Students at St. Xavier’s College, Park Street, who choose to leave the four-year undergraduate programme after completing their third year will receive a “graduate with major” qualification.

Those who continue and successfully finish the fourth year will be granted an honours degree. According to Principal Father Dominic Savio, students passing the third year will be allowed to move on to the final year. Among them, only those who achieve a minimum CGPA of 75% by the end of the sixth semester will qualify for an “honours with research” degree, while others completing the fourth year will receive a standard honours degree.

A notice issued by the college mentioned that the final title of the degree may change depending on future directions from the University of Calcutta, and students should plan their academic paths accordingly.

This decision follows a meeting held on March 11 involving the vice-chancellor of Calcutta University and heads of four autonomous colleges: St. Xavier’s College, Ramakrishna Mission Residential College (Narendrapur), Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira (Belur), and Behala College. The discussion focused on determining the designation for students exiting after the third year.

Father Savio confirmed that the current approach aligns with the outcome of that meeting. Similarly, the principal of Behala College stated that students completing three years will be recognised as graduates with a major.

Meanwhile, Calcutta University has not yet finalized what degree students from its affiliated colleges will receive after the third year. Earlier, the university had indicated that an honours degree might be awarded at that stage, following a model used by Delhi University. However, concerns have arisen since this format is not currently recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC), prompting the university to seek legal advice.

Vice-chancellor Ashutosh Ghosh has said that the matter will be discussed further at an upcoming syndicate meeting.