How Learning Works in IITM BS Electronic Systems

In the IITM BS in Electronic Systems, you study from recorded videos released every week. You submit graded assignments online. You write two quizzes and one end term exam in person at an exam centre. For lab courses, you do experiments at home and then show them at IIT Madras. A 4-credit course runs for 12 weeks.

After you clear the qualifier

1. You become eligible to register for foundation courses.
2. You sign in with your personal email and register for as many courses as your CCC allows.
3. You pay the fees and upload your documents.
4. Once your documents are approved, you get an official email ID in the form roll_number@es.study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab).

From then on, you use this ES email for everything on the portal: logging in, the dashboard and your courses.

What a week of study looks like

• Videos: each week has about 2 to 4 hours of recorded content, split into several lectures. These include theory videos and tutorial videos. The videos are also on YouTube as a public playlist.
• Self-test questions: every video lecture has a short self-test.
• Practice assignment: one per week, with solutions.
• Notes: text transcripts and any related notes come with the videos.
• Graded assignment: one per week, released with the week's content. This one counts for marks.

For some ES courses, you must also upload your worked-out sheets with the graded assignment. See worked-out assignment submissions.

How each course is assessed

Every course has three parts: weekly online assignments, two in-person quizzes and an in-person end term exam.

To pass a course, your total course score must be at least 40 out of 100. The full grading rules are in the IITM BS grading system.

Assignment rules

• An assignment you skip gets 0.
• Assignment scores count towards your final score, not just your eligibility.
• The exact rules can differ by course, so read each course's grading document.

Quiz rules

• Quizzes are one sitting for all your courses: 4 hours for 4 subjects, 3 hours for 3, and 2 hours for 1 or 2.
• A missed quiz is scored 0, and there is no make-up quiz.
• You must attend at least one of the two quizzes to be allowed into the end term.
• Your qualifier score counts as the Quiz 1 score for foundation courses in the term right after the qualifier. If you also write Quiz 1 that term, the better score is used.

End term exam rules

• The exam is 1.5 hours per course.
• Exams are held on Sundays. Four courses fit into two sessions of 3 hours each.
• The end term score is called E and makes up 50% of the total course score.

More on the exams in Quiz 1 and Quiz 2 and the end term exam.

Exam centre rules

• Go only to the centre printed on your hall ticket. You will not be let in at any other centre.
• If you write from outside India through remote proctoring, you must verify your location. Giving a false location is treated as malpractice.
• Exam dates for the BS programmes, some NPTEL courses and the web-enabled MTech can fall on the same day. Checking for clashes before you register for extra courses is your job.

How labs fit in

ES also has lab courses. You do the experiments at home with a lab kit and then show them in person at IIT Madras. Lab visits are separate from quiz and exam trips. See how ES labs work.

Your student status

The handbook lists five statuses: on the rolls (active), on academic probation, struck off the rolls, alumnus, and quit the programme. You are active in any term where you register and pay for at least one course. You can skip up to 2 terms in a row, but you go on academic probation. If you then skip a third term, you are struck off, and getting back costs Rs 2,500 or more. The fees and steps are in IITM BS student status and RKA.

Common questions

Do I have to attend live classes?

The handbook describes recorded weekly videos, not live classes. You watch them on your own time. The in-person parts are the quizzes, the end term exam and the lab visits.

Can I watch the course videos before I join?

Yes. The handbook says the videos are copyrighted to IIT Madras but are also put on YouTube as a public playlist that anyone can watch. It is a simple way to check the level of a course before you register.

Can I switch my exam city?

Yes, at registration. You pick two cities each term for your quizzes and exams, and you can choose different cities from earlier terms. On exam day, you must go to the centre on your hall ticket.