TechnoHolics

Here is a list of autonomous engineering colleges in Karnataka that have intake under CET. First things first, what’s an autonomous college or what is autonomy ?

Need for Autonomy :
The affiliating system of colleges was originally designed when their number in a university was small. The university could then effectively oversee the working of the colleges, act as an examining body and award degrees on their behalf. The system has now become unwieldy and it is becoming increasingly difficult for a university to attend to the varied needs of individual colleges. The colleges do not have the freedom to modernise their curricula or make them locally relevant. The regulations of the university and its common system, governing all colleges alike, irrespective of their characteristic strengths, weaknesses and locations, have affected the academic development of individual colleges. Colleges that have the potential for offering programmes of a higher standard do not have the freedom to offer them. The 1964-66 Education Commission pointed out that the exercise of academic freedom by teachers is a crucial requirement for development of the intellectual climate of our country. Unless such a clim ate prevails, it is difficult to achieve excellence in our higher education system. With students, teachers and management being co-partners in raising the quality of higher education, it is imperative that they share a major responsibility. Hence, the Education Commission (1964-66) recommended college autonomy, which, in essence, is the instrument for promoting academic excellence.

Does autonomy mean absolute freedom ?
The National Policy on Education (1986-92) formulated the following objectives for autonomous colleges. An autonomous college will have the freedom to:

• determine and prescribe its own courses of study and syllabi, and restructure and redesign the courses to suit local needs; and
• prescribe rules for admission in consonance with the reservation policy of the state government;
• evolve methods of assessment of students’ performance, the conduct of examinations and notification of results;
• use modern tools of educational technology to achieve higher standards and greater creativity; and
• promote healthy practices such as community service, extension activities, projects for the benefit of the society at large, neighbourhood programmes, etc.

Relationship with the parent university, the state government and other educational institutions:
Autonomous colleges are free to make use of the expertise of university departments and other institutions to frame their curricula, devise methods of teaching, examination and evaluation. They can recruit their teachers according to the existing procedures (for private and government colleges).

The parent university will accept the methodologies of teaching, examination, evaluation and the course curriculum of its autonomous colleges. It will also help the colleges to develop their academic programmes, improve the faculty and to provide necessary guidance by participating in the deliberations of the different bodies of the colleges.

The role of the parent university will be:

• to bring more autonomous colleges under its fold;
• to promote academic freedom in autonomous colleges by encouraging introduction of innovative academic programmes;
• to facilitate new courses of study, subject to the required minimum number of hours of instruction, content and standards;
• to permit them to issue their own provisional, migration and other certificates;
• to do everything possible to foster the spirit of autonomy;
• to ensure that degrees/diplomas/certificates issued indicate the name of the college;
• to depute various nominees of the university to serve in various committees of the autonomous colleges and get the feedback on their functioning; and
• to create separate wings wherever necessary to facilitate the smooth working of the autonomous colleges.

The state government will assist the autonomous colleges by:

• avoiding, as far as possible, transfer of teachers, especially in colleges where academic innovation and reforms are in progress, except for need-based transfers;
• conveying its concurrence for the extension of autonomy of any college to the Commission within the stipulated time of 90 days after receipt of the review committee report, failing which it will be construed that the state government has no objection to the college continuing to be autonomous; and
• deputing nominees on time to the governing body of government colleges and other bodies wherever their nominees are to be included.

Conferring autonomous status
Autonomous status covers certificate, diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate and M.Phil. programmes offered in colleges that are autonomous and those seeking autonomous status. The parent university will confer the status of autonomy upon a college that is permanently affiliated, with the concurrence of the state government and the University Grants Commission. The Act and Statutes of the universities ought to be amended to provide for the grant of autonomy to affiliated colleges. Before granting autonomy, the university will ensure that the management structure of the applicant college is adequately participatory and provides ample opportunities for academicians to make a creative contribution.

Source : UGC : Schemes of Autonomous Colleges

List of autonomous engineering colleges in Karnataka under CET

P.S: My CET rank was pretty bad (8033). In first round counseling, I opted for Information Science @ Malnad College Of Engineering, Hassan.