Is a correspondence MBA still valid?
If you hold a correspondence MBA, or someone in your family does, the honest answer starts with history. Correspondence study in India began at Delhi University's School of Correspondence Courses in 1962. Over time it became what the rules now call open and distance learning, or ODL.
No rule made old correspondence degrees invalid. No rule made them automatically valid either. Each one is judged by whether its course was recognised for the session in which the student joined.
So there is no single answer for every old degree. There is a clear way to find the answer for yours, and this guide walks through it.
The question comes up for good reasons. A job form asks how you studied. A visa file needs proof. A child applies for a course, and a parent wonders about their own degree.
In each case, the answer is the same check: the course, the mode and the session.
- Not automatically voidNo rule cancelled correspondence degrees already given.
- Not automatically validValidity was always tied to the course and the session.
How correspondence became distance and online
The regulator changed before the words did. The table shows the main steps.
Two things are worth keeping apart. The words and the regulator changed. The degrees were not abolished, and nothing in these steps cancelled a degree already given.
| Year | What changed |
|---|---|
| 1962 | Correspondence courses begin at Delhi University |
| 1991 | The Distance Education Council is set up |
| 29 December 2012 | A government order dissolves the Council |
| 2013 | UGC's Distance Education Bureau takes over |
| 2020 | UGC's rules name three modes: regular, distance and online |
Source: UGC-DEB, distance education
The three modes today
Correspondence appears nowhere in UGC's 2020 rules. Neither do part-time or executive. Only three modes exist, and every course that admits students today is run under one of them.
The closest thing to correspondence study today is ODL.
So a new course cannot be called correspondence in the rules. It will be listed as ODL or online.
- RegularFace-to-face teaching on campus. Regulation 2(f).
- Distance, or ODLPrint and other media, with some face-to-face meetings. Regulation 2(v).
- OnlineThe whole course taught over the internet. Regulation 2(u).
What decides whether an old degree counts
An old degree is judged against the recognition that applied to its course in its session. It is not judged against a list published today.
Recognition has never been permanent. Today it lasts five years under Regulation 5(3), and it is recorded for a year and a session. Sessions run in two cycles: July to August, and January to February.
So the question for any old degree is a narrow one. Was this course recognised, in this mode, for the session in which I joined? A yes to that settles more than any general claim about correspondence degrees.
This is the same test a new degree faces today. Only the dates are older.
How to check an older degree
Less of an older record sits online, so expect to do some of this by letter. The UGC-DEB list is organised by year and session. Some years show a note that an updated list will come soon. That is not a no. Older years may not be there at all, which is not a no either.
Write to the exam office or the registrar. Give your name as it is on the degree, your roll number, the course and the year you joined.
Older records can be slow to trace. Write to the college's verification office, give your roll number and the year you finished, and keep a copy of every letter.
A missing online record is not proof that a degree is invalid. It may only mean the record was never put online. The written reply from the college is what counts.
Be patient, and be precise. The more exact your details, the faster the search.
- Search the list for your yearPick the year, session and mode. Note what you find, or that nothing is shown.
- Ask the university in writingOne question: was this course recognised for my session, and in which mode?
- Gather your papersThe degree, every marksheet and your admission letter.
- Keep the replyFile it with the degree, so the answer travels with it.
Who can confirm an old degree
When someone needs to check an old degree, the college that gave it is the main source. A photo or a scan proves little on its own.
Ask the office what it charges and how long it takes. Get both in writing.
For the UPSC Civil Services exam, the rule asks for a graduate degree from a university set up by a central or state law, or a deemed university. It does not mention how you studied.
Other notices set their own rules, so read the one for your post, in the year you apply. At document verification, the check runs against the college's own record and the recognition for your course and session.
If a notice is unclear, ask the body that hires, in writing, before the last date.
- The university's verification officeIt takes paid requests from firms, agencies and embassies.
- DigiLocker, if issuedOnly if the college has sent the degree. A copy it issues counts as the original in India.
- A check through NADWith your consent, done within 24 hours, where the record is there.
Can you still join a correspondence MBA?
Not under that name. Every course that admits students today is run under one of the three modes. If a brochure says correspondence, check the mode on the UGC-DEB list for the session you would join. A distance MBA should be on the ODL list, and an online MBA on the online list.
UGC's 2020 notice also bars universities from admitting distance or online students through a franchise with a private coaching centre. The whole admission must go through the college's head office.
Using it abroad
If an old degree takes you abroad, an evaluator such as WES will want papers sent by the college itself. Copies you send yourself are not used.
Some countries also want the degree attested. The Ministry of External Affairs goes by the signature on the paper and does not check what it says, so the original matters.
- Sealed by the universityThe degree and every year's marks, sealed and sent by it, or sent online by it.
- Your bachelor's tooA master's cannot be assessed without your bachelor's papers.
What to keep
An older degree needs more proof around it than a new one, because less of the record is online. Keep these together.
Keep scans in a second place, such as your email. Name each file so a stranger could follow it.
- The degree and marksheetsThe originals, and scans of both sides.
- Proof of your sessionYour admission letter or anything that shows when you joined.
- The university's replyIts written answer on whether your course was recognised.
