Unaccredited Universities Offering Online Degree in India – UGC Guidelines 2025

Unaccredited Universities Offering Online Degree in India – UGC Guidelines 2025

Edited By Arushi Pandita | Updated on Jun 19, 2025 02:56 PM IST | #MBA

Online education has witnessed a significant growth in recent years, with over 95 UGC-approved colleges offering online degree programmes. These degrees provide flexible and accessible learning options to students and working professionals. However, this rapid growth has led to a rise in unaccredited institutions, raising concerns about academic quality and the credibility of online degree courses.

Unaccredited Universities Offering Online Degree in India – UGC Guidelines 2025
Unaccredited Universities Offering Online Degree in India – UGC Guidelines 2025

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has laid down guidelines for higher educational institutions (HEIs) in India for offering programmes under online mode. These guidelines ensure that only accredited institutions are allowed to offer online programmes. The UGC has also prohibited HEIs from offering online programmes.

Unaccredited Universities For Online Programmes

The table below highlights the list of unaccredited institutes offering online degrees in India as per the latest UGC guidelines:

Unaccredited InstitutionsStateDetails

Suresh Gyan Vihar University

Rajasthan

Banned from offering online programmes for five academic sessions beginning from July–August 2024.

No applications for the academic year 2024-25 and 2025-26 shall be considered to offer online programmes, even under the “Entitled Category.”

Periyar University

Tamil Nadu

Banned from offering online programmes for two academic years, 2024-

25 and 2025-26, starting from academic

session beginning July-August 2024, even under "Entitled Category".


The institutions listed above are prohibited by the UGC from offering online degree programmes. Therefore, students are strongly advised to verify the recognition status of higher education institutions for their academic session on the official UGC DEB website. They should also review details on the respective HEI’s websites and take note of any banned online programmes or restrictions on the official website.

Also Read: Online MBA Enrolment vs. Passing Percentage vs. Placements: Trends Revealed

UGC Guidelines 2025: Why Institutions Are Prohibited From Offering Online Degrees?

According to the UGC guidelines, some higher educational institutions have been restricted from offering online degree programmes. The reasons outlined below explain why certain institutes are barred from offering online courses in India:

No Approval from UGC-DEB

The UGC Distance Education Bureau (UGC DEB) is the regulatory body that grants approval to institutions for offering online and distance education programmes in India. Institutes without this specific approval cannot legally offer online courses in India. The approval process involves meeting various criteria related to infrastructure, faculty qualifications, content quality, and assessment mechanisms.

Failure to Maintain LMS

Learning Management Systems (LMS) are digital platforms essential for delivering online education. The UGC guidelines mandate that institutes maintain robust, user-friendly LMS platforms with specific features for content delivery, student tracking, and assessment. Institutions that fail to maintain adequate LMS infrastructure are disqualified from offering online degree programmes.

No Clarity in Programme Details

UGC guidelines encourage universities to have complete transparency in programme structure, curriculum, learning outcomes, and assessment methods. Institutions must provide detailed information about these aspects on their official websites. Institutes that offer incomplete programme details are regarded as not adhering to UGC regulatory standards.

No Track Record of Academic Delivery

The UGC requires institutions to demonstrate proven experience in delivering quality education. Institutes with established track records of at least 3-5 years in online or blended teaching can offer online courses. This ensures that only experienced educational providers offer quality online education to students. However, institutes with no prior experience in delivering online education are not eligible.

Also Read: Does IIM BLACKI Offer Online MBA?

List of Prohibited Programmes in Online Mode

The programmes mentioned below are prohibited from being offered under ODL and online modes:

Engineering

Medical

Physiotherapy

Occupational Therapy and other Para-Medical disciplines

Pharmacy

Nursing

Dental

Architecture

Law

Agriculture

Horticulture

Hotel Management

CateringTechnology

Culinary Sciences

Aircraft Maintenance

Visual Arts

Sports

Aviation

Yoga

Tourism and Hospitality Management


Apart from the above programmes, M.Phil and Ph.D. programmes in all disciplines are also prohibited under Open and Distance learning and online mode.

Also Read: Think Twice! These Online Programs Could Be a Waste of Your Time and Money

The UGC guidelines aim to protect students from unaccredited institutions offering unrecognised online degrees, ensuring academic integrity in online education. Students must verify an institute’s recognition status on the official UGC-DEB portal before enrolling, thus protecting their future and valuing their education.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Can unaccredited universities offer online MBA in India?

Only UGC-DEB-approved institutions with NAAC accreditation or NIRF ranking are eligible to offer online MBA programmes in India.

2. Why did UGC ban institutions from offering online degree courses?

UGC banned certain institutions due to lack of approvals, poor infrastructure, no adherence to UGC guidelines, and failure to meet quality benchmarks.

3. How can I check if an institute is UGC-approved for an online MBA?

Students must check UGC guidelines for online MBA or other programmes by visiting the official UGC-DEB website and confirm the approval status of institutions offering online programmes.

4. What should students verify before enrolling in an online degree?

Students must verify the UGC-DEB approval, NAAC or NIRF status, programme transparency, faculty qualifications, and infrastructure such as LMS on official websites.

5. What is the duration of a valid online MBA in India?

The minimum duration of an online MBA programme is two years as per UGC guidelines.

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Questions related to MBA

Have a question related to MBA ?

Hello

A free MBA can be done online, but with some warning or notice.

Smartly's Quantic School of Business and Technology provides a free MBA for some selected candidates, and it has a selective admission process.

MIT openCourseWare - Sloan School of Management it provides free access to MBA Course materials, but does not provide any degree or certificate.

  • Free = No degree (unless from Quantic or University of the People)

  • Employers may not treat these as equivalent to a full MBA

Dear Sonam,

after BAF degree your career option include:-

1. Accountant

2. Tax consultant

3. Auditor

4. Banking and Insurance jobs

more....

Now you become eligible for government jobs also you are align with your stream saying now you can do MBAs if you want to boosts career growth and say remain working in big corporates.

BEST OF LUCK

Thanks

Hello Aspirant,

Yes, you can pursue either an MBA or an MCA after graduation in science.

  • For MBA, almost all universities accept graduates from any stream however you will have to clear entrance such as CAT, MAT or state level exams.
  • For MCA, you need to have studied Mathematics in 10+2 or as a part of your graduation because it's a common eligibility criterion.
Check the specific requirements for the university or entrance exam you are targeting.


After completing B Pharmacy students usually choose between M Pharmacy and MBA in Pharmaceutical Management or Healthcare Management Both options are good but your decision should depend on your interest and career goal If you want to work in research quality control drug development or academics then M Pharmacy is the better choice It helps you specialize in subjects like pharmacology pharmaceutics or pharmaceutical analysis and gives you better opportunities in technical and researchbased fields On the other hand if you are interested in business management sales marketing hospital administration or pharmaceutical industry management then MBA in Pharmacy is better This course opens opportunities in pharmaceutical companies healthcare consultancies and management roles Both fields have scope and good salary prospects but your personal interest in technical or managerial roles should guide your decision

Alright, here’s the real talk about MBA colleges if you scored less than 90 in TG ICET 2025.


First off, if your marks are under 90, your rank’s probably somewhere north of 25,000. That’s just ballpark, since it shifts every year depending on how the crowd performs and how tough the paper was. With this score, yeah, the OG biggies like Osmania, Kakatiya, JNTU-H, Aurora’s main campus, and ICFAI are basically out of reach, unless you’ve got a magic wand or some secret backdoor (which, let’s be honest, you don’t).


But hey, don’t freak out. Telangana is packed with a bunch of other MBA colleges that are still pretty solid. Here’s a handful you might wanna check out:


- Vishwa Vishwani Institute of Systems and Management, Hyderabad

- St. Ann’s College for Women, Hyderabad

- Siva Sivani Institute of Management

- CMR College of Engineering & Technology

- Malla Reddy Institute of Management

- Holy Mary Business School

- Lords Institute of Engineering and Technology

- Aurora PG College(the other branches, not the main one)

- Deccan School of Management

View All
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