Often you would have dreamt of an
academic system where you can make your own time table, an academic system
where you choose the subject you want to study in a particular system. Well..
Here’s the answer to it.. The FFCS.. An
academic system that gives you the power to make your own time table. But
before explaining FFCS.. I would like to explain what is credit system, what
are credits, and how does all the autonomous engineering universities function
around the world.
The following system is the basic
difference between normal state level universities that is those colleges that
offer B.E. and the autonomous universities that offer B.Tech.
Crediting System
As in any degree college, the tenure
to achieve the bachelors degree in engineering is of 4 years and is divided
across 8 semesters – 6 months each. Each semester has certain number of
subjects (may be 5-7) decided by the university. Likewise one completes around
40 to 60 subjects at the end of 4 years. In this system, each subject is
awarded some number of credits, points to say in lay man’s language. Successful
completion of each subject awards the student that many number of credits. In
most cases, the subjects are usually allotted 2-4 credits, depending on the
size of the syllabus. Implies that at the end of 4 years, students end up
finishing 180-200 credits as per the university necessity (183 credits in case
of VIT).
The question is how are these credits
decided..?
Each lecture is of 1 hour. The number
of hours i.e. lectures per week for a subject is equal to the number of credits
that are awarded to the students on successful completion of that subject. In
many universities, the subjects to choose, the time to study, the place to study,
and the faculty who is going to teach are all fixed. This makes it monotonous
and very similar to the Bachelor of Engineering Degree offering colleges.
This is why the new upcoming
universities have brought the advanced version of Crediting System - The Fully
Flexible Crediting System or FFCS. In this system, the students can make their
own time table, choose the subject they want, choose the classroom they want,
not only classroom but also the faculty. This is the system that we follow at
VIT
FFCS at VIT
The subjects at VIT are divided in 3
categories. Theory only, Lab only, Embedded Theory-lab. The credit counting is
done by the formula
L+T+P/2=C here: L=lecture hrs, T= tutorial hrs, P=practical hrs, C=total
Credits
Each lab slot has 2 hours continuous
which is counted as 1.
For example, the subject Modern
Physics with the code PHY101 has
3 theory hrs in a week
2 lab hrs in a week (back to back)
Thus the total credit count of this
subject is 3+0+2/2=4
Hence when you complete PHY101
successfully, 4 credits are awarded to you.
Example 2
The subject Multivariable calculus
MAT101 has
3 hrs of theory
1 hr of tutorial
Thus the total credit count of MAT101
is 3+1+0=4
Like that you go on to make some 21-24
credits on an average in every semester. say 23.. for 8 semester.. Total at the end of your B.tech program.. I hope you can do the math..
The VIT system allows a minimum of 16 and a maximum of 27 credits per semester.
The VIT system allows a minimum of 16 and a maximum of 27 credits per semester.
The grading process is also deeply
connected with this system. Well every college with a crediting system has a
very similar implementation of grading system. Grading system shall be
discussed in my upcoming articles..
I hope I have pretty much explained
the crediting system. Do read the next article in power of choice to know what the
FF before the CS is...
ffcs sounds good but has DRAWBACKS
ReplyDeleteThe major problem for students while dealing with the ffcs system is the availability of the preferred slots.A student who has his ffcs registration at the end may not get the slots he wanted,simple reason being those slots got chosen by the other students who had their registration earlier.
ffcs may allow you to choose your own teacher ,but here the same problem arises where there is no availability of the preferred teacher leaving no option for the student but to opt for any random teacher.It is a tough decision to make for a student to not register for a course just because he's not getting the preferred teacher.
Another problem with FFCS is that a single subject may not be given different slots to choose from..for example two subjects may be given the same slot.So the student may get to chose only one of the two despite him wanting to finish both of them.
ReplyDeleteSo this creates a lot of problem for the students as he is not able to get all of his desired subjects in that semester.