Distance Rules

7/29/2019 Distance Rules

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The Islamia University of Bahawalpur

REGULATIONS FOR DISTANCE EDUCATIONUNDERGRADUATE/POSTGRADUATE/MPHIL & PHD ACADEMIC

PROGRAMMES UNDER SEMESTER SYSTEM

These rules will be called the Islamia University of Bahawalpur distanceeducation rules and will be effective from the year 2011.

Preamble

The Institute of Distance Education intends to make a history of preparing

professionals in all fields and to promote a culture of learning through modern

technology. It aims to foster a culture of education within a diverse community of

learners without limiting them within campus walls but to make their work and

living places as learning stations.

The distance education system will be operated through Program Committee,

Program Coordinator and Course Coordinator. Each course coordinator will

prepare self learning course material. The course material will include course

outline with detailed contents, handouts, activities, assignments and examinations

schedule. The same will be gradually prepared in electronic (CDs) format. The

students will study the instructional material at their homes or work place through

self-study approach and complete the assignments given to them. At the end of 7

weeks there will a face to face two days workshop for each course. The main

areas of course contents will be discussed during the workshops along with

student’s individual/group presentations. Course Coordinator will conduct the

workshop and at the end of each course workshop she/he will take the mid-term

examination and announce the result before the end of workshop. Similarly, after

15th week of the semester second workshop will be conducted of 2 days duration

by the Course Coordinator and conduct final-term examination. The completeresult of the semester will be announced at the end of final-term workshop. When

possible the selected lectures and material will be uploaded on the

varsity/Institutes’ website for open access to all the students with log in details.

Academic guidance will be made through e-mail, audio and video-conferences,

Mobile technology and local study centers. The learning of the students will be



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evaluated through mid-term examination (30%), final term examination (50%) and

assignments/presentations (20%). Following table shows the details of the

workshops and assessment.

S. NO Workshops and assessment

Orientation Workshop One day in the beginning of the program

Mid-semester Workshop 8-12 days after seven weeks (02 days for

each course)

Mid-term exam At the end of each course workshop

Final-semester

Workshop

8-12 days after seven weeks (02 days for

each course)

Final-term exam At the end of each course workshop

1- Admission schedule and eligibility criteria

The approved programs offered for students through distance education

will be advertised with the formal admission schedule. These admissions

may be once a year in fall semester or twice a year in both fall and winter

semesters. Each year the fall semester will start normally from September

of the current year and will continue to January of the next year while the

spring semester will be operated from February to June.

The eligibility for admission in each program will be determined by the

department and it will normally be according to the criteria set for the same

degree in formal mode and it should meet the basic admission

requirements decided by HEC.

2- Scheme of study and distribution of coursesEach of the programs offered through distance education will normally

follow the rules already made for regular face to face teaching in terms of

credit hours, duration, number of regular semesters and credit hours per

semester. These durations and credits are based on the standards set by



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HEC and are subject to change on the directions of HEC issued from time

to time.

Program BS four

Year

Master

two year

M. Phil PhD

Total No. of Credit Hours 124-136 62-68 30 30

Semester Duration 16-18

Weeks

16-18

Weeks

16-18

Weeks

16-18

Weeks

Number of Regular

Semesters

8 4 4 2

Credit hours per Semester 15-18

Credit

Hours

15-18

Credit

Hours

15-18

Credit

Hours

15-18

Credit

Hours

Explanation: A department may swap the courses of different semesters

according to the needs or the availability of teaching faculty.

3- Program and course coordinators

Each department will have one program coordinator who will be

responsible for smooth functioning of the program starting from admission

to the end of graduation. If a department is offering more than one

programs through DE it may have more than one program coordinators.

Similarly, for each course within a program there will be one course

coordinator for each course who will prepare course book/study

guide/course guide. The course material will include course material on the

selected contents according to the format provided by IDE. The same will

be prepared in book/module/electronic (CDs) format and distributed among

the students. The course coordinator will be responsible to conduct

workshops of the assigned course in the form of presentations. She/he will

also be responsible for preparing mid/final term papers at the end of each

workshop and handover the marked scripts within two days to the program



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coordinator to show the students and declare the result before the end of

the workshop.

4- Program committee

There will be a program committee that will consist of the following

members:

a) For Departments of Main Campuses in Bahawalpur

i) Head of the department/Chairperson

ii) Program coordinator

iii) Course coordinators (may be upto six)

iv) One representative from IDE

v) Controller of Examinations, IUB or his nominee not below the

rank of Admin Officer.

b) For Sub-Campuses of IUB

i) Director

ii) Chairperson/Head of the Department

iii) Program Coordinator/s

iv) Course coordinator/s

v) One representative from IDE

vi) Controller of examinations, IUB or his nominee not below the


c) For Constituent Colleges of IUB

i) Principal

ii) Chairperson/Head of the Department

iii) Program Coordinator/s

iv) Course coordinator/s

v) One representative from IDE

vi) Controller of Examinations, IUB or his nominee not below the


5.1- Functions of the Program Committee

i) Prepare and announce schedule of examination



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ii) Conduct the examination process according to the schedule

iii) Maintain secrecy where required

iv) Maintain the examination record

v) Entertain & dispose of rechecking cases as per university

general rules

5.2- Functions of the Examination Committee

The main functions of the Committee will be:

i) Prepare and recommend course/s of program/s, Contents and

material of the courses to the departmental Board of studies for

further recommendations

ii) Prepare and announce academic schedule of the workshops,

distribution of material, submission of assignments, mid/final term

examinations and any other mode of teaching-learning and

evaluation. The academic schedule must be sent to the Controller

of Examinations for information

iii) Finalize the results after the completion of evaluation process for

notification

iv) Analyze the results for the purpose of maintaining uniform

standards

v) Review and make decision regarding learning material,

assignments or marking of scripts on student/s request after the

submission of prescribed fee

vi) Take the necessary action against the student/s involved in

malpractices or misconduct during the examination. The

examination committee may impose a penalty/penalties mentioned

below against each type of malpractice:

Malpractices or misconduct Penalty

Cheating during examFine of Rs: 1000/- or Cancellation of

paper or both

Seek help from others during

exam

Fine of Rs: 1000/- or Cancellation of

paper



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Misconduct during ExamFine of Rs: 1000/- or Cancellation of

paper

Provoke to boycottFine of Rs. 2000/- and placing on

probation for the next semester

Any other misconduct or

malpractice

Fine of Rs. 1000/- or Cancellation of

paper or both

6) Rights of appeal

A student who feels not satisfied with the assessment of her/his

assignments, presentations, workshops, mid-term and final term papers

may file an appeal to the Program Committee. The student must approach

the Head of the Department within five working days from the date of

declaration of the result by paying a prescribed fee of Rs: 500/-. The

Head of the institute / Department shall forward the grievances to the

program committee and it will be binding on the committee for hearing both

sides (student and the instructor), and will give a final decision within 5

days or before the start of registration for the new semester. If the

grievances are found false the result of the course under question will be

cancelled. The functions of this committee will be:

i) To resolve any dispute related to the evaluation of

assignments, presentations and examinations

ii) Quorum for the meeting will be 60%

iii) In absence of a member the Vice chancellor will appoint

another member

iv) The decision of the Committee will be final

Explanation: Where appeal is against a teacher who is the member of the

Program Committee the next senior teacher will be co-opted.

7- Answer sheets record

The course coordinator will prepare the objective and short answer parts of

paper giving space for writing answers. The students will answer these



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parts of the paper on the space given in the questions paper. For essay

type part of the question paper the Controller of Examinations will provide

answer/continuation sheets to all the departments on demand. The

department concerned will keep the used answer sheets for one year after

completion of the concerned session and declaration of its final term result.

The record of blank answer/continuation sheets will be maintained as to be

prescribed by Controller of Examinations.

8- Attendance and other requirements for examination

a) 12 hours attendance will be required in each workshop of a course to

qualify for appearing in the mid and final examinations of each semester in

the respective course

b) Inability to attend the workshop/s shall be treated as failure in that course

c) In case a student due to some unavoidable circumstances (Performing

Umra, accident or such other genuine reasons) has less than 12 hours

attendance in the workshop but more than 8 hours must make up the

deficiency in the form of extra assignment/s

d) A student who fails to attend the workshops of all courses due to any

reason will have to attend the workshops together with the next group of

the same semester. In case of no such group the student has to request for

a special workshop on payment of Rs; 1000 for M. Phil and PhD and Rs:

600 for BS and master level courses.

e) The students who do not submit the required assignments within due

date/s will not be eligible to appear in the mid/final examinations of a

course.

f) No student shall be eligible to appear in any examination unless he/she is

registered in the department and has paid all the necessary dues.

9. Performance evaluation

Students shall be evaluated through a system of continuous evaluation

spread over the entire period. The details are presented below:



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9.1 Theoretical Component

There will be following stages/components of evaluation of each course

during each semester.

Assignments 10%

Sessional MarksParticipation in two workshop 05%

Two workshops

presentation/discussion/group work05%

Mid-term Exam 30%

50%Final term-Exam

9.2 Criteria

a) Assignment: One assignment (minimum) will be given to the students in

each course. The teachers may give more than one assignments where

necessary. However, the total marks will remain the same. The

assignments will be assessed on the basis of information and references

included, logical reasoning and organization of material. Separate

guidelines will be provided to students for writing assignments.

b) Participation in Workshop: A total of 5 marks are allocated to students’

participation in all workshops of the course. Out of 12 hours’ workshop 9

hours participations is mandatory to qualify for the next exam.

c) Presentation/discussion/group work: A total of 5 marks are allocated to

students’ presentation/discussion/group work during the workshops of the

course. The students will in groups (Not more than 10) give comprehensive

presentation of their assignments. Each presentation should not be longer

than 15-20 minutes followed by a Q/A session.

d) Mid-Term Examination: The mid-term examination will be conducted after

the mid-term workshop that will normally be conducted after about 7 weeks

of self study. There will be different types of questions. The type and



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number of questions included in the exam, the division of marks and the

time allocated for each component is given below:

Types of

Questions

No. of

Questions

Marks Time Allocated

Objective Type Questions 10 10 15min

Short Answer Questions 5 10 25min

Essay type Question 1 10 35min

Total - 30 1:15 hour

e) Final-term exam: The final-term examination will be conducted after the

final-term workshop that will normally be conducted after about 14/15

weeks of self study. The pattern of the question paper will be same as

mentioned earlier for mid-term examination. The type and number of

questions included in the exam, the division of marks and the time

allocated for each component is given below:

Types of QuestionsNo. of

QuestionsMarks Time Allocated

Objective Type Questions 20 20 30 min

Short Answer Questions 7 15 35 min

Essay type Questions 2-3 15 55 min

Total - 50 2 hours

Explanation: At the time of mid-term/final-term examinations the course

coordinator who is normally course teacher will conduct her/himself theexamination with the help of one assistant or clerk. If the students are more

than 30 but less than 60 another teacher will help course teacher. For

every additional 30 students one more teacher and clerk will be taken as

invigilator.



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9.3 Field work/Internship

Generally, programs of applied nature are not offered through distance

education. However, if there is any program that has any course involving

field work/internship the following procedure will be adopted to complete

the course. The theoretical part of the course will be completed by the

student through self study material and field work/internship mechanism will

be evolved by the department. The division of marks for various

components of the course is given below. Student must complete all the

parts of the course. In ability to complete any part of the course shall be

treated as failure in that course. A department may adopt a different

division of marks for assessment keeping in view the requirements of the

course with prior approval of the competent authority.

Course components Marks Total marks

Assignment/s based on the given material 10

100

Workshop with Mid-term 20

Field work/Internship 30

Report/Dissertation/Progress report etc. 25

Final presentation/ Viva Voce 15

b) Theoretical examination: (20%)

Type of Questions Marks Time

Questions to evaluate understating principles and

procedures of the work as well as critical thinking toenhance problem solving

10 1.15

hrsPreparation of portfolio/practical design and

implementation plan of proposed field work/internship10



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c) Field work/Internship

For each such course that involves field work/internship, the total number

of hours required to complete the task will be calculated by the department.

The student will be placed for field work/internship at the place of mutual

convenience. This placement will be considered as the substitute of

mandatory workshops and assessed by both the placement supervisor and

the teacher concerned. Student must submit a report as evidence of her/his

field work. If required the group of the students may be taken anywhere in

Pakistan for field work at their own expenses.

10. Semester duration

The total duration of a semester will be 16 weeks. Student will be given self

study material for to study at home or at workplace and complete the given

assignment within a period of 6/7 weeks. After 6/7 weeks a face to face two

day workshop will be conducted for each theoretical course of 12 hours

duration and 3/4 day (24 hours) for practical course according to the given

schedule. The mid-term examination will be conducted at the end of the

mid-term course workshop. Similarly, the self study material will be given

for the second half of the semester and workshops of the same duration

will be conducted after 14/15 weeks for each course followed by the final-

term examination or presentation of report/viva voce for the respective

course. The final term exam will be based on the entire syllabi of the

semester. However, the weightage of the syllabi taught before mid-term

should be 20%.

11- Standard duration of credit hour

Theory: 1 Credit hour is equal to16 credit hours in a semester

Practical: 1 Credit hour is equal to 32-48 hours in a semester

12. Grading

i) Students will be rated according to the 4 letter grade system i.e. A, B, C

and D, with nine performance levels of A+, A, B, C and D for Master

Degree. For these grades “F” will be the failing grade. Equivalence



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between letter grades, grade points along with percentages shall be as

follows:

GRADING CRITERIA/READY RECKNOR TABLE

NumericEquivalence

GradePoint

LetterGrade

Remarks NumericEquivalence

GradePoint

LetterGrader

Remarks

100 4.0 A+ Excellent 74 3.3 B Good





95 4.0 A+ Excellent 69 2.9 C Satisfactory

94 4.0 A Very Good 68 2.8 C Satisfactory93 4.0 A Very Good 67 2.7 C Satisfactory

92 4.0 A Very Good 66 2.6 C Satisfactory







85 4.0 A Very Good 59 1.9 D Poor

84 3.9 B Good 58 1.8 D Poor

83 3.9 B Good 57 1.7 D Poor

82 3.8 B Good 56 1.6 D Poor

81 3.7 B Good 55 1.5 D Poor

80 3.7 B Good 54 1.4 D Poor

79 3.6 B Good 53 1.3 D Poor

78 3.5 B Good 52 1.2 D Poor

77 3.5 B Good 51 1.1 D Poor

76 3.4 B Good 50 1.0 D Poor

75 3.3 B Good Below 50 F Fail



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ii) Fraction marks 0.50 and above obtained in a course is to be rounded up to

the next whole figure such as 64.50 to 65.00.

iii) SGPA of a student will be calculated as below:

CourseCredit

Hours

Marks

Obtained

(%)

Grade GP Quality Point

C G C x G

I 2 95 A+ 4.00 08.00

II 3 88 A 3.70 11.10

III 3 87 A 3.70 11.10

IV 3 70 B 3.00 09.00

V 2 67 C 2.70 05.40

Total 13 44.60

SGPA = Sum of QP / Sum of Credit Hours

SGPA = 44.60/13 = 3.43

SGPA = Sum of ‘n’ Quality Points / Sum of Credit Hours of ‘n’ semesters

13. Maintaining enrolment/Good standing

To remain on the roll of the department a student has to continuously

maintain in time submission of the assignments, minimum 80% attendance

in the workshops, appear in mid and final term examinations and obtain

minimum CGPA of 2.00 in each semester. Inability to meet any of the

conditions mentioned above will make the student ineligible for the award

of degree. However, at the end of first semester a student fulfils all the

requirements with a minimum SGPA of 1.4 will be eligible for promotion to

the second semester.

13.1 The minimum CGPA for award of degree will be 2:00 with no “F” grade

13.2 A student may clear his/her failed course/s or subjects in which obtained

“D” grade by repeating the said courses at the end of the subsequent



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workshops of the same course/s to be offered by the department on the

payment of the prescribed fee of Rs: 1000 for each course

13.3 If a student has genuine personal problem or is seriously ill and produces a

medical certificate duly signed by MS of the respective area and has

completed all other formalities but missed the workshop coupled with

mid/final term examination/s the department will arrange a special

workshop/s and examination/s for the student on paying Rs: 1000 per

course. The medical certificate and information of the personal problem

must reach the department before or on the examination date. The

genuineness of the personal problem will be determined by HOD/Chairman

whose decision will be final. Such a student will be given incomplete (I)

grade.

13.4 A student who fails to attend the workshops of all courses without any

genuine reason will have to attend the workshops together with the next

group of the same semester. In case of no such group the student has to

request for a special workshop on payment of Rs; 3000 for M. Phil and PhD

and Rs: 2000 for each BS and master level courses.

14 Repeating courses

Student who fails in any course has to pass the course within the specified

time duration of the degree. The student(s) desiring to repeat fail course(s)

with subsequent workshop/s will request in writing to the HOD/Chairman

concerned within ten days of the commencement of the workshop. If

allowed by the HOD/Chairman, the student will have to deposit fee of Rs.

1500/- for each course. Similarly, a student can improve ‘D & C’ grades

with a view to improve CGPA. Following are the conditions for repeating a

course:

I. Whenever a student fails should repeat the course when it is offered to

improve her/his grade.

II. A student can repeat a maximum of three courses at BS and master levels

and maximum two at M. Phil and PhD levels during a semester to improve

or pass her/his grades.



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III. In case a student repeats the course which has already been awarded ‘D

or C’ grade/s only better course grade should be included in her/his

transcripts.

IV. The student(s) shall have to deposit a prescribed fee of Rs. 3000/- per

course at BS/ Master and Rs. 5000/- per course at M. Phil/PhD in advance.

15- Semester break//Freezing

15.1 In case a student due to some unavoidable circumstances (prolonged

illness, performing Haj or such other genuine reasons) is unable to

continue his studies, she/he may apply for a semester break. This option,

however, will be available only once during the course of his/her studies.

The case will be put up to the Program Committee for consideration. In

case, the Committee recommends to the dean who if approves, semester

break will be allowed for a maximum period of one year. The student will

join the next semester after the semester break and the parked semester

will study after completing all semesters.

15.2 The total time period however, for completion of the program will remain

same as already prescribed in these rules.

15.3 Withdrawal from a course will be allowed latest up to mid-term workshop.

Withdrawn course will appear on transcript with letter grade ‘W’.

Explanation:

Where courses of a prior semester(s) are deemed as pre-requisite for

subsequent semester(s) those who have availed semester break will have

to clear such courses(s) of earlier semester before proceeding to the next

semester.

16. Program duration

Generally, there will be a two years Master and four years Bachelor

program but a student repeating the course(s) shall be required to

complete the course(s) within a maximum period of one additional

academic year. Thus, the maximum time period to complete Postgraduate

Program is three academic years and for undergraduate program it will be



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five years. The maximum period for M. Phil and PhD will remain same as

approved for such programs in formal system.

17. Thesis/Research Report

Students at BS, MA/MSc, MS/MPhil and PhD levels may be required to

conduct a small or large scale study as the partial fulfillment of their degree

program. Students will prepare thesis/research report under the guidance

of a supervisor. The supervisor will generally be a full time faculty member

whether regular or contract and paid remuneration as per approved rates.

However, the co-supervisor may be a full-time or part-time senior faculty

member from within the Islamia University of Bahawalpur or from any other

institution in or out of Pakistan.

Explanation: Other rules for conducting research at M. Phil and PhD levels

will remain same as already approved for formal programs.

18. Internship/Project

Every student at graduate level is required to write a project report (similar

to thesis with less intensity) or will do his / her internship in an organization

which relates to his / her discipline. This is to be done when the student is

at senior level, i.e. final year under the supervision of a full time (regular

and contract) faculty member.

19. Thesis/Project evaluation

For undergraduate and postgraduate programs there will be a departmental

Research Committee (DRC) comprising HOD/Chairman and two senior

most teachers of the department with one co-opted member of the

concerned specialized area (if any). It will be approved by the Dean

concerned on recommendations of HOD/Chairman.

19.1 Functions of DRC

i) Provisional approval of research topics for each student/group

ii) Approval of supervisors



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iii) Recommendation of a panel of external examiners for approval

by the Vice Chancellor.

iv) Conduct of evaluation/Viva Voce.

v) Preparation of result and forwarding the same to the controller of

examination

19.2 At BS and master levels four hard copies along with one soft copy in

the form of CD of the thesis or project report shall be submitted by

the student(s) on a topic approved by the Departmental Research

Committee (DRC) within 2 months (extendable upto a maximum of

15 days by the Dean concerned) after the date of the last paper of

final-term written examination.

a) There will be three examiners for the evaluation of the thesis

HOD/Chairman of the department, one internal who will be the

supervisor and one external examiner.

b) The evaluation of thesis by the examiners will be done in the

department concerned. The student shall present himself/herself

personally before the examiners for the defense of his/her research

work.

c) The candidate who does not qualify the thesis examination may

revise the same in the light of the instructions given by the

examiners or shall conduct research on new topic duly approved by

the DRC. Student(s) failing to submit the thesis within stipulated

duration may be allowed to re-submit thesis in the next session of

the same program as to be scheduled by the department. Such

student will pay additional fee of Rs. 2000/= for the evaluation of the

thesis.

d) Such student (s) as mentioned above will be awarded Grade “I” in

thesis. The degree as successful candidate will be issued to the

student if he/she passes this course (thesis/report) and fulfills the

CGPA criteria.



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20. Declaration of result and award of degree

a) The teacher concerned is required to mark the mid/final term papers

and show these to the students at the end of each workshop. At the

end of final term exams and declaration of provisional result the

course teacher will prepare three copies of the awards. She/he shall

retain one copy as record, submit one copy to the Controller of

Examinations IUB and submit the remaining copy to the program

coordinator of the department along with the marked answer

sheets/Term Papers/Reports etc.

b) The course coordinator will present the results to the Program

Committee that will verify the results compiled and finalize the same

within 10 days of the declaration of the provisional results at the end

of the workshop. The result of each semester duly signed by the

program committee will be notified by Controller Examinations within

15 days from the date of declaring provisional results except final

semester result that will be notified by Controller Examinations within

15 days from the date of the final evaluation of theses/projects or

completion of internship.

c) At the end of each semester, each successful student will be issued

semester result card while on successful completion of prescribed

course of studies and other requirements a comprehensive

transcript will be issued by Controller of Examinations. Accordingly,

Graduate/Masters Degree/M.Phil/PhD will be conferred upon the

students who quality for the same.

21. Criteria for position holders

Three positions namely 1st, 2nd and 3rd shall be awarded (if applicable as

per University rules and regulations.). The award of these positions shall be

on the basis of CGPA. Incase of equal CGPA, positions will be determined

on the basis of higher percentage of marks. Semester positions will be

determined on the basis of SGPA of the respective semester.

In order to qualify for the award of any of these positions; a student is required to:



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i. Pass all the courses (both credit and non-credit) in the first

attempt

ii. Complete all courses opted and never withdrawn any course due

to any reason.

iii. Has completed all assignments in time and maintained 80%

attendance in all workshops.

iv. Appear in all mid and final examinations.

In case of tie, the same position will be awarded to the number of students

securing the same percentage of marks.

NOTE: Semester procedures/Rules other than these or any issue for

which these rules have no explanation will be referred to

“Semester Implementation Committee for Distance Education”

whose decision will be final.

Distance Rules

Documents

Transcript of Distance Rules