A MULTI-CAMPUS UNIVERSITY IN THE NORTHERN-EASTERN REGION OF INDIA
The conceptual plan of the proposed multicampus University may be as under;
1. The Proposed University will be a federation of autonomous universities, in the constitutent States of the NER joining the system on a voluntary basis through a vote from their respective legislatures. The existing universities may have the choice to collaborate with or integrate into the multicampus system. It shall have open door for other universities.
2. There will be maximum of decentralisation and delegation of authority in the internal Organisation, structure and administration at each University. Each federating campus will be headed by the Vice-Chancellor and other statutory academic and other bodies with full autonomy, except at the level of overall planning and recruitment of faculty at the Professor's level.
3. At the Headquarters there will a Board of Trustees and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees in addition to its Organisation and authorities at the University level; The Board of Trustees will be responsible for general planning, review and quality control of academic planning and programmes, admission policy, student mobility and transfers within and outside the system, external relations, enabling procedures, removal of difficulties, financial planning and allocation and monitoring of funds.
4. A General formula for funding of the system through the UGC may have to be-evolved, and the Headquarters and the system will also serve as the central funding channel.
5. The Central Library, Central Information and Computer System at the Headquarters would play a larger role by providing campuses with a wide-range of comparable data about similar programmes elsewhere in the system enabling more informed decision making for the entire system.
* A concept model worked in the UGC for discussion.
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6. The autonomous units could undertake postgraduate studies and research in diversity of courses and as far as possible in non-duplicative complementary set of specialisations in various campuses, catering to the need of the entire region on a mutually agreed sharing basis. This could make each Faculty viable.
7. An integrated view of the whole academic programme will have to be taken. The academic structure should ensure absolute flexibility to make it "age-free" "space-free" "theme-free" providing for whole-time, part-time, own-time and recurrent education both in terms of long cycles and short cycles so that 'lifelong education" can be feasible by multiple point entry to a course of study at a convenient period of time in one's life. External degrees may be instituted on the basis of California State University System.
8. Under "Extension Services" the system will undertake adult and continuing education and distance education for certificate and diploma. courses to enable self employment and professional advancement. The University would go to the people as partners in the adventure and necessity of creating pre-university strength.
9. In the realm of evaluation the system should be based on "modules" of courses "continuous" evaluation and grading by "credits" used as a "cumulative record", which would form a certificate, diploma or degree. The credit system and module of course would enable students to finish some courses at one place and others at other campuses within and outside the system. This alleviates the necessity of closure of one State campus for the purpose of Examination, while other campus has political unrest. In fact, conduct of examination would be unrelated to geographic location or jurisdiction of a campus within the system.
10. The Postgraduate and research degrees will be awarded in the agreed disciplines by the system Collaborative arrangement that could be made with other Universities for research and doctoral work.
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