[11th
July, 2016] In exercise of the powers
conferred by clauses (f) and (g) of sub-section (1) of section 26 read with
clause (j) of Section 12 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, the
University Grants Commission hereby makes the following regulations, namely:— (1) These regulations may be
called the University Grants Commission (Promotion and Maintenance of
Standards of Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Educational
Institutions) Regulations, 2016 (hereafter referred to as the
Regulations). The University Grants
Commission (Promotion and Maintenance of Standards of Academic Collaboration
between Indian and Foreign Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2012 shall
hereby stand repealed. (2) These regulations shall
apply to- (a) All Foreign Educational
Institutions operating in India through collaboration with Indian Educational
Institutions, other than Technical Institutions, prior to the coming into force
of these regulations, or intending to operate through collaboration, for offering
their programmes leading to award of degrees; and (b) Indian Educational
Institutions, other than Technical Institutions, already collaborating prior to
the coming into force of these regulations, or intending to collaborate with
Foreign Educational Institutions for offering programme(s) of study leading to
award of degrees. (3) Any Indian Educational
Institution or Foreign Educational Institution already having a collaborative
arrangement shall comply with these regulations within a period of six months
from the date of their coming into force. (4) These regulations shall
come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. (a) “Act” means the University
Grants Commission Act, 1956 as amended from time to time; (b) “Assessment and
Accreditation Agency”, in respect of Indian Educational Institutions means an
agency recognized under the University Grants Commission (Recognition and
monitoring of Assessment and Accreditation Agencies) Regulations, 2014. (c) “Assessment and
Accreditation Agency”, in respect of a Foreign Educational Institution, means
an agency or body approved, recognized or authorized by an authority,
established or incorporated under a law in its home country or any other
statutory authority in that country for the purpose of assessing, accrediting
or assuring quality and standards of educational institutions; (d) “Collaboration”, for the
purposes of these regulations, means an arrangement between an Indian
Educational Institution and a Foreign Educational Institution, put into place
through an instrument of written Agreement for the purposes of twinning leading
to the award of degree(s); (e) “Commission” means the
University Grants Commission established under section 4 of the Act; (f) “Degree” means a degree
awarded by an Indian Educational Institution in accordance with the provisions
of the section 22 of the UGC Act; (g) “Franchise” means and
includes the offering of degree programmes, formally or informally, by any
person or institution or organization, other than the Higher Education
Institution recognized under these regulations, on behalf of or in the name of
the recognized Higher Education Institution, and the term ‘franchisee’ shall be
construed accordingly (h) “Foreign Educational
Institution” means—(i) an institution duly established or incorporated in its
home country and offering educational programmes at the undergraduate and
higher levels in its home country and (ii) which offers or proposes to offer
programme(s) of study leading to the award of degree(s) through conventional
face-to-face mode, but excluding distance mode, in a twinning arrangement with
any Indian Educational Institution; (i) “Indian Educational
Institution” means a university or college or institution, whether known as
such or by any other name, (public and private), other than Technical
Institution, recognized as such by the relevant Statutory Body for imparting
education at undergraduate and higher levels; (j) A “Joint Degree”, for the
purposes of these regulations, means a single degree jointly awarded by the
Indian Educational Institution and the collaborating Foreign Educational
Institution. (k) “Statutory Body” means a
body established or incorporated by or under a Central Act to regulate,
coordinate, determine and maintain standards of teaching, examination and
research in universities or programme(s) of study, including professional
programme(s) leading to the award of degree(s); (l) “Technical Institution”
means an institution as defined under clause (h) of section 2 of the All India
Council for Technical Education Act, 1987 but excluding Technical Universities
and Universities offering technical programmes; (m) “Twinning Programme” means
a programme of study whereby students enrolled with an Indian Educational
Institution may complete their programme of study partly in India, complying
with relevant UGC regulations, and partly in the main campus of a Foreign
Educational Institution in its home country in which it is primarily
established or incorporated. (1) A Foreign Educational
Institution collaborating with an Indian Educational Institution shall satisfy
the following criteria or conditions- (a) Be accredited, by an
Assessment and Accreditation Agency, with the highest grade (in case of grade
accreditation) or threshold level (in case of threshold accreditation), in
their homeland. (b) Have operative arrangements
in India through Indian Educational Institution(s) by way of collaboration. (c) Abide by any other
condition(s) prescribed by the Government of India and Statutory Regulatory
Body(ies) from time to time. (2) An Indian Educational
Institution collaborating with Foreign Educational Institution(s) shall satisfy
the following criteria or conditions- (a) At the time of Agreement
for collaboration, the Indian Educational Institution shall have accreditation
by an Assessment and Accreditation Agency with a grade not less than A or its
equivalent grade (in case of grade accreditation) or threshold level (in case
of threshold accreditation) with respect to the institution or programme
whichever is applicable; (b) It shall have experience of
at least six years or have at least two batches of students graduating,
whichever is earlier, in offering educational programme(s) in India at the
degree level; Provided that the Indian
Educational Institutions maintained by the Commission or Central/State/Union
Territory Governments shall be exempt from the requirement of six years
experience or at least two batches of students graduating, whichever is
earlier, in offering educational programme(s) in India at the degree level. Provided further that any
Indian Educational Institution which has signed a collaboration agreement with
Foreign Educational Institution prior to the date of coming into force of the
Regulations and not having the desired accreditation on the date of notification
of these regulations, shall be required to obtain the accreditation, by a
recognized accreditation agency, with a grade not less than A or its equivalent
within one year after completion of six years from the date of the commencement
of educational programme(s) or two batches of students graduating, whichever is
earlier. Provided further that
within six months of notification of these regulations, the collaboration shall
be evaluated by a sub-committee of the Commission, which shall take into account
a presentation by the Indian Higher Educational Institution. The sub-committee
will include experts having experience in international jurisprudence;
international academic background and also comprise representatives of
Association of Indian Universities; All India Council of Technical Education,
etc. The Commission shall take a
decision on the continuation or otherwise of the collaboration based on the
recommendations of the sub-committee. In case of the decision of
discontinuation of the collaboration, the Commission shall record the
extenuating ground for its decision. The decision of the Commission shall be
communicated to the institution. (c) Its academic
infrastructure, including laboratory and workshop facilities and library shall
meet the requirements of the relevant professional Statutory Councils/Bodies. (d) The Indian Educational
Institution, if it is an institution affiliated to a university, collaborating
with Foreign Educational Institutions for conducting programme(s) of study
leading to the degree(s) shall obtain prior approval from the affiliating
university concerned. (3) All institutions (Indian or
Foreign) involved in collaborative, twinning or other forms of partnership
arrangements shall satisfy the following criteria and conditions: (a) The academic requirements
and other details of the programme(s) of study shall be made public by
displaying prominently in the website, before the commencement of the
programme, by the Indian Educational Institution concerned. (b) No programme of study
and/or research shall be offered which is against national security and
territorial integrity of India. (c) The Educational Institution
concerned shall also abide by any other condition(s) specified by the
Government of India and Statutory Body (ies) from time to time. (d) Wherever foreign exchange
is involved, the educational institution (Indian and/or foreign) shall abide by
and comply with the relevant Regulations, Norms, Notifications and Instructions
issued by the Reserve Bank of India from time to time. (e) Matters relating to the
grievances of students including legal matters relating to the collaboration
shall be addressed by the Indian Educational Institution entering into academic
collaboration. Any Indian Educational Institution
collaborating with a Foreign Educational Institution(s) shall have to enter
into a written Memorandum of Understanding or Agreement with the Foreign
Educational Institution concerned: Provided that no Memorandum
of Understanding or Agreement shall be entered into by an Indian Educational
Institution collaborating with a Foreign Educational Institution unless the
Indian Educational Institution concerned has obtained prior approval of the
Commission; Provided further, that
after approval of the Commission, the Memorandum of Understanding or Agreement
shall be signed by both the partnering institutions and a copy of such
Memorandum of Understanding or Agreement shall be forwarded to the Commission
and shall also be uploaded on its website by the Indian Educational
Institution. For approval, the following
procedure is required to be fulfilled; namely— (a) The Indian Higher
Educational Institution shall obtain the approval of its Board of
Governors/Syndicate/Executive Council for the academic collaboration with the
foreign higher educational institution in accordance with the instructions of
the Department of Higher Education, Government of India vide F. No.
6-2/2015-ICC dated 17th December, 2015 and its subsequent amendments,
if any, issued from time to time. (b) The Indian Higher
Educational Institution shall, thereafter, apply online on the dedicated
University Grants Commission portal and also upload along with the application
a digitally certified copy of draft Memorandum of Understanding/Agreement and
details about the Foreign Educational Institution including the infrastructure
facilities, facilities available for instruction, faculty, specified fee,
courses, curricula, requisite funds for operations for a minimum period of
three years and other terms and conditions of collaboration, if any. (c) The draft Memorandum of
Understanding or Agreement should incorporate the provision that the credits,
awarded by the Indian Higher Educational Institution under the degree programs
covered in the collaboration, shall be accepted by the Foreign Higher
Educational Institution not only for the collaboration but for all other
purposes, including academic mobility. Further, the minimum duration of the
program of study, covered under the collaboration, in the Foreign Educational
Institution shall not be less than two semesters for undergraduate programs and
one semester for the postgraduate programs. (d) The Commission, after
receiving the online application along with draft Memorandum of Understanding
or Agreement shall acknowledge online the receipt of the application.
Deficiencies in the proposal, if any, shall be communicated and additional
documents, if any required, shall be asked for within a period of 30 working
days. (e) Once the Commission is
satisfied that the proposal is complete in all respects, the proposal shall be
placed before the sub-committee of the Commission, referred to in the third
proviso to Regulation 3(2)(b), for examining such proposals. The
recommendations of the sub-committee shall be placed before the Commission
which shall take the decision to issue a letter of approval, after considering
various factors including quality of education, overall merit of the proposal,
fees to be charged, credibility of the Foreign Educational Institution as well
as Indian Educational Institution. In case the Commission does not approve the
proposal, a letter of rejection shall be issued on the designated University
Grants Commission portal by the Commission stipulating the reasons there for.
All communications received from the applicants shall be responded to by the
University Grants Commission within a period of 60 working days from the dates
of their receipt. (f) The approval so granted
shall be valid for two cycles of the minimum duration of the degree programmes
covered under the collaboration or as specified otherwise. (g) The Indian Educational
Institution shall apply, on the designated UGC portal, for renewal of approval,
granted under these regulations, before six months of its expiration. The other conditions
required to be fulfilled are— (a) A franchise arrangement,
whether overtly or covertly, by whatever nomenclature used, between a Foreign
Educational Institution and an Indian Educational Institution shall not be
allowed under these regulations. (b) The University Grants
Commission shall maintain an updated list of approved collaborating
institutions on its website. (c) On commencement of these
regulations, no Indian Educational Institution shall establish or operate its
educational activity in India through collaboration with a Foreign Educational
Institution leading to award of degree(s) without the express permission or
approval of the Commission. (d) Within the country the
degree of the student graduating from Indian Educational Institution, in
collaborative arrangement with Foreign Educational Institution, shall be
awarded only by the Indian Educational Institution and not by Foreign
Educational Institution whatsoever. Joint degrees are not permitted. The degree
awarded by the Indian Educational Institution shall carry its logo, seal and
name alone as the awarding institution. The degree may incorporate a para that
it is being awarded in collaboration with the Foreign Educational Institution
to make it amply clear that the primacy and the award of the degree is by the
Indian Educational Institution and that the degree awarded is not to be
construed as a Joint Degree. The transcripts of credits
obtained at the Foreign Educational Institution shall be issued by that
Institution, and when jointly signed by the Indian Educational Institution,
shall form part of the transcripts. The Foreign Educational Institution may
also sign the transcript of credits earned in the Indian Educational
Institution. (a) The Commission
shall, suo motu or on the basis of any complaint from any quarter may
cause an inquiry, including physical inspection, of the collaborative
arrangements and after having satisfied itself that the collaborating
institution(s) is/are not functioning in accordance with these regulations, may
revoke the approval for collaboration and while issuing such directions, the
Commission shall ensure that the students, who have already enrolled for such
course or programme are permitted to continue till they obtain requisite
qualification; Provided that before
revocation of approval, an opportunity of being heard shall be given to the
Indian Educational Institution concerned. (b) If the institution
concerned is found to have violated these regulations, the Commission shall
take action as provided under section 14 of the Act and shall also notify on
its website and also through media that the programme(s) offered or conducted
through the said collaborative arrangements are not in conformity with these
regulations. (c) In case the Commission
finds any Deemed to be University violating any of the provisions of these
regulations, in addition to provisions made under clauses (a) and (b) above,
the Commission may also recommend to the Central Government for withdrawal of
Deemed to be University status. (d) If an Indian Educational Institution
issues an advertisement that it is offering a degree from a Foreign Educational
Institution, and this collaboration does not have the approval of the
Commission, the Commission shall conduct a preliminary inquiry and on finding
prima-facie evidence of fraud inform the appropriate Central and State
agencies, along with evidence, for initiating penal action. (e) The Commission may also
take further action against Indian Educational Institution(s) for violating the
regulations. (a) Any question as to the
interpretation of these regulations shall be decided by the Commission and its
decision shall be final and binding in the matter. (b) The Commission shall have
the power to issue clarifications to remove any doubt, difficulty or anomaly
which may arise in regard to the implementation of these regulations. (c) Any dispute arising in
relation to collaborative arrangement between Indian Educational Institution(s)
and Foreign Educational Institution(s) shall be governed by the Indian law.University Grants Commission (Promotion and
Maintenance of Standards of Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign
Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2016