Rules and Regulations

Academic Calendar

• There are two semesters in an academic year, namely; Fall and Spring. Fall Semester normally starts in September and Spring Semester starts in February. The duration of semester is 16-18 weeks inclusive of examinations.
• There is a Summer Session with the duration of eight weeks as a part of Academic Year which is optional. A student who has either failed or has been stopped to take the examination due to shortage of class attendance or wishes to improve his/her grade is allowed to register in summer. Students can enroll in 1-2 courses of up to 08 credit hours during summer. The contact hours during each week of the Summer Session are doubled to ensure that the course is completely taught in a summer session with half of the duration as compared to a regular Fall/Spring semester.

The academic calendar is notified by the office of Registrar comprising of the following information:

• Commencement of Semesters
• Holidays during the semester
• Semester termination date
• Mid-semester exam week
• Final-smester week
• Result notification date

Admissions

Admission to any degree program is made on the basis of merit list prepared by the Admission Office. Lists of selected candidates are displayed by the Admission Office and if required subsequent lists are displayed till the last seat is filled up. The University may refuse admission to a candidate without assigning any reason.

Course Credit Hours

Each course is assigned credit hours. A credit hour means teaching/earning a theory course for one hour each week throughout the semester. The credit hours are denoted by two digits within brackets with a hyphen in between. The first digit represents the theory part while the second (right side) digit represents the practical. Thus 3(3–0) means three credit hours of theory only, while 4(3–1) means a total of four credit hours of which three are reserved for theory and one credit hour is for practical work:

• Theory: One credit hour of theory means one hour teaching per week throughout the semester
• Practical Lab: One credit hour of practical means three hours of lab work per week throughout the semester.

Enrollment in each semester within specified time

At the start of first and subsequent semesters the candidates are required to enroll courses as per the schedule notified for enrolment from time to time. Application for enrollment of next semester on the prescribed form accompanied by fee deposit receipt shall be submitted 15 days before the commencement of examinations of the current semester. In special circumstances a student may enroll one day before the commencement of classes by depositing late fee. Enrolment will be considered as complete if the enrolment form is submitted on time along with fee deposit receipt. Merely depositing the fee will not serve the purpose. If a student fails to enroll in any semester without permission of the authority, s/he shall cease to be on the rolls of the university.

Withdrawal / Change of Course(s)

• Students may withdraw from a course during 4-6 week of a semester. In such a case the transcript records that the student enrolled in the course and withdrew. Consequently, grade W is awarded to the student which has no impact on the calculation of CGPA of the student.
• A student withdrawing after the 6th week is automatically awarded “F” grade which is counted in the GPA and reflects on the transcript.
• A student may withdraw a maximum of two courses offered in a semester.
• A student, with the consent of the concerned Dean/Head, may be allowed to:
  Change a course within one week of the commencement of a semester and drop a course within 2 weeks of the commencement of semester, wherever permissible under the Scheme of Studies.
  No dropping and adding is allowed after the third week of a semester.
• A student who wishes to add or drop a course must complete the relevant procedures as prescribed by the University.
• A student who has taken a final semester examination is not permitted to withdraw any course.

Repeating Semester

A student failing in a semester is required to repeat that semester as and when offered by the University. Such student is not eligible to enroll in next semester without qualifying the failed/dropped semester.

Semester Freeze

• A student may discontinue his/her studies by seeking semester freeze during the semester before the final semester examination on medical grounds or circumstances beyond his/her control with written permission of Head of School. His/Her semester fee shall not be transferred/refunded.
• If a student freezes semester (s) s/he can resume his/her studies from the same stage where s/he left froze. No freezing during the semester is allowed. The maximum duration of the degree program shall be the same.
• Under following special hardship circumstances freezing of first semester can be considered by the approval of competent authority:
  Iddat
  Maternity/Delivery
  Death in the immediate family
  Any other subject to acceptance on justified rational
• If a student freezes second or subsequent semester (s), s/ he will retake admission in the same semester whenever offered by the University subject to the condition of maximum time limit.
• A student may discontinue his/her studies by seeking semester freeze prior to enrollment in the second/ subsequent semester on medical grounds or circumstances beyond his/her control with written permission of the Head of the School concerned subject to fulfillment of condition that the student has passed the final examination of the previous semester with minimum prescribed GPA/CGPA required for academic standard of the university to remain on roll. The student shall have to pay 10% of the tuition fee per semester for the freeze semesters.
• If semester fee is deposited earlier for the freeze semester, the remaining fee after deduction is transferred to the next semester as may be prescribed by the University regulation.
• A student who sought discontinuation of a semester is required to get approval from the Head of the School to rejoin the program before the commencement of the semester to be rejoined.
• The Head of the School notifies, in both the cases; the semester freeze and rejoining the program under intimation to the Registrar/Controller of Examinations and Accounts Office.
• Bonafide status of the student remains suspended during semester freeze

Attendance

• Attendance in classes is mandatory.
• A student having less than 75% attendance in lectures and practicals (where applicable) separately is not allowed to take the final semester examination of the course.
• For a student participating and representing the University in sports/co-curricular activities of inter University/national/international level events, as verified by the Director of sports/co-curricular, the days actually spent by the student in such events are excluded from total lectures delivered. The percentage attendance is calculated after excluding this period.
• The instructor reports student’s absence and the student is placed on attendance probation by his/her Dean/HOS and it is notified by the respective school. A student is dropped from the University in case s/he for violates the terms of such probation.

Tests, Examinations, and Evaluation

• In each semester, students are required to appear in quizzes, mid semester examinations, final semester examinations, presentations, group discussions, and projects/assignments/lab reports.
• The teacher is responsible for students evaluation and grading as per the following weight-age:
  Sessional Marks 20%
  Mid Semester Examination 30%
  Final Semester Examination 50%
• Sessional marks comprise of test(s)/quiz(es)/ assignment(s)/presentation(s)/class participation.
• The course teacher decides the marks distribution according to the nature of the course.
• Mid semester examinations are conducted after eight weeks of teaching during a semester from the syllabus prescribed for the mid examination.
• Final semester examination covering the full syllabus with at least 20% of the course of mid examination as well, are held at the end of each semester
• Evaluation of Practicals: Practicals are assessed by the concerned teacher/internal examiners, except where there is a specific requirement from Accreditation Council. In that case the recommendation by the respective council takes precedence. Furthermore this assessment is based on following evaluation.
• Continuous assessment based on each practical = 50
• Final practical /viva voce= 50%
• Project/Thesis is assessed by a panel of examiners including one external and at least one internal examiner appointed by Rector on the recommendations of Board of Studies.
• Project is to be completed within the specified period as notified by the Head of School. In case of extension, the student shall have to enroll in the next semester and pay the semester fee.
• The pass marks in each course is 50%.
• Pass criterion in a course having practical part: The candidate who fails in theory or practical is treated as fail in that subject. Such candidates must enroll the failed subject (both theory and practical) and appear in each part as and when the course is offered. A candidate must obtain at least 50% marks separately in theory as well as practical parts each to qualify that course.
• Sessional marks awarded on the basis of assignment, test, quiz, etc are displayed/ shown to the students 14 days before the final examination.
• In case a student did not appear in the mid and final examinations due to discontinuation of the semester, his/ her SGPA/CGPA is not calculated.

Conduct of Examinations

• The Controller of Examination is responsible for the conduct of examinations. The date sheet is finalized on the recommendations of the Heads of the School.
• If a student is required to participate in sports/co-curricular activities representing the University, on the dates of examination, arrangements are made by the School for holding special examination for him/her as soon as his/her sports/co-curricular activities are over.

Permission of Writer for Special Student

• A visually impaired student is allowed to attempt the Mid/ Final Examinations of the University on braille/ computer/ any other means of facilitation.
• In case a student is physically handicapped/visually impaired, s/he may apply to the Head of the concerned School (with medical certificate as proof of her/his disability) for permission to engage a writer in tests/ examinations of the University two weeks before the start of tests/ examinations. S/he is allowed 45 minutes (maximum) extra time to solve the question paper.
• The qualification of the person who acts as writer of a handicapped student should be at least one step lower than that of the student.

Grading System

• The grading will be done on a scale of 4.
• The marks obtained by a candidate in each course are converted out of 100.
• These marks are changed into grade points and letter grades according to the following criterion:

• The grade/grade point is assigned for each course according to the above grading table, whereas, no letter grades are assigned to GPA/CGPA. CGPA is calculated up to two decimal places and SGPA is calculated up to three decimal places.
• Fraction of total marks obtained in a course are rounded to the nearest whole, e.g. 60.5 is considered as 61 and 60.4 is considered as 60.
• Calculation of SGPA and CGPA
• Semester (SGPA) = Sum (Credit Hours of Enrolled Course x Grade Point)/ Sum of Credit Hours of Enrolled Courses
• Semester (CGPA) = Sum (Credit Hours x GPA) for each Semester/Sum of Credit Hours for all Completed Semester

Promotion Criteria

Promotion from First to Second Semester

• A candidate with a minimum GPA of 0.85 in Bachelor degree and 1.0 in Master/MS/M Phil degree program in the first semester is promoted to the second semester.
• A Bachelor degree candidate with GPA less than 0.85 and Master/MS/M Phil degree candidate with GPA less than 1.0 in the first semester is dropped from the program.

Promotion from Second to Third Semester

• A candidate with a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 1.2 for Bachelor degree program and 1.75 for Master/MS/M Phil degree program is promoted to the third semester.

Promotion from Third and Following Semesters

• A candidate with a minimum CGPA of 1.6 for Bachelor degree and 2.25 for Master/MS/M Phil degree program is promoted to next semester.
• A bachelor degree candidate with CGPA 1.4 or more but less than 1.6, and Master/MS/M Phil degree with CGPA 2.0 or more but less than 2.25, is promoted on probation from third semester and onward. The candidate should qualify 50% of the enrolled courses in that semester; the fraction will be ignored.

A student is allowed 2 “Probations” in an entire degree program.

A student is not allowed to improve the grade after the final notification of degree completion.

Incomplete Grade

• A student who enrolled him/herself but remained absent in mid and final semester examinations is declared as “Fail”.
• If a project is not completed in due course of time or within the extended time, the same is reflected with the incomplete grade ’I’ in the transcript.

Re-Sit Examination

• Student is required to submit an application within a week after recovery from sickness or death of the a relative as per the policy to the Office of Registrar with the recommendations of Head of the concerned School and documentary evidence i.e medical certificate or death certificate. Registrar Office gets the verification of documentary evidences and mention the attendance percentage on the application.
• A committee comprising of the following members will discuss the cases individually if deemed necessary:
  Campus Head
  Registrar/Additional Registrar/Deputy Registrar
  Controller of Examination/Deputy Controller of Examinations
  Head of the concerned School.
• Decision of the Rector is considered as final.

Resolution of Conflict of Award

• The scripts of each examination are shown to the students within one week after the completion of examinations.
• The answer book of a candidate is not re-assessed under any circumstances.
• In case a student is not satisfied with his/her award, s/he may make written application to the Head of the School, who shall form a committee of three faculty members to resolve the conflict.
• Re-checking does not mean re-assessment/reevaluation/re-marking of the answer book. The Controller of Examinations can arrange for re-checking of examination script by any faculty member from the relevant discipline on the complaint/request of students. The Controller of Examinations or any officer or re- checking committee appointed shall see that:
  There is no computational mistake in the grand total on the title page of the answer book
  The total of various parts of a question has been correctly made at the end of each question.
  All totals have been correctly brought forward on the title page of the answer book.
  No portion of any answer has been left un-marked.
  Total marks in the answer book tally with the marks sheet.
  The hand-writing of the candidate tally in the question/answer book.
• In case a student still remains unsatisfied with the award s/he may request (in writing) to the Controller of Examinations for neutral assessment. The Controller of Examinations with the approval of Rector can get it evaluated by an external from some other University and his/her award shall be final. In this case the student will have to pay the prescribed fee for re-evaluation.
• A departmental committee comprising of three members headed by the Head of School is constituted to check randomly a few answer papers of the final semester examination for uniformity of scoring & covering of the course content.

Migration/Transfer of Credits

The Rector on the recommendation of the Head of School, allows migration/transfer of credits of a student from HEC recognized Institutions to the University, provided that:

• The institution concerned agrees on the migration/transfer of credits of such a student;
• Migration/transfer of credits cases is initially scrutinized by the Head of School concerned.
• A student must fulfill the required entry qualification of the program.
• A student, who has been dropped out, rusticated, expelled, or whose entry in the parent institute was banned for any reason whatsoever at any time during his/her academic career, the case for transfer of credits is not considered.
• Credits are transferred on course to course basis i.e. a person taking course A at University X is allowed to transfer his/her credits to University Y provided that course A is equivalent to course B taught at the University, Y.
• Courses with credit hours and course contents equivalent to the degree program, are considered for transfer.
• Exempted courses along with their credit hours are displayed on the final/official transcript but their grades obtained from the parent institution not displayed. Such subjects are marked as “Transferred Credits” (TR).
• She/He has to provide NOC from the institution from where migration is required.
• In case of outward migration the condition of accepting institution of credit hour transfer is applicable.
• In case of inward migration a candidate is required to complete minimum 50% of the courses from The University of Faisalabad.
• Credit hours of a course are not transferred if the grade is less than C for undergraduate and B for graduate

Improving CGPA for Award of Degree

• A student, who obtains CGPA of less than 2.0 in undergraduate and less than 2.5 in Master/MS/MPhil/ PhD degree programs, respectively, at the end of the last semester are allowed to repeat one or two courses in which he/she has obtained the lowest grades, in order to improve the CGPA so as to obtain the minimum of 2.0 and 2.5 respectively, failing which he/she is dropped from the program.
• In case of CGPA improvement, it is recorded with (Imp) on the transcript.

Requirement for the Award of Degree

• A minimum number of credit hours as well as duration must be successfully completed.
• Degree is awarded to the candidate who has completed all the degree requirements by passing all courses specified in scheme of studies by securing at least 2.0 CGPA for undergraduate and 2.5 for Master/ M Phil/ MS/ PhD degree program. MS/ PhD scholars, in addition to completing the course work, shall have to present an acceptable thesis on the basis of approved program of research.
• In case of migration/credit hour transfer, a student shall have to earn a minimum of 50% of the credit hours out of total credit hours from the University to be eligible for the award of the degree
• In case a student secures less than 2.00 CGPA (minimum qualifying CGPA) at the end of final Semester, s/he is allowed to get enrolled in one or more courses, in which his/her Grade is below C, along with the forthcoming semester, provided that s/he is not debarred under the CGPA Improvement Regulation and time duration specified for the program.
• A MS/MPhil and PhD degree candidate must publish a research article in HEC recongnized journal.
• Degree Completion Certificate Each School forwards the degree completion form of a student subject to the fulfillment of all prescribed conditions to the Controller of Examinations for degree notification.

Unfair Means Cases/Indiscipline in Examination

• Any candidate found guilty of following matters will have his/ her case submitted to Committee to deal with Unfair Means Cases.
• Removes a leaf from his/her answer book
• Submits forged or fake documents in connection with the examination
• Commits impersonation in the examination.
• Copies from any paper, book or notes
• Mutilates the answer book
• Possesses any kind of material, which may be helpful to his/her in the examination
• Does anything that is immoral or illegal in connection with the examination and which may be helpful to him/ her in the examination
• Refuses to obey the invigilation staff or refuses to follow the instructions issued by the University in connection with the examination
• Misbehaves or creates any kind of disturbance in or around the examination center
• Uses abusive or obscene language on the answer script.
• Possesses any kind of weapon in or around examination centre
• Possesses any kind of electronic device which may be helpful in the examination.
• Penalties

Committee recommends following penalties keeping in view the nature and intensity of offence:

• Cancellation of paper
• Suspension from programme for one semester
• Heavy or light fine
• Expulsion forever from the University
• A written warning is issued to the student concerned and a copy of the same is displayed on the Notice Board under intimation to his/her parents/guardians.
• A student is placed on Probation for a fixed period. If s/he fails to improve his/her conduct during probation, the case is forwarded to the University Discipline Committee which may recommend even rustication for a semester or more.
• Unfair Means Cases Committee will decide that the student will have to appear in summer semester/with regular semester for the cancelled paper.
• Appeal against the decision of Unfair Means Cases Committee
• If a student is not satisfied by the decision of the Unfair Means Cases Committee, s/he can submit his/her appeal within a week after the decision of the Committee to the Vice Chancellor. No appeal shall lie against the decision of the Rector.

Comprehensive Examination

• Every PhD student shall have to pass the Comprehensive Examination.
• The School is responsible for the conduct of Comprehensive Examination.
• There are 2 chances to pass Comprehensive Examination.
• Examiners for Comprehensive Examination are appointed by Rector from the panel proposed by Dean of the respective faculty forwarded by Board of Studies of the School.
• The Comprehensive Examination comprises of two papers covering the subjects studied. The subjects to be covered in each paper are notified by the Dean. Comprehensive Examination is assessed on qualifying or non qualifying basis.

Submission of Thesis

• A student of MS/MPhil/PhD is required to fulfill the HEC condition as specified from time to time, like Comprehensive Examination, and Research Publications etc before the submission of thesis.
• All candidates opting theses shall meet the conditions of HEC and TUF as specified from time to time.
• Theses shall be in line with the guidelines which are available on the University website as well as in the booklet. Every thesis shall be evaluated as per the policy of the University.

Plagiarism in Thesis Research

• Certificate by the candidate to be countersigned by supervisor “that this research work was neither submitted earlier nor will be submitted elsewhere as a requirement of the MS/MPhil and PhD degree” will have to be submitted on one of the starting pages of thesis.
• The research work documented in the thesis is the property of the University but the author can publish the work elsewhere with the permission of the University.
• If the thesis, submitted by a candidate for final evaluation, is proved to be copied/ plagiarized at the time of viva-voce examination, it is liable to be rejected on the report of Board of Examiners. The Controller of Examinations will declare the candidate fail in thesis examination. The admission of such a candidate shall be cancelled and he/she shall not be readmitted under any circumstances.
• If the thesis of a candidate is proved to be plagiarized after its evaluation and declaration of result, previous result of the candidate will be cancelled declaring him fail in thesis examination. Such a candidate shall not be readmitted under any circumstances.

General Instructions

• In the beginning of a semester, the instructor of each course hands out the information to students that defines attendance policy, grade distribution policy, assessment criteria, paper specification, examination dates, schedule of material to be taught, take home assignment policy, reading material and any other information important for the successful completion of the course.
• There is no supplementary/special examination in a Semester System; if a student fails in a course, s/he is required to repeat it. An incomplete grade will be awarded only in exceptional cases beyond the control of a student such as serious accident, family tragedy, serious health ailments, etc.
• Director Quality Enhancement Cell arranges the evaluation of every course instructor in each semester by the students on what they have been taught by him. The evaluation is got done during the last week of the semester on a predesigned online proforma without the presence of course instructor. The evaluation is shared with the concerned faculty member for his/ her information/improvement without mentioning the name of the student.

Library Rules

• Library users are expected to observe the following library rules:
• Leave their personal belongings at the reserved place.
• Take care of their belongings as library disclaims any responsibility for any loss.
• Gossiping, cell phone calls, sleeping, drinking, eating, smoking and chatting is strictly prohibited.
• Submit library material(s) for inspection, if asked.
• Underlining, marking, folding and tearing book pages is strictly prohibited.
• Leave the library materials on table after consulting/ reading them.
• Library membership could be suspended or canceled along with a penalty in the following cases:
• Nonpayment of library fine
• Theft of library material
• Non returning of the temporary issued materials within due time.
• Any kind of disturbance in library
• Misconduct with the library staff
• Violation of established library rules and norms
• All library users are required to:
• Display University Student ID cards
• Switch off cell phones in the Library

Hostel Rules

• Allotment for accommodation in the hostel is considered only after the Allotment Committee has scrutinized the application and satisfied itself of the merit and eligibility of the student and that his/her stay in the hostel shall in no way be prejudicial to the interest of other residents in hostel and the institution.
• The hostel accommodation is given to students domiciled in places other than Faisalabad only.
• Students are not allowed to reside in private hostels in Faisalabad.
• The applications of female students for allotment of accommodation in the hostel are undertaken from parents/guardians on the prescribed form, photographs of authorized visitors and copies of National Identity Cards should be attached with application form. In case of foreign students, the recommendation and undertaking on the prescribed proforma for the admission, guarantee for payment of hostel dues and of good behavior will be obtained from respective embassies or consulates.
• The management has made arrangement for uninterrupted supply of electricity in the University and hostel. The students are allowed to use their personal electrical appliances i.e. microwave oven and refrigerator with the permission of the hostel warden. Students have to pay additional cost as decided by the management.
• Leave application must be submitted to the hostel warden. Girls cannot go outside the hostel/campus for shopping, visiting their relatives, or for recreation by themselves. They are required to submit leave proforma duly signed by the hostel warden while going home. Students, going home, should leave the hostel before sunset. Students are required to be back in the hostel before sunset. Female students are not allowed to receive any visitor except those nominated by their parents /guardians. Students must inform their intending guests about the visiting hours in the hostel
• Following visiting hours shall be strictly observed: Sunday 8:00 am to sunset

Dress Code

• In order to maintain academic dignity and sanctity of the institution, students are required to wear decent dress keeping in view the local cultural values.
• Male students are required to wear dress shirts and trousers. Shirts must always be tucked inside the trousers. T-shirts, Jeans, Jackets and Joggers are not permitted in the campus. Male students will be properly shaven with trimmed moustaches if applicable. Similarly students with beards will regularly trim them. Chappals without strap are not allowed.
• Female students are required to wear white shalwar/ trouser with shirt of any colour/print with full sleeves and dupatta/scarf; black pumps/sneakers. Female students should avoid flashy clothes, jewelry, make up, open shoes or shoes with heels and noise.

Identity Cards

• Students are required to display their University Identity Cards prominently while arriving and during their stay in the Campus.

Disciplinary Requirements

• All faculty members and other staff members authorized for the purpose, to check disorderly or improper conduct or any breach of regulation by students of the University in the University premises.
• Any member of the academic staff may, if he/she deems it necessary, report the case of a student who is guilty of disorderly or improper conduct in a lecture room, library or laboratory to the notice of the Head of the School concerned and Disciplinary Committee.
• Fines or other penalties may be imposed by the Disciplinary Committee, or by any other authorized person of the University for any breach of regulations, or for any act of behavior detrimental to the good order of the university
• A student of the University may be required to bear the cost of making any damage to University property for which he/ she may be responsible, which may be in addition to a fine or other penalty which he/she may have incurred in connection therewith.

Disciplinary Suspension or Dismissal

The University reserves the right to suspend or dismiss a student for violation of policies, regulations, discipline or code of conduct inimical to the best interest, or for attempting to use unfair means during classes, quizzes or examinations. Management decision in all matters is final. It is their duty to keep an eye on such activities that may result in a breach of any law.

Students’ Interaction with Faculty

• Students are not expected to socialize with faculty and administration staff more than what is necessary for academic pursuit.
• Students are forbidden to visit the faculty in their houses or in the faculty mess either individually or in groups.
• Students’ interaction with faculty should pertain to studies or any difficulties faced in studies. This interaction should be during the University timings.

Forbidden Acts

• The following acts are strictly forbidden and will lead to serious disciplinary action including rustication/expulsion from the University:
• Use of unauthorized drugs and solvents
• Possession of explosive, firearms and inflammable liquids etc.
• Betting, lending, or gambling
• Possession or use of fire arms, weapons, etc.
• Unauthorized possession of any key of the University
• Visiting Administration block in groups.