UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2023 was released on Friday. In the new Regulations, the guidelines have been simplified and expected to encourage universities to focus on quality and excellence, strengthen the research ecosystem and have a long-term impact in transforming our higher education landscape.
Union Minister of Education and Skill Development, Dharmendra Pradhan released the UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2023 in the presence of UGC Chairman Prof. Jagadesh Kumar.
It is pertinent to mention here that the first set of Regulations was notified in the year 2010 and was revised in 2016 and 2019. UGC constituted an expert committee to review and revise the Regulations following the announcement of the National Education Policy 2020 and in order to make the Regulations simple.
Salient Features Of The Regulations
The eligibility criteria to apply for deemed to be university status is NAAC ‘A’ grade with at least a 3.01 CGPA for three consecutive cycles or NBA accreditation for two third of eligible programmes for three consecutive cycles or in the top 50 of any specific category of NIRF for the last three years continuously or in top 100 of overall NIRF Ranking for last three years continuously.
A cluster of institutions managed by more than one sponsoring body can also apply for deemed to be university status. Sponsoring bodies seeking deemed to be university status for their institutions may apply 'online'.
The Expert Committee assesses the facilities, interacts with stakeholders, and verifies the documents, all in virtual mode. Institution deemed to be University may start new courses or programmes in any field in their existing campus and approved off-campus centres, with the prior approval of its Executive Council and, also wherever applicable, with the approval of the relevant statutory council.
Institutions deemed to be Universities with minimum ‘A’ grade and above or ranked from 1 to 100 in the "Universities" category of NIRF rankings of the relevant year are eligible to set up off-campus centres. Institutions declared as deemed to be Universities under a “distinct category” can apply for off-campuses after five years of their declaration if they are accredited with an A grade or figured in the top 100 in the “universities” category of NIRF.
(With PIB Inputs)