NORMS AND STANDARDS

FOR

IT EDUCATION

THROUGH

DISTANCE MODE

Introduction
We examine first issues concerned with norms and standards, and with approval by the AICTE of Institutions imparting degree level and MCA education in Information Technology and in distance mode. The issues being raised are those in which the infrastructure needs of these institutions differ significantly from those that operate in the normal mode or in different disciplines. In all other respects the standard guidelines of AICTE laid down for the approval process shall apply.

In it's interim report [2], the task force on HRD in IT has clearly indicated the need for creation of a very large pool of human resource trained in the field of IT. These numbers are also so large that the requirements cannot be met through the traditional mode of education. This makes the distance mode of education a necessity. However, if the quality of manpower coming out of these institutions is to be assured the processes and parameters used by the AICTE to approve these institutions need to be examined carefully. The interim report does recognize non-availability of faculty in adequate numbers for IT education. This would be the crucial issue for some years to come, and the distance mode will come in really handy to at least partially overcome this obstacle.
The most fundamental cornerstone of the learning process is the interaction between the faculty and students in classroom as well as amongst students themselves. It is clear that in the distance mode it would not be possible to obtain the conditions that prevail in a normal classroom. However, every effort should be made to guarantee provisioning of means for faculty - student exchange of information. It might be in terms of exchange of documents (Questions-Answers, submissions, lecture notes etc.), by e-mails or using any other electronic media. In developing guidelines for approving an institution for imparting education in the distance mode it must be ensured that the above requirement is adequately met.

The following issues need specific attention:
1) Pre-qualifications
The Institution should have experience of the running the IT degree program for at least two years. This will ensure sufficient experience of running in academic program in IT before launching into the distance mode.

2) Faculty structure
As the distance mode allows extending the reach of faculty, the faculty/ student ratio can be lower than the normal. It is expected that a core faculty member should run/conduct at least two courses in a seminar. A visiting faculty may typically be expected to run/conduct one course at a time. It is recommended that in Institute should have at least 3 core faculty including one Professor/Reader. The other requirement may be met through visiting/part time faculty. The qualifications for these core faculty would be the same as have been laid down by AICTE for engineering faculty.
It would also be essential to use visiting faculty from the industry to bring in advanced skills. In this case, the institutions would be required to show proof of their access to such a resource. The documents submitted to the AICTE should include the CVs of these resource persons and also their consent to participate in the program. Rules need to be framed for compensation for their services, and the concerned faculty should be informed of these. The distance mode of education lays great emphasis on assignments and tutorials. So, it is to be expected that there would be a large number of assignments/tutorials/short projects to be done by the students. These have to be regularly corrected and/or evaluated for proper feedback to them. There would also be need for evaluating a number of regular examinations, projects and term works. Normally teaching associates (TA) are expected to carry out this work. There is a need to define both, the qualifications of these persons as also the TA/student ratios that would be required. It may be possible to permit TAs work on part-time basis as well and if the electronic access is good they could also work from home. To ensure the quality of personnel engaged in these tasks many such innovations will have to be devised. The minimum qualification for TAs will be B.E., B.Tech. in computer science and Engineering or in Electronics and Telecommunication or a good MCA. A TA/student ratio of 1:30 may be adequate for the purpose.

3) Internet Access
The institution is required to build and maintain a website on which a large part of the student/ institution interaction may be expected to take place. This will avoid a lot of physical movement of material such as study notes, assignments etc. Even the students submissions can be done electronically. He could also seek consultation and guidance from faculty and TAs on line. This will help to enhance the quality of instruction considerably and will also help reduce costs. Guidelines will have to be laid down for the specifications and numbers of servers to be provided for the purpose. Adequate Internet bandwidth is also a requirement. The Department of Telecommunications, Govt. of India has agreed [2] to reduced tariff to educational institutions for this purpose. There would also be a need here for some technical manpower to manage this facility and some proper air-conditioned floor space to house all the equipment. In the initial phase of operation the option of outsourcing some of these facilities may also be examined. This will reduce immediate capital investments and will allow a gradual ramp up. The content development though will remain the responsibility of the institutions.

4) Software Tools
The curriculum in an IT degree program may require a student to use some
commercialy available software tools as part of his study process. These can sometimes be expensive for him to be able to afford it individually. Access to such tools needs to be provided by the institution. If the institute were to buy a certain number of licenses for such software, it can then be used by the entire student community and will lead to overall cost reduction and to better performance. If this service can also be provided over the Internet the efficiencies could be even higher. The sample resource list given below does not include resources required for delivery of courses in the distance mode. These would be in addition to the ones listed below.
a) Remote access be made available through
- Browser
- telnet /ftp etc.
b) Setup servers to host the packages and also web servers with
firewall (for security). For supporting up 100 students the
investment in the platform could be about Rs15 lakhs.

b) Tools for course work in IT
- Compilers ( C,C++, Java etc. )
- Database products (Oracle, SQL server 7, D&2 etc.)
- Case tools.
There should be sufficient number of licenses for all of these. Some of these would be dependent on the prescribed syllabi.
Expected investment would be Rs20 lakhs approximate. It is required that only licensed software (or public domain software) be used and no breach of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) should occur.

5) Study material
The distance mode of education lays a stress on availability of prime quality,
self-learning kind study material in large quantities. This may be in the form of well-produced lecture/course notes preferably in modular form, audio/video tapes and CDs of lectures and demonstrations, extensive exercises and evaluation material etc. Recently, ISTE has produced some excellent volumes of self-study material for IT under a Swiss sponsored project. Similarly IGNOU has also created such learning texts. It is recommended that these be available in large quantities in the library and also be used as textbooks for the courses. The self-evaluation packages could also be computer based.

6) Infrastructure
The requirements of classrooms, buildings, and laboratories will be much lower for IT through distance mode. These could be 50% of normal requirements. But a well-equipped computer center with proper communication facilities will have to be provided.

PHYSICAL FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT
There should be sufficient space for student interaction and moving around, comfortably and storing papers, library, computer media etc. in the neighborhood of the working area. A minimum of 6000 Sft. floor area be available with the institution at the Headquarters and 1500 Sft. for each Study Centres.

The infrastructure facilities needed are for (a) the Headquarters and (b) Study Centres.
One counselor at a time should not have more than 4 courses. The counselor student ratio should be 1:100 and in no case should exceed this limit. The number of counsellors should be decided taking considerations the number of courses offered and no. of students in the programme.
The office space provided at Headquarter should be capable of accommodating the following:
Office of the Academic Manager, Faculty/Visiting Faculty, Library, Conference Room and Administration/Support Services, Storage of materials etc.

In view of the specific needs of IT education a student working towards a degree in this field may be required to have his/her own PC. Only then can he do the assignments and projects. The current costs of PC are not significant in relation to the total cost of the education. This will also allow for easier distribution of self-study material (for example as CDs).

7) Miscellaneous

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The minimum entry qualification to the MCA & B.TECH. in IT is that a candidate should have passed the Std. 12th Standard (or equivalent) examination as is required for the normal programme.

ADMISSION/SELECTION PROCEDURE

As laid down by the respective state/university authorities.

DURATION
Considering the learning experience to be provided to the students, the duration of MCA Programme should be minimum 3 years and maximum 5 years and the duration of B.Tech. in IT should be minimum 4 years and maximum 6 years. There should also be provision for re-registration for students in a programme if he/she fails to complete within the stipulated maximum duration in each case.

STUDENTS INTAKE
Student intake to MCA & B.Tech. IT Programme in a single year should be decided according to the infrastructure available with the Institutes, number of study centres, human resource available, audio/video support and library facilities etc. The students intake should be related to the infrastructure of the institute and it should be economically viable for the institute.

CLASS SIZE
There are no restrictions in regard to intake except the eligibility of the candidate as per admission norms and the resource bases of the Institution, since it depends upon infrastructural resources. However, it is reasonable to set some numerical targets as follows:

a. Typical number of properly equipped learning Centres attached to each Institutions          : 5

b. Maximum number of learners attached to each learning centres for new Institutions     : 100

THE MEASURE OF A COURSE/PROGRAMME
Programmes should be offered on, semester basis. For the distance learner, a modular approach towards pursuing a long term degree programme is desired. The precise set of courses and programmes may largely be left for the institutions to decide within a broad parity with the programme structure enumerated above.
It is useful to agree on a common measure for the size of a course and a programme. Since there is already a fair amount of experience with the measure of credit by various institute, a six unit credit being defined as 45 hrs. of student effort, it may be useful to have the same as a measure for MCA & B.TECH. in IT programmes in the Distance Mode. The break up of one credit worth of students effort, namely 45 hrs., should typically have the following components at the MCA & B.TECH. in IT level.

Study time                                                                     Approx. percentage of Credit
Print material including Audio/Video material                                                55%

Work related exercises practical/Quiz Assignments                                    25%

Counselling services-face to face, through Teleconferencing/ Satellite etc.   20%

MCA & B.TECH. in IT programme should be around 180 credits (or equivalent to around 1350 hours of effort) and 240 credits or equivalent over the entire duration of three years and four years respectively. Programme should be designed to have total credit range of 160-200 credit for MCA and 220-260 credits for B.Tech.

LEARNING RESOURCES
The use of modern technologies such as Video conferencing, computer mediated learning and Interactive Satellite aided communication network should be made use of, to provide quick feedback to the students and supplement the print material learning.
In order that the desired learning can take place through the distance mode, a greater effort is to be made in advance planning of learning materials and systems. It is therefore, important that accreditation/recognition of an institution to offer MCA & B.TECH. in IT through distance mode should require the submission to AICTE-DEC and evaluation by an expert committee of the learning resource materials as well as a document specifying the various institutional processes. For this purpose the applying institutions would be required to submit a catalogue of learning resources which they propose to use and the requisite number of copies of the learning resources which may include inter-alia:

• Camera Ready Copies (CRCs ) or a printed copy or web based course material to be kept ready to put on the web / sent to the students;
• CRCs or printed copies of structured assignments both computer marked, tutor marked and project type;
• Detailed methodology of conducting project work and final evaluation mechanisms be identified;
• CRC or a printed copy of work books;
• CRC of programme guide, incorporating materials about the need to know
  the study skills required in Distance Education System, learner study plans and other schedules;
• Video Cassettes to be used as part of the learning material;
• Audio cassettes to be used as part of the learning material;
• Participation of any Video Conferencing type activity for learner support;
• Use of any broadcast type facility either by television or radio for learner support;
• Detailed plan of use of extended contact programmes for learner support; and
• Detailed plan for use of computer network mediated learning for learner support

To be provided to approving body.

If any of such materials are to be used in collaboration with other institutions then requisite arrangements for permission to use such materials for the specific purposes must be provided.
Evaluation of the suitability of the institution to offer a programme by distance mode will be determined by evaluation of these materials and the learning strategies proposed for the purpose.

DELIVERY MECHANISM

A Distance learning programme must have a schedule of activities within prescribed time frame. The suggested schedule may be as under:

Information / Availability of Text Materials

(a) Dispatch of text books/ : Within a month after
Study materials Registration of the Programme

(b) Receipt of completed activities/ : Two or three graded
assignments assignment per hours, per
term

(c) Evaluation of Students Activities/ : Within four weeks of
Assignments and feedback to receipt of assignments
students

(d) Response to students queries : Within a week of receipt
preferably through email

(e) Feedback to students after their : Once in every term or six
performance and progress in the months whichever is less
Programme

(f) Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) : Provision of FAQ to be put
up on the web site of the institute/study centre

The Institution conducting the programme must have an administrative mechanism and infrastructure to ensure the following activities:

(a) Timely production of study material

(b) Prompt dispatch of material to students

(c) Computerized record keeping of students performance progress and feedback

However, in case of new institutions the above infrastructures shall be insured.

The Institute should maintain proper information system in relation to each of the above aspects.

EVALUATION

Student evaluation systems should be comprised of both continuous, and end term assessments. Participants would be required to go through an examination system, where either marks (percentage) or a letter grade system may be employed.

It is recommended that the components of evaluation for each course should include the following:

Recommendations
a. Assignments                  30 - 40% weightages

b. End-term examination     60 - 70% weightages

Viva-voce could be made as one paper in Term-end exam.

The field project work should be assessed using the following components:

a. Proposal
b. Conduct work
c. Analysis
These could be an option to the final year project in lieu of a mini project and two advanced courses.

LIBRARY

A well-equipped library having sufficient number of books and resource material to supplement the students and faculty requirements are needed. It is recommended that a library should have initially minimum books titles 1500 across specialization comprising reference books, latest international and national titles and journals. Subsequently, at least 10% of the Tuition fee should be made available to provide the accessibility to library resources at the Study Centres/Headquarters. Besides these, the institutions should also subscribe journals/periodicals from both India and abroad to be in touch with contemporary developments and should also have collection of audio/video material.
At Study Centres - 100 book titles and 5 sets of complete course materials.

FEE STRUCTURE
Fees should be realistic.
The fee should be able to cover the variable cost incurred on the programme and contribute towards the fixed cost.

FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
The institutions could be required to demonstrate their capability to provide
about Rs 70 lakhs of financial resources would be required for this purpose. A proof of availability of these financial resources and plans for implementing the scheme will have to be provided by the Institutions while seeking approval. The guidelines as given in the Distance Education Council's recommendations [3] (DEC's 13th meeting held on July3, 1997) may also be used for this purpose.

[1] Norms and Standards, AICTE, New Delhi, 1999.
[2] "IT Manpower-Challenge and Response", Interim Report of the Task
     Force on HRD in IT, Ministry of HRD, GOI.
[3] Distance Education Council's Guidelines for Design, Development, and
     Delivery of Programmes/Courses through Distance Mode.
[4] AICTE Approval Process - Handbook, December 2000.
[5] DOEACC Norms for accreditation of courses -An autonomous body of
     Ministry of Information Technology.

APPENDIX A :
All India Council for Technical Education has been established under the Act, 1987, with the view of proper planning and coordinated development of the technical education system throughout the country, the promotion of qualitative improvement of such education in relation to the planned quantitative growth and the regulation and proper maintenance of norms and standards in the technical education system and for matters connected therewith.

Clause 10(i), Chapter - III of the Act, provides that the Council shall lay down norms and standards for courses, curricula, physical and instructional facilities, staff pattern, staff qualifications, quality instructions, assessment and examinations. The Council therefore, has as statutory responsibility and authority to lay down norms and standards for programmes in all branches of Engineering and Technology. [1]

PROVISION OF THE AICTE ACT FOR APPROVAL PROCESSING

CLAUSE 10 (G)
Evolve suitable performance appraisal system for Technical Institutions and University imparting Technical Education, incorporating Norms and Mechanisms for enforcing accountability.
CLAUSE 10 (I)
Lay down norms and standards for course, curriculum, physical and instructional facilities, staff pattern, staff qualification, quality instructions, assessment and examination.
CLAUSE 10 (K)
Grant approval for starting new technical institution and for introduction of new Courses or programmes in consultation with the agencies
CLAUSE 10 (N)
Take all necessary steps to prevent commercialization of Technical Education.
CLAUSE 10 (P)
Inspect or cause to inspect any Technical Institution. [4]

APPENDIX B :
1)Distance Education Council and Its Mandate :
Section 5(2) of the IGNOU Act states as follows:
"It shall be the duty of the University to take all such steps as it may deem fit for the promotion of the Open Universities and distance education systems and for the determination of standards of teaching, evaluation and research in such systems, and for the purpose of performing these functions, the University shall have such powers, including the power to allocate and disburse grants to colleges, whether admitted to its privileges or not, or to any other University or institutions of higher learning, as may be specified by the statues".
The above statutory provision of the IGNOU Act identifies and defines clearly the roles and responsibilities of IGNOU and of the Distance Education Council. The major roles assigned to DEC are :
i)Promotion of open and distance education system.
ii)Coordination of distance and open education system activities; and
iii)Maintenance of standards in distance education institutions.

2) Provision of the IGNOU Act for approval processing
Clause 4 (xvii) of the DEC statute 28.
"To take such measures as are necessary, consistent with the objects of the University to provide an innovative, flexible and open system of the University education, for the promotion, including introduction and continuation of courses and programmes which conform to the standards prescribed by the DEC, to maintain such standards in the institution offering distance education programmes and to prevent through such measures as are considered appropriate, institutions from offering courses and programmes which do not conform of the standards laid down by the Council.