Academic Council : The LNM Institute of Information Technology

Academic Council

As per section 7 of the Rules and Regulations of the Institute, the ACADEMIC COUNCIL (AC) shall consist of the following persons:

The Director, ex officio, who shall be the Chairperson of the AC.

The Dean Academic, ex officio, who shall be the Member Convener of the AC.

The Registrar, ex officio, who shall be the Secretary of the AC.

All Professors of the Institute , appointed or recognized as such for the purpose of imparting instruction and conducting research in the Institute, as Members of the AC.

Such other members of the teaching faculty of the Institute, as may be necessary, to be nominated by the Director for a specified duration, as Members of the AC.

Two or more outside experts, to be nominated by the Governing Council for a specified duration, as Members of the AC.

Two student representatives, as invited members of the AC, to be nominated by the Students Gymkhanna.

The membership of the AC shall be reviewed every five years, in order to ensure that the total number of Members of the AC does not exceed twenty. When the need arises, a criterion shall be evolved to select the Members of the AC under 1(d).

Functions of the Academic Council

As per section 3(d) of the Rules and Regulations of the Institute, The Academic Council is one of the Authorities of the Institute. The AC shall primarily be concerned with all the academic affairs of the Institute, encompassing academic staff, academic planning, instructional issues, students, co-curricular activities, halls of residence, discipline. These functions, in particular, include:

To frame and revise the curriculum of every academic programme of the Institute.

To make arrangements for the teaching of all the courses required for completion of various academic programmes.

To make arrangements for the conduct of examinations, as required.

To make recommendations to the Governing Council for conferment of degrees, diplomas and other academic titles.

To supervise the working of the Central Library of the Institute.

To promote research activity within the Institute.

To collaborate with other academic institutes and industry.

To create an environment conducive to the development of entrepreneurship.

To provide for management of the Halls of Residence of the Institute.

To ensure discipline amongst the students.

To provide for and supervise the co-curricular activities of the students.

To award stipends, scholarships, medals and prizes to the students.

To provide effective guidance for training and placement of students.

To appoint Committees from amongst the members of the AC, other teaching faculty of the Institute, and experts from outside, to advise on specific academic issues; and to act on the recommendations of such committees after due consideration.

To appoint a Review Committee periodically, to review all the academic activities of the Institute, including the curricula and academic rules and regulations, and to act on its recommendations after due consideration.

To plan and execute the overall academic growth of the Institute, including apprising and making recommendations to the Governing Council, where necessary.

Meetings of the Academic Council

The AC shall meet as often as necessary, but not less than four times during an academic session. A calendar of the anticipated meetings of the AC shall be circulated to all Members of the AC, at the beginning of each Academic Session.

The meetings of the AC shall normally be convened by its Chairperson. However, the Members of the AC may request for a special meeting of the AC to discuss some important and urgent issue/s. In case atleast 20% Members of the AC request for such a special meeting of the AC, the Chairperson AC shall convene the requisitioned meeting within a week of receiving the request. In a requisitioned meeting, only those issues shall be discussed for which the request is made. The Members requesting such a meeting shall prepare the Agenda Notes for the requisitioned meeting.

One third of the number of Members of the Academic Council shall form a quorum for a meeting of the AC.

The Chairperson AC, if present, shall preside over the meetings of the AC. In his absence, the Dean Academic shall preside over the meetings of the AC.

The Secretary of the AC shall arrange to circulate a notice of the meeting of the AC. This notice shall be sent atleast one week before the meeting. However, the Chairperson AC may permit inclusion of any other item for which due notice could not be given for valid reasons.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3.5, the Chairperson AC may call an emergency meeting of the AC at short notice to discuss urgent issues.

The minutes of the proceedings of meetings of the AC shall be drawn up by the Secretary AC. These minutes, approved by the Chairperson AC, shall be circulated to all the Members of the AC. The minutes, along with suggested amendments, if any, shall be placed for confirmation at the next meeting of the AC. However, action on urgent issues can be initiated after the approval of the minutes by the Chairperson AC.

The minutes of the proceedings of the meetings of the AC, confirmed by AC, shall be recorded in a MINUTE BOOK. The Minute Book shall be kept open for inspection by the Members of the AC, and the Governing Council.

Procedures

4.1 The term ‘legislation’ used hereunder, refers to any rule framed by the AC.

Legislation may be added, amended or repealed at any meeting of the AC, provided that a written notice of the proposed action has been sent to each member of the AC, at least one week prior to the meeting at which modification of the legislation is sought.

All proposed legislation presented to the AC shall be accompanied by a statement of the purpose and the effect of the proposal. The statement shall also include the text of the new legislation to be adopted.

All modifications of the existing legislation and newly enacted legislation shall normally become effective on the first day of instruction in the next academic session, unless the AC specifies a different date. Any change in the legislation, existing or new, which requires approval of the Governing Council, shall become effective only after obtaining the approval of the Governing Council.

At any meeting of the AC, the decision of the AC must be formalized by means of a consensus or an affirmative vote.

The ruling of the Chairman AC, with regard to any question concerning procedures, shall be final.

Standing Comittees of the Academic Council

5.1 The term ‘legislation’ used hereunder, refers to any rule framed by the AC.

The Academic Council shall discharge its function with the help of a number of Standing Committees. The AC shall define and limit the duties and powers of its committees. The Standing Committees of the AC shall be constituted every second year, with the provision that the student representatives shall be nominated for a period of one year. The AC shall approve the Members nominated for each of its Standing Committees. Normally, each committee is responsible to the AC, which appoints it. However, the Director may assign additional duties to any one of the committees of the AC. In discharge of such additional duties, the committee shall be answerable only to the Director.

In addition to the Standing Committees mentioned below in sections 5.2 to 5.7, The AC may constitute other Standing Committees, as and when the need arises.

AC Educational Policy Committee (AC EPC):

The membership of the AC EPC shall be as follows:

Chairperson AC (Chairperson).
At least three faculty members, to be nominated by the Director.
Two students, to be nominated by the Students Gymkhanna.

The AC EPC shall concentrate upon fundamental educational policy issues, for example, the desirability of starting a new academic programme at the Institute . Such fundamental issues can be referred to this committee by the Governing Council, the AC, or any standing committee of the AC. The committee can also initiate a discussion on any issue, consistent with the overall goals of the Institute, on its own, and make appropriate recommendations to the AC for its consideration.

In addition to the above, the AC EPC shall also identify distinguished personalities, both from within the country and outside, to whom the Honorary Degree of the Institute can be awarded. Such people must have made an indelible impression on the minds of persons working in areas related to the goals of the Institute. The Honorary Degree of the Institute can be awarded only after the Governing Council approves such a proposal of the AC.

AC Undergraduate Committee (AC UGC):

The membership of the AC UGC shall be as follows:

Dean Academic (Chairperson).
At least three faculty members, to be nominated by the Director.
Two students, to be nominated by the Students Gymkhana.

The functions of the AC UGC shall include:

Admission of students to various UG programmes of the Institute.
Approval/modification of new courses of instruction, following the procedures approved by the AC.
Preparing the class/examination schedules.
Evaluation of the academic performance of students at the end of each semester and making recommendations to the AC about actions to be taken regarding academically deficient students.
Preparing the list of students, at the end of each semester, who have performed exceptionally well.
Ppreparing the list of students who have completed all the stipulated requirements for grant of degrees.
Identifying the students who are to be awarded the prizes and medals at the time of the convocation.
Such other related matters as may be assigned to it by the AC.

The recommendations of the AC UGC, which conform strictly to the approved rules and regulations of the Institute, can be implemented after obtaining the approval of the Chairperson AC. However, in individual cases, the AC UGC may make recommendations which do not conform to the approved rules and regulations of the Institute. These recommendations are usually made in view of the peculiar circumstances pertaining to an individual student, and do not call for a change of rules. Such deviations normally involve a more liberal and humane interpretation of the existing rules or where the rules are silent on some issues which occur only rarely. Any such recommendation shall require approval of the AC, prior to its implementation. In case such recommendations involve bending some approved rule very frequently, the AC may consider modifying the rule itself. Otherwise, such infrequent deviations or interpretations of the rules, shall not be quoted as precedents while considering similar, but not identical, cases in future.

AC Postgraduate Committee (AC PGC).

The membership of the AC PGC shall be as follows:

Dean R & D, as and when appointed, otherwise nominated by the Director (Chairperson).
At least three faculty members, to be nominated by the Director.
One student, to be nominated by the Students Gymkhanna.

The functions of the AC PGC shall include all the functions of the AC UGC, as mentioned in 5.3. In addition to these functions, the AC PGC shall also arrange for the evaluation of the thesis/project work, as per the rules approved by the AC.

The AC PGC shall also make all efforts to promote the PG programme at the Institute.

AC Students’ Affairs Committee (AC SAC):

The membership of the AC SAC shall be as follows:

Dean of Students Welfare, as and when appointed, otherwise nominated by the Director (Chairperson).
Chief Warden, as a member.
At least two faculty members, to be nominated by the Director.
Two student representatives, to be nominated by the Students Gymkhanna.

The AC SAC shall primarily be concerned with ensuring that the Code of Conduct of Students (CCOS) is not violated at any time, either by an individual student or a group of students. Any student, teacher, Director, or any other functionary of the Institute can refer any violation of the CCOS to this committee. The AC SAC shall investigate any alleged misdemeanour and recommend a suitable course of action to the Chairperson AC. The Chairperson AC may approve the recommendations, for its implementation, or may ask the committee to reconsider its recommendations in view of the remarks made by the Chairperson AC. The Chairperson AC may also prefer to place the recommendations of the AC SAC before the AC for its consideration. Any recommendation involving termination of the academic programme of a student, on disciplinary considerations, must be placed before the AC, prior to its implementation.

After establishing that the CCOS has been violated, the AC SAC may recommend the following kinds of punishments, depending upon the degree of violation of the CCOS:

Reprimanding the student.
Putting the student on Disciplinary Probation.
Imposing a fine (monetary or otherwise) on the student.
Debarring the student from appearing in the examination of some course/s.
Debarring the student from using the placement services of the Institute.
Withholding of grades of the student for a specified duration.
Suspending the student from attending the Institute for a specified period.
Withholding the Degree of the student for a specified duration, even though the student has successfully completed all the stipulated graduation requirements.
Terminating the academic programme of the student on disciplinary grounds.
AC Hall Management Committee (AC HMC):

The membership of the AC HMC shall be as follows:

Chief Warden (Chairperson).
All Wardens.
One faculty member who is not a warden, to be nominated by the Director.
Three student representatives, one from each Hall of Residence, to be nominated by the Students Gymkhanna.

The AC HMC shall primarily be concerned with the management of all aspects of the Halls of Residences of the Institute, including the mess and the canteen. The AC HMC shall frame the Rules and Regulations to be followed by the students, as residents of the Halls. These Rules and Regulations shall require approval of the AC.

The Chairman AC HMC shall have the power to reprimand or impose fine or take any other such suitable measure against any resident the Halls, who violates the approved Rules and Regulations of the Halls. The Chief Warden may also prefer to refer the case of a serious defaulting student to the AC SAC. The cases of ragging , if any, must be reported to the AC SAC.

AC Library Committee (AC LC):

The membership of the AC LC shall be as follows: