Evaluation in Choice Based Credit System in Higher Education

The current education system in India is teacher-centric. Students in a particular field have to compulsorily study all the subjects regardless of their interest. This could lead to students losing their enthusiasm for studies and discontinuing their education.

The Choice-Based Credit System prevents this situation. It is a student-centric course which allows students to choose their subjects. The subjects can be at a basic or advanced level. Instead of the conventional marking system, CBCS system uses credits.

This system provides flexibility in preparing the curriculum and granting credits based on the course intensity and teaching hours. This helps students to pursue courses of their choice, study at their own pace, learn extra courses and acquire more than the required credits.
CBCS emphasizes on group discussions, assignments, class activities, and internal examinations thus creating a beneficial education environment.

Students have 3 types of courses :

• Core course: Students need to choose a core subject to complete the credit requirement.
• Elective Course: These subjects have more generic content and aim to increase the students' skill. They expose the student to subjects which are not in their curriculum.
• Foundation: They are value-based subjects that lead to knowledge enhancement.

The amount of credits assigned for core, elective, and foundation courses is different.

Grading System

The CBCS software grading system is uniform across all educational institutes. It follows the semester pattern and not the annual examination pattern. There are two semesters in every academic year-odd and even. At the end of every semester evaluation and the assigning of grades is done.
The credits grading system replaces the conventional percentage system. University Grants Commission has introduced a 10 point grading system, with 0 being absent/fail and 10 being outstanding.
The number of hours a student attends the class also determines the credits.

How Does CBCS Work?

CBCS works on the simple principle of the choice being in students hand. Colleges provide subject options to students. Students can choose subjects according to their interests and credits required for that particular semester.
They will then attend classes and practicals and obtain credits. Once they acquire the required credits, they pass the semester.

Benefits Of CBCS System

• CBCS allows students to choose subjects that they find interesting. Students perform better when they learn about things they like. 
• Students can take up varied subject combinations like economics-microbiology, physics-accounts, English-chemistry, etc. with the conventional education system this was not possible.
•  CBCS system prepares students for the future. Industries want employees who are all-rounders with multidisciplinary knowledge and not students with knowledge about just one stream. Thus, CBCS imparts job-oriented skills. 
• Students can change subjects every semester. This helps them to learn about various fields and recognize where their talent lies.  
• As students choose their own subjects they learn to make decisions which are beneficial for them. This helps students to become self-reliant at an early age. 
• CBCS offers students to study at different times and at different Institutes to complete a course.
  As the grading system is the same across all universities in India, a student can easily transfer from one university to the other. Students pan India have a uniform course. 
• If a student falls sick or is unable to cope they can choose fewer subjects and earn less credits in one semester. They can then compensate for the lost credits in the next semester.
  CBCS takes Indian education on par with global standards. 

Disadvantages:

• Difficult to estimate the exact marks 
• Workload of teachers may fluctuate 
• Demand good infrastructure for dissemination of education

Computation of SGPA and CGPA

The UGC recommends the following procedure to compute the Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) and Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA):

1. The SGPA is the ratio of sum of the product of the number of credits with the grade points scored by a student in all the courses taken by a student and the sum of the number of credits of all the courses undergone by a student, i.e
SGPA (Si) = Σ(Ci x Gi) / ΣCiwhere Ci is the number of credits of the ith course and Gi is the grade point scored by the student in the ith course.

2. The CGPA is also calculated in the same manner taking into account all the courses undergone by a student over all the semesters of a programme, i.e.
CGPA = Σ(Ci x Si) / Σ Ciwhere Si is the SGPA of the ith semester and Ci is the total number of credits in that semester.

3. The SGPA and CGPA shall be rounded off to 2 decimal points and reported in the transcripts

Illustration of Computation of SGPA and CGPA and Format for Transcripts

1. Computation of SGPA and CGPA
Illustration for SGPA

Course	Credit	Grade letter	Grade point	Credit Point(Credit x Grade)
Course 1	3	A	8	3x8=24
Course 2	4	B+	7	7x4=28
Course 3	3	B	6	3x8=18
Course 4	3	O	10	3x10=30
Course 5	3	C	5	3x5=15
Course 6	4	B	4	4x4=16
	20			130

Thus, SGPA =139/20 =6.95
Illustration for CGPA

Semester 1	Semester 2	Semester 3	Semester 4	Semester 5	Semester 6
Credit : 20 SGPA:6.9	Credit : 22 SGPA:7.8	Credit : 25 SGPA: 5.6	Credit : 26 SGPA:6.0	Credit : 26 SGPA:6.3	Credit : 25 SGPA: 8.0

Thus, CGPA = 20 x 6.9 + 22 x 7.8 + 25 x 5.6 + 26 x 6.0 + 26 x 6.3 + 25 x 8.0/ 144 = 6.73

2. Transcript (Format): Based on the above recommendations on Letter grades, grade points and SGPA and CCPA, the HEIs may issue the transcript for each semester and a consolidated transcript indicating the performance in all semesters.

Sources:
1. https://www.iitms.co.in
2. http://vikaspedia.in