Section 4 in University Grants Commission (Online Courses or Programmes) Regulations, 2018
4. Eligibility Criteria.
- Any Higher Educational Institution, which fulfills the following conditions, may apply for offering Online Course or Programme, namely:-(1)(i)should have been in existence for at least five years;(ii)should be accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with minimum score of 3.26 on a 4-point scale; and(iii)should be in the Top-100 in overall category in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) for at least two years during the previous three years:Provided that items (ii) and (iii) shall not be applicable to government Open University till National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) or similar accreditation system and National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) are made available for such Open University.(2)An Higher Educational Institution shall offer Online Course or Programme in only those disciplines in which it has already been offering the same or similar Course or Programme in regular mode (of classroom teaching) or in Open and Distance Learning mode and from which at least one batch has been passed out:Provided that the Online Course or Programme requiring Practical or laboratory courses as a curricular requirement shall not be conducted.(3)An Higher Educational Institution may offer Certificate, Diploma and Degree Courses or Programmes in full-fledged online mode subject to the condition that all such Courses or Programmes are duly approved by the statutory authorities or bodies of the Higher Educational Institution and the delivery mechanism conforms to the quality standards of the Online education as specified under these regulations.(4)An Higher Educational Institution should have the demonstrated capability for developing and production of Online Courses or Programmes -(i)by in-house faculty for designing courses of the Course or Programme and developing the same in a manner that can impart skills and knowledge;(ii)with the technology for production including in-house or duly out-sourced production facilities for converting the courses of a Course or Programme into Online Courses or Programmes in the following minimum four quadrants, namely:-(a)learning videos with recording or dubbing or editing facilities for graphics or animation creation;(b)e-content for reading and improving comprehension of learners;(c)tests and assignments that test the understanding; and(d)discussion forum that clarifies the doubts of the learners;(iii)having access to SWAYAM for -(a)Learner Authentication - integrated with AADHAAR or other government recognised identity for Indian students and Passport for foreign students;(b)Learner Registration - through a web application with supporting documents;(c)Payment Gateway -using Digital Payment system;(d)Learning Management System - which tracks the delivery of a Course or Programme, learner's engagement, assessment, results, and reporting supported by analytical tools that can help the teachers to extract and use the relevant reports;(iv)with ability to conduct examinations either using technology-enabled online test with all the security arrangements ensuring transparency and credibility of the examinations, or through the Proctored Examination.
