Frequently Asked Questions

The Sikkim Manipal University of Health, Medical and Technological Sciences (SMU), Gangtok has been set up under Section 2(f) of UGC Act 1956 vide Sikkim State Legislative Act (Act 1X of 1995). The University is a member of the Association of Indian Universities. The statute of SMU permits the University to offer programs under distance learning mode across the country and abroad.

Sikkim Manipal University is located in its picturesque campuses in the foothills of the Himalayas. Its state-of-the-art infrastructure worth approximately Rs.150 crores provides excellent facilities to students from not only Eastern India but also from other parts of the country. The constituent institutions of the university are:

1. Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Science (SMIMS).

2. Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology (SMIT).

• Distance Education simply means imparting education from a distance. The teacher and the student are physically separated in this system of education
• SMU offers many Distance Education programs as part of its effort to provide education to the students who for various reasons cannot join the formal education stream.
• Various courses offered include postgraduate, graduate level degree courses and postgraduate level diploma level courses in different disciplines such as IT, management studies, vocational sciences, life sciences and allied health sciences.
• All the students who have enrolled in the program are provided with program guides and Self Instruction Material (SIM) for respective courses.
• The student is required to undertake self-study using the programme guide and SIM provided. This is further supplemented by learning through lectures by faculty, who are also called academic counselors at the Learning Centre and lectures delivered through VSAT.
• The University is using a nationwide network of learning centers for various programs. This enables the students to choose a learning center that is easily accessible to them.
• The concept of ‘Virtual Classroom’ is used by the Sikkim Manipal University wherein lectures are broadcast from studios at Manipal, Bangalore and Mumbai and received by the students at various learning centers all over the country. This broadcast is interactive and is received through VSAT.
• The program guide supplied to the student contains the assignments to be submitted by the student.
• Depending upon the subject, required amount of practical training is imparted to students in the Learning center.

When a student takes up a correspondence course he/she is expected to study on his own from Self Instructional Material provided by the University. There may be some contact classes. A student does not have the benefit of a teacher for most part of the learning process who can provide him/her with academic counseling.

(a) Admissions for Indian (Domestic) Students: The Spring Session commences in February every year; FALL Session commences in August every year. Students are advised to refer to the Regional/National Daily News papers from time to time and also the University’s Directorate of Distance Education (DDE) website www.dde.smuhmts.edu for admission related announcements. Prospectus and Application can be obtained from the university recognized Learning Centers. The University website provides the list of authorized Learning Centers across the country.

(b) Admission for Centers Overseas: Spring Session commences in April and FALL Session commences in October for overseas Learning Centers every year. Students are advised to refer to the University’s Directorate of Distance Education website www.dde.smuhmts.edu for admission related announcements. Prospectus and Application can be obtained from the university recognized Learning Centers. The University website provides the list of authorized Learning Centers abroad.

Students in their final year or who have appeared in their final exams and are awaiting results are eligible to apply, provided their examinations including practical examinations/viva/assignments are over before 30 th May for February (Spring) Session and 30 th November for August (FALL) Session.

• Filled in application form has to be complete. Applicant is advised to read the instructions carefully before filling up the application form. All the supporting documents (as specified in the Prospectus/Application Form) should be enclosed along with the application form and should be attested by a Gazetted Officer or Notary Public or by the Head of the Institution last attended.

Documents to be Enclosed:

• Course Fee Demand Draft drawn in favour of Sikkim Manipal University, DE payable at Manipal/Udupi only will be considered.

Note: for course fee (semester-wise) details are provided in the University Prospectus.

• X Standard Certificate for age proof or birth certificate.
• Educational Proof Certificates starting from X Standard have to be enclosed for verification of Eligibility Criteria.
• When a Degree or Diploma ‘ Provisional Pass Certificate’ is enclosed, it is advisable to enclose the Mark Sheets of all the three/four years, as the case may be.
• Those who have not obtained the Provisional/Degree Certificate are advised to enclose all three/four years pass Mark Sheets along with Course Completion Certificate obtained from Principal/Director of institution where last studied. Duly certified Provisional Certificate/Degree Certificate has to be forwarded within the stipulated period as laid down by the University.
• Candidates having working experience have to enclose the ‘Experience Certificate’ obtained from the employer.

For more details on matters related to admission, contact the Help Desk at smuhelpdesk@manipalu.com

NOTE: Applications shall be rejected without assigning any reasons for the following reasons.

(1) Incomplete Application Form.

(2) Non-enclosure of proof of eligibility qualifications.

(3) Non-enclosure of Demand Draft or in case it is an outstation Demand Draft or Cheque/Cash.

A student doing course with DDE has to register himself/herself for each semester to become eligible to appear for the University Examinations. The terms ‘Fresh Registration’ and ‘Re-registration’ are explained below: -

(i) Fresh Admission or Registration - New candidates seeking admission are required to fill up Fresh Admission or Registration form.

(ii) Re-registration - existing students who get promoted to higher semesters have to re-register at the beginning of a Session and it is termed as Re-registration.

• When a student is not in a position to complete the course within the maximum period stipulated, although re-registration was done earlier for all semesters : A student is permitted to get readmission for a maximum of 20 credits per session.
• Where the student had discontinued without registering for one or more semesters with or without arrears in earlier semesters: The student is required to apply for re-admission semester-wise during each session starting from the earliest non-re-registered semester. Along with the above, a student can apply for readmission for course(s) worth 4 credits in which he/she has arrears from the previously re-registered semesters.

1. After successful completion of the first four semesters of MCA, if a student wishes to discontinue the course, such student shall be awarded the Master of Science in Computer Science, MSc(CS).

2. MSc(CS) is an exit qualification of MCA. Hence, the student has to be enrolled in MCA. He becomes eligible for MSc(CS) on successful completion of the first four semesters.

3. Following conditions apply for becoming eligible for the award of MSc(CS):

• A student is required to appear and successfully complete I, II, III and IV semesters of MCA to become eligible for the award of MSc(CS).
• In case of Lateral entry scheme to Second Semester, a student who takes lateral entry in II semester will also be eligible for the award of MSc(CS) on successful completion of I, II, III and IV semester examinations.

Forward duly filled in LC Transfer Form with enclosures at the beginning of the semester. However, students are requested to note the following:

(1) No mid Semester Center Transfer is permitted.

(2) No center transfer is permitted within a city.

The student may appear for the examination from overseas center by obtaining permission from the Directorate of Distance Education.

Important Note:

• The session is different in India (August and February) and Overseas (April and October). Hence, the student studying in FALL Session in India (i.e., Session started in August) will be required to complete the same by appearing in the examination in India in January. The student may request for appearing in Overseas center in the March/April Examination (at overseas exam center) instead of appearing in India in January, but the student is required to submit the re-sitting application form for March/April Examinations from overseas LC by paying necessary fee as applicable for overseas students. However, if a student has appeared in the examinations held in India in January then he will not be permitted to appear as a re-sitting candidate in a foreign Centre in March/April of the same year.
• For obtaining a Examination Center transfer, the student has to apply in the format provided in the website with necessary fee as prescribed towards transfer along with a requisition letter giving the details of the month of shifting, address, centre to which transfer is desirable, etc.

The request has to reach the University at least 2 months before the university examinations.

Following procedures has to be followed:

• Send an application stating that examination center change is required.
• Obtain the NOC of the Learning Centre where registered.
• Provide the reasons for requesting examination center transfer.
• Provide the proof of the reason, if available.
• Enclose Demand Draft favoring Sikkim Manipal University, DE, payable at Manipal/Udupi as prescribed in the form.

Unlike other vertical programmes re-registration to the higher semesters in SMU is not linked to clearance of the previous semesters. The structure also provides ample chance to the student to clear the backlog papers. A student gets two consecutive chances to clear a paper except in case of lateral entry.

The grouping of the subjects permits a student to appear in the backlog papers in every alternative semester. For instance a backlog paper of I semester can be taken with II Semester IV Semester and VI semester hence he/she gets 4 chances to appear for a subject. In case of lateral entry cases 3 chances. In every backlog paper a student gets a minimum of two consecutive chances.

There are no Supplementary Examinations. The University doesn’t have any provision for supplementary examinations. The examinations are held twice a year for Indian students as under:

a) Examination for the Spring Session (February to July): Examination will be held in the month of July.

b) Examination for the FALL Session (August to January): Examination will be held in the month of January.

a) Old Regulation – for students enrolled from Aug 1999 to Feb 2002

The students, who were enrolled till Spring Session 2002 (enrolled in Feb 2002), are governed by the old regulation under which they are considered as passed in a paper, if they score 40% aggregate (80 out of 200) in the Internal Assessment and the University examination.

Project Examination: This applies to all the students. A student should secure at least 35% out of 100 marks in the Continuous Evaluation and 35% out of 100 marks in the Term end Examination to pass. Aggregate total should be 40% (80 out of 200) and above.

b) New Regulation - for students enrolled from Aug 2002 onwards.

* (FOR JAN 2003 EXAMINAION ONLY.)

Refer page No. 7 of prospectus August 2002 wherein it is mentioned, “A student should secure at least 50% marks in the Continuous Evaluation and 40% marks in the Term end examination to pass.” After due consideration, it has been decided that the minimum percentage for the continuous evaluation will also be 40%. Hence, the above provision has been reconstituted as under-

“A student should secure at least 40% marks in the Continuous Evaluation (24 out of 60) and 40% marks in the Term end examination (56 out of 140) to pass.” Aggregate Total should be 40% (80 out of 200) and above.

Present Regulation: “A student should secure at least 35% marks in the Continuous Evaluation (21 out of 60) and 35% marks in the Term end examination (49 out of 140) to pass.” Aggregate Total should be 40 % (80 out of 200) and above.

The student is required to clear all the papers of the course with in the prescribed time as mentioned in the prospectus/admission documents at the time of taking admission. The time available to a student to clear the course is double of normal duration.

Example:

(1) A student who joins MCA I semester. The minimum duration required to complete the course is 3 years. The maximum time available to complete the course is 6 years.

(2) A student who takes lateral entry admission to MCA III semester. The minimum duration required to complete the course is 2 years. The maximum time available to complete the course is 4 years.

Case: “A student who has registered for a semester in FALL session 2006 is not in a position to appear for the examination scheduled for that session i.e. Jan 07. Instead, he/she is desirous of appearing in the exam in July 07”.

The structure of SMU programmes is versatile and provides ample opportunity to the students to complete the course without loss of semesters due to backlog papers. Unlike other vertical programmes re-registration to the higher semester is not linked to clearance of the previous semesters. The structure also provides ample chance to the student to clear the backlog papers. A student gets two consecutive chances to clear a paper except in case of lateral entry. As far as the lateral entry is concerned please note that the provision itself is applicable assuming that the student has the domain knowledge of the subject by virtue of his qualification. Hence, the system expects the student to clear the lateral entry paper in first sitting itself.

The grouping of the subject permits a student to appear in the backlog papers in every alternative semester. For instance, a backlog paper of I semester can be taken with II Semester, IV Semester and VI semester hence he gets 4 chances to clear the subject. In case of lateral entry cases 3 chances are available. In every backlog paper a student gets a minimum of two consecutive chances.

Reasons for the non provision of the old Question Papers to Students and Center: providing question papers has a great disadvantage in that it curbs the multi dimensional approach of the learner to the subjects. It is very important to let the learners have a wholesome approach to the subject wherein the learner grasps the subject given in the learning material by understanding the subject rather than by cramming the same by rote. Students are expected to adopt a learning-centric approach to the studies and are advised not to follow ‘guide’ pattern of answering. The strength of our evaluation process and the course is in generating the habit of self-analysis and comprehension by the students. Based on the learning materials and associated subject materials, you are advised to formulate number of questions in the pattern as per the sample questions and build up your notes.

This is the precise reason why our examinations are MCQ based and we do not provide the question papers.

What you need to do is: -

• While studying a subject, a student should visualize questions based on MCQ pattern. A Sample MCQ is available in the program guide. This process will enable the understanding of the subjects in question/answer form.
• A student should train himself/herself to answer the questions only when he/she has the knowledge. The strength of the MCQ system is that it fully covers almost all aspects of the subjects and enables an assessment of the knowledge of the student on a wholesome basis rather than selective basis. Secondly, because of negative marking system it does not leave scope for chance-taking while answering.
• The students are advised to develop the technique to attend MCQ pattern of the questions. Following points are pertinent:-

i) Attend only those questions for which they know the correct answer.

ii) Never take chance in answering questions when they do not know the same.

iii) Remember that, 25% marks are deducted for every wrong answer.

There is no provision for revaluation essentially because the valuation is done by scanning the answer sheet at least twice. The answer sheet is marked by the student by darkening the appropriate circle to indicate the answer for a question. The scanning process which evaluates the student is 100% error free and hence no revaluation.

However, it is appropriate to mention that the analysis of the answers show the following as the main reason for student’s failure/scoring less marks.

• Wrong answers get 1/4 th negative marking. In most of the failure cases, the reasons for less mark have been due to this. For instance, while a student gets 40 marks for correct answers, he loses 10 marks for wrong answers to questions worth 40 marks. This results in deduction of 10 marks from his 40 marks. In this case, the student fails primarily because of attempting the questions, for which he does not know the answers. It is therefore very important to be judicious while answering the MCQ papers. Students are advised to answer only those questions, for which they are sure of the answer.
• In some cases students make mistakes while darkening the appropriate columns; for instance, while marking an answer for question No.3, answer has been wrongly darkened against the field for question No.4. This happens when due care is not taken to carefully to verify the appropriate column for answering. Students are advised to take due care while marking the answers to questions.
• In some cases, the students mark more than one answer by darkening the additional circles. The scanning is programmed to disregard these answers and hence loss of marks.
• The students are also advised to write the data in the answer sheet correctly such as Reg. No, Test Booklet No, Subject code, and Center Code. The instructions given in the MCQ answer sheet for these must be strictly complied with.

Submit an application on a plain paper to the university along with Demand Draft as mentioned in the application form in favour of Sikkim Manipal University DE, payable at Manipal / Udupi only.

The reasons for obtaining such a document have to be mentioned in the letter. The postal address for sending the application is given below:

The Controller of Examinations

Directorate of Distance Education

Sikkim Manipal University

6 th Floor, Old MAHE Building, Madhav Nagar

Student’s name is entered as per the X Standard Certificate provided by the student during admission. However, if the student wants to change his/her name then he/she has to forward the following documents to the University.

• An application written/typed on a plain paper.
• Demand Draft as prescribed in the application form in favour of Sikkim Manipal University, DE, payable at Manipal/Udupi.
• An Affidavit in support of name change or any other support legal document authenticated by a First Class Magistrate.

The postal address for sending the application is given below:

The Additional Registrar

Directorate of Distance Education

Sikkim Manipal University

1 st Floor, Syndicate House

Forward the following documents to the Directorate of Distance Education.

• Duly filled in application form. The student can download the application form from the university website www.dde.smuhmts.edu.
• Demand Draft as prescribed in the application form in favour of Sikkim Manipal University, DE, payable at Manipal/Udupi.

The postal address for sending the application is given below:

The Controller of Examinations

Directorate of Distance Education

Sikkim Manipal University

6 th Floor, Old MAHE Building, Madhav Nagar

Forward the following documents to the Directorate of Distance Education.

• Duly filled in application form. The student can download the application form from the university website www.dde.smuhmts.edu.
• A Demand Draft as prescribed in the application form drawn in favour of ‘ Sikkim Manipal University, DE’, payable at Manipal/Udupi.

The postal address for sending the application is as given below:

The Controller of Examinations

Directorate of Distance Education

Sikkim Manipal University

6 th Floor, Old MAHE Building, Madhav Nagar

Forward the following documents to the Directorate of Distance Education

1. Duly filled in application form. The Form can be downloaded from website www.dde.smuhmts.edu.

2. Eligibility Certificate (10+2 Pass/Degree Pass Certificate) duly attested by Notary Public or Gazetted Officer.

3. All Semesters pass Marks Card.

4. Demand Draft as prescribed in the application form drawn in favour of ‘ Sikkim Manipal University, payable at Manipal/Udupi.

5. For additional copies, add requisite amount as prescribed in the application form.

The postal address for sending the application is given below:

The Controller of Examinations

Directorate of Distance Education

Sikkim Manipal University

6 th Floor, Old MAHE Building, Madhav Nagar

Forward the following documents to the Directorate of Distance Education

1. Duly filled in application form. The Form can be downloaded from website www.dde.smuhmts.edu.

2. Eligibility Certificate (10+2 Pass/Degree Pass Certificate) duly attested by Notary Public or Gazetted Officer.

3. All Semesters pass Marks Card.

4. Demand Draft as prescribed in the application form drawn in favour of ‘ Sikkim Manipal University, DE’, payable at Manipal/Udupi.

The postal address for sending the application is as given below:

The Controller of Examinations

Directorate of Distance Education

Sikkim Manipal University

6 th Floor, Old MAHE Building, Madhav Nagar

Learning Resource Development Center (ManipalU) provides an interactive distance learning solution, using VSAT Technology. VSAT stands for Very Small Aperture Terminal and relates to the technology adopted for transmission from a studio through a satellite. VSAT provides virtually error-free digital data communication with 99.9% network reliability.

The studios at Manipal, Bengaluru and Mumbai are equipped with the most sophisticated video, audio and broadcasting systems including three sets of studio cameras, video mixers, editing equipments and interactive software systems, creating virtual classrooms. Learning centers have been equipped with remote station equipment enabling reception of these lectures.

A trained faculty transmits classes from the studio. Students can see and hear the teacher, ask and answer questions in real-time on a PC. Therefore, the lecture could be viewed by thousands of students at different learning centers simultaneously. Faculty can be asked questions online.