POs shouldn’t worry you much. POs are just like old parents. They don’t much move around or change their attitude. For example, UG Engineering POs are sacrosanct, and you shouldn’t unnecessarily bother them; tweak or fiddle around with them, except for adding an attribute or two to a unique programme like AI, ML, Cybersecurity etc. POs in the case of Masters program in Management have also been stipulated by the NBA asking institutions to add a couple of more as relevant to the distinctiveness of their programmes. POs in the Masters programs in Engineering, including MCA are not found anywhere. These need to be intelligently developed by the HEIs, incorporating mastery level learning, enhanced applied research, innovation and should develop competencies in emerging technologies.
So how does one develop POs for the Masters Programmes? I would recommend you to draw input on the postgraduate attributes from (a) Model Curriculum if issued by the regulator or one developed by you (b) NHEQF Level 7.5 descriptors (c) NEP 2020 (d) national, global and societal expectations.
I have developed one such for the MCA, only recently, and I can share with you. Similarly, all general degree UG and PG programs are required to develop their own POs unless issued by their affiliating universities. It is my experience that many affiliating universities issue sufficiently irrelevant POs to their affiliated HEIs. In such a situation, take up with the university or follow your own. In any case, no affiliating university authority would take the pain to assess you on the OBE.
❤️ I attach a lot of importance to courses and their COs. I think you should also do the same. The transition is from course ‘Units’ to ‘BT’ to ‘COs’ to ‘Competencies’ to ‘Performance Indicators’. I am sure you all are well versed with the COs but only a few of you know how to formulate competencies and performance indicators and use Performance Indicators for the Assessment. If you ask me my take, I will certainly put competencies and performance indicators at the top of OBE learning process. Competencies assist a faculty to plan and deliver focused instructions and Performance Indicators assist in setting question papers and assignments incorporating rubrics. I have given one such example in my mentoring document which I prepared last week for a MCA programme in Bangalore college.
So, come next week, ask your course faculty to develop competencies and performance indicators of their courses and tabulate them against each of their 4 to 5 COs.
Should anyone of you have a difficulty, send me your course and I will send you competencies and performance indicators of one of its high order CO.
Best wishes for the new initiative, if not already implemented in your institute !
Prof JR Sharma
