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Is it possible to earn a B.Tech from a regular college and a BSc from IGNOU simultaneously?
As per UGC rules, students can do two courses simultaneously, provided one is in regular mode and the other is in distance mode. The degrees can be from different streams as well as from different institutions. So, it’s entirely possible to do a B.Tech from a regular college while doing a BSc from IGNOU.
Is it a good idea to graduate from IGNOU while simultaneously preparing for UPSC CSE? Exactly how tough is it to get a BA degree from IGNOU?
Indira Gandhi National Open University is a public university approved by NCTE and AICTE. It offers a number of open learning programs and is well known and recognized among a number of different organizations like the Association of Indian Universities, therefore, doing a B.A. degree from here is a good choice. The following points highlight important aspects of obtaining a B.A degree from the institute.
Academics:
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The BA degrees at IGNOU offer a wide variety of core disciplines in subjects like Economics, Sociology, and Public Administration with a lot of the course work overlapping with UPSC preparations.
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The exams for the coursework are also designed such that they benefit the student if they are appearing for other exams like UPSC.
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IGNOU is known for its well-founded courses that ensure the best interests of the student. Depending on if one plans to choose a distance learning or open course degree, one can choose to appear for UPSC.
BA degree from IGNOU:
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Obtaining a BA degree from the university depends upon if you are a part-time student at the institute or committed to full-time study. The former situation might be a little tough on the student.
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Students are continuously evaluated with assignments, marks from which are counted for the final result.
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Assignments carry a weightage of 30% of the total result. Students are barred from appearing for end term examinations if they miss an assignment.
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The major evaluation component is the term-end evaluation system which carries a total of 70% weightage. These exams are conducted twice a year.
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Students are expected to study from the course material provided and answer accordingly to the point. Most importantly, ensure that one is registered for the exam, failing which results are not declared.
In conclusion, you can definitely prepare for the UPSC CSE at the same time as your BA degree. While it is not very tough to clear the BA degree, a habit of regular study will definitely help one obtain it with a good result.
Which college should I choose, National PG Lucknow or IGNOU?
To understand which institute is better, the concerned course plays an important role. However, here is some of the information about the two institutes which can be helpful in choosing between the two institutes.
IGNOU:
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is a central university that is UGC approved and it is an AIU member. At present, there are 21 schools present at IGNOU. In 2010, IGNOU was declared as one of the largest universities in the world by UNESCO. The fees for all the courses are very minimal as compared to other universities.
Eligibility:
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Candidates who want to pursue undergraduate studies from IGNOU need to have at least 50% marks in 10+2 from any recognized board.
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For post-graduation, the candidates should have at least 45% of marks from UGC approved universities.
Faculty:
IGNOU has experienced faculty who take lectures as a counselor in each term of six months. The faculty members are mainly experienced and many of them have industrial experience background also.
Placements:
IGNOU has a Campus Placement Cell (CPC), which works as an interface between the students and the industries.
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Around the academic year, the CPC organizes various job fairs and campus placements, and pre-placement training in its headquarters, study centers, regional centers.
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Students of IGNOU get employed in companies like Aegis, Axis Bank, Frankfinn, ICICI Prudential.
National Post Graduate College, Lucknow:
The college was ranked 45th among 50 colleges in India by The Week in 2019. The college is known for its excellence in its faculty and infrastructure. The classrooms of the college are well equipped and stacked.
Eligibility:
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For admissions, to this college, a candidate needs to give the LUACMAT entrance exam.
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Candidates should have at least 50% marks from any recognized university in order to apply for this college.
Faculty:
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The teachers in the college are interactive and there are frequent seminars held so that there is an ease of learning for the students.
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The faculty consists of members who are Ph.D. holders in their respective fields. The college is known for its excellent faculty.
Placements:
There are few companies that visit the college. The placement of this college is average. Some of the top companies that visit the campus are ALIGHT, HCL, CONCENTRIX, and Google ads.
Therefore, if one has to choose a college between them, they can look at the factors mentioned above.
What is it like to pursue MA (Economics) from IGNOU?
IGNOU MA Economics is interesting and professionally rewarding. This course will help you understand and appreciate the intricacies of small day-to-day economic activities and their large-scale impact on the whole economical system.
IGNOU MCA study materials are a little difficult to understand as the concepts are mostly explained mathematically without explaining the theory. The course work is demanding, you need to take the assignments and examinations seriously. If you have Mathematics till class XII, it will be easier to understand complex Economic models.
Which is the best for distance education, IGNOU or SMU?
Indira Gandhi National Open University is a central government-owned educational institute. The college is recognized by AIU and has been approved by UGC.
Sikkim Manipal University Distance Learning is owned by a public-private partnership. The college is also recognized by UGC.
Highlights:
IGNOU:
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It also has over 25 foreign education partner institutions.
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The institute provides open, distance, and online modes of education.
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The college provides over 200 courses across more than 20 streams.
SMU:
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The institution was set-up to provide distance education for students and working professionals.
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The college was awarded the “Best University in Distance Learning” by ASSOCHAM India and won a Silver Award in Digital Learning Transformation Category in 2018.
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The college provides 13 courses across two streams.
Admission Procedure:
The admission procedure for both colleges is similar.
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The eligibility criteria for each course at both colleges vary. The basic eligibility criteria at SMU and IGNOU is having completed 10+2 for undergraduate courses and having completed graduation for postgraduate courses.
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Some courses require appearing for the common entrance examinations conducted by the respective institutes.
Faculty:
IGNOU:
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The institute has more than 800 faculty members and over 33000 academic counselors.
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Teachers have vast experience and are well-educated. They provide constant support and guidance to the students making the institute among the top institutes.
SMU: The institute has well-qualified teachers who provide constant guidance. The curriculum taught is relevant and updated.
Facilities:
IGNOU:
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It provides 67 regional centers and over 2,667 learner support centers around the country.
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For all courses offered, IGNOU provides flexibility to its students in terms of place and time of the study.
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It has launched an e-learning mobile application to provide a digital learning environment to IGNOU affiliated students.
SMU: The institute has an online portal EduNxt that is designed for online learning.
Placements:
IGNOU: The institute has a central placement cell which organizes placement drives. Companies such as ICICI, Axis Bank, Frankfinn, and NIIT offer placements to students.
SMU: The college also provides placement opportunities.
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Internships and training are provided to students in top companies such as TCS. Companies such as Airtel, Ambuja Cement, Capgemini, and Flipkart offer placements to students.
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The highest package offered goes up to 11 LPA.
IGNOU has the advantage of being the largest open-learning institute and top-ranked in the country being run by the central government. Also, IGNOU has better foreign associations with top-institutes. However, SMU provides better internships and placements. Both provide the great features of e-learning too. Between the two IGNOU is a more recognized and larger institute.
How is the MCA from IGNOU?
The syllabus of the IGNOU MCA program is not outdated. If you are considering this program, you don't need to rely on second-hand sources to know about the syllabus. All the books of IGNOU are available on the internet in PDF format for free, and you can download and check the syllabus.
IGNOU keeps revising the syllabus to keep it relevant. BCA program includes C, C++, and Java, which serve as an entry-level foundation for programming. MCA program is more about algorithms, data structure, discrete maths, and system design and less about programming. It's designed to prepare you for a project manager (tech architect) kind of role rather than a "manual tester" or "Java developer" kind of role. IGNOU's MCA program is much more comprehensive and difficult compared to a BTech from Mumbai or Pune university.
MCA syllabus in IGNOU is difficult, which is why it has value, and you need to write a lot of assignments. So, don't assume that you will get an easy degree just because it is a "distance" degree. The exam question papers are also of higher difficulty, and the checking is tough. You will attempt 80 marks on the paper and score 55, which will be your default experience throughout the course. You will feel the university breathing down your neck. IGNOU students never say that they breezed through the course easily. Backlogs will become a staple, and at least 3-4 subjects will have to be repeated twice to clear them.
After all of this, the end result that you get is totally worth it. People who have graduated from IGNOU have gone on to work in big firms such as IT analysts at Goldman Sachs, Tower Research, etc., and not the useless "TCS, Wipro, Infy" kind of sweatshop companies.
Do ignou students get placements? How and where is the placement held?
IGNOU is one of the reputed universities of India that provides all kinds of courses ranging from distance to online and offline. Hence, the question rests on what is actually the placement scenario of the university.
The prominent details regarding placements to be focused on are as follows.
Campus Placement Cell (CPC):
University has a campus placement center that acts as an epicenter for the entire process of employment-related activities.
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It ensures that the right candidate is made available with respect to a particular job description.
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It also provides support to companies in all possible forms like logistically and infrastructural resources.
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The prime-most method in which CPC helps is by organizing Job fairs, Campus drives, and recruitment drives.
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It is also planning to launch a training & placement portal on the Samarth platform. It will make the process of placements more channelized and updated.
Job Opportunities:
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As compared to the number of individuals that graduate from IGNOU, the placement percentage is quite less and not impressive.
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Very few students have got the opportunity for campus placements.
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The general view of many pass out students is similar in this case that placement options are almost negligible.
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There are certain courses where students have bagged good packages like B.A. (arts).
Once you get registered for the placement cell, you will definitely receive notifications but that too prominently for graduation courses, not for masters courses.
Alumni Distribution:
Although the alumni distribution of the university shows a varied sectoral range. The below figures justify the above fact.
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Engineering- 13%
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Business Development- 13%
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Operations- 13%
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Information Technology- 13%
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Education- 9%
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Sales- 8%
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Human Resources- 6%
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Finance- 5%
There have been IGNOU alumni in different companies, prominently in the IT sector like HCL Technologies, IBM, Accenture, TCS, Cognizant, Genpact, Wipro, Tech Mahindra.
IGNOU definitely is a sure shot option for studies and pursuing degrees but for placements, it holds a back seat. It can provide you the liberty to do a job and pursue a course, but it is a little inactive when it comes to providing good & decent placements. However, students have the option to opt for off-campus placements.
What is the admission procedure at Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) for second year B.A., if I have completed B.E. first year in a regular college?
The eligibility criteria for pursuing a BA program from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is 10+2 from a recognized board. Even if you completed one year of BE from any regular college, for admission to BA you will be evaluated based on your 10+2 marks.
IGNOU offers BA programs in 12 streams, such as Polity, History, Civics, Philosophy Mathematics, etc. BA courses at the institute are UGC accredited. Here is a brief insight into the admission requirement and procedure for the BA programs at IGNOU which may be helpful.
Admission:
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Since it is an open university, there is no limitation in the number of seats available, and the admission is direct.
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Applications can be made online and there are two intake sessions in an academic year, i.e. January and June.
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In order to seek admission, students require 10+2 or equivalent from a recognized board or BPP from IGNOU.
Some of the key information about the BA courses at IGNOU are as follows.
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Maximum Age |
No bar |
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Minimum Age |
No bar |
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Maximum Duration |
6 years |
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Minimum Duration |
3 years |
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Course Fee |
INR 6,000 |
Application Process:
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To apply for the BA courses you can visit the official website of IGNOU and register yourself.
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Select your courses and fill the candidate application form
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Pay the course fee and upload the required document.
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After successful submission, your application will be accepted provisionally.
From the academic session of July 2019, IGNOU has adopted the Choice Based Credit System introduced by UGC, which provides flexibility for the students to study the subjects/courses of their choice depending on their requirement or interest, choose disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and skill-based courses, and also move to a different institute for study.
To know more about the courses and application process you can reach out to the Student Service Center (SSC) of the institute.
What is the admission process for a Diploma in Hindustani classical vocal at IGNOU?
The Diploma in Hindustani Classical Vocal in IGNOU is a 6 month certificate course in Open Distance Learning mode. This program is designed to create awareness and appreciation for Hindustani music among the learners. It teaches the learners practical and theoretical aspects of Hindustani classical vocal music.
Anyone who has cleared their class 10th can join this course. There is no upper age limit. The full program fee is INR 4,000/- and the registration fee is INR 300.
Applicants who wish to pursue this course can download the brochure plus application form from IGNOU’s official website. They can submit the application form alongside the registration fee. To finalize the admission, they must pay the aforementioned programme fee.
Who is eligible for a B.Ed. in IGNOU? I have completed my D.El.Ed from KKHOU.
The eligibility criteria for B.Ed. admission at IGNOU is that the candidates must complete their bachelor's in any discipline. It doesn’t matter if you have done D. El. Ed from KKHOU. B.Ed. admission to IGNOU only requires graduation with a minimum of 2 years of teaching experience.
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