SOL degree as good as that of DU colleges

India’s oldest open and distance learning centre — the School of Open Learning (SOL) at Delhi University — is slowly but surely getting a makeover. With a smoother and completely automated admission process in place, SOL is not only improving upon the teaching-learning methodology, it is also giving its students opportunities to earn while they learn. In a three-part series we will take you through the application process, academic standards and career opportunities that SOL provides.

An equal degree

Unlike common belief, a degree from SOL is no less than a degree received after studying in any of the DU colleges. In fact, SOL shares the platform with the conventional admission process at DU in various ways. Both have the same set of admission rules, the same examining body and the same syllabus. “Most importantly, students going to DU colleges and our students will both get the same DU degree after completing a three-year undergraduate course,” said H.C. Pokhriyal, executive director, SOL.

SOL provides five undergraduate programmes, namely BA Programme, BA(H) English, BA(H) Political Science, BCom(H) and BCom.

Application process

Gone are the days when the admission season at SOL meant crowded corridors, long queues and endless waiting. With an automated admission process in place it takes as little as 20 minutes for an applicant to secure admission to SOL. “Last year 65,000 students took admission. So you can imagine the chaos,” said Pokhriyal. “We have updated data from school boards so that as soon as someone submits an application we are able to verify details. If he/she is eligible a printed receipt is given within 20 minutes,” he said.

Web-savvy team

The SOL team is way ahead of Delhi University colleges and administration as far as availability of online information is concerned. The new website sol.du.ac.in has the prospectus and form that can be downloaded. Students can access exam results, request for change of address, check availability of degrees and also find out which section of administration will handle their queries.

Accessible study material

From this year onwards SOL is also giving out course material for first-year students at the time of admission. “As soon as someone secures admission we hand over the course material so that there is no delay as usually happens,” Pokhriyal said.

“To help students access course matter we will also be uploading the material on our website very soon,” he said.