91¾«Æ·

Program Description

Bachelor or Social Sciences (BSS) (Hons) Programme
1. Title of the Programme: Bachelor of Social Sciences (BSS) (Hons)

2. Duration of the Programme: Four academic years divided into eight semesters

3. Medium of Instruction: English

4. Admission : Students shall be admitted in the BSS (Hons) Degree Programme in different department under the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) as per the rules of 91¾«Æ·.

5. The Programme :

a. The BSS (Hons) Programme shall be of four-year duration and divided into 8 (eight) semesters. Each semester shall be composed of 19 weeks, of which

- 15 weeks for class teaching
- 1 week break for preparation, and
- 3 weeks for holding the semester final examinations.

b. The programme shall include teaching of 32 course units for a total of 3200 marks, which will be translated into 128 credit hours.

c. The total credit hours shall be evaluated on the basis of 3200 total marks, of which 3000 marks shall be for 30 taught course units, 100 marks for field research/ project work/ internship, and 100 marks for viva-voce.

d. Each full unit course shall be of 100 marks: 50 marks for final examination and 50
marks for class attendance, class test, mid-term and assignment.
e. Since the credit hours are counted on the basis of lecture class/contact hours per
week, number of lecture classes/contact hours shall be determined according to the
credits assigned to each course unit.

- For a 4 credit course unit, there shall be two lecture classes of 90 minutes

each, and one 60 minutes discussion class/ tutorial class/ lab work/ group presentation/ class test every week.

f. In the course structure for the BSS (Hons) degree programme, in each semester, there shall be

- 4 courses with 100 marks each, resulting in 16 (sixteen) earned credits per semester, i.e., there shall be 4 courses with 4 credits assigned to each course from 1st Semester to 7th Semester.

- 2 taught courses for 200 marks (4 credit hours assigned to each course), 100 marks for Bachelor Thesis (4 credit hours) and 100 marks for viva-voce* with 4 credit hours assigned against it, in the 8th (eighth) semester.

The distribution of course units, marks and credit build up for the BSS (Hon’s) Degree Programme for 3200 marks for 32 courses with 4 credit hours per course shall be as following:

* Total 100 marks for viva-voce will be distributed equally for every even number semester from first semester to eight semester.

3. Administration of the Examination

3.1 The Chairperson of the Department shall provide the Dean of the Faculty and the students with a semester calendar before the beginning of a semester indicating.

• the duration of 15 weeks for class teaching
• dates of mid-semester examination
• date of submission of assignment/term paper
• duration of the preparation week
• dates for the semester final examinations, and
• next semester commencement date.

3.2 At the beginning of the semester, a course teacher shall provide the students with a course outline indicating objectives, contents and activities (teaching approaches such as labs, case studies, field work, lecture, presentation, etc.) related to the course, text books to be followed, the dates for mid-semester and submission of term papers/home assignments.

3.3 The course teacher shall announce the result of mid-semester examination and term papers/home assignments within two weeks of the date of holding of the examination, and submit the marks to the Chairperson of the Examination Committee, immediately after the announcement of the result.

3.4 The dates for the semester final examination of the Department shall be coordinated by the Dean of the Faculty in consultation with the chairperson.

3.5 All semester final examinations shall be conducted by the Controller of the Examinations.

3.6 All students of the semester concerned shall have to fill in the semester final examination entry form, supplied by the departments, on payment of dues determined by the University, for appearing at the semester final examination.

3.7 The Academic Committee of the Department shall constitute an Examination Committee for each semester of the Programme. The Examination Committee shall be composed of 4 members, one of which shall be an external, appointed from outside the Department. In case of any vacancy or inability on the part of a member/examiner, the examination work shall not be invalidated.

3.8 The course teacher of each course shall submit the manuscript of the questions to the Chairperson of the Examination Committee at least two weeks before the course final examination begins. The Examination Committee shall

• edit and print questions, hold semester final examinations, and conduct viva voce (if any),
• appoint two teachers for tabulation of the results, preferably form within the examination committee,
• announce the semester final results within 42 days from the date of last examination held and recommend students’ promotion to the next semester class.

3.9 Tabulation work shall be started after all the marks of the semester final examination are received by the Chairperson for Examination Committee.

3.10 The Chairpersons of the respective Examination Committees shall submit the following to the Controller of Examinations.

• the semester final examination result and the relevant working papers,
• a list of students recommended for promotion to the next semester class,
• copies of the grade-sheet and the mid-semester marks of all courses of the semester, and
• Evaluated answer script.

3.11 The Controller of the Examinations shall conduct the semester final examinations.

3.12 All students shall have to fill in the examination entry from, supplied by the Controller of Examinations, on payment of dues, for appearing at the semester final examinations.

3.13 The Controller of the Examination shall publish the results of the BSS (Hons) and MSS degree programmes and shall provide the transcript showing course wise grades and the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of the candidates for the degree concerned.

3.14 The results must be published within 8 (Eight) weeks after the last Course Examination is over. Examination Committee shall be responsible for failure to publish the results within the stipulated time.

4. Nature, Pattern and Type of Questions

The nature, pattern and type of questions setting in the current examination system blocks creativity of the students, the rigid way of setting 8 question, of which students answer any four, created a stereotypical situation, where both the teachers and the students fail into a trap of repeating questions. In the span of five-year studentship, students can guess the type of questions that will be set for the examination.

Therefore, changes in the nature, pattern and type of questions setting are very urgent. New and innovative type of questions with reference to practical issues related to the field and the context would be challenging as well as remunerative for both the students and the teachers.

Many options are available in this regards. For innovative short and essay type questions; sitting exam with a mix of multiple choice, short and essay type question etc.

• a sitting examination with a mix of creative and innovative short and essay type question would be a good choice.

5. Eligibility for Sitting in the Semester Final Examination

5.1 A student shall be eligible for sitting in the examination as a regular student if she/he has a class attendance of 75% and above.

5.2 A student shall be considered No-Collegiate if she/he has a class attendance between 60% and 74%. However, she/he shall be allowed to sit for the examination with a payment of a fine.

5.3 A student shall be considered Discollegiate if she/he has a class attendance below 60% and shall not be allowed to sit for the examination. She/he may seek readmission into the programme.

6. Evaluation and Grading

6.1 Evaluation and grading shall be determined on the basis of

• an overall evaluation of student’s performance in mid-semester examination
• semester final examination
• term papers/home assignments
• class attendance
• Active participation in the discussion class/ tutorial class/ group presentation/ class test.

6.2 The distribution of marks for evaluation shall be as follow:

6.3 Marking for class attendance shall be computed in the following manner:

There could be an option for any department with professional degree programme to follow the formula given below for marking for class attendance.

Marks obtained = Number of classes attendedTota number of classes held to a course × Proportion of Marks Assigned

6.4 The mid-semester examination scripts, the term papers/home assignments, etc. shall be evaluated by the course teacher, and semester final examination scripts shall be evaluated by the examiner.

6.5 For each course, marks will be awarded by the course teacher for the mid-term examination, term paper/home assignments and active participation in discussion class/ group presentation/ class test. For the final examination, marks will be awarded by two examiners. Semester final examination marks and sessional marks shall be totaled and converted into letter-grades following a 4-point grading scale presented below:

Grading Structure for BSS (Hons) Degree Programme in a 4-point Grading Scale

7. Interpretation of the Grades

• ‘A⁺’, ‘A’ and ‘A-‘grades are indicative of ‘excellent’ performance overall by a student, earning grade points of 4.0, 3.75, and 3.50, respectively.
• ‘B+’, ‘B’ and ‘B-‘ grades are indicative of ‘very good’ performance overall by a student, earning grade points of 3.25, 3.00 and 2.75 respectively.
• ‘c+’ and ‘c’ grades are indicative of ‘good’ performance overall by a student, earning grade points of 2.50, and 2.25, respectively.
• ‘D’ grade is indicative of minimally acceptable ‘passing; performance overall by a student, earning a grade point of 2.00.
• ‘F’ grade is indicative of an unacceptable ‘failing’ performance overall by student, i.e., fail to earn any credit point.
• ‘I’ grade is indicative of a situation where a student, for non-academic reasons beyond his control. Is unable to complete the full requirements for the course for not being able to sit for the semester final examination. With the submission of valid and authenticated evidence of such reason(s), and the recommendation of the course teacher (to be reported to the Chairperson of the Examination Committee), that particular student shall be allowed to complete the semester final examination with the next batch. Meanwhile, the student concerned will be promoted to the next semester. If an ‘Incomplete’ grade is not cleared with the next batch, the ‘I’ grade shall automatically be changed to an ‘F’ grade. A maximum of two ‘I’ grades shall be allowed to a student in one semester.

8. Grading Structure for MSS Degree Programme

For each course, marks will be awarded by the course teacher for the mid-term examination, term paper/home assignments and active participation in discussion class/ group presentation/ class test. For the final examination, marks will be awarded by two examiners. Semester final examination marks and sessional marks shall be totaled and converted into letter-grades following a 4-point grading scale presented below:

Grading Structure for MSS Degree Programme in a 4-point Grading Scale

9. Promotion

9.1 For promotion from first to the second year, a student shall require to earn a minimum CGPA of 2.00.

9.2 Students failed to obtain required grade point will also be allowed to appear at the Supplement Examination. If they fail to obtain required marks/grade points in the Supplementary Examination, must seek readmission with the following batch.

9.3 For promotion from second to the third year, a student shall require to earn a minimum CGPA of 2.25.

9.4 For promotion from third to the fourth year, a student shall require to earn a minimum CGPA of 2.50.

9.5 To obtain a BSS (Hons) and MSS degree, a student shall require to earn a minimum CGPA of 2.25, taking into consideration all the grade points earned in total number of courses, including improved grade, if any.

9.6 A carry over system shall be in place, i.e., if a student fails to earn the required CGPA for promotion, she/he shall be allowed to continue in the next semester, but she/he shall clear her/his deficit by seating for separate examination within 45 days of the publication of the result with the permission of the Academic Committee of the Department.

9.7 A student failing to clear up the annual university or department dues of the year of study shall not be promoted to the next semester.

10. Improvement

10.1a A student earning ‘F’ grade in any course shall be allowed to improve the grade twice/two times only with the following batches.

10.1b A student ‘F’ grade in any course shall be allowed to improve the grades in course final examination including mid semester examination once only with the immediate next batch. (Effective Hons 2011-12, MSS 2010-11)

10.2 If a student obtains grades ‘B’ or less in a course, she/he shall be allowed to improve grades, either through a Supplementary Examination within 45 days under the same Examination Committee, or with following batch. Students failed to obtain required grade point will also be allowed to appear at the Supplementary Examination. If they fail to obtain required marks/grade points in the Supplementary Examination, must seek re-admission with the following batch.

In MSS degree if a student obtains grade ‘B’ or less in a course, she/he shall be allowed to improve grades. In such case student must submit written application to the Controller of Examinations through the Chairman within 15 (Fifteen) days after publishing the result.

10.3 Such improvement shall be allowed only once in a course and in such case the student’s previous grade shall be automatically cancelled.

10.4 Students shall be allowed to sit for improvement examination in the fourth year courses of the BSS (Hons) degree, in the courses of the one-year MSS degree and in the second year courses of the two-year MSS degree programme with the following batch, provide they must apply for such improvement examination before Issuance of Provisional Certificate by the controller of the Examinations.

10.5 A student carrying grade ‘F’ in any course shall not be awarded the degree unless he/she improves it by appearing at the semester final examination with the next batch.

10.6 If the student gets F in the improvement examination, he/she shall automatically be dropped from the semester and the student shall have to take readmission with the next batch, provided the student concerned is eligible for readmission.

10.7 For improvement of grade in course, the student shall apply to the Chairperson of the Department at least 4 (four) weeks before the start of the semester final examination.

10.8 No improvement shall be allowed for the term papers/home assignments, and active participation in the discussion class/tutorial class/ class test marks and the grades earned in written and oral comprehensive examination.

11. Readmission

11.1 A student failing to get the requisite grade points for promotion (clause 10) form one semester to the next may seek readmission with the following batch and with the 1^st, 3^rd, 5^th or 7^th Semester respectively.

11.2 For readmission, students must attend at least 30% class in each of the courses in the preceding session and shall have to apply within 15 days after the announcement of result of the concerned semester.

11.3 On readmission grades earned earlier by a student in the class of readmission shall cease to exist and the student has to retake all the course works and examinations.

11.4 Readmission shall be allowed only once for a One-Year MSS degree programme, two times during the entire BSS (Hons) degree programmes either in the same class or in different classes. In the cases, she/he must complete the 4-year BSS (Hons) degree by 6 years, the two-year MSS degree by 4 year and one-year MSS degree by 2 year from the time of original admission.

12. Drop out

12.1 A student failing to earn the GPA for promotion form one semester to the next after taking readmission in any semester shall be dropped out of the programme.

12.2 A student earning F grade in any course after taking improvement examinations or readmission in any semester class shall be dropped out of the programme.

13. Grievances

13.1 Where students have concerns about the teacher’s teaching, evaluation or grading, a provision shall be there by which the student can make the concern known to the appropriate individuals in the following order:

• The course teacher
• The chair of the Department in which the course is taught
• The Dean of the Faculty in which the course is taught.

13.2 Grievances should be recorded by a student within a week after the publication of the result.

13.3 If the student is dissatisfied with any grade given by the concern course teacher, he/she can lodge complain to the Chairman of the Department and request for reevaluation of his/her work. A three member Grievance Committee from among the senior faculties will be formed by the Academic Committee of the department for this purpose. The decision of the Grievance Committee would be the final.

14. Evaluation of the Course Teachers

14.1 There could be an option for any department to introduce a process of evaluation of the course teachers.

14.2 If any department chooses to exercise the option, the department concerned shall be responsible for developing the detailed assessment procedure.

Part II - BSS (Hons) Courses and Structure of the Curriculum
BSS (Hons) Course Name