Mumbai University starts bridge course

Students of other universities who aspire to do MSc from the University of Mumbai may be asked to study a ‘bridge course’ if the BSc syllabus of their university is not at par with the University of Mumbai’s. A decision in this regard was taken by the varsity’s academic council on Thursday. The bridge course will carry 12 credits and can be done along with MSc. There will be an exam at the end of the course. “This aims to bring all students at par before they are tested in the postgraduate exam,” said a council member. The BSc course differs from university to university; some varsities don’t have specialisation in final year. Students from other universities, sometimes, lose out on admission if the ‘equivalence committee’, which compares their BSc syllabi with the MU’s, finds large disparity between the two. Dean of faculty of science Madhuri Pejawar said, “The number of such students changes every year but on an average two to three dozen students face this problem. Many of them are women who come to Mumbai after marriage.” She added that the move mainly aims to help such women. The decision will be applicable from this year (2013-14) only. However, the bridge course is ready only for computer science, microbiology, biotechnology and chemistry. A highly-placed official said, “Other courses will be readied soon.” The colleges can also teach and conduct the exam if a student takes admission in an affiliated college. The perspective plan for 2014-15 was also passed which will now go to senate. New major subjects on the cards Academic council also gave the nod to introduction of some new courses, such as renewable energy and construction management, as major subjects at the undergraduate level. The colleges may start these courses from the next academic year. Dean of faculty of science Madhuri Pejawar said, “These courses have a lot of potential in the job market. Hence, we want them to come at the UG level from next year. These subjects will be available for all streams as major subjects.” She clarified that the colleges need to fulfil norms of accreditation before getting the university’s approval to start these courses. Source: Education News