University Grant Commission Introduces New Enrollment Process for Admission to ODL and Online Programs

The University Grant Commission (UGC) is offering a new enrollment method to admit students to extend distance learning (ODL) and online programs this educational year. As part of the new plan, the students registering in ODL and online programs will have to first report on the UGC’s Distance Education Bureau (UGC-DEB) web portals-deb.ugc.ac.in and deb.ugc.ac.in/StudentDebId with their Academic Bank of Credit (ABC)-ID and develop a unique DEB-ID, the UGC chairman Maidala Jagadesh Kumar said.

“This DEB-ID will be compulsory for all students registering in identified ODL/Online programs, except for foreign students, and will remain accurate for their lifetime. HEIs are encouraged to enforce this new admission procedure efficiently and promote it to new learners to guarantee successful adoption and operation,” the UGC Chairman counted. The DEB-ID once effected on the UGC-DEB web outlet will stay valid for lifelong ODL/Online understanding.

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This modification will be practical starting September 2024 and will guarantee that students enroll only in authorized higher academic institutions delivering ODL and online schedules, Mamidala said. This new approach seeks to improve clarity in the entrance process.

The Chairman also repeated that the University Grant Commission (ODL Programmes and Online Programmes) Regulations, 2020 set the lowest criteria for such agendas, and a checklist of identified organizations is available on the UGC Distance Education Bureau website.

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“It came to the notice of the Commission in the recent past that few HEIs accepted students in unknown ODL/Online programs, thereby placing students’ fortunes at stake. To address such happenings and to improve the clarity in ODL and Online mode access, the Commission in its 581st meeting held on 25th June 2024 has chosen to normalize the admission method for students registering in ODL and Online mode to protect their educational future and career prospects,” an authorized statement issued in this respect said.