To accelerate higher education globally, many foreign universities establish off-shore campuses with the assurance of the same quality of education and services offered by the parent institution. A similar concept is the off-campus centre, established by an institution in a nearby locale to give the youth access to quality education.
In June 2023, the University Grants Commission (UGC) released a gazette notification opening the doors for Deemed-to-be Universities that have been declared institutions of academic excellence to establish off-campus centres under the regulations of the statutory body. Institutions that were declared Deemed-to-be Universities before the UGC regulations of 2023 have to amend their Memorandum of Association (MoA) and other rules within a year.
Eligibility
Deemed-to-be Universities that have been ranked in Grade A or above by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and are in the 1-100 bandwidth in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and been designated as Category I and II institutions by the UGC are eligible. Such an institution can also convert an affiliated college under the same Society, Trust or Company into an off-campus centre by getting a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the statutory body. However, the centre has to be administered as a constituent institution of its parent body. This includes admissions, faculty recruitments, teaching and evaluation and conferring of degrees. The parent university has to submit an MoA and Letter of Intent (LoI) to the UGC, which will present it to the Government for approval.
Requirements
The off-campus centre should offer at least five UG or PG or research programmes or a combination of the three. It should have a strength of minimum 1000 students of which one-fifth should be PG or research scholars. When the centre begins, it should have at least 50 faculty members. This number can be enhanced by recruitment depending on the new programmes begin and the number of students admitted. Programmes or courses in any field offered by the parent university and approved by the Executive Council can be offered in the off-campus centre also.
Infrastructure
A minimum area of five acres of land and minimum space of 30sq.m. per students is required to set up an off-campus centre. The infrastructure, including classrooms, laboratories, workshops, auditoriums, hostels, canteens, guest houses and so on, has to be in accordance with the norms and standards specified by the UGC.
Benefits
With the procedure to establish an off-campus centre being fairly simple and straightforward, the parent universities can transform existing dysfunctional institutions and save costs. This will also allow the youth in the area to continue their education in their home base and avoid the inconvenience of having to travel to far-off places. Fee concessions and scholarships will also help students in rural areas.
With the necessary approvals, the off-campus centres can offer novel programmes in Econometrics and Data Science, Applied Biotechnology, Health Care Management, IoT, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Web Designing, Digital Marketing, CRM, Fine Arts, Game Art and Animation and Animation and VFX.
With many Deemed-to-be Universities getting ready to establish off-centre campuses, it is likely that many students from the coming academic year will benefit from this new initiative.
The writer is the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science (HITS) Deemed-to-be University, Chennai
