Credit Hours:

A “Credit Hour” is the unit of measuring educational CREDIT, usually based on the number of classroom hours per week throughout a term. Students are awarded credit for classes on the basis of the Carnegie unit. This defines a semester unit of credit as equal to a minimum of three hours of work per week for a semester. The Carnegie definition is based upon a minimum length of 16 weeks. Thus, a unit of credit equates to three hours of student work per week (1 hour lecture plus 2 hours of homework or 3 hours of lab) for 16 weeks. In certain circumstances, it is possible to have more hours, but not less.

Credit Hours for Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees:

1. A credit hour means teaching/earning a theory course for one hour each week throughout the semester.
2. One credit hour in laboratory or practical work/project would require lab contact of three hours per week throughout the semester.
3. The credit hours are denoted by two digits within brackets with a hyphen/plus in between. The first digit represents the theory part while the second (right side) digit represents the practical.
4. Thus 3(3+0)/3(3-0) means three credit hours of theory, while 4(3+1)/4(3-1) means a total of four credit hours, of which three are of theory while one credit hour is for laboratory/studio work/field work/practical work supervised and graded by the faculty, and 4(1+3)/4(1-3) means a total of four credit hours, of which one is of theory while three credit hours are for laboratory/studio work/field work/practical work as per requirement of discipline.

CGPA Required for The Completion of Undergraduate and Graduate Degree:

1. For completion of the degree, the minimum qualifying CGPAs for BS and MS/MPhil Students are 2.00 and 2.50, respectively.
2. In case a student secures less than 2.00 CGPA (minimum qualifying CGPA) at the end of final Semester, s/he may be allowed to get re-admission in one or more courses, in which his/her Grade is below C, along with the forthcoming semester, provided that s/he is not debarred under the CGPA Improvement Regulation and time duration specified for the program.

Course Layout for Undergraduate Students (124-140 Credit Hours):

1. All undergraduate degree programs are composed of 124-140 Credit Hours in which (124 represents the minimum and 140 represents the maximum credit hours required to be completed).
2. Minimum of 160 credit hours for 5-year degree program subject to meeting the requirements of the respective Accreditation Councils.
3. In undergraduate degree programs, major courses are classified into two categories. o Foundation or core courses o Elective (courses from area of specialization/major study).
4. 78-87 credit hours must be earned taking a sequence of introductory, intermediate and advanced level courses prescribed for the major area of concentration that means foundation and elective (courses of area of specialization).

Fall/Spring Semester:

1. There will be two regular semesters (Fall, Spring) in an academic year. Fall/Spring semesters will spread over 16-18 weeks (inclusive of 1 – 2 weeks for exams).
2. Summer Semester will be of 8 – 9 weeks of concentrated study for completing remedial course work.
3. HEIs are at liberty to enroll students (if they fulfill their admission criteria) for Fall/Spring semester or for any single course and issue transcript with letter grades at the end of the semester. Depending on the availability of staff and necessary facilities HEIs can offer a summer session.
4. Students can enroll maximum of 2 Theory courses or 1 lab course during summer sessions.
5. Foreign students under student exchange program will be enrolled for any semester or for any single course and HEIs will issue transcript with letter grades at the end of the semester. Admission offer letter of the foreign student will be forwarded to HEC for issuance of NOC.

Summer Semester:

1. Summer semester will be offered as an optional semester of 08-09 weeks duration. Students will be offered courses to remove deficiencies and can enroll in up to a maximum of 08 credit hours during summer.
2. Moreover, a student who has either failed or has been stopped to take the examination due to shortage of class attendance or wishes to improve his/her grade is allowed to register in summer. A student will only be allowed to register in 1-2 courses of upto 08 credit hours for remedial work.
3. The contact hours per week during the Summer Semester will be doubled to ensure that the course is completely taught in a summer session with half of the duration as compared to a regular (Fall/Spring) semester.

Undergraduate students:

1. An undergraduate program of instruction generally includes a 15-18 credit hours course load including exams in a regular semester. The required course load for a full time undergraduate is minimum of 15 credit hours per semester.
2. In case any student wishes to enroll for one more course beyond 18 cr. Hours s/he may be allowed by institution in either of the two cases— 1) If his/her CGPA is above 3.5 and 2) The student needs the course to graduate on time.

Graduate (MS/MPhil) Students:

1. A graduate student normally enrolls for 9-12 credit hours in a regular semester. A graduate student must take at least 9 credit hours in Fall and Spring semesters to be classified as a full-time student.
2. The University may formulate specific policies for allowing a student to take additional courses (02 courses of 03/04 credit hours) in a semester depending on unique circumstances of the student with the advice of the advisor.

Academic Calendar:

1. Every university must publish an Undergraduate and Graduate catalogues including schedule of its whole academic year (including fall, spring semesters), Admission requirements, Academic Programs offered, key financial aid policies of the University and scholarship opportunities for the convenience of students and Faculty members. The calendar will include the following information:
   1. Semester starting date.
   2. Holidays during the semester.
   3. Semester termination date.
   4. Mid-Term exam week.
   5. Final exam week.
   6. Result notification and transcript issues dates. Each transcript will have course grades, semester Grade point average (GPA) and cumulative GPA (CGPA).
   7. Controller of Examinations will be responsible for issuing the transcripts (and degree supplement form on request) to students and their faculty advisors in a timely manner to facilitate enrollment for the next semester or graduation.
2. The University may formulate specific policies for allowing a student to take additional courses (02 courses of 03/04 credit hours) in a semester depending on unique circumstances of the student with the advice of the advisor.

Enrollment/Registration in Courses:

1. Students are required to choose the courses they wish to enroll in, prior to the start of a semester with the advice of an advisor. For this purpose the university will publish a schedule for enrollment of students.
2. The students may make any change (add/drop) in the courses they are taking within second week of the semester and record the changes in Advisor file and office of the registrar.
3. No drop and add will be allowed after the third week of the semester.
4. A student who wishes to add or drop a course, or change a section of a course after registration must complete the relevant procedure as prescribed by the University.
5. Students may be allowed to withdraw from a course during 4-6 week of the semester. In such a case the transcript shall record that the student enrolled in the course and withdrew. Consequently, grade W will be awarded to the student which shall have no impact on the calculation of the CGPA of the student.
6. A student withdrawing after the 6th week shall be automatically awarded "F" grade which shall count in the GPA and stay on the transcript.

Repeating Courses / Improvement of CGPA:

1. If a student gets 'F' grade, s/he will be required to repeat the course or its recommended alternate, if any. However, “F” grade obtained earlier will also be recorded on the transcript. Undergraduate students may be allowed to repeat a course in which s/he has obtained grade below “C”. In such a case both the previous and new grade obtained will be recorded on the transcript, however, only the better grade shall be used in the calculation of CGPA.
2. The Institution may define maximum number (<6) of courses that student may be allowed to repeat in an eight semester degree program.
3. A graduate student (MS/MPhil) with a 'C' grade can repeat the course if s/he desires to improve the grade. Each Institution may define the maximum number of courses (<3) that a student may repeat at the Graduate level. In such a case, both the course and the grade obtained will be recorded on the transcript, however, only the better grade shall be calculated in the CGPA. In case of CGPA improvement, it would be recorded with (Imp) on the transcript.

Attendance:

1. Attendance in classes is mandatory especially in a semester system. Each Institution may develop a policy for minimum attendance (>75 %) in a course to complete the requirements of a course.
2. The instructor may report a student’s absences and the student may be placed on attendance probation by his/her dean/HOD and it will be notified by the department. A student may be dropped from the University for violating the terms of such probation.

   Credit Hours:

   A “Credit Hour” is the unit of measuring educational CREDIT, usually based on the number of classroom hours per week throughout a term. Students are awarded credit for classes on the basis of the Carnegie unit. This defines a semester unit of credit as equal to a minimum of three hours of work per week for a semester. The Carnegie definition is based upon a minimum length of 16 weeks. Thus, a unit of credit equates to three hours of student work per week (1 hour lecture plus 2 hours of homework or 3 hours of lab) for 16 weeks. In certain circumstances, it is possible to have more hours, but not less.

   Credit Hours for Undergraduate and Graduate Degrees:

    

   1. A credit hour means teaching/earning a theory course for one hour each week throughout the semester.
   2. One credit hour in laboratory or practical work/project would require lab contact of three hours per week throughout the semester.
   3. The credit hours are denoted by two digits within brackets with a hyphen/plus in between. The first digit represents the theory part while the second (right side) digit represents the practical.
   4. Thus 3(3+0)/3(3-0) means three credit hours of theory, while 4(3+1)/4(3-1) means a total of four credit hours, of which three are of theory while one credit hour is for laboratory/studio work/field work/practical work supervised and graded by the faculty, and 4(1+3)/4(1-3) means a total of four credit hours, of which one is of theory while three credit hours are for laboratory/studio work/field work/practical work as per requirement of discipline.

    

   CGPA Required for The Completion of Undergraduate and Graduate Degree:

    

   1. For completion of the degree, the minimum qualifying CGPAs for BS and MS/MPhil Students are 2.00 and 2.50, respectively.
   2. In case a student secures less than 2.00 CGPA (minimum qualifying CGPA) at the end of final Semester, s/he may be allowed to get re-admission in one or more courses, in which his/her Grade is below C, along with the forthcoming semester, provided that s/he is not debarred under the CGPA Improvement Regulation and time duration specified for the program.

    

   Course Layout for Undergraduate Students (124-140 Credit Hours):

    

   1. All undergraduate degree programs are composed of 124-140 Credit Hours in which (124 represents the minimum and 140 represents the maximum credit hours required to be completed).
   2. Minimum of 160 credit hours for 5-year degree program subject to meeting the requirements of the respective Accreditation Councils.
   3. In undergraduate degree programs, major courses are classified into two categories. o Foundation or core courses o Elective (courses from area of specialization/major study).
   4. 78-87 credit hours must be earned taking a sequence of introductory, intermediate and advanced level courses prescribed for the major area of concentration that means foundation and elective (courses of area of specialization).

    

   Fall/Spring Semester:

    

   1. There will be two regular semesters (Fall, Spring) in an academic year. Fall/Spring semesters will spread over 16-18 weeks (inclusive of 1 – 2 weeks for exams).
   2. Summer Semester will be of 8 – 9 weeks of concentrated study for completing remedial course work.
   3. HEIs are at liberty to enroll students (if they fulfill their admission criteria) for Fall/Spring semester or for any single course and issue transcript with letter grades at the end of the semester. Depending on the availability of staff and necessary facilities HEIs can offer a summer session.
   4. Students can enroll maximum of 2 Theory courses or 1 lab course during summer sessions.
   5. Foreign students under student exchange program will be enrolled for any semester or for any single course and HEIs will issue transcript with letter grades at the end of the semester. Admission offer letter of the foreign student will be forwarded to HEC for issuance of NOC.

    

   Summer Semester:

    

   1. Summer semester will be offered as an optional semester of 08-09 weeks duration. Students will be offered courses to remove deficiencies and can enroll in up to a maximum of 08 credit hours during summer.
   2. Moreover, a student who has either failed or has been stopped to take the examination due to shortage of class attendance or wishes to improve his/her grade is allowed to register in summer. A student will only be allowed to register in 1-2 courses of upto 08 credit hours for remedial work.
   3. The contact hours per week during the Summer Semester will be doubled to ensure that the course is completely taught in a summer session with half of the duration as compared to a regular (Fall/Spring) semester.

*Any fraction of marks will be rounded to nearest integer.

1. If a student freezes a semester(s), s/he will resume his/her studies from the same stage where s/he left (froze). No freezing during the semester will be allowed. The maximum duration of the degree program shall remain the same.

2. If a student is not enrolled in any course in a semester, s/he will not be considered a regular student of university in that period. The student may then enroll in these courses in a subsequent semester; however, s/he will have to meet pre-requisites of any course taken. In addition, it is understood that the university is not required to offer all courses in each semester.

3. In special hardship cases, the University may develop any criteria for freezing a semester with the prior permission of the Vice Chancellor. Medical certificate must be duly signed by the University Medical Officer.

4. The duration of Freezing is one year; a candidate who gets a semester freeze can get readmission next year with upcoming session but hardship cases can be considered by the competent authority only.

5. Freezing of first two semesters for BS and first semester for MS is not allowed. Under special *hardship circumstances freezing of first semester can be considered by the approval of competent authority. • Iddat • Maternity/Delivery • Death in the immediate family • Any other subject to acceptance on justified rationale

6. Note: Freezing of Semester will only be allowed after successful completion of 1st Semester as prerequisite as the case may be for other semester’s predecessor to the freezing Semester.