M.Tech.

Ordinances

CHAPTER - XXXVI (E)

Master of Technology in the Faculty of Engineering & Technology
(Effective from the Session 2011 – 2012)

1. Introduction
(a) The Faculty of Engineering & Technology, Aligarh Muslim University offers full-time
program leading to the Master of Technology (M. Tech.) degree in Chemical
Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical
Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Petroleum Processing
and Petrochemical Engineering, and Nanotechnology, with further specializations, if any.
(b) The medium of instruction in M. Tech. Program is English.

2. Eligibility
(a) A candidate will be eligible for admission to M. Tech. program if he/she has obtained the
Bachelor of Technology degree or its equivalent recognized by the University in the
relevant branch of engineering with not less than 60% marks in the aggregate or its
equivalent CPI/CGPA/NAG. For M. Tech. program in Nanotechnology, candidates who
have obtained Master of Science degree or its equivalent recognized by the University
in the relevant subject with not less than 60% marks in the aggregate or its equivalent
CPI/CGPA/NAG will also be eligible. All eligibility requirements are subject to such other
conditions as laid down by the University from time to time.

(b) Local professionally employed personnel such as working engineers, scientists and
teachers may also be admitted as part-time students to the M. Tech. program in the
relevant branch, over and above the sanctioned intake.

3. Admission
(a) The admissions to the M. Tech. programs will be made normally in the Autumn Semester
as per the admission policy approved by the Academic Council of the University from
time to time. The admission of each student will be made in a particular branch.
(b) The admission of a candidate will be made either as a full-time student or as a part-time
student.

4. Academic Session
The academic session is divided into two regular semesters – Autumn and Winter, each of
which shall be of approximately 20 weeks duration. The Autumn semester will normally
commence in the month of July/August every year, and the Winter in the month of
December/January. In the beginning of every session the Dean, in consultation with the
Chairmen of the departments concerned, shall notify a detailed academic calendar indicating
the schedule of teaching, examination, and other activities.

5. Duration of the Program

5.1 Minimum Duration
The minimum duration of the program for a full-time student shall be four consecutive
semesters after admission. The minimum duration of the program for a part-time student
shall be six consecutive semesters after admission.

5.2 Maximum Duration

The maximum duration of the program for a full-time student shall be eight consecutive
semesters after admission. The maximum duration of the program for a part-time student
shall be ten consecutive semesters after admission.

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5.3 Minimum and Maximum Duration in case of change of student status

A full-time student can convert his/her admission to part-time subject to his/her fulfilling the
eligibility conditions as provided in these ordinances for part-time candidates by applying to
the Dean of the Faculty through the Chairman of the concerned department. Such
conversion will be allowed at the end of a semester only and not in the middle of the
semester. The minimum and maximum durations for such a student shall remain unchanged
if such conversion is done after spending two semesters after admission to the program.
However, if such conversion is done before spending two semesters after admission, the
minimum and maximum durations shall become as specified for part-time students.
6. Curriculum and Credit System
6.1 Credit System
Each M. Tech. program will have a curriculum in which every course will be assigned certain
credits reflecting its weight and contact periods per week, as given below:
1 Lecture period (L) per week = 1 Credit
1 Practical period (P) per week = 1 Credit
1 General period (G) per week = 1 Credit
In addition to theory and laboratory courses there may be other courses such as seminar,
colloquium, project, dissertation etc., which will be assigned credits as per their contribution
in the program without regard to contact periods. The general period may be used for
lecture, presentation, field work, literature search, discussions, software development, or for
such other purposes as may be decided by the teacher(s) concerned.
6.2 Coordinators and Curriculum Development Committee
There shall be a Chief Coordinator, M. Tech. Programs, to be nominated by the Dean, and a
Coordinator, M. Tech. Program in each department, to be nominated by the Chairman of the
department concerned. Normally the Chief Tabulator will be the Chief Coordinator, M. Tech.
Programs. There shall also be a standing Curriculum Development Committee (CDC), to be
constituted by the Faculty. The Chief Coordinator, M. Tech. Programs will be the Convener
of the CDC.
6.3 The Curriculum Structure
The curriculum for each branch/specialization will contain a listing of all courses, with each
course having a course number, course title, number of contact periods per week, number of
credits assigned, and the marks assigned to various components of evaluation. It will also
have a list of alternative courses in the new curriculum for the old curriculum courses and
filler courses to compensate for the shortfall in credits earned by taking alternative courses in
any category, if needed. It will also specify all other conditions required for the award of
degree.
6.4 Approval of the Curriculum
The curriculum for each branch/specialization of M. Tech. program will be prepared by the
department concerned and will be approved by the Board of Studies of the department. It will
then be vetted by the CDC and will then be placed in the Faculty along with the
recommendations of the CDC for approval. Once approved by the Faculty, the Curriculum
will be implemented. The same procedure shall be used for any modification in the
Curriculum.
7. Registration
(a) Every student is required to register, in each semester, for the courses that he/she wants
to pursue in that semester. The registration schedule will be announced by the
Dean/Chairman for every semester. The registration process involves:

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(i) Submitting a registration form in the office of the Chairman and obtaining a
registration card signed by the Chairman;
(ii) Paying the required fees.

(b) A student will normally register for higher semester courses only if he has also registered
for uncleared courses of previous semesters.

(c) A student will have the option to add/delete/alter the courses in his/her registration within
a week of the registration subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the
department concerned from time to time.

(d) A student can drop a course from his/her registration by submitting a request to his/her
department coordinator up to a date specified on his/her registration card. A registered
course will be counted as an attempt even if the student remains absent in the
Examination(s).

(e) A student may be denied registration in a course due to reasons of paucity of staff or
space or other facilities, especially in case the student is registering a course for
improving the grade in a passed course.

(f) If a student fails to register in two consecutive semesters without specific permission
from the Dean, his/her name may be removed from the rolls of the faculty. Such a
student may apply to the Dean for re-admission stating the reasons for not being able to
register for two consecutive semesters and the Dean will take suitable decision on the
merit of the case.

(g) No student will be allowed to register for more than 28 credits in a semester.

8. Attendance (In lieu of Chapter XVII of the Academic Ordinances)

Attendance in each course separately is compulsory at least once. Students who have put in
75% or more attendance in a course in a semester will be eligible to appear in the End-
Semester Examination of that course. Students who have put in 65% or more but less than
75% attendance in a course may be considered for condonation of shortage of attendance in
that course by the condonation committee. Students whose attendance in a course is less
than 65% or whose shortage in attendance has not been condoned will not be eligible to
appear in the End-Semester Examination of that course and will be awarded grade ‘F’ in that
course and all marks obtained in any component of the courseevaluation will stand
cancelled. However, in case a student is repeating a course and the student has already
fulfilled the attendance requirement in that course, he/she will not be detained due to
shortage of attendance in that course during the repeating semester.
9. Examination and Evaluation
9.1 Components of Evaluation
Each course will be evaluated out of 100 marks. The courses will normally have the following
components of evaluation:
(a) Theory courses:
Course work 15 marks
Mid-Semester Examination 25 marks
End-Semester Examination 60 marks
(b) Laboratory courses including Seminar, Colloquium, Project, dissertation etc.
Course work 60 marks
End-Semester Examination 40 marks

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However, for special academic reasons, some courses may have different weight for
different components of evaluation from that given above. Such special reasons will be spelt
out clearly in the curriculum.
9.2 Grading System
The combined marks obtained by a student in various components of evaluation of a course
shall be converted into regular letter grades with their equivalent grade points as specified
below:
Grade Grade Points Description
A 10 Outstanding
B 8 Very good
C 6 Good
D 4 Satisfactory (Minimum Pass Grade)
E 2 Unsatisfactory (Fail)
F 0 Detained due to shortage of attendance
I 0 Incomplete/Absent in the End-Semester Examination
Z 0 Cancelled due to other reasons

The following marks ranges may ordinarily be used for the award of grades to the students in
a course.

Range Grade
75 and above A
60 and above but less than 75 B
45 and above but less than 60 C
35 and above but less than 45 D
Less than 35 E

Two grace marks may be awarded by the examiner for passing a course and one grace
mark may be awarded by the examiner to elevate the grade. Any fraction in any component
of evaluation should be rounded off to the next whole number. The examiner(s) may propose
higher or lower grade ranges depending upon the nature of the course and general
performance of the students in the course, but the final decision rests with the Result
Moderation Committee. However, the minimum passing grade `D` should never be awarded
if a student secures below 35 marks (including 2 grace marks) in a course.
9.3 Earned Credits (EC)
If a student passes a course by obtaining grade D or above he/she earns the credits
assigned to that course.
9.4 Performance Indices
At the end of every semester a student’s performance will be indicated by Earned Credits
(EC), a Semester Performance Index (SPI), and a Cumulative Performance Index (CPI). The
SPI is the credit-weighted average of grade points of all courses registered during a
semester and is computed as follows:
SPI = (C1G1 + C2G2 +……) / (C1 + C2 +…….)
Where C1, C2, ….. are the credits assigned to courses and G1, G2, …… are the grade
points earned in those courses.
The CPI is the credit-weighted average of grade points of all courses passed in all the
semesters
since admission.

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9.5 Repetition of a Failed Course

If a student fails in a course his/her marks of all components of evaluation in that course will
be cancelled. The student will have to register the course again or its alternative and will be
required to appear in all components of evaluation afresh. No previous marks shall be used
in any case.
9.6 Repetition of a Passed Course
A student may repeat a course to try to improve his/her grade in that course only once,
provided that he/she has passed that course in a single attempt. In such case the student
will have to register the course again and will be required appear in all components of
evaluation afresh. No previous marks shall be used in any case. For the purpose of
calculating the SPI the recently obtained grade will be considered while for CPI the better of
the two grades will be counted.
9.7 Conduct of Examinations
(a) The examiners for the End-Semester Examination of all theory courses will normally
be the teacher(s) associated with the course. The Seminar, Colloquium courses will
be examined by the teacher(s) associated with the course and one or more
examiners from among the teachers of the department to be recommended by the
BOS of the department concerned. The laboratory and project courses will be
examined by the teachers(s) associated with the course and an external examiner
not in the service of the university at the time of examination. In case the external
examiner does not turn up for the examination, the Chairman of the department
concerned, in consultation with the course incharge, shall call another person to act
as the external examiner, even from within the University, if necessary.
(b) The dissertation will be submitted after all other components of the M. Tech. Program
are completed. The dissertation will be examined by the supervisor(s) and an
external examiner not in the service of the university at the time of examination.
9.8 Moderation Committees
(a) Question Paper Moderation Committee: There shall be a Moderation Committee of the
concerned Department consisting of the following members to moderate the Question
Papers of the End-Semester Examination.
(i) Chairman of the Department concerned – (Convener)
(ii) One senior teacher of the Department in each broad area of specialization (to be
appointed by the BOS).

Note: The Paper Setter(s) may be invited, if necessary, to clarify the necessary details of the
question paper.

(b) Result Moderation Committee: There shall be a Result Moderation Committee of the
concerned Department consisting of the following members to moderate course-wise
results of the End-Semester Examinations.
(i) Chairman of the Department concerned - (Convener)
(ii) One senior teacher of the Department in each broad area of specialization (to be
appointed by the BOS).
(iii) Examiner(s) concerned.

The Result Moderation Committee will examine the result of each theory course and in case
of an abnormal situation; it may take suitable corrective measures in consultation with the
examiner(s). The examiner(s) will place the evaluated answer scripts along with the brief
solution and marking scheme before the Committee. In case of difference of opinion among
the members of the Committee, the majority decision will prevail, in which the examiner(s)
will not participate.

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10. Degree Requirement

(a) A student who earns 72 credits and fulfills such other conditions as may be mentioned in
the curriculum will be awarded the degree of Master of Technology. He/she must also
pay all University dues as per rules. Moreover, there should be no case of indiscipline
pending against him/her.
(b) If a student earns more credits than the minimum required for the award of degree,
his/her CPI will be calculated by considering the best grades subject to fulfilling the
criteria of required credits as specified in the curriculum.
11. Name Removal from the Rolls of the University and Mercy Appeal
11.1 Name Removal
The earned credits (EC) of every student will be checked at the end of even number of
semesters and if the total credits earned by the student are less than the minimum required
as given below, his/her admission to the M. Tech. program will be cancelled and his/her
name will be removed from the rolls of the University.

Check Point Minimum EC requirement

(No. of semesters after admission)
2 semesters 0
4 semesters 25
6 semesters 50
8 semesters 72

For part-time student:

Check Point Minimum EC requirement

(No. of semesters after admission)
2 semesters 0
4 semesters 15
6 semesters 30
8 semesters 52
10 semesters 72

11.2 Mercy Appeal

If the name of a student is removed from the rolls of the University as per provisions of
clause 11.1 of these ordinances, he/she may appeal to the Vice-Chancellor stating the
reasons for not being able to earn the required credits and the Vice-Chancellor, if he is
satisfied with the reasons, may allow the continuation of admission of the student only once
during the tenure of the program, extending the total duration of the program by one year, at
the maximum, if required. Under any circumstances no full-time student will be allowed to
complete the program after the lapse of 10 semesters after admission; and no part-time
student will be allowed to complete the program after the lapse of 12 semesters after
admission.
12. Result
(a) If a student passes all the examinations and fulfills all the requirements for the award of
degree his/her result will be shown as “Pass”.

(b) The Division awarded to “Pass” students will be based on CPI as given below:
First Division (Honours) CPI ≥ 8.5
First Division 6.5 ≤ CPI ≤ 8.5
Second Division CPI < 6.5

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There shall be no formula for conversion of CPI or SPI into equivalent percentage of
marks during the program. However, once the program is completed by a student and
he/she is graduated, his/her final CPI will be converted into equivalent percentage of
marks by the following formula:

y = (20x3 - 380x2 + 2725x - 1690)/84

where y is the percentage of marks and x is the CPI.

(c) If a student earns more credits than the minimum required as given in the table in clause
11.1 before fulfilling the degree requirements, his/her result will be shown as
“Continued”.

(d) If the name of a student is removed from the rolls of the University as per provisions of
clause 11.1 of these ordinances his/her result will be shown as “Name Removed”.

(e) Ranks/Positions will be determined at the end of even semesters. Only those full-time
students who fulfill the following conditions will be eligible for ranks/positions:
(i) They do not have any break in their studies;
(ii) They have passed every scheduled course in first attempt;
(iii) They have passed every course on time as per the curriculum;
(iv) They have earned credits as per the schedule given in the curriculum;
(v) They have not improved grade in any course after passing the course;
(vi) They have obtained a “Pass” result in four semesters by a date determined as 14
days after opening of the university after the summer vacation.

The students who violate any of the above conditions will not be awarded any
rank/position. The ranks/positions will be determined on the basis of CPI.

(f) Students who obtain a “Pass” result in a Calendar year shall be awarded Degree for that
year.

13. Transitory Ordinance

Candidates admitted prior to the implementation of these Ordinances shall be governed by
the Ordinances (Academic) under which they were admitted. Students who fail in the
courses that are no more offered in these new ordinances and new curriculum will be
allowed to pass the alternative courses, and in case there are no alternative courses, the old
courses may be offered. For such candidates, any marks obtained earlier shall not be taken
into account for passing the course(s) and they will have to obtain marks in all components
of evaluation afresh. A student admitted previously may apply to the Dean through the
Chairman concerned, to be governed by these ordinances. Such cases may be allowed on a
case by case basis.