Law Exams are Postponed:

The Law examinations which are scheduled to commence from 29th/30th October, 2012 are postponed to 27th/29th Nov. 2012. For detail information please click the following URL: http://www.mu.ac.in/examsc173a.pdf

Mum Varsity Decentralizes Distance Education Exams

Yogita Rao TNN 

Mumbai: Distance education students in the current TYBCom batch will be spared of the confusion that marred the March 2012 exams. Putting an end to the chaos, the university at a recent Board of Examination (BoE) meeting decided to decentralize the examinations conducted by the Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL) from March 2013. 
    The IDOL, which was part of the Mumbai University for several years, will now conduct its own exam. The date, time, question papers and the exam centres for over 60,000 students of IDOL’s undergraduate and post-graduate courses will be different from the ones in regular colleges. Though the results will be declared by the university, the examination process has been completely decentralized. 
    Subhash Deo, director of examinations of the university, said, “The paper pattern of the exam has changed for regular students. Also, in the regular course, students will be appearing for the exam in the new credit-based semester system. While students of the regular course are attempting 60-mark paper, IDOL students have to appear for a 100-mark paper.”

Source:::: The Times of India, 03-10-2012, p.05. http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW

MU to scrap rider on revaluation?

Proposal seeks that every student be given right to demand reassement of their papers

Kanchan Srivastava

Rajesh Sharma (name changed) is keeping his fingers crossed on a proposal to change the answer sheet revaluation criterion at the University of Mumbai (MU). The BCom student, who had secured just five marks in a paper this year, hopes that the rider to applying for revaluation — securing at least 20% of the total marks in a subject — will be done away with.  The MU is considering the proposal to scrap such a bar and to allow even students who score a zero to apply for revaluation of their answer sheets. The proposal, mooted by Subhash Deo, director of examinations, MU, seeks that every student be given the right to demand revaluation of his/her paper and that there should be no cut-off mark to apply for it. As per an MU rule, a student needs to have at least 20% of the total score, or alternatively, 40% of the passing mark, to do so.  This rule left thousands of students who failed to clear their paper with just one option: sit an examination again. The MU has close to 6.5 lakh students, of which over a lakh apply for revaluation each year. Scrapping the condition on applying for reassessment is expected to help at least two lakh such students. Sharma wishes that the move had come a year earlier. “My friends who were eligible applied for revaluation and passed. I will have to sit the examination in October.”  A college principal, however, feels that such a decision could backfire. “This could be a wrong move. I don’t know how the examination house will deal with the excess workload, which may rise multi-fold. It already struggles to meet the deadline for revaluation.” Another college principal says the MU should push the envelope instead. “It should actually raise the bar, as I have seen that most failed students pass after revaluation [of the answer sheets].” Deo claims, “We have improved the assessment system this year and are going to make it better in future. If our evaluation is good, we don’t think students need to apply for revaluation. Moreover, we have set a deadline of September15 to clear all revaluation work of the March examination.” Source:::: DNA, 18-08-2012, p.04, http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=24969&boxid=16157&ed_date=2012-08-18&ed_code=820009&ed_page=4

Varsity plans question paper bank

Yogita Rao TNN

Mumbai: The University of Mumbai plans to create a bank of over 150 question papers in every subject of every branch in engineering. Every college will have to submit three question papers of every subject in all branches they offer. A workshop has been organized by the university on July 21 to discuss the format of the question paper and the use of technology in conducting the examination and assessment of papers. 

    Following the leak of three papers during the engineering examination in May, the university has decided to form a question bank of papers. Also under consideration is to have question papers generated technologically. “All 61 engineering colleges have been told to set three question papers each of every subject in every branch of engineering that the college offers. Once the question papers are submitted by colleges, the university plans to use technology to pick questions randomly and have different sets of question papers for the exam,” said the principal of an engineering college. 

    The workshop for teachers will discuss issues like the format of the paper and pattern. Suresh Ukrande, the dean of technology, said, “We will discuss how the bank can be created using technology. We will also decide on weightage to be given to each topic and marks distribution.” When engineering papers leaked this year, a committee set up by the university concluded that most of the times, especially in the engineering faculty, only one question paper is set and the paper-setter is known. The university, however, later claimed that three or more question papers were set for all leaked papers this year. 

    On the 156th Foundation Day on Wednesday, the university announced that along with engineering, workshops will be conducted for BEd training colleges. From next year, the university will felicitate the best researcher and best department to encourage research. 

 

Autonomy For More Colleges I n two years, the university plans to have more than 15 autonomous colleges under its jurisdiction. With five colleges already enjoying autonomy status--three Somaiya colleges were given autonomy this year--the university plans to encourage more to go in for that soon. Even university departments will be encouraged to apply for academic autonomy, said vice-chancellor Rajan Welukar at the university’s 156th Foundation Day. TNN 

Source:::: The Times of India, 19-07-2012, p.05. http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW