Semester System In Higher

Education Institutions of Pakistan

HEC Draft Policy Guidelines
(May 2008)

Background

Deliberated on two systems (Annual and

Semester)
Different forms of semester (Bisemester,
Trisemester, and term system) in HEI
National Committee on Examination System
(NCES) formed by HEC
NECS Recommended some improvements

Structure
Bachelors

Masters

Total Credits

124-136

30 (24+6)

Semester
Duration

16-18 Weeks

16-18 Weeks

Course
Duration

8 Semesters
(3.5 4 Years)

1.5 2 Years

Summer
session

1-2 per
1-2 per
Academic year Academic year

Course Load
per Semester

15-18 Credit
Hrs

9-12 Credit
Hrs

Course Layout for

Undergraduate Students

Between 124-136 Credit hours are required

for UG Degree
51-63 Credit hours should be taken in
courses prescribed as major
34 Credit hours must be earned taking
courses outside the major but within the
same school as major
30 Credit hours must be earned taking multidisciplinary courses outside the school of
major.

Credit Hours
One credit hour for theory= 50 minutes
per week
One credit hour for lab/project work =
Two hours per week
3(3-0) means three contact hours
4(3-1) means six contact hours

Degree Program for UG Students

Students who have done 2 years in Annual System

(BA, BSc etc) and want to go for Bachelor Honors..
2 years in Annual system= 60 Credit hours
64-76 Credit hours should be completed for Bachelor
Honors Program
Student with 2 years bachelor degree in arts many not
be eligible for Bachelor Honors in Sciences, But a 2
years bachelor degree in Science may be eligible for
BBA
Institute must develop their own criteria for this

Degree Program for Graduate

Students

Students who have done 2 years in Annual System

(BA, BSc etc) and want to go for Masters program
2 years in Annual system= 60 Credit hours
May be enrolled into Masters directly by offering 94106 Credit hours. Subject to the following

Complete 64-76 as UG
Complete another 30 for Masters.

Institute is obliged to issue a Bachelor Honors degree

after completing the UG requirement and then
Masters

Semesters
Fall and Spring semesters every year
(16-18 weeks)
May offer one or two summer session of
8 weeks with double contact hours

Course Load for Fall/Spring

Regular UG student required to take 12

Credit hours, but can take maximum 18
Credit hours if C.GPA > 3.5
Regular Graduate student is required to take
9 Credit hours but can take maximum 12 if he
meets the above condition
HoD may allow a student in last semester to
take maximum Credit hours

Course Load for Summer

Regular UG student can take 6 Credit
hours
Regular Graduate student can take 6
Credit hours

Academic Calendar

Semester starting date

Holiday during semester
Semester termination date
Final Exam week
Grade notification date

Withdrawal / Change Of Course

A student with the consent of Dean

Allowed to change a course with 7 days of

commencement of semester
Allowed to drop a course within 2 week
from commencement of semester

Withdrawal is allowed latest by 15th

week, under approval from HoD and
Dean. Grade for it will be W instead of F

Repeating Courses
Students failing with F have to repeat
the course when offered
UG students may repeat a course with
Grade D
Institution may define a limit to repeat
the courses (<=6)
For the same course old grade will be
substituted with new grade

Repeating Courses
Graduate students may repeat a course
with Grade C
Institution may define a limit to repeat
the courses (<=3)

Attendance
Attendance is mandatory in semester
system
Institutes may develop a policy for
attendance to obtain a grade (70 %)

Examination
Nature of Exam

Course with Lab

Course without
Lab

Quizzes

5-10 %

5-15 %

Mid Semester

20-30 %

30-40%

Assignments

5-10 %

5-10 %

Practical
Project

10-20 %

Final

40-50 %

40-50 %

Examination Policy
For missed quizzes marks are zero
while for other missed components
make-up tests, assignments, projects
can be arranged
No Supplementary/Special exam for
students who fail the course, they are
required to repeat it

Grading Policy
Relative grading is recommended
Screening students according to their
performance relative to their peers

C.GPA For Degree Completion

Minimum C.GPA of 2.0 for Undergraduate

degree
Minimum C.GPA of 2.5 for Graduate degree
During the semester If C.GPA falls below 2.0
or 2.5

Issue first probation

If no improvement issue Last probation
Still no improvement drop from the institute

Transfer of Credits
Every university will develop its own
criteria
No credit hours will be transferred if
grade is less than C for UG and B for
graduate students

Award of Degree

124-130 Credit hours of UG degree, or

minimum 60 credit hours in case of transfer of
credits from other university
30 (24+6) Credit hours for graduate degree, 6
Credit hours of research is mandatory for
Masters/Mphil levels
Exemption from research can only be allowed
for Master/Mphil with the permission for HoD

Student Grievances Against

Instructor

All HEI should have 3 member committee

headed by senior faculty
Student must approach the head of the
institute with 5 days of receiving the grade
Committee shall hear both sides (student +
instructor) and decide in 5 days
Departmental faculty headed by senior faculty
shall check few papers randomly for
uniformity

Courses on Pass/Fail Basis

Courses on Pass/Fail basis can only be taken

in Electives
Grade shall not be counted towards
GPA/C.GPA
Maximum 9 Credit hours can be taken on this
basis
Failures have to repeat the same course
NO course can be taken on this basis in
Masters/Mphil

Cancellation Of Admission

If a student fails to attend classes

during first four weeks of semester,
his/her admission shall stand cancelled
automatically without notification

Course File

To maintain a course file is compulsory for Instructors

Course contents
Course coding
Weekly teaching schedule
Dates of Midterm exam
Grading policy for quizzes, assignments etc
Copy of each assignment
Copy of each Quiz
Copy of Midterm Exam
Grading sheets of the course
Difficulties/Problems during course delivery

Freezing Of Semester
Student can freeze a semester and
retake admission in the same semester
No freezing during the semester
Maximum duration of program remains
same
HEI may develop criteria for freezing a
semester

Teacher Evaluation
Evaluation by students preferably done
on-line
Must be in the last week of the
semester
Shall be shared with the instructor
Evaluations must be completely
anonymous

More Recommendations

To evolve an effective, reliable, valid,

secure and transparent examination
system, pertinent training for Controller
of Exams to junior clerks in Exam
Department should be arranged
Course objectives in terms of learning
outcomes should be available to all
concerned person including students

More Recommendations
Choice of questions, 5 out of 8 should
be abolished
Grace marks to pass the candidate
should not be allowed after 2007
Paper setting for final exam should be
preferable done by a panel of 2 or more
examiners

More Recommendations

Questions should assess higher level of

cognition
Key should be prepared for the question
paper. Solution along with weightage and
breakdown
MCQ and SEQ should be encouraged
Project should be conducted by panel of
examiners including external and internal

More Recommendations

Complete Transparency should be adopted

where students can discuss the marks
awarded to them with the Instructor
In case student fails, he should at least wait
for six months before appearing for second
chance
All exams after 2007 will follow the policy of
giving no choice at UG level