NOC must for HEIs to offer special courses: AICTE

The move came against the backdrop of several complaints that technical institutions started such courses without receiving NOCs from the authorities concerned in the council. “Universities (central, state and private), which have applied to the University Grants Commission (UGC) to run courses in Computer Applications, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Management, Logistics and Travel, and Tourism have to obtain NOC from AICTE,” the notice read.

The AICTE also stated that the HEIs should define the review mechanism for the programme and continuously enhance the standards of curriculum, instructional design relevant to professional requirements of the area of study. “There should be course benchmark statements,” it read, adding, “the HEIs should devise a mechanism for monitoring effectiveness of the programme being offered in ODL or online mode.”

Institutions should get NOC on or before August 31 this year and there may be programmes containing practical components in the syllabus and the HEIs should give clear guidelines about the laboratory support to the learners to perform practical classes prescribed in the programme after obtaining the NOC.

Instructing the HEIs that there should be a provision of a practical book for the learners, the AICTE urged the universities and colleges, which provide technical education to the students, to come out with detailed instructional design, which should include curriculum design, detailed syllabi, duration of the programme, faculty and support staff requirement, instructional delivery mechanisms, audio or video, online, computer-aided, and student support service systems.

On quality assurance, the AICTE said with the pandemic situation still prevalent, HEIs should design self-learning material with the approach of two-way communication between the learner and content.