Version:

General
1.0
Regulations

GENERAL REGULATIONS REGARDING ADMISSIONS

Definitions
Unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, the expressions used in these Regulations and
defined or used in the Northern University Ordinance 2002, shall have the meanings assigned to them
respectively hereunder or in the Ordinance.

(a) “Academic Council” means the Academic Council of the University;

(b) “Admission Committee” means the Admission Committee of the University;

(c) “Advanced Studies and Research Board” means the Advanced Studies and Research Board
of the University;
(d) “Audit Course” or a “Non Credit Course” means a course attended without any liability of
taking its examinations;
(e) “Authority” means any of the Authorities of the University;
(f) “Board of Faculty” means a Board of Faculty of various Faculties and institutes of the
University;
(g) “Board of Governors” means the Board of Governors of the University;
(h) “Competent Authority” means an Officer or authority of the University competent to take
action;
(i) “Course” or “Credit Course” means a course of study to be completed as a requirement for a
degree;
(j) “Credit Hour” or “One Credit Hour” means a course comprising of 15 lecture hours or 45
practical hours in a semester or summer semester;
(k) “Dean” means Dean of a Faculty;
(l) “Deficiency Course” means a course in which a student has been adjudged deficient by a
competent body of the University;
(m) “Director” means the Head of an Administrative or teaching division/Institute of the
University.
(n) “Disciplinary Committee” means the Disciplinary Committee of the University;
(o) “Faculty” means a faculty of the University;
(p) “Head” means Head of a teaching Department;
(q) “General Course” means a course taken by the general class or by students of more than
one major;

Page 1 of 9
 Version:
General 1.0
Regulations

(r) “GPA” means grade point average, which is an average of all the grade points accumulated
over a semester or the degree program. The GPA ranges from 0 to 4.00;
(s) “Penalty” means a penalty, which may be imposed under these regulations;
(t) “President” means the President of the University;
(u) “Rector” means the Rector of the University;
(v) “Registrar” means the Registrar of the University;
(w) “Semester” means teaching period of 16 weeks. Out of 16 weeks, 15 weeks shall be the
actual teaching time, which include the mid-semester examinations, quizzes, assignments
and projects, while the remaining 1 week shall be utilized for final examinations;
(x) “Statutes, Regulations and Rules” shall respectively mean the Statutes, the Regulations
and the Rules made or deemed to have been made under the Northern University
Ordinance 2002;
(y) “Summer Semester” means a teaching period of 8 to 11 weeks. This period includes
teaching and conduct of examinations;
(z) “Teachers” mean Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors and Lecturers
engaged whole time by the University;

(aa) “University” means the Northern University as constituted under Northern University
Ordinance 2002;
(bb) “Visiting Teachers” mean teachers engaged on part-time basis by the University.

(cc) All other expressions shall have the same meanings as assigned to them in the Northern
University Ordinance 2002.

Following Regulations shall apply to all the Degrees offered by the Northern University unless otherwise
specified. The Northern University reserves the right to revise the rules and regulations at any time.

2. Courses of study

(a) Courses of study and syllabi for various programs of the University shall be submitted by the
respective Boards of Faculties to the Academic Council for approval. Such courses and syllabi
shall become effective from the date of approval by the Academic Council or such date as the
Academic Council may determine.
(b) No taught course shall carry more than 5 credit hours. However, research courses may carry
different credit hours.

Page 2 of 9
 Version:
General 1.0
Regulations

3. Organization of teaching

(a) Teaching in various courses shall be conducted in University Departments/Institutes/Campuses

or constituent/affiliated Institutions through lectures, tutorials, discussions, seminars,
demonstrations, practical work in laboratories, field work, and other methods of instructions
approved by the Academic Council.

(b) Teaching in each Department/Institution/Campus shall be conducted by the University teachers,

visiting teachers, or such other persons as may be declared to be a teacher by regulations.
(c) Teaching in each Department shall be organized through courses specified for each subject and
approved by the relevant authorities.
(d) No course shall be conducted unless there are at-least 15 students enrolled for a general course
and 10 students enrolled for specialized (major) and postgraduate courses. In special case,
however, if the students are less than the required number, permission of the Rector shall have to
be obtained to conduct the course.
4. Medium of Instruction
English shall be the medium of instruction and examination. However, Urdu or other subject specific
languages may be used for specialized or general courses in Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Arabic, etc. Similarly
Urdu may be used as medium of instruction and examination in the case of Islamic Studies or any other
subject/program as approved by the Academic Council.

5. Course Number
Courses will be numbered to a sequence such as 300 to 699 for undergraduate degrees and from 700 onward
for postgraduate degrees. This number will be preceded by three letters, where the first letter shall indicate
the faculty and the remaining two letters shall indicate the department. For example, ECS300 represents a
first year course from Computer Science Department of Faculty of Engineering & IT.

6. Deficiency
If the courses qualified by a candidate do not provide adequate background for the degree course which
he/she intends to take up, he/she may be required to make up the deficiency by taking one or more
additional course(s) as may be prescribed/determined by the concerned authority. Deficiency courses will be
mandatory to pass but they will not be counted in calculating GPA and will not have any effect on the
academic position of a student.

Page 3 of 9
 Version:
General 1.0
Regulations

7. Admission and Registration

(a)Number of students to be admitted: The Academic Council shall determine the number of students
to be admitted in each course under various categories.
7.1. Procedure
(i) A candidate interested in admission for any degree shall make an application for
admission, in response to advertisement by the University, on a prescribed form within
the specified dates.
(ii) If prescribed, a candidate has to qualify the entry test to be conducted by the University.
(iii) The admission to the university will be fully on merit to be determined on entry test, past
academic performance and other criteria as approved by the University.
7.2. Time of Admission
The admission is controlled by the Academic Council and is normally made at the start of Fall
and Spring Semesters each year. However, admissions can also be made in Summer Semester
with the approval of the Rector.
7.3. Registration
 The candidate seeking admission for the first time in any of the degree courses must
complete all admission/enrolment formalities within the dates notified by the
Authorities, failing which the admission shall stand cancelled.
 All those candidates who were punished by their respective Institutes/Universities for
act of indiscipline and undesirable activities (major penalties) would not be admitted in
the University.
7.4. Medical Certificate
A student at the time of first admission/enrolment shall produce a certificate from a recognized
Medical Officer to the effect that he/she is free from any communicable disease or mental or
physical disability which is likely to stand in the way of his chosen field of study.
7.5. Affidavit
Every admitted student will be required to submit an affidavit duly attested by the notary
public. The affidavit requires the student to abide by the rules and regulations of the
University, and not to indulge in any prohibited activities. The prescribed format of the
affidavit is provided at the end of this prospectus.

Page 4 of 9
 Version:
General 1.0
Regulations

b. The Authority concerned may refuse admission to a student who in his/her opinion has background
not conducive to learning ethics.

8. Enrollment

(a) At the beginning of each semester a student must enroll in courses of studies on the prescribed
enrollment form.
(b) The enrollment shall not be complete unless a student makes payment of all the prescribed fees
and submit the prescribed form in the respective office.

(c) Enrollment and fee payment shall be completed on the days notified for this purpose, provided
that the Authority concerned may, in special circumstances and on payment of a late fee
applicable at the time, permit a student to enroll within seven days after the commencement of
the semester.
(d) A student admitted to the course shall, for so long as he has not completed all the requirements
for the degree, enroll himself for each semester failing which his admission shall stand cancelled
and in case he desires readmission he shall have to apply for the same.

(e) The Authority may readmit such a candidate or refuse admission if reasons advanced are not
convincing.

9. Add/Drop of Course (s)

(a) When a course for which a student is enrolled, cannot be held according to the program
announced, he may take up an alternative course, but this must be done not later than 15 days after
the date of enrolment.
(b) A student may be allowed to add or change a course(s) within seven days of the commencement of
the semester and to drop a course within seven weeks of the commencement of the semester with
the consent of the Advisory Committee/Authorized Officers of the University.

(c) No add/drop of the courses shall be allowed after the above given time.

10. Evaluation

(a) The minimum pass marks for each course shall be 50%
(b) The Grades and their corresponding Grade points are as follows:

Marks Obtained Grade Grade Points

85-100% A 4.00

Page 5 of 9
 Version:
General 1.0
Regulations

80-84.9% A- 3.66
75-79.9% B+ 3.33
70-74.9% B 3.00
65-69.9% B- 2.66
62-64.9% C+ 2.33
59-61.9% C 2.00
56-58.9% C- 1.66
53-55.9% D+ 1.33
50-52.9% D 1.00

Below 50% F 0.00

Pass P
Course Withdrawn W
Course Incomplete I
Course Transferred T

(c) The grades P, W, I, and T will not be counted towards the computation of the GPA.

(d)The credit hours of courses in which a student was awarded P, W, I, and T grades will not be
counted towards computation of the GPA.
(e) However, passed courses bearing grade P and transferred courses bearing grade T will be counted
towards the minimum credits required for earning a degree.
(f) Maximum GPA for all the degrees shall be 4.00 and the minimum GPA required for obtaining
degrees shall be.
(a) Undergraduate and MSc/MA 2.00
(b) MBA, MS and MPhil 2.50
(c) PhD 3.00
(g)The GPA will be calculated on the basis of grades obtained by a student in each course enrolled at
Northern University, and not on the percentage of marks obtained in each course nor on the
percentage of total marks obtained.
11. Calculation of GPA

(a)GPA will be calculated at the end of each semester or at the end of the degree program according to
the following formula:

Sum of (Credit Hours of a Course x Grade Points)

Total Credit Hours undertaken

(b)The corresponding Grade Points for each grade are mentioned in section 10 above.

12. Examinations and Weight age

Page 6 of 9
 Version:
General 1.0
Regulations

(a) Students’ evaluation for taught courses shall be done by mid-semester examination, assignments,
quizzes, and final examination. The weight age to each may be prescribed by the concerned
faculty, with approval from the Academic Council. However, the general weight age to be
observed is as follows:

Final Examination 50%

Mid-Semester Examination 30%

Assignments/Quizzes/Labs 20%

(b) For taught courses a mid-semester examination, minimum of one hour duration will be held during
middle of the semester. This examination shall be held by the teacher concerned who shall
determine the form of the examination. The results of the examination shall be submitted to the
Registrar. Head of the concerned Department will be responsible for timely submission of results.
(c) Quizzes, special home assignments and/or assignments shall be given from time to time which
shall be uniformly split over the whole semester.
(d) Final Examination: For taught courses a single written examination for a minimum of two hours
duration will be held at the end of the semester on the dates notified by the Registrar.
(e) Project or Thesis: The weight age of practical’s, lab assignments, general performance and final
project/thesis will be prescribed in the concerned course, and shall be approved by the Dean
concerned, unless not already prescribed in the regulations.
(f) A student shall be eligible to sit for the examination provided that he/she:-

(i) has been on the rolls of the University during that semester.

(ii) has registered himself for the courses of studies.

(iii) has attended not less than 75% of the classes in theory and practical/ laboratory of each
course separately. Provided that the period of absence in the case of participation in co-
curricular/sports activities with the permission of the competent Authority concerned may
not be counted.
(iv) A Student whose attendance falls below the required attendance (75%, or as notified by the
University) shall not be allowed to sit in the examination, and shall be awarded an “I”
grade, indicating “Course Incomplete”.
(v) The name of the student who is absent from the classes continuously for two weeks without
prior permission shall be struck off the rolls by the Authority concerned.

Page 7 of 9
 Version:
General 1.0
Regulations

(g) A committee constituted by the Rector may, on the recommendations of the course teacher,
condone the deficiency in attendance up to not more than 25% of the total lectures, seminars,
practical’s and laboratory demonstrations.
(h) There shall be a written examination for all taught courses at the end of each semester, on the
dates to be fixed by the Registrar.
(i) The marks/grade required to pass a deficiency course shall be the same as in the regulations
relating to the examination/program concerned.

(j) The Regulations relating to the Examinations contain further details about conduct of
examinations and examination rules.
13. Discontinuation

(a) A student may discontinue his/her studies with the permission of the Dean/Director due to
illness or under circumstances beyond his/her control. The discontinuation case may be
processed on a written application by the student, addressed to the Dean/Director of the
Faculty/Institute concerned. The student may enroll in the following semester, the following
year or the subsequent year with the permission of the Dean/Director.
(b) A student can discontinue only if he/she was enrolled or has passed the final examination of
the previous semester with the minimum GPA required for academic standard of the
University to remain on roll.
(c) Discontinuation will not be allowed for more than three years in any case.

(d) Discontinued period will not be counted towards residency requirements.

(e) If discontinuation is prior to enrollment, the fees will not be charged for the semester.
14. Sanction of Leave

(a) Leave to students are sanctioned by the Head of Department up to 7 days, and for period
exceeding 7 days by the Dean/Director of the concerned Faculty/Division, on the
recommendation of the Head of Department. Sanction of leave, however, is at the discretion of
the competent authority.
(b) The University normally conforms to the schedule of holidays observed by the Government.
The Rector in consultation with the Board of Trustees may grant holidays up to a maximum of
ten days in an academic year on special occasions.

15. Exemption of Courses in Master’s or Second Degree

Page 8 of 9
 Version:
General 1.0
Regulations

(a) When a student enrolls in a second Master’s degree at Northern University he/she shall be
exempted from University Requirement courses, similarly he/she may be exempted from
Faculty Requirement courses.
(b) When a student enrolls in a second Bachelor’s degree at Northern University he/she shall be
exempted from University Requirement courses, similarly he/she may be exempted from
Faculty Requirement courses.
(c) When a student enrolls in a Master’s or higher degree at Northern University he/she shall
not be given any exemption from courses which may have similar titles with courses
undertaken in Bachelor’s degree programs. This clause shall be applicable to all courses,
including University Requirement Courses, Faculty Requirement Courses, Core Courses,
etc.

Page 9 of 9