ACADEMIC POLICY
OVERVIEW
Awards
The World University of Bangladesh offers academic programs leading to the following awards.
- Undergraduate
- Bachelor Degree (including Honours degrees)
- Postgraduate
- Masters Degree
- coursework: various named degrees
- Masters Degree
Coursework
All academic programs comprise assessable components based on:
- performance in courses
Undergraduate academic programs:
All undergraduate academic programs, including Honours, are coursework academic programs.
Postgraduate academic programs:
Where more than one-third of the assessable components of the total academic program are based on performance in courses, the program is a coursework academic program.
SCOPE AND APPLICATION
This policy applies to the design and delivery of all coursework academic programs. Programs which do not comply with this policy, may continue in their present format until the date of their next scheduled program review. All staff engaged in the design and delivery of coursework academic programs are required to comply with this policy.
ACADEMIC PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Program structure
- Coursework academic programs comprise courses, each of which is assigned a value in units.
- All coursework academic programs require a specified total of units to be successfully completed to qualify for the conferment of the relevant award. This total must be consistent with Table 1.
| Level of award | Total units required for completion of the award | Standard program duration |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate | ||
| Bachelor Degree | Minimum 72 units, with additional units in groups of 24 only, for all programs except those listed below. | 3 years plus 1 year for each additional 24 units |
| Postgraduate | ||
| Coursework Masters Degree | 24 units | 1 year |
| In the same Discipline (as an Extension Masters): | 1 semester (1/3 a year) for each 12 units | |
| 24 units, following a 96-unit Bachelor degree; | ||
| 36 units, following a 72 unit Bachelor degree. | ||
| In a different Discipline (as a Conversion Masters): | ||
| 48 units, following a 72 unit or 96 unit Bachelor degree. | ||
Academic Program Rules
All coursework academic programs must have Academic Program Rules, which must specify the total units required for completion of the program, and the World University of Bangladesh courses units which are required or may be counted towards the program. Admission eligibility criteria and credit arrangement provisions are not included in Academic Program Rules.
Workloads
For a program being undertaken in accord with the standard academic program duration listed in Table 1, the standard total student workload is 48 hours a week. Programs must be designed so that workloads do not exceed this (Source: WUB -Accreditation).
Unit requirements
The minimum number of World University of Bangladesh units is required for an award of Bachelor Degree 160 units credit and Masters Degree 48 units credit (Source: WUB Prospectus).
Admission criteria
All admission eligibility criteria for all coursework academic programs are reviewed and approved periodically by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic), on recommendation of the Academic Board.
Program management
All programs must be allocated to a program management committee. This may be an existing Faculty or Program committee, where appropriate.
An academic member of staff must be designated as Program Coordinator for each academic program.
Approval
New academic programs and major changes to or deletion of existing academic programs, including new, changed and deleted Academic Program Rules, are approved by the Vice-Chancellor on the recommendation of Academic Board.
Minor changes to academic programs and consequential changes to Academic Program Rules may be approved by the relevant Dean.
ACADEMIC PROGRAM COMPLETION
Requirements
Subject to the discharge of financial obligations to the University’s academic rules and regulation, ‘a student who successfully completes the requirements of the Academic Program Rules for a particular academic program is entitled to be admitted to the award for that program’.
When determining whether a program has been completed:
- no course may be counted twice towards a single award;
- no course may be counted towards an award if it contains a substantial amount of the same material as another course counting towards the award;
- credit granted in accord with the Academic Credit Arrangements Policy may be counted.
ACADEMIC PROGRAM REVIEW
Review process
All academic programs must be reviewed in accord with the Program Review Process and schedule, usually every 5 years, specified from time to time by the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Learning). Proposals for program amendments or for exemptions from the University’s standard undergraduate program structures resulting from the Program Review Process must be submitted in accord with the Program Development and Approval processes, specified from time to time by the Program Approval Committee.
Program closure
If an academic program at any time appears to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic) not to be viable because of low enrolments, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic) may close the program unless the relevant Executive Dean is able to justify its continuation. Closure on other grounds is determined by the Vice-Chancellor and President on recommendation of the Academic Board.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
This section applies to undergraduate (including honours) and postgraduate courses.
Unit value
All courses, and research-only components of coursework academic programs, must have a unit value which is a multiple of 3.
Minimum structured learning activities
All courses must be structured to guarantee students the minimum hours of structured learning activities specified in Table 2:
| Unit value of course | Hours required |
|---|---|
| 1.5-unit course | 18 hours |
| 3-unit course | 36 hours |
| 6-unit course | 72 hours |
Structured learning activities include lectures, tutorials, demonstrations, practicals, laboratory activities. These may be given online or delivered or supervised by a member of academic staff.
Examples: A minimum of 36 hours per 3-unit course equates to the following:
- When the teaching period is 12 weeks long: 3 hours of structured learning activities per week
- When the teaching period is 6 weeks long: 6 hours of structured learning activities per week
- When the teaching period is in intensive mode over a period of less than 5 weeks: a minimum of 36 hours of structured learning activities is required in total.
Designated student workloads
Courses must be designed on the basis that the total student workload specified in Table 3 is the standard expectation for students to engage appropriately with the course requirements.
| Unit value of course | Hours required |
|---|---|
| 1.5-unit course | 78 hours |
| 3-unit course | 156 hours |
| 6-unit course | 312 hours |
These workloads apply regardless of the length of the course (semester, trimester) or the mode of delivery (online, direct contact or a mixture).
Workload includes a range of learning activities, such as lectures, tutorials, supervised practicals, laboratory activities, independent study, assessment tasks, exams, and other academic activities.
Exemptions from the workload requirement may be approved by the relevant Executive Dean, provided they are satisfied there are sound pedagogical reasons for the exemption.
Example:
A 3-unit course requires a total designated workload of 156 hours.
If spread over a 12 or 13-week semester, this equates to 12-13 hours per week.
Academic literacy skills
Disciplines will be required to demonstrate the ways in which academic literacy and research skills are systematically integrated through the duration of a program with them being fully mapped as part of program reviews or new program proposals or major program revisions.
Course approval
All courses and course changes must be approved in accordance with the process specified by the relevant Executive Dean and/or Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic).
Assessment
Course assessment must be designed and implemented in accord with the program policy.
Course Results
All final results for all courses must follow the University’s approved Marking and Grading policy.
Course offerings
While some courses may not be offered every year, Executive Deans must ensure sufficient courses are offered to enable a student to complete a program in which they are enrolled within the standard program duration.
Course Coordinator
An academic member of staff must be designated as a Course Coordinator for each course. The duties of the Course Coordinator may be specified from time to time by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic) and/or Executive Deans.
Course Outlines
All courses must include a Course Outline in accord with the Course Outlines Manual Publication Standards and timelines approved by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Vice-President (Academic) from time to time.
COURSE REVIEW
Review process
All courses must be reviewed in accordance with the process specified by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Vice-President (Academic) or relevant Executive Dean.