What is Choice-Based credit system?
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Choice based credit system (CBCS), in the layman’s terms, is where the students can choose the prescribed courses, as the core, and elective or soft skill courses, from a range of options, rather than to simply consume what the curriculum offers. They can learn at their own pace and the assessments are graded based on a credit system. It provides an opportunity for students to have a choice of courses or subjects within a programme resembling a buffett, against the mostly fixed set of subjects now being offered (except for the limited choice of electives in professional degrees and postgraduate programmes) with the flexibility to complete the programme by earning the required number of credits at a pace decided by the students.
According to the CBCS, there will be three main courses: Core, Elective and Foundation. There will also be some non-credit courses available which will be assessed as ‘Satisfactory’ or “Unsatisfactory’. These will not included in the computation of SGPA/CGPA.
The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has made advancements in making CBCS an integral part of technical education recently:
“The University Grants Commission (UGC), India, has brought out guidelines for the introduction of the choice based credit system (CBCS) in higher educational institutions for graduate, postgraduate, diploma and certificate programmes. The expressive stated purposes of the introduction of the scheme are mainly to provide an opportunity for students to have a choice of courses or subjects within a programme resembling an la carte menu — as against the mostly fixed set of subjects now being offered except for the limited choice of electives in professional degrees and postgraduate programmes — with the flexibility to complete the programme by earning the required number of credits at a pace decided by the students.”