In accordance with the re-structuring of existing External Degree Program as per the Commission Circular no 932, Faculty of Arts, University of Jaffna, proposing a new structure, incorporating the provisions of the credit valued system.
The number of students sitting for the G.C.E. Advanced Level in Commerce Stream has steadily increased over the years. Consequently the annual intake to universities have also increased, but not adequate to handle the increased demand to the facility constraints.
Main reason for establishing of this B.A- External Degree Program is to provide opportunities for those who qualified in G. C. E. (A/L) and those who posses adequate academic requirement for higher studies but did not get opportunities for pursuing a higher studies in Sri Lankan National University System. There is a huge demand from those who are working in state and private sector organizations.
The Vision of the Study Program (SP) is to offer a Global level B.A degree with optimal blend of both academic and professional disciplines, which are suitable to the job market.
The Mission of the SP is to provide students with knowledge & skills in their chosen special fields of Arts, to prepare students for entry-level positions in their chosen field and to stimulate to impart/ develop the right kind of values and attitude to function effectively in variety of contexts.
| Objectives of the Study Programme |
- To impart the students latest and relevant knowledge from the field of Arts and practices
- To provide the country a steady stream of competent human resources with necessary knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to occupy positions of academic context and administration in business, industry, public and private sectors.
- Generate leadership skills suitable for running organization
| Learning Outcomes of the Study Programme |
- To develop through the series of learning sessions and prescribed readings of the theoretical and conceptual aspects of the Arts and related field.
- Combining theory and practice through case studies and field projects.
- To enhance skills through the presentations and computer application.
- To develop positive through experimental learning of case studies, group work, research and report writing the attitudes based set up can be done.
| Structure of Study Program |
All study programs have designed to suit the semester based course unit system and Grade Point Average (GPA) evaluation and marking scheme.
Degrees
The Faculty of Arts offers the following Degree programs.
- B.A general Degree program of 03 years duration. (SLQF level – 05)
- B.A special degree program of 04 years duration. (SLQF level – 06)
The General Degree program offers a minimum of 90 credits, to be completed within a period of 03 years. (06 semesters of 20 weeks duration including examination period), with provision to extend up to a maximum of 06 years, depending on the students choice.
The Special Degree program offers minimum of 120 credits, to be completed within a period of 04 years. (08 semesters of 20 week duration including examination period), with provision to extend maximum of 08 years, depending on the students choice.
One credit is equivalent to 30 hours of contact hours (face to face instructions, tutorial, lab classes, if any, online or computer based learning, independent learning and examinations).
If the students registers for maximum of 15 credits per semester in order to complete the degree in 06 semesters he/she requires 450 contact hours and examination per semester.
However, the student has the option to follow the courses with a lesser amount of Units; such a student is required to register for a minimum workload of 08 credits per semester (minimum 02 courses). This should consist of at least one core and one supplementary/foundation course per semester. Such a student requires a minimum number of 225-250 study hours per semester and would have to forgo the grace period and hence is required to complete within 06 years.
- The 03 year degree programme is named as Bachelor of Arts (General) Degree.
- The 04 year degree programme is named as Bachelor of Arts (Special) Degree.
- The 04 year Special Degree in Arts is named according to the subjects that are supplicated.
The abbreviation of the degree will contain a parenthesis that will reflect the subjects the student supplicated and completed.
For example
- B.A. (Economics)
- B.A. (History)
- B.A. (Tamil)
Mode of Conducting the Study Programme
Appropriate course modules will be made available to the prospective students at the beginning of each semester and the programme will be conducted on self study basis. This will be supplemented with fifteen hours of face to face contact sessions for each course unit.
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[fruitful_tab title=”CURRICULUM AND CREDIT STRUCTURE”]
The Subject Area
The study program consists of Foundation course Units, Core courses in Principal subject areas and Supplementary courses in subjects of emerging importance.
Foundation Courses: These courses are compulsory for all students and consist minimum of 20% weightage (24 credits for 4year course and 18 credits for 3 year course) of the study program.
Core Courses: The compulsory courses (Core) are defined by the study program for the general special degree. The core/compulsory courses consist minimum of 65% weightage (78 credits for 4year course and 58 credits for 3 year course) of the study program.
Supplementary Courses: The courses consisting minimum of 15% weightage ( 18 credits for 4 year course and 14 credits for 3 year course) of the study program and supplement the study program based on the student choice Supplementary courses are given in the basket 1.
Students Course Load
Credit value of Core course units of principal subjects, Foundation and Supplementary subjects for General Degree.
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In the third year, students are expected to present a research oriented project. This project carries of 04 credit value. This study project will be treated as core course unit and compulsory to all students. The students are expected to select the project in the major subject only.
Credit value of Core course units of principal subjects, Foundation and Supplementary subjects.
Special Degree.
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Credit value of a principal subject
General Degree course
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Special Degree Course (Arts)
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Selection of Course Unit
First year in Arts
-
In the first year, the Arts students offer course units aggregating to thirty credits in the following manner
- Foundation course units, aggregating to eight credits and
- Supplementary course units, aggregating to four credits and
- Core units in one principal subject (Major subject) having total credit value nine & in another principal subject (Minor subject) having total credit value nine
Second year in Arts (General Degree)
-
In the Second year, the Arts students offer course units aggregating to thirty credits in the following manner
- Foundation course units, aggregating to eight credits and
- Supplementary course units, aggregating to four credits and
- Core units in one principal subject (Major subject) having total credit value nine & in another principal subject (Minor subject) having total credit value six and from other principal subject having credit value three
Second year in Arts (Special Degree)
-
In the Second year, the Arts students offer course units aggregating to thirty credits in the following manner
- Foundation course units, aggregating to eight credits and
- Supplementary course units, aggregating to four credits and
- Core units in one principal subject (Major subject) having total credit value fifteen, & from another principal subject (Minor subject) having total credit value three
Third year in Arts (General Degree)
-
In the third year, the Arts students offer course units aggregating to thirty credits in the following manner
- Foundation course units, aggregating to two credits and
- Supplementary course units, aggregating to six credits and
- Core Course unit for Project work having credit value Four and
- Core units in one principal subject (Major subject) having total credit value nine, from another principal subject (Minor subject) having total credit value six and from other principal subject having credit value three.
Third year in Arts (Special Degree)
-
In the third year, the Arts students offer course units aggregating to thirty credits in the following manner
- Foundation course units, aggregating to eight credits and
- Supplementary course units, aggregating to four credits and
- Core units in one principal subject (Major subject) having total credit value fifteen, & from another principal subject (Minor subject) having total credit value three
Fourth year in Arts (Special Degree)
-
In the fourth year, the Arts students offer course units aggregating to thirty credits in the following manner
- Supplementary course units, aggregating to six credits and
- Core Course unit for Project work in the principal subject which offered for special Degree having credit value six and
- Core units in the principal subject which offered for special Degree having total credit value eighteen
Project report/Dissertation
-
The student has to consult the respected Head of the department to assign a supervisor when selecting the title for the Project/Dissertation. After the approval for the title the student shall start the project work and submit it to the External Examination unit on or before the schedule date that will be notified for them. It will be evaluated by two examiners.
Foundation Courses
-
Foundation Courses are compulsory to all students and Supplementary courses are designed to provide student choice.
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[fruitful_tab title=”ADMISSION CRITERIA”]
Minimum Qualification For Entry
- at least three passes in all three approved subjects in one sitting and
- a minimum mark of 30% for the Common General Paper
Eligibility of students for consideration for the next stage of selection should be determined on the basis of rank order on average Z-Scores obtained by candidates at the GCE A/L Examination.
UGC will decide minimum Z- Score required to become eligible for consideration for various courses of study after finalizing the number of students that can be accommodated to the course of study.
Any other qualification for the admission of few percentages of students for the B.A degree programme shall be considered by the Senate
Some of the other requirements/qualifications are given below
- Diploma holders of the National College of Education
- Teachers from government Schools who were trained in the Training Colleges
- Any other relevant and equal qualifications determine by the Senate
Selection of Four Year Degree Program (Special Degree)
Student are admitted to Special Degree Programmes in Arts course at the beginning of the second year of studies. the admission to the above course will be given based on the performance of the students in course units first year and the availability of places. Students may apply for Special Degree programme that he/she wishes to follow at the end of the First year.
The Minimum Requirement For Selection to Special Degree Programmes in Arts
- Should have obtained a GPA of not less than 3.0 calculated for the Four course units in the subject of specialization in the First year and obtain no “E” grade in the course units in the subject of specialization
- Should have obtained a GPA of not less than 2.0 calculated for all the course units of the principal subject/s in the First year other thane the course units in the subject of specialization.
The number of students that could be allowed to do special degree programme shall be determined based on the resource availability of the departments. When competition is high for a subject the selection will be made on the basis of Merit of the GPA.
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[fruitful_tab title=”EVALUATION PROCESS”]
Student Assessment
The assessment consists of formative and summative components. Final evaluation would be a combination of summative and formative assessments.
A.Formative Assessment (30%)
The Formative carry 30% of total marks of the course unit
- Continuous assessments (such as Quizzes, Discussion forums, take home assignments ans Small projects)
- Continuous Assessments are compulsory components to all students
- 60% of formative assessment (i.e minimum of 18 marks) are essential to all students to sit the end Semester Examination.
B.Summative Assessments (End Semester Examination)
The summative assessments carry 70% of total marks of the course unit
Grading Scale
Student performance is graded on a 4 point scale, which ranges from A (Excellent) to E (Fail). The grading scale is shown in the following table.
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Grade Point Average
The Grade Point Average(GPA) is a numerical representation of a student’s overall academic achievement. The grade point average is the quotient obtained by dividing the total number of Grade Point earned by the total number of credit hours in which students receive a letter grade. Decimals beyond two places are truncated, not rounded, in computing the grade Point Average.
The formula for GPA calculation is given below,
Illustration of GPA Calculation
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[fruitful_tab title=”END SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS”]
Each Course requires a Final Examination at the end of each Semester. The duration of the examination can vary depending on the requirement for each subject.
- For Course units having Credit value of three and above – Three hours duration.
- For Course units having Credit value of two and less – Two Hours duration.
Number of questions to be answered
- For three hour papers – Answer five questions out of eight questions.
- For two hour papers – Answer three questions out of five questions.
Eligibility requirements to sit for an End Semester Examination
All students are expected to follow the regulations specified by the Faculty, and the Senate to sit for each end-Semester examination. No student shall be permitted to sit for an examination unless the Coordinator / Coordinators of the relevant course/courses has/have certified that he/she has completed the course of study for the Examination.
Students who fail to sit for an examination without authorization or without valid reason shall be given grade in “E” that examination and shall forfeit all credit for that course.
A student who is absent at an Examination on medical reasons shall submit a Medical certificate. The Medical certificate be recommended by the Government Medical Officer. This must be submitted to the Senior Assistant Registrar of the External examination unit within two weeks of ending the examination for the particular paper to be presented to the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Arts and the Senate for approval. Students who absent himself from a whole end semester examination on medical grounds should sit the examination at the next earliest opportunity and this will be treated as his/her first attempt.
A student who absent from a whole end semester examination without any valid reason shall be treated as he/she has used one chance.
Dissertation/Project Report
Students offering Special Degree Course in Arts should carry out the Dissertation/ Project work at their third/Fourth year of study. The title of the Dissertation shall be made available to the General Degree and Special Degree students at the beginning of the third / fourth year respectively. The students are expected to commence their research activities from the beginning of the Fourth year First Semester course.
The Dissertation will be assessed continuously and marks will be allocated as follows:
- Conduct of and Projects Preparation of the Project Report 60%
- Proposal Presentation 20%
- Final presentation 20%
The Dissertation should be submitted to the Examination Branch at the end of the Third/Fourth year second Semester academic programme and the Oral examination will be conducted by the respective Department during the Third/Fourth year Second Semester examination period.
Title of the Examinations and Releasing of Results
Title of Semester Examinations
The Examinations conducted for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts shall have the following titles
- First Examination in Arts(External) (Year) – First/Second Semester
- Second Examination in Arts (General Degree) (External) (Year) – First/Second Semester
- Second Examination in Arts (Special Degree) (External) (Year) – First/Second Semester
- Third Examination in Arts (General Degree) (External) (Year) – First / Second Semester
- Third Examination in Arts (Special Degree) (External) (Year) – First / Second Semester
- Fourth Examination in Arts (Special Degree) (External) (Year) – First / Second Semester
Releasing of Examination Results
Semester Examinations
* The Administrative structure for Admission, Examination and other functions of the Centre in relation to the degree programme shall be submitted later
No end semester examination conducted by the faculty will be repeated. A repeat student must complete all requirements for that course in which it is repeated.
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[fruitful_tab title=”COMPLETION OF DEGREE “]
Requirements for Graduation
Requirement for graduation in order to graduate with the Bachelor’s Degree from the faculty of Arts a student shall have
- The minimum total number of credit to be earned by appearing Examinations for all course units stipulated in section 2, for general and special degree courses should be 90 and 120 respectively, and
- Earn a minimum overall GPA of not less than 2.0 for the entire Degree program and
- Earn a minimum overall GPA of not less than 1.7 for the all foundation course units and,
- Not more than two Fail grades (E),obtained in the entire Degree program and
- Fulfilled the entire requirement mentioned above, within a maximum of 6 academic years to general degree and 7 academic years to special Degree program from the academic year of original enrollment in the university other than approved medical withdrawal.
Award of Class
A student shall fulfill all the following requirements in order to be awarded a Degree with Class.
First Class
The student shall have earned an overall GPA 3.7 and above.
Second Class (Upper Division)
The Student shall have earned on overall GPA 3.30 – 3.69
Second Class (Lower Division)
The Student shall have earned on overall GPA 3.0 – 3.29
Pass
The Student shall have earned on overall GPA 2.0 and above
Students offering Special Degree Programme shall have fulfill these requirements within four academic years and Students offering General Degree Programmes shall have fulfilled these requirements within three academic years from the first academic year of registration for eligibility of Class, other than approved valid reason.
The effective date of Degree
The effective date of Degree shall be the last of the stipulated examination period on which 3rd/4th year Second Semester examination concludes, for General and Special Degree respectively. For the repeat candidates the effective date of the Degree shall be the last date of the completion of the failed course unit.
Opting for General degree
If a student who has been admitted to a special degree programme in arts wishes to exit with general degree after completing the course up to the third yea programme and earned 90 credits may be awarded the B. A General degree with the appropriate class of honours as prescribe in sections Requirements for Graduation, Award of Class and The Effective date of Degree. However the students have to submit the project Report aggregating the credit value of four.
No student shall be awarded both the B.A (General) and B.A (special) degrees.
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