • The duration of Under Graduate programmes shall be six semesters.
   • There shall be two semesters in an academic year, the ‘Odd’ semester commences in June and on completion, the ‘Even’ Semester commences.
   • A student may be permitted to complete the Programme, on valid reasons, within a period of 12 continuous semesters from the date of commencement of the first semester of the programme.
7. Scheme and Syllabus
   • The U.G. programmes shall include (a) Common Courses I and II, (b) Core Course(s), (c) Complementary/Vocational Courses, (d) Open Course. (e) Generic Elective Course (GE), and (e) Choice Based Core Course.
   • Students can opt for any one of the Open Courses offered by different departments of the college including the Physical Education department, in fifth semester (subject to the availability of vacancy in the concerned discipline). Selection of students to the Open course will be done in the college based on choice and academic merit of the students.
   • There shall be one Choice Based course (Elective Course) in the sixth semester. In the case of B.Com Programme there shall be an elective stream from third semester onwards.
   • Credit Transfer and Accumulation system can be adopted in the programme. Transfer of Credit consists of acknowledging, recognizing and accepting credits by an institution for programmes or courses completed at another institution. The Credit Transfer Scheme shall allow students pursuing a programme in one University to continue their education in another University without break.
   • A separate minimum of 30% marks each for ISA and ESA (for both theory and practical) and aggregate minimum of 35% are required for a pass for a course.  For a pass in a programme, a separate minimum of Grade D is required for all the individual courses. If a candidate  secures F Grade for any one of the courses offered in a Semester/Programme, only F grade will be awarded for that Semester/ Programme until he/she  improves this to D Grade or above within the permitted period.
   • Students who complete the programme with ‘D’ grade will have one betterment chance (for End Semester theory examinations) within 12 months, immediately after the publication of the result of the whole programme.
   • Practical examinations will be conducted at the end of each semester. Practical examinations in the Odd Semester will be conducted by the Internal examiners and those in the Even semester will be conducted by the External examiner.
8. PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

 

BA English Language and Literature/History/ Economics BSc Mathematics/Physics/Chemistry/Botany/Zoology/         Family and Community Science
a	Programme Duration	6 Semesters
b	Total Credits required for successful completion of the Programme	120
c	Credits required from  Common Course I	22
d	Credits required from  Common Course II	16
e	Credits required from Core course and Complementary  courses including Project	79
f	Generic Elective (GE)	5
g	Minimum attendance required	75%

                 

B.Com Finance and Taxation
a	Programme Duration	6 Semesters
b	Total Credits required for successful completion of the Programme	120
c	Credits required from  Common Course I	14
d	Credits required from  Common Course II	8
e	Credits required from Core and Complementary/Vocational courses including Project	95
f	Generic Elective (GE)	5
g	Minimum attendance required	75%

 

BA Malayalam – Copy Editing (Voc) BSc Botany and Biotechnology, BCA
A	Programme Duration	6 Semesters
B	Total Credits required for successful completion of the Programme	120
C	Credits required from  Common Course I	16
D	Credits required from  Common Course II	8
E	Credits required from  Core + Complementary + Vocational Courses including Project	93
F	Generic Elective (GE)	5
G	Minimum attendance required	75%

 

BA English Literature, Communication and Journalism (Triple Main)
A	Programme Duration	6 Semesters
B	Total Credits required for successful completion of the Programme	120
C	Credits required from  Common Course I	8
D	Credits required from  Core + Complementary + Vocational Courses including Project	109
E	Generic Elective (GE)	5
F	Minimum attendance required	75%

8. Examinations.
   • The evaluation of each course shall contain two parts:

(i)  In-Semester Assessment (ISA)

(ii) End-Semester Assessment (ESA)

 

 8.2. The ISA to ESA ratio shall be 1:4.   There shall be a maximum of 20 marks for ISA and a maximum of 80 marks for ESA. Both ISA and ESA marks are to be mathematically rounded to the nearest integer.  For all courses (theory & practical), grades are given on a 7-point scale based on the total percentage of marks, (ISA+ESA) as given below:-

Percentage of Marks	Grade	Grade Point
95 and above	S       Outstanding	10
85 to below 95	A+      Excellent	9
75 to below 85	A      Very Good	8
65 to below 75	B+     Good	7
55 to below 65	B     Above Average	6
45 to below 55	C     Satisfactory	5
35 to below 45	D     Pass	4
Below 35	F      Failure	0
	Ab    Absent	0

 

9. MARKS DISTRIBUTION FOR IN-SEMESTER ASSESSMENT (ISA) AND END-SEMESTER ASSESSMENT (ESA)

In-Semester Assessment is to be done by continuous assessment. The End-Semester theory examination of all semesters shall be conducted at the end of each semester. 

 Marks distribution for In-Semester and End-Semester Assessments and the components for In-Semester Assessment with their marks are shown below:

11.1 For all courses without practical

1. Marks of End-Semester Assessment :  80
2. Marks of In-Semester Assessment :  20

 

Components of In-Semester Assessment of theory	Marks
Attendance	5
Assignment /Seminar/Viva	5
Two Test papers (2×5=10)	10
Total	20

For all courses without practical, of the 10 marks for test papers one will be a centralized examination for 5 marks and the remaining 5 marks will be awarded with one or more class tests conducted by the course teacher.

11.2 For all courses with practical

1. Marks of End-Semester Assessment :  60
2. Marks of In-Semester Assessment :  15

Components of In-Semester Assessment of theory	Marks
Attendance	5
Assignment /Seminar/Viva	2
Two Test papers (2×4=8)	8
Total	15

For all courses with practical, of the 8 marks for test papers one will be a centralized examination for 4 marks and the remaining 4 marks will be awarded with one or more class tests conducted by the course teacher.

 

11.3 For Practical examinations    (B.Sc. Courses)

1. Marks of End-Semester Assessment :  40
2. Marks of In-Semester Assessment :  10

Components of In-Semester Assessment	Marks
Attendance	2
Record*	4
Test paper	4
Total	10

*Marks awarded for Record should be related to number of experiments recorded and duly signed by the concerned teacher in charge. For appearing external practical examination, certified record should be produced.

11.4 For Practical Examinations (BCA/ B.A. Malayalam (Voc))

1. Marks of End-Semester Assessment :  80
2. Marks of In-Semester Assessment :  20

Internal Practical Evaluation:

All the four components of the internal assessment are mandatory

Components of In-Semester Assessment of Practical	Marks
Attendance	5
Test Paper	5
Record*	5
Lab involvement	5
Total	20

*Marks awarded for Record should be related to number of experiments recorded and duly signed by the concerned teacher in charge. For appearing external practical examination, certified record should be produced.

 

11.5     For Projects/ Dissertation  

1. Marks of End-Semester Assessment :  80
2. Marks of In-Semester Assessment :  20

Components of External Assessment of  Dissertation	Marks
Dissertation (External)	50
Viva-Voce (External)	30
Total	80

All the four components of the internal assessment are mandatory. 

Components Internal Evaluation of  Dissertation	Marks
Punctuality	5
Experimentation/Data collection	5
Knowledge	5
Report	5
Total	20

 

11.6 On the Job Training (OJT)

Components of Assessment of   On the Job Training	Marks
OJT Project Report	50
Viva-Voce	30
Total	80

 

11.7 Internship Evaluation

Components of Internship Evaluation	Marks
Report	75
Viva	25
Total	100

 

IN-SEMESTER ASSESSMENT

 

Continuous assessment is done during the Semester. All documents of In-Semester assessments are to be kept in the department for one year and shall be made available for verification. The three components (Theory) four components (Practical for BCA/ B.A. Malayalam (Voc)) of In-Semester Assessment include:

• Attendance (ii) Assignment/Seminar/Viva and (iii) In-Semester examination

 

Attendance Evaluation for all courses (5 Marks)

% of attendance*	Marks
90 and above	5
85 – 89	4
80-84	3
76-79	2
75	1

*Decimals are to be rounded to the next higher whole number.

Attendance Evaluation for practical (2 Marks)

% of attendance*	Marks
90 and above	2
85 – 89	1.5
80-84	1
75-79	0.5

*Decimals are to be rounded to the next higher whole number.

Assignments

            Assignments are to be done from 1^st to 4^th Semesters.  At least one assignment should be done in each semester for all courses, except in 5^th and 6^th semesters.

 

Components of Internal Evaluation of  Assignments	Marks
Appropriate Content	2
Structure and Presentation	1
References	1
Punctuality	1
Total	5

 

SEMINAR

A student shall present a seminar in the 5^th semester for each course. The seminar paper should be submitted in advance on the topic allotted.

Components of Internal Evaluation of Seminar	Marks
Content of the seminar paper	2
Presentation	2
Interaction	1
Total	5

 

VIVA-VOCE

A student shall appear for Viva-voce in the 6^th semester for each course.

Components of Internal Evaluation of Viva Voce	Marks
Subject knowledge	4
Communication	1
Total	5

 

In-Semester Examination

For each course, two In-Semester examinations shall be conducted. The responsibility of evaluating the In-Semester assessment is vested on the course teacher. Retest for In-Semester examinations will be permitted only in genuine circumstances for which the student should submit a formal application to the Dean of Student Affairs.

15.1 Grievance Redressal Mechanism

In order to address the grievance of students regarding In-Semester assessment, a two-level Grievance Redressal mechanism is established. 

Level 1: Department Level:  The Department cell is chaired by the HOD, Department Coordinator as member secretary and Course teacher in-charge as member. If the grievance is not redressed at the Department level, the student shall report the grievance to the College Level Grievance Redressal Cell.

Level 2: College level: College Level Grievance Redressal Cell is chaired by the Vice-Principal, Dean of Student Affairs as the Member Secretary, HOD of concerned Department as member.

End Semester Assessment

The End Semester theory and Practical examinations of all courses shall be conducted by the Controller of Examination at the end of each semester.

 

• Eligibility for End Semester Examination

Students having a minimum of 75% average attendance for all the courses only can register for the examination.  Condonation of shortage of attendance to a maximum of 10 days in a semester subject to a maximum of 2 times during the whole period of the programme may be granted by the College on valid grounds. Attendance may be granted to students attending University/College union/Co-curricular activities for the days of absence, on production of participation/attendance certificates, within one week, from the teacher in charge of the activity and endorsed by the Dean of Student Affairs.  This is limited to a maximum of 10 days per semester and this benefit shall be considered for In-Semester assessment also. Monthly Attendance report will be published in the college website on the 10^th of every month.  Those students who are not eligible even with condonation of shortage of attendance shall repeat the semester along with the next batch after obtaining readmission.

 

• Promotion to the next Semester

 Those students who possess the required minimum attendance and have registered for the End Semester Examination during an academic semester are promoted to the next semester.

Those students who possess the required minimum attendance and progress during an academic semester and could not register for the semester examination are permitted to apply for Notional Registration to the examinations concerned enabling them to get promoted to the next semester.

 

• Eligibility for Readmissions

An additional chance of readmission will be given to those students who could not register for the examination due to shortage of attendance. Readmitted students shall continue their studies with the subsequent batch of students. If an applicant for readmission is found to have indulged in ragging or any other misconduct in the past, readmissions shall be denied.

• End Semester Project

All students are to do a project in the area of core course which may be carried out in or outside the campus. The topic of the projects shall be identified during the IV semester of the programme with the help of the supervising teacher. The report of the project in duplicate is to be submitted to the department at the sixth semester and are to be produced before the examiners appointed by the Controller of Examinations. External Project evaluation and Viva / Presentation are compulsory for all subjects and will be conducted at the end of the programme.

17. PATTERN OF QUESTIONS

Questions shall be set to assess the level of knowledge acquired, application of knowledge in new situations, critical evaluation of knowledge and the ability to synthesize knowledge.  The question setter shall ensure that questions covering all skills are set.  She/he shall also submit a detailed scheme of evaluation along with the question paper.

A question paper shall be a judicious mix of very short type, short answer type, short essay type /problem solving type and long essay type questions.

 

Pattern of questions for external examination for

theory paper without practical.

Section	Total no. of questions	Number of questions to be answered	Marks of each question	Total marks
A	10	10	1	10
B	12	8	2	16
C	9	6	4	24
D	4	2	15	30
TOTAL	35	26	x	80

 

Pattern of questions for external examination for

theory papers with practical

Section	Total no. of questions	Number of questions to be answered	Marks of each question	Total marks
A	8	8	1	8
B	10	6	2	12
C	6	4	4	16
D	4	2	12	24
TOTAL	28	20	x	60

Each BOS shall specify the length of the answers in terms of number of words.

Additional Credit Courses/ Internships

Internship

There shall be two internships during an Undergraduate Programme. 

1. Internship on Service Learning

Internship on Service Learning will be considered as Elective Course as per the UGC directives (Vide order No.9-10/2018 (CPP-II) dtd. 23^rd March 2018). The Service Learning programmes entitled Community Consciousness and Response Development will be on the following areas (1) Health and Hygiene (Panchayats and Municipalities, involving in programmes like Shuchithva Mission and Harithakeralam Projects) (2) Social Welfare (Destitute Homes) (3) Village Education (Village Schools). This internship shall be done during the summer vacation following the 2^nd semester. It shall be for a period of 15 days/ 100 hours. It will be treated as an elective course with two Extra Credits. This will be shown in the grade card as EXT category overleaf of the Grade Card. Grading will be as per the grading of other courses. Evaluation will be on the basis of the Report and viva voce conducted by the mentor, who is a Faculty member of the college and the grading will be similar to other courses.

Internship on Discipline specific area.

The second internship shall be discipline specific area. The period and scope of internships for each programme shall be decided by the BOS. The internship should be a minimum period of 21 days. The internship programme should be during the summer vacation after the 4^th semester, except in the case of Summer schools or internships offered by institutes/organizations having National/ International accreditation. Two Credits will be awarded in the grade card as EXT category overleaf of the Grade Card. Grading will be as per the grading of other courses. Evaluation will be on the basis of the Report and viva voce conducted by the mentor, who is a Faculty member of the college and the grading will be similar to other courses.

Extra Credit Courses

The students are eligible to take extra courses apart from the courses prescribed in the curriculum viz. one course in the 2nd semester and 4th semester of 36 hours of 2 credits each, subject to a maximum of 4 credits during the study programme. Registration for the same will be done at the beginning of the 2^nd semester and 4^th semester.  Students taking extra courses should obtain the prior approval of the Dean (Academic Affairs). This will be shown in the grade card as EXT category overleaf of the Grade Card. The course will be related to the core programme. It is of self study nature and no teaching assistance will be provided for the same. Evaluation shall be done by the mentor who shall be a faculty member of the college. Grading will be as per the grading of other courses with ISA and ESA. Extra Credit Courses will not be a mandatory component for the completion of a programme.

 

Add on Courses

The students are eligible to take up Add on courses of 36 hours of 2 credits each. A maximum of two Add on courses during the tenure of a study programme. The Add on courses will be skill oriented in nature. Add on Courses shall be offered to students from the same discipline/ students from other disciplines. The students can opt for Add on Courses from other departments with the approval of the BOS. There will be tuition fees for all Add on Courses. The contact classes and hands on sessions/ practical shall be conducted outside the regular teaching hours. The Grades for Add on Courses will not be included in the Grade   Card. Separate Grade Cards and Certificates shall be given.

Field Visits/ Study Tours

Each BOS should frame specific policies and regulations on the nature and scope of field visits/study tour. The details of the field visits/study tour should be incorporated in the curriculum of the course/programme.

 

 

MARK CUM Grade card

   The College under its seal shall issue to the students a MARK CUM GRADE CARD on completion of each semester, which shall contain the following information:

• Name of the University
• Name of the College
• Title of the Undergraduate Programme
• Name of the Semester
• Name and Register Number of the student
• Date of publication of result
• Code, Title, Credits and Maximum Marks (ISA, ESA & Total) of each course opted in the semester.
• ISA, ESA and Total Marks awarded, Grade, Grade point and Credit point in each course opted in the semester
• College average (CA) of the marks of all courses
• The total credits, total marks (Maximum & Awarded) and total credit points in the semester
• Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) and corresponding Grade.
• Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), GPA corresponding to Common Courses I and II, Core Course, Complementary Courses, Vocational Courses and Generic Elective Course.
• The final Mark cum Grade Card issued at the end of the final semester shall contain the details of all courses taken during the final semester examination and shall include the final Grade/Marks(SGPA) scored by the candidate from 1^st to 5^th  semesters,  and the overall Grade/Marks for the total programme.

 

18. There shall be a College Level Monitoring Committee comprising Principal, Vice Principal as member-secretary, Dean of Academic Affairs, Controller of Examinations, IQAC Coordinator and Administrative Assistant as members for the successful conduct of the scheme.

 

10. CREDIT POINT AND CREDIT POINT AVERAGE

 

Credit Point (CP) of a course is calculated using the formula:-

CP = C × GP, where C is the Credit and GP is the Grade point

 

Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) of a Semester is calculated using the formula:-

SGPA = TCP/TC, where TCP is the Total Credit Point of that semester,;

TC is the Total Credit of that semester, where n is the number of papers in that semester

 

Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) is calculated using the formula:-

CGPA = TCP/TC, where TCP is the Total Credit Point of that programme; TC is the Total Credit of that programme, ie,  , where n is the number of papers in that programme

 

Grade Point Average (GPA) of a Course (Common Course I, Common Course II, Complementary Course I, Complementary Course II, Vocational course, Core Course)   is calculated using the formula:-

GPA = TCP/TC, where TCP is the Total Credit Point of course ie, ;

TC is the Total Credit of that course, ie, ,  Where n is the number of papers in that course.

 

Grades for the different courses, semesters and overall programme are given based on the corresponding CPA as shown below:

GPA	Grade
9.5 and above	S     Outstanding
8.5 to below 9.5	A+   Excellent
7.5 to below 8.5	A     Very Good
6.5 to below 7.5	B+    Good
5.5 to below 6.5	B     Above Average
4.5 to below 5.5	C    Satisfactory
3.5 to below 4.5	D    Pass
Below 3.5	F     Failure

 

19. TRANSITORY PROVISION

Notwithstanding anything contained in these regulations, the Principal shall, for a period of six months from the date of coming into force of these regulations, have the power to provide by order that these regulations shall be applied to any programme with such modifications as may be necessary.

The Principal is also authorized to issue orders for the perfect realization of the Regulations.