All the courses in any programme of study offered by Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) are developed having relevance to local, national and global developmental needs. Every department of study which offers any programme has a Board of Studies (BoS) comprising the faculty and external subject experts who after deliberations approve the syllabus of any course. Every programme presents programme outcomes, programme specific outcomes, and carries course outcomes of each course. Additionally, each course/subject of any given programme carries course objective that unfolds the learning outcome for that course.
The local needs in case of MANUU can be understood at two levels: 1) geographical, for example, city/town surrounding, and 2) language. Since MANUU is an Urdu university and offers all its programmes in Urdu save language programmes, the first task to address was to develop the course/subject material of all the courses in Urdu, which has relevance to the national and global developmental needs, and if the material is not developed, then the translation of the course/subject material must be done. MANUU has adopted both means to address this typical requirement, and offered curricula that are on par with any national or international university.
The Board of Studies of each department oversees the relevancy and requirements of any course in the programmes that the department offers. As BoS is conducted compulsorily every year, it revises courses if any needs revision considering the academic trends and market or industry requirements. Though minor revision is a continuous practice, major revision is done mostly after the completion of the duration of a programme. MANUU adopted Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) from 2016 onwards for all its programmes, hence major revisions had been carried out in all its programmes then; and the course objectives and outcomes are spelt out clearly thereafter. Furthermore, MANUU has been using feedback of students and teachers of late, to upgrade its curricula. For research programmes, the courses are discussed usually in Departmental Research Committees (DRCs) and are recommended for approval in the BoS, where they are discussed and approved, and are forwarded to School Boards and Academic Council for final ratification.
The programme outcomes for any level of programme carry components from contribution to the existing body of knowledge to the acquisition of general graduate skills; for example, for PhD programmes, the programme outcomes are mostly making ‘contribution’ in terms of discovery/invention or advancing a given discipline of knowledge, ability to work independently, development of critical thinking and so on. For PG programmes, the programme outcomes generally are mastery of the subject knowledge, its application in relevant contexts, learning teaching skills, preparation for higher studies and so on, and for UG programmes, the programme outcomes can be understanding the course/subject concepts, learning effective communication skills both in English and Urdu, and preparation for higher studies. All the departments of studies have their programme outcomes, programme specific outcomes, and course outcomes in place, and these are displayed in the web pages of the respective departments in MANUU website.