Delhi University will take several steps to facilitate students seeking admissions such as holding webinars, launching chatbots, setting up a help desk and dedicated phone lines, with officials hoping to bring on track the academic calendar which has been disrupted for the past three years.

One of the reasons they are hopeful of starting the session on time is that the Common University Entrance Test for undergraduate admissions are underway and will conclude on time.

The university is expected to launch the admission portal in mid-June, a senior official said.

Last year, the admission process was extended till December 31 due to a delay in the conduct of CUET. That was the debut year for the CUET which is conducted by the National Testing Agency. The university earlier used Class XII marks as criteria.

"We are all set. We have done all kinds of preparation in advance. This time the admission process will be much smoother. One of the reasons is that CUET will conclude in time," Haneet Gandhi, DU Dean of Admission, appeared confident when asked about the upcoming admission cycle.

The National Testing Agency began the Common University Entrance Test-Undergraduate (CUET UG 2023) On May 21. "To ensure students are apprised about all the steps, we will be holding webinars. The website is active and is being continuously updated. We will have a help desk where students can raise their queries. Candidates can reach out to us through various platforms such as Chatbots, dedicated phone lines and emails. We will also be getting up a robust system to redress the grievances, if any, within a short span of time," Gandhi said.

The admission branch has also taken initiatives to spread awareness on CUET(UG)-2023.

Infographics in the form of illustrative examples have been uploaded on the website to help candidates choose their test papers as per the requirements of the programme-specific eligibility, Gandhi said.

"Video tutorials, in Hindi and English, explaining the registration process, choosing test papers from Section I, lI and III and uploading of required documents for CUET(UG) 2023 will be made live soon on the admission website of the university. The Admission Branch will also be hosting a series of webinars to help the candidates with CUET(UG)-2023," she added.

The first semester usually begins in mid-July. However, the pandemic forced the university the truncate the semester with no mid-semester breaks. In the last academic year, the semester began in November and the admission process was stretched as the first edition of the Common University Entrance Test for UG admission was conducted between July and August.

"This year, the admission will be on time and this will help in bringing academic calendar on track," she added.

Last year, the university filled 65,000 seats out of 70,000 available across its colleges. This year, Gandhi is sure, all the seats would be filled.

"The major reason that seats remained vacant was the late admission process. Now the admission process has started. I don't think any seat would remain vacant," she said.

Over the last three years, students and teachers have raised concerns over the academic calendar, especially since there had been no breaks between the semesters.

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