IGNOU Students, particularly those who have just taken admitted to an IGNOU program, tend to ask one common question: What is IGNOU Credit System? Some students think that it must be related to the source of information, while some students think that credit must be related to the marks that need to secure to complete the course. Some students do also think that credit is related to only degree courses. And hence, if they pursue some certificate program, the credit system of IGNOU is not meant for them.
If you too are among those students who want to know all about IGNOU’s credit system, read the article till the end.
''Today, we are going to raise the curtain on the topic: what is IGNOU Credit System?''
Friends, when you take admitted to IGNOU, whether it is a bachelor's degree, master’s degree, diploma or certificate course, the credit system is always there. You are told at the time of admission itself about how much credit your particular course is, and how much credit you need to complete. Credit is specified by the university per year and per subject. The students are notified about everything related to the degree—how much credit you have to complete in the first year, second year, in third year and so on.
IGNOU follows the Credit System for most of its programmes. Each credit is equivalent to 30 hours of learner study comprising all learning activities i.e., reading and comprehending the print material, listening to the audio, watching videos, attending counselling sessions, teleconference and writing assignment responses.
In this way, a 4-credit course involves 120 hours of study and a 6-credit course involves 180 hours of study. This helps the learner to know the academic effort he/she has to put in, to successfully complete a course. Completion of an academic programme(Degree or Diploma) requires successful completion of the assignments, projects and Term-End examinations as per the requirement of each course in a program.
Credits are displayed subject-wise. Some subjects are of 4 credits whereas some are of 8 credits. Practical subjects are of 2 credits whereas projects are of 12 credits. Credit means weightage. If you go through the IGNOU prospectus of 2023, you will see there the credit system. The credit system for most of its programmes is mentioned in that prospectus. It is important to note here that 1 credit is equal to 30 hours.
The grading system helps to know the difficulty level of a given subject. And, it helps you choose a subject. Suppose you have chosen a subject which has a high grade(8), that means its difficulty level will also be high. But, when you choose a subject with a low grade(2, 4), that means it is an easy subject. So, it will be easier for you to prepare for the exam. For a subject having 2 credits, 25 marks questions are asked. So, if you take a subject that has 8 credits, you can easily imagine the level of difficulty. When you pass the exam of a subject having 2 credits or 8 credits, you clear that credit.
So, simply put credit is the weightage or point of a subject.