Kothamangalam: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has conferred autonomous status to Mar Athanasius College of Engineering here for a period of 10 years starting from the academic year 2023-2024. It is the second government-aided engineering college to be conferred with this status in Kerala.
The autonomy granted by UGC is of academic nature and will help the college soar great heights in the future by shaping the curriculum. This would also lead to foreign collaborations enabling student and faculty exchanges with universities all over the world.
Dr Winny Varghese, Secretary of Mar Athanasius College Association, congratulated the Principal, faculty members, staff and students on this achievement.
Principal Dr Bos Mathew Jos, confirmed that the existing practices for student intake will continue to be followed and will be through the centralised allotment conducted by the Kerala Government. The government-stipulated fee structure would also remain the same as before.
The autonomous status would also help the college in facilitating internships for students which could result in attracting more companies to the campus with premium placement offers.
Timely conduct of university exams, publishing of results, break between semesters for students to pursue industrial training and internships along with the flexibility to design the syllabus are the advantages of autonomy.
The college was accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with a CGPA of 3.42. It is also the first engineering college in the state to be accredited with A+ rating and all eligible under-graduate courses offered are accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA).