Dear Programme Participants,

Please find appended herewith the responses to the queries raised during the Orientation Programme session on 28 th March 2020. If you still
have queries / need clarifications, kindly raise the same in our “Student Care Helpdesk”.

Question Orientation Programme Questions & Answers

Category
Number (FAQs)
When will the handouts of courses be On 4th of April, handouts for the courses will be shared. This will be
Access to Q1
shared? How? shared through Canvas LMS in your Introduction to python course page.
Course
Materials How will you share PPTs, Recordings of The links for accessing all the materials will be made available in the
Q2
Classes and Webinars? respective course pages in canvas.
There is a Library facility provided in eLearn and the complete steps are
mentioned under the "Library" link. However, this is not an exhaustive
Q1 Do we get library access? If yes how? library and most of the required text books, etc. for this programme may
not be available there. It is meant to be more of a supplementary
Digital
content for research with access to papers and journals.
Access /
Yes, you could download canvas student which is available for android
Support Q2 Do we get mobile access to LMS?
and iOS.
Can we retain the BITS email account
BITS Mail accounts will remain active. They will be converted to @alumni
Q3 post the completion of degree
sub-domain from the @wilp sub-domain after students graduate.
program?
Mid-semester and Comprehensive exams are pen and paper type exams.
Q1 Are the exams online or pen & paper?
Assignments and Quizzes are conducted online.
Should students attending the courses Yes. Students are expected to take Mid-semester and Comprehensive
Q2
from abroad fly to India to write exams? exams from one of the Exam centers.
What materials are allowed for open Text Books (original and no xerox copy), Reference Books (original and no
Evaluation Q3 book exams? Is mobile phones, tabs are xerox copy), Class notes (spiral bound), PPTs used in the class.
Components allowed for exams? Please note that Mobile phones and tabs are not allowed for exams.
/ Schedule / Refer to the orientation session recording whose link is available in
Q4 How are grading done?
Location Canvas LMS
Can we change the exam center
Q5 Yes, you will be notified of the process in the due course
allotted?
Q6 How are assignments evaluated? Assignment Evaluations are managed through Canvas LMS.
Is there a limit on the number of Depends on the course requirement and will be clarified at the time of
Q7
submissions to Quiz? launch of components
 How are assignment groups created? Groups are created automatically. Individual preference will not be taken
Q8
Can I choose my group? into account.
Depends on the course requirement and will be clarified by the
Q9 What will be the nature of assignments?
instructors.
Yes. However, students must clear all backlogs before they can start the
Can a student with backlog gets dissertation. In case if there are any such backlogs at the end of third
Q1
promotion to subsequent semester? semester, or the CGPA is <5.5, You will have to complete those courses
before you can proceed with dissertation.
Refer to answer for the previous question. In cases when your degree
Should I pay additional fee if the
Q2 program gets extended to complete backlog courses, you will have to
semesters got extended?
pay the semester fee for the entire semester.
 If the course is allotted as a 5th / 6th course, then you do not pay any
Should I pay fee for courses I re-
Q3 extra fees. However, if you register for backlog courses in a semester,
register?
then you need to pay.
Registration /
Electives / Will I have access to elective courses for
Q4 No. You will have access to only those courses you are registered.
Backlog / Fee which I am not registered?
You will choose the electives at the beginning of each semester though
an academic process known as registration. The registration for the first
How to choose electives? Will we get
Q5 semester is completed at the backend along with your admission
options to choose when it is relevant?
process. From second semester, we will share details ahead of start of
each semester for the registration process
In the normal situations, the answer is No. In case you have backlog
courses to complete and you are eligible to handle additional courses,
Can we register more than 4 courses in
Q6 then backlog courses will be additionally assigned over and above the
a semester?
regular 4 courses for the semester subject to approval from the
Academic Committee
Classes which are cancelled due to unforeseen situations, will be
rescheduled on one of other weekends. For instance, your Saturday class
How will you handle situations where
Q1 is getting cancelled, we will get it scheduled on one of subsequent
the classes are cancelled?
Sundays. We will track such cancellations and we will reschedule the
Schedule of classes in an optimized way.
Classes Yes. Courses will be offered on both days. However, we will schedule
Will all the courses be offered both on
Q2 your classes such that you will have to attend classes either on a
Saturdays and Sundays?
Saturday or Sunday, not on both days
Can I choose between Saturday / No. The sections are allotted for each student automatically based on the
Q3
Sunday classes? enrollment. In case you have genuine concern on the allotted section,
 please raise a ticket on this matter in Student Care Helpdesk.
Q4 When will we get the timetable? 10th of April, 2020
I am working out of Dubai, and I can
only attend weekend classes on Please raise a ticket on this matter in Student Care Helpdesk. We treat
Q5
Saturday. As Sunday is official working such cases as exception for section allotment.
day here.
When will you inform us about the
Q6 21st of April, 2020
section details?
Due to this COVID-19 lockdown/extends
We would like to start the degree programme on time in the larger
curfew, some of us facing trouble in
interest. We will make the recordings available within 2 days of live
Q7 connecting from village (low bandwidth
lecture session completion. You can choose to watch the online ones
network) is there any chance to get the
during weekends when bandwidth permits.
start of degree program postponed?
It is possible to skip a semester. For instance, if you skip semester 2,
In Case we need to skip a regularly
there are two options to go forward. (1) Continue with the same batch
scheduled semester because of work
for third semester and take the second semester courses as backlogs. (2)
load, then what is the process to
Q8 Continue with the subsequent batch, registering for second semester
register for next batch semester and
courses and do regular course work.
what is the fees implications for the
Among the possible options, option (2) depends on the availability of
same?
subsequent batch.
We prescribe the list of test books and reference books for each course.
TB / RB / RL Will you provide TB / RB print or soft You can refer to handout for this. We do not provide books either in
Q1
Access copies? soft / hard copies. We recommend student to procure the hard copies of
at least the TB for the courses.
What kind of lab infra getting used for Use your personal laptop configured with Jupiter Notebook with Python
Q1
Python course? 2.7. Alternatively, use Google Colab with Python 2.7.
Is python recommended also for Students can choose appropriate tools to support their dissertation.
Labs/Python Q2
dissertation? There are no such requirements to use only Python
Use Jupiter Notebook with Python 2.7. Alternatively, use Google Colab,
Q3 Which python set up to use for classes?
and choose Python 2.7.
BITS Pilani is a Deemed to be University established under Section 3 of
Q1 Is the program approved by UGC? the UGC Act, and is empowered to award degrees specified under the
Nature / UGC Act. No separate permission is required for this purpose.
What kind of degree program it is? This is a regular Work Integrated Learning Programme (WILP) for full-time
Approval Q2
Distance or Regular? employed professionals
Can I do PhD post the completion of Students holding M.Tech. Degrees from BITS Pilani are indeed eligible to
Q3
M.Tech (DSE)? apply for admission to other programmes including PhD. Several students
 have gone on to pursue PhD programmes in other institutions in India and
abroad. However, the specific criteria for admission to a particular degree
programme in a university, are laid down by that university.
Do we have a placement process post No we do not support the placement process as this is a Work Integrated
Q1
this course? Learning Programme (WILP).
Do we get any sample papers before Yes, we could make previous batch question papers available for your
Q2
either mid or comprehensive exam? reference.
Miscellaneou
We have made necessary corrections to the audio in the recording to
s The live session had some audio issue in
Q3 make it sound better, We have now made the recorded session available
the beginning and was not able to listen
in Canvas LMS.
How can I download my student ID
Q4 Soft copy of the ID Card will be made available by 30th of April 2020.
Card?

Thanks & Regards,

BITS Pilani Academic and Operations Team