Evaluation in Choice Based Credit System in Higher Education

Evaluation in the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) in higher education refers to the assessment and grading process used to evaluate students’ performance and determine their academic progress. The CBCS is an educational framework that allows students to choose from a wide range of elective courses, giving them flexibility and autonomy in designing their academic path.

Evaluation in Choice Based Credit System in Higher Education

The old system of evaluation which was based on a defined list of subjects and percentage marks is considered to be obstructive and rigid for the students. There is a need to allow the flexibility in education system so that students depending on their interests and aims can choose interdisciplinary, intra-disciplinary and skill-based courses. Here, the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) comes into the picture, which is an internationally acknowledged system.

Choice Based Credit System (CBCS)

The CBCS provides an opportunity for the students to choose courses from the prescribed courses comprising core, elective/minor or skill-based courses. This system not only offers opportunities and avenues to learn core subjects but also explores additional avenues of learning beyond the core subjects for the holistic development of an individual.

• In this system, courses are evaluated following the grading system, which is considered to be better than the conventional marks system.
• It is based on a uniform grading system in the entire higher education in India.
• Cumulative Grade Point Averages (CGPA) are calculated which are based on student’s performance in examinations,

Scope of the Grading System under Choice Based Credit System

These guidelines shall apply to all undergraduate and postgraduate level degrees, diplomas and certificate programmes under the credit system awarded by the Central, State and Deemed to be universities in India. All of these are based on the semester system currently. Major characteristics of evaluation per CBCS system are:

• Flexibility in designing curriculum
• Flexibility in assigning credits based on the course content and hours of teaching.
• Students can take courses of their choice and learn at their own pace.

Types of Courses

Courses in a programme may be of three kinds: Core, Elective and Foundation.

1. Core Course: There may be a Core Course in every semester. This is the course which is to be compulsorily studied by a student as a core need to complete the requirement of a programme in a said discipline of study.
2. Elective Course. An elective course is a course which can be chosen from a pool of papers. It may be supportive of the discipline of study providing an expanded scope and enabling an exposure of skills among students.
3. Foundation Course: The Foundation Courses may be of two kinds: Compulsory Foundation and Elective Foundation, “Compulsory Foundation” courses are courses based upon the content that directs towards Knowledge enhancement. They are obligatory for all disciplines Elective Foundation courses are value-based and are aimed at man-making education.

Evaluation under Choice Based Credit System

Evaluation under the choice-based credit system is based on the examination conducted on a semester basis which includes sessional mid-term and end-semester exams etc. The marks attained by the students are converted into grades. These grades help to calculate SGPA (Semester Grade Point Average) and CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average). This is called Credit Based Semester System. Some important provisions related to Evaluation under the choice-based credit system are as follows:

• Absolute and Relative Grades Points.:

There are two types of grades that can be awarded to the student. These are absolute and relative grades.

1. Absolute Grades: the marks are converted to grades based on pre-determined class intervals.
2. Relative grades: these are based on the normal distribution of marks obtained by all the students of the course and the grades are awarded based on cut-off.

• Letter grades and grades points:

University Grant Commission (UGC) recommends a 10-point grading system with the following letter grades as provided below:

• Computation of SGPA and CGPA

University Grant Commission (UGC) recommends Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) and Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) in contrast to absolute marks and percentages.  These are calculated as below:

1. SGPA: It is the ratio of the sum of the product of the number of credits with the grade points scored by the student and the sum of the number of credits of all the courses undergone by the student. Mathematically, SGPA (Si)=∑(Cix Gi)/∑Ci
2. CGPA: CGPA is calculated taking into account all the semester grades during the whole course a student undergoes. Mathematically, CGPA (CI)=∑(Cix Si)/∑Ci

Advantages of Choice-Based Credit System

Below are the major advantages associated with the Choice-Based Credit System:

• students can undertake as many credits as they require.
• It is a student-centric approach to evaluation.
• CBCS provides students with a pool of choices that allow them to choose among inter-disciplinary, and intra-disciplinary courses.
• CBCS gives education a wider base to be at par with global standards.
• CBCS offers flexibility to students with respect to the time and institutes they want to complete the course.
• Easy mobility of credits made the higher education system more liberal.

Hence, the Choice-Based Credit System has made the Indian education system more elastic with respect to choice of the subjects, transfer of credits and time of pursuing a course. Moreover, choice-based courses are evaluated on the basis of credits rather than conventional marks & grade patterns. All these features made the CBCS a better system in comparison to the earlier outdated educational systems.

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