Choice Based Credit System

1. An Effective Approach Towards Understanding and
Implementation of CBCS
Prof. Anish Goel

2. My study in university with CBCS
 M.S. in Electrical Engineering from
New Jersey Institute of Technology, NJ, USA
 I exploited CBCS at NJIT as follows:
 Took a course on “Manufacturing Systems” from
Industrial Engineering Department. (Open Elective)
 Took a course from University of California Santa
Cruse (Extn.) (Credit Transfer Scheme)
 Completed M.S in 11 Months (Fast Learner). Normal
duration is 1.5-2 years.
 Chose the track of “Computer Systems Architecture” as
majors.
There its not known as CBCS. Its just the system !
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3. My analysis of CBCS is based on:
 Visit to following universities and/or interaction with
professors from following universities:
 NJIT, USA
 Rochester Institute of Technology, USA
 Northumbria University, UK.
 University of Oulu, Finland.
 Schemes of the following universities in addition to
above:
 Purdue University, USA
 Carleton University, Canada (CEAB Accredited)
 RMIT, Australia (Accredited by EA)
 Bachelors programme in all US universities stated
above are ABET accredited and fall directly under
Washington Accord.
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4. Types of Mango Shakes
•Recipe Known
•All ingredients
Available
•Recipe Known
•All ingredients
NOT Available
•Recipe UNKNOWN
•All ingredients NOT
Available
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5. CBCS in Developed Counties is Backed by:
 Strong establishment of University system.
 Support of Industry.
And
 Implementation of Autonomy in True Sense.
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6. General Aspects of CBCS
 The department and/or University specifies the total
number of credits a student must earn towards a
degree.
 For example 129 credits minimum for BS in Mechanical
Engineering
 University specifies that a certain number of the
above credits (Lets say 21) must come by taking
following courses:
 Sociology/Community Service, Calculus/geometry, Basic
Sciences.
 Department specifies that a certain number of credit
towards “Mechanical Engineering” must be added by
taking following courses:
 Introduction of Machines, Linear Algebra etc. (Eg. 36 credits)6 An Effective Approach Towards
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7. Continued…
 Besides taking credits the student must take the following
courses for which no credits shall be awarded:
 English Composition, Field Work.
The above courses are NOT called
Audit Courses
 The department then specifies the minimum credits a student
must complete in order to get a majors/specialization in a
particular discipline/domain.
 Example: 36 credits.
 Some credits are earned by taking prerequisite courses like
Chemistry, Physics, Statistics etc. (Eg. 25 credits)
 Remaining 11 credits can be earned anyhow:
 Taking more undergraduate courses from department
 Taking graduate level courses
 Taking courses outside department.
Such courses as in point 3 above are NOT called as open elective.
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8. Summary
No. of Credits Restrictions Choice Approx. Choice
in % of Credits
21 University Choice within specified
courses
50%
36 Departmental No choice 0%
36 Departmental Choice within
concentration/discipline.
100%
25 As
Prerequisites
Choice within specified
courses
50%
11 Restriction by
Advisor
All open 100%
Additional
Credits
No Restrictions All open 100%
Total : 129 +
50
55
60
65
70
75
Compulsory Credits Choice Credits
Series1
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9. Aspects of “The System”
 The department and/or university does not specify which
course/s is to be studies in which semester.
 The student has to plan his/her degree structure as per
offerings of the courses.
 Some courses are offered only in fall/odd sem. , some are
offered only in spring/even sem. while some may be offered in
both semesters.
 Some courses are offered in summer session.
This is also a part of The “CHOICE” in CBCS
 The only point to determine weather a student can register for
a course or not is by looking at its PREREQUISITE.
 If a student has not taken the prerequisite course or fails in the
same, the MIS will not allow the student to register for the
dependant course.
That’s why its called as prerequisite.
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10. Example Curriculum: NJIT BSEE
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11. Continued…
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12. Continued…
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13. Electrical Engineering Electives
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•The ECE technical elective must be a 300 or 400 level ECE course or an
advisor approved upper level engineering, science or mathematics course.
•Elective courses cannot cover the same material as ECE courses taken by the
student.
•For example Math 333 is not allowed as an elective since ECE 321, covering
similar topics, is in the EE curriculum.
•Similarly, ECE 368 and ECE 421 are not allowed as electives in the EE
program.
•EE students interested in communications should take ECE 481.
•Courses from the Engineering Technology Department are generally not
approved as ECE electives.

14. Continued…
In addition two Physical Education (PE) courses must be taken, one of
which should be a 100-level fitness course. Recommended to be taken in
Freshman 1 and Sophomore 1 semesters.
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15. Course Load and Your GPA
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16. Repeating a Course
 A course for which a student received an F grade must
be repeated.
 A new grade will substitute the F, which will not be
counted in the calculation of your GPA but only once.
 The university policy states that a student can enroll in
any course no more than four times, counting
withdrawals.
 Attempting four times and not passing a course required
in the program results in removing the student from this
degree program.
 If you cannot cope with the course material, it is better to
withdrew than to fail but do not take withdrawing decision
lightly.
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17. Concentration Tracks
 Senior students are allowed to choose different
concentration areas (tracks) in electrical engineering
and in computer engineering.
 Concentration tracks consist of the track specific
lecture courses, track laboratories and technical
electives.
 There is some flexibility in choosing technical
electives but they must be 300 or 400 level ECE
courses or advisor approved upper level
engineering, science or mathematics courses.
 It is your responsibility to make certain that the
elective courses you are taking meet the elective
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18. Senior Design Project
 All ECE students must take ECE 414 the semester
before registering for Senior Project ECE 416 or
ECE 417.
 Students who are registering for ECE 417 must have
approval of their project advisor.
 ECE 414 and ECE 416/417 should be taken in the
last two semesters of your studies.
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19. Graduate Courses
 As undergraduates, you can take graduate courses
only with the approval of the ECE Associate Chair for
Undergraduate Studies and the graduate adviser.
 A standard condition for approval is GPA of at least
3.0.
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20. Transfer Credits
 Transfer credits for courses completed at other schools that are
equivalent to those offered by NJIT are awarded at the time of
admission.
 A minimum grade of C must be earned in the course in order to
receive the transfer credits.
 All transfer credits must be documented by an official transcript
issued by the school where the course was completed.
 Courses completed at New Jersey community colleges are routinely
transferred by the admission office but the ultimate decision on
accepting the transfer belongs to the department that offers the
equivalent course at NJIT.
 This is especially relevant to transfers from schools other than
community colleges in the state, out of state universities, and schools
outside US.
 Students who have attended foreign institutions of higher education
must also submit an evaluation of their work made by World
Educational Services Inc. or another approved service.
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21. MS Curriculum
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 Three options of completing a degree (Minimum 30
Credits):
 For M.S. in Electrical Engg. : 2 mandatory courses
(Eg: Linear Systems, Signal Analysis)  6 credits
 For Specialization: 2 mandatory courses pertaining
to specialization (Eg. Comp. Network Design
Analysis, Principals of Broadband Network)  6
credits
Option No. Course Work
Credits
Project
Credits
Thesis
Credits
Total
1 30 (10 courses) 0 0 30
2 27 (9 courses) 3 0 30
3 24 (8 courses) 0 6 30

22. Continued…
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 Remaining 18 credits are completely elective.
 Out of above 6 credits may be taken outside
department and/or university (Must be relevant to
degree).
 Prior permission of graduate advisor is required for
above.
 Credits earned outside university will not be taken
towards CGPA calculation.
 For project option minimum of B grade is required.
 Project grade is not taken into consideration while
CGPA calculation.

23. Break…
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24. Autonomy Planning and Rectification
 Grading system
 Lab courses
 Question paper quality and pattern
 Course definitions
 Decentralisation of examinations
 Make up examinations
 Internal assessments
 Biggest of all: Process to evaluate the
understanding of academic autonomy amongst
faculty members and students.
 Normal distribution pertaining to CO attainment.
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