Pondicherry University

In 1995-96, the Pondicherry University began courses in distance education to provide a means of education to students who desired to learn in college but could not get educated because they resided far away from the campus. Currently, the university is implementing several new and job-oriented academic courses to benefit students who were not in the main academic stream. The prime aim of the university is to ‘reach the unreached.’ To manifest this aim, the university is executing distance education courses so that higher education reaches the doorsteps of each person in India.

During the past quarter of a century, this university has retained a top spot with regards to executing job-focused academic courses through distance education. In its Silver Jubilee Year, the university founded its own placement cell and alumni association.

A record 2.5 million students have signed up for various distance mode programs. This is evidence of the superior quality of the university’s distance programs. Students who join these distance programs are typically of the following three types:

• Those who lack money to afford college education
• Those who are employed and want to simultaneously uplift their academic standard
• Those with non-specific reasons of missing out on-campus learning

The first step is to have scanned copies of the following documents:

• Standard X or equivalent certificate or mark statement
• Standard XII or equivalent certificate or mark statement
• Degree certificate or provisional certificate of the qualifying degree (only for PG and MBA degree programs)
• Passport size photo
• Aadhaar card
• Fee concession category certificate, if applicable

A word of caution is that you should have scanned copies of the preceding documents and not digital photos. Secondly, the scanned copies must be legible. In the event that the scanned copies are illegible, there is a rejection of the application.

After scanning all the documents, students should create an Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) ID in Digi Locker. This ID should be in tune with the guidelines of the Distance Education Bureau (DEB) and University Grants Commission (UGC). It is mandatory to link the mobile number with the Aadhar card for creation of the ABC ID in Digi Locker.

After creation of this ID, students have to decide whether they want to apply for the conventional mode (Jan-Feb and Jul-Aug admissions) or TPI mode (Jul-Aug admissions only). To know more about the TPI mode, students can refer to the website of the Directorate of Distance Education, Pondicherry University. Once you have selected one of these modes, you cannot alter it after submission of the application.

The next step is to select a specific course or specialisation. In this case also, after submission of the application, you cannot alter the course or the specialisation.

Before you submit your application, you must check your eligibility for the course. Now, the student must upload the scanned or the digital copy of the passport-size photo that is to be used on the ID card.

While filling out the application form, you must enter the correct spellings and details of the following data:

• The name as per the degree certificate or the school leaving certificate
• The photograph
• Address
• Email
• The mobile number