Things to know about Delhi University (DU) assessments in COVID

COVID 19 has taken a toll on everyone’s life. It has disrupted our routine and school/college students are largely impacted by this. The examination, assessment dates have been changed. There is a lot of uncertainty around how it will work out in the foreseeable future. Delhi University (DU) is home to more than 10,000 students. The schedule and examination pattern have also been changed and new guidelines have been launched for Delhi University Students.

This article will be going to talk about the changes that are made in the exam pattern and things an under-graduate, and post-graduate know because of COVID. Some announcements were made and changed as well, Delhi University’s alternate for the open book exams is also facing High court heat as the alternative is not feasible for some students. Delhi University is also planning to develop different methods to allow its students to grow their grades in the upcoming semester.

Open Book exam

On May 14, Delhi University (DU) administration announced it will be conducting an online exam beginning from May 17. Three final year students challenged this alternate method in the high court as they considered it is discriminatory for students with an underprivileged background. Some students do not have the technological means to give the exams and some are also students with special needs that can’t give online exams.

Due to this, Delhi University (DU) had postponed the exam by 10 days and high court alleged that Delhi University has done it without informing the supreme court. The status of the exam currently is that it has become a debatable issue due to the High Court.

Grade Division

Delhi University has decided to change its grade division as well after the high court intervention because of COVID. The new notification issued on June 4, 2020, stated that 50 percent of the grade division will be based on internal assessment, and rest 50 will be based on the previous year/semester/term assessment.

The procedure is different for the first-year students as they do not have past academic record to look upon. So for the students, who do not have any past academic record, their 100 percent assessment will be based on assignment based evaluation.

Internal Assessment

The internal assessment method is decided by the faculty for specific courses and specific subjects. Assignments include practical examinations, field-work, projects, dissertations, etc. There were three components of internal assessment before that were a class test, tutorial, and attendance.

Some of the internal assessments were a short term that was completed before COVID, but some assessments are also a long term that requires more time, research, and investigation.  An internal assessment task will be given to the students via e-mail. Any practical exams or Viva shall be conducted via Skype.

DU’s internal assessment guidelines will be the same as 13 May 2020. Check the detailed guidelines in this document.

SOL and NCWEB

There is also the School of Open Learning (SOL) and NCWEB (Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board). For second and third-year students, the rules will be the same. 50 percent on the assessment and remaining 50 percent on previous semester/ term/year performance.

The first-year student will be graded differently for the first and the second semester. The grade will be based on the CBCS (Choice Based grading System) and the guidelines under the latest CBCS system issued by the Delhi University. Check the detailed guidelines for SOL and NCWEB students here.

Practical Courses/Experiments

For experiments or practicals, the teacher will ask you for the report on an already performed experiment. Because you can not perform an experiment in the laboratory settings in the lockdown. The student will be required to submit the report/ assignment in the decided time period on the already performed experiment.

These were some of the aspects related to your grading, however, the students should also know the changes that were made in their internship to plan further.

Internships

The placement cell of Delhi University had organized internship fairs before the lockdown. Many of the students also landed in their dream internship as well. The students can join online internships, their internship period can be reduced if they have any assignments. Their start and end period can also be changed. Students can communicate with their respective companies to make the required changes in the stipend/period. Check the detailed internship changes in this document.

Other announcements/ details/guidelines

Delhi University has also stated that they will try to make accommodations as well for the students who may have connection problems and other issues.  The students who want accommodation for their assignments and deadlines will get to know the details at the beginning of August first week.

The examination issue is still debated in the apex court, further changes in the examination guidelines are highly possible.

Also read: Top 8 junior commerce colleges in Mumbai.