B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology

B. S. Abdur Rahman University is a private university from the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Previously functioning under Madras University (1984-01) and Anna University (2001-09) as B. S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Engineering College, the institute gained deemed status in 2008-09, and was renamed B. S. Abdur Rahman University.

The university is located in Vandalur near Tambaram, a suburban area of Chennai, India. It is one of the largest engineering institutions in India and is ranked among the top-50 engineering colleges of the country.

History

B. S. Abdur Rahman University was founded in 1984 as Crescent Engineering College, a Muslim minority institution. approved by the All India Council of Technical Education and affiliated to Madras University.

University affiliation

Typically, colleges in Tamilnadu are affiliated to a larger umbrella university. Grades and performances across colleges falling under same university are comparable. Examples of universities include, Bharathidasan University, Bharathiar University, Anna University, University of Madras, and Madurai Kamaraj University. These universities control the syllabus and examination process of the colleges affiliated to it. It also manages the process of issuing Hall Tickets (an admission ticket which allows student to appear for University Examinations), Mark Sheets (Transcripts), assignment of external examiners for Laboratory examinations. Before 2002, only College of Engineering, Guindy (a Category 1 College), was affiliated to Anna University. All self-financing colleges located in the city of Chennai were affiliated to University of Madras. Some universities can have both category-1 and category-2 colleges affiliated to them. For example Bharathidasan University and Madurai Kamraj University had both Category 2 and Category 3 colleges affiliated to them.

The college was affiliated to University of Madras until the year 2001. From 2002 onwards, many engineering colleges in the city of Chennai changed affiliations to Anna University. University of Madras became an umbrella university, exclusively for non-professional, Art & Sciences colleges that offer BSc & BCom degrees. Many colleges chose not to affiliate with any University and became deemed universities in their own right. Crescent Engineering college was affiliated to Anna University until 2008. It was elevated as a university (B. S. Abdur Rahman University) by Section 3 of the UGC act 1956 in December 2008.

Location

The university is located in the Seethakathi Estate, Vandalur, Chennai, on the G.S.T Road (Chennai-Trichy National Highway NH 45), 7 kilometers from Tambaram Railway Station, 30 kilometers from Chennai Moffusil Bus Terminus (Koyembedu) and 17 kilometers from the Anna International Air Terminal. It is situated right next to Anna Zoological Park (Vandalur Zoo) and is spread over acres of greenary along the GST road.

Campus

The university spans 60 acres of serene campus, located in the Seethakathi Estate. The campus has two Basket Ball courts, two Volley Ball courts, four Tennis Courts, two field Hockey grounds, one Soccer ground and two Cricket grounds. There are also Table Tennis (Ping Pong) tables within the college. The college also has a splendid auditorium, modern buildings, laboratories and a cafeteria to support its students and staff.There is a swimming pool present for use by the students.

Hostel facilities

The university offers student housing/hostel facilities within the campus.

Admission process

The admissions to B.Tech / B.Arch programmes are based on the B. S. Abdur Rahman University Engineering Entrance Exam (BSAU EEE). An yearly entrance exam, it is conducted around April. The admissions from this exam are decided based on merit. The admissions to other courses are based on the 10+2 marks.A small percentage of the seats are reserved for Non-Resident Indians.

Degree & Disciplines Offered

B.E.

Crescent Engineering College offers four year Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) in the following Disciplines. The maximum number of students Each group can accommodate are enclosed in braces.

1. Civil Engineering~CE(60)
2. Mechanical Engineering~ME(60)
3. Electrical & Electronics Engineering~EEE(60)
4. ELectronics & Communication Engineering~ECE(120)
5. Instrumentation & Control Engineering~ICE(60)
6. Computer Science & Engineering~CSE(120)

B.Tech

Crescent Engineering College offers 4 year Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in the following Disciplines. The maximum number of students Each group can accommodate are enclosed in braces.

1. Information Technology~IT(120)
2. Polymer Technology~PT(30)

M.E

Crescent Engineering College offers 2 year Master of Engineering (M.E) in the following Disciplines

1. Civil Engineering (CE)
2. Mechanical Engineering (ME)
3. Electrical & Electronics Engineering (EEE)
4. Electronics & Communication Engineering (ECE)
5. Computer Science & Engineering (CSE)

PhD

Crescent Engineering College offers a Doctoral Degree (PhD) in the following Disciplines

1. Mechanical Engineering (ME)
2. Electrical & Electronics Engineering (EEE)
3. Computer Science & Engineering (CSE)
4. Chemistry
5. Physics
6. Mathematics

Other Degrees & Diplomas

Crescent Engineering college offers a Masters Degree (3 year) and Doctoral Degree in Computer Applications (MCA). It also offers a 2 year Masters in Business Administration Degree.

Semesters and timeline

The academic year in Crescent Engineering College is usually similar to other colleges. The academic term for 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students begins during June–July timeframe. The specific date is announced adhoc at the end of the previous term. Since Admissions to Engineering colleges are completed only in July, 1st year students start around August–September.

The engineering course is divided into 8 semesters. The odd semesters start from June–July and end in October/November. The even semesters begin in December and end in April/May. Students typically get anything between 1 week to 3 weeks vacation between semesters.

Examinations

The following information is for undergraduate/Bachelor level courses.

At the end of each semester students typically write Semester Exams (also called University exams). These exams are final exams of the courses covered during that semester. Typically each semester has 6 theory courses and 2 laboratory courses. The first year is common for students across all engineering disciplines and as students progress over the years, they continue to specialize in their individual disciplines.

Examinations for Theory Subjects: Odd Semester exams are conducted during October/November time frame. For example 1st and 5th semester examinations could be conducted between October 15- November 1. 3rd and 7th Semester Exams are conducted between November 1 - November 15. Even Semester exams are conducted during April/May time frame. For example 2nd and 6th semester examinations could be conducted between April 15- May 1. 4th and 8th Semester Exams could be conducted between May 1 - May 15.

Examinations for Laboratory Subjects:The laboratory exams are conducted separately and before the theory exams. There are 2 Lab Examinations per semester. Except the 8th semester, which does not have a Laboratory course but a Project Course. An external examiner (a faculty of a peer college) is involved in evaluating students. An internal evaluation is also factored into the evaluation of Laboratory courses.

Hall Ticket: A Hall Ticket is an examination registration and entry card issued to a student. It contains the student's registration number and photograph. It also indicates the examination term the student is allow to attend. The invigilator present in the hall inspects the Hall Ticket of every student before allowing them to write the exam. A Hall Ticket is issued after the student pays the required examination fees and has class attendance of 75% or more. The attendance rule, however, is not enforced strictly.

Grading System: The examination system in Crescent Engineering college is controlled and managed by Anna University. Except for College of Engineering Guindy, all other colleges do not follow Cumulative Grade Point System (CGPA). Students typically write only one exam per semester. This exam occurs at the end of the semester. Each course (Lab or theory) is graded out of 100 points. A minimum of 45 is required to 'Pass' the subject. The only two grade classifications are 'Pass' and 'Fail'. A student's rank is determined by the average points, the student scores across all the courses.

Degree Classifications: A student whose average score through all four years is greater than 75 is awarded "First Class with Distinction" honors along with his/her degree certificate. A Student who obtains an average score of 60 or above is awarded "First Class". A Student with average score of less than 60 at the end of the four year course is awarded second class.

Arrears: A student is required to repeat the course if he/she scores less than 45 in that particular course (also called subject). This situation is called 'arrears'. A student who has 'arrears' is required to retake the exam in the subsequent semester. The student is not required to attend classes for the course. He can retake the exam in the subsequent odd or even semester (regardless of which semester the course was originally offered) and pass the course. A single arrear disqualifies a student from being awarded "First Class with Distinction" honors.

A student who takes more than 4 years to complete the course (except under non-academic circumstances) is awarded a second class degree at the time of his completion regardless of his average score.

Fees

The fee structure keeps changing almost every year. It changes so frequently that it is not possible to describe it accurately without a historical perspective. Historically, 4 sets of students entered Crescent Engineering college.

Two sets entered the college from the Single Window System managed by the Government.

1. Free Seat: These students paid Rs. 7000 per academic year. These were usually students who scored highly in the Plus 2 & Entrance Exam admission criteria. (Approximately around 285/300 - OC/BC; 265 - MBC; 235 - SC/ST)

2. Payment Seats: These Students paid 45,000 per semester. These were usually students who had average scores in the Plus 2 & Entrance Exam admission criteria. (Approximately around 275/300).

Two sets entered the college from the Management Quota.

The fees for these two categories are highly subjective. It is never documented or advertised in any brochure or forum. An accurate representation of this is not possible as it is dependent on a case-by-case basis and the demand for seats during that particular year. A significant portion of the fee could be waived for certain people. Given this variance, the following describes what is considered typical or average.

1. Regular Management Quota: The fee here varied a lot. It involved a sum of anywhere between Rs. 100,000 - Rs. 500,000 'donation' at the beginning of the first year and an annual payment of around 80,000 including the bus fee.

2. Non-Resident Indian Quota (NRI): As per the directions of Government of India Current Situation:

The government has abolished the 'Free Seat' category during the course of the last decade.

Examination Fees

An examination fee of Approximately Rs. 700 to Rs. 1000 is paid by the student every semester (twice a year). This is outside of any other fees he pays to the college. The fee depends on the number of exams the student has to appear for in the given semester.

Reputation

The Electrical & Electronis Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Polymer Technology and Civil Engineering department of Crescent are often regarded as one of the best among colleges of Chennai.

This high reputation is determined by the number of students who get University ranks from Crescent Engineering colleges. As this is a direct indication of how students from Crescent perform vis-a-vis students from other colleges affiliated to the same university.

Campus Recruitment is another important factor that determines Crescent's reputation. At least 30% of the students are placed in campuses itself.

Also important is the cut-off mark, which is the score of the least ranked student who chose crescent engineering college during the Single Window Admission process.

Features

Notable features of Crescent Engineering College includes the Information Technology resources, library, and recently inaugurated state-of-the-art auditorium.

The (EDC) of the college was established in the year 1999. The Principal of the college is the Director of the cell. The College has an IEEE Student Branch which has been very active for so many years. It has been the Biggest Branch in Chennai and was recently awarded for it for the Year 2004.

The Industry-Institute Partnership Cell (IIPC) of the college is a dedicated cell to promote the close interaction of industry and various departments of the institute.

The College's English department also organises Business English Course and many students gets certified after taking up exams.

The Computer Science Department organises excellent courses outside from regular academic courses.

The College has a well-stocked library with memberships available, via the college for premium feeses.

Hostel facilities are available for the residential students, with separate hostels for Men and Women.

In spite of having excellent infrastructure, the college has still managed to maintain a green environment in the campus. One can find trees in abundance.

Crescent Alumni Association

The alumni of this renowned college are occupying positions in technology and business. Recently a dedicated web site has been created, to facilitate the interaction among the Alumni who are spread across the globe. The Alumni Association has initiated several activities some of them are Alumni scholarship scheme etc.,

Crescent Alumni abroad: Crescent Engineering College has a rich culture of students pursuing higher education in foreign countries. After completing their engineering degree in Crescent, students go to Arab, Egypt and other Muslim countries for higher education. Many students are also employed in reputed firms in Americas and Middle-East.

Close to 10% of students in ECE, CSE, EEE groups pursue higher education in foreign countries. Students start preparing for GRE during their third year of engineering and join foreign institutions during August/September of the same year they graduate. Some students prefer to work for one year before pursuing higher studies. The college faculty provide excellent infrastructure and recommendation letters to facilitate the pursuit of such education. The college atmosphere encourages and nourishes such pursuits.

Sports

The college also excels in sports and has been crowned as the champions in the various Anna University Inter-Collegiate Sporting events several times. Adequate facilities are provided for sports. The college has dedicated grounds for Cricket, Football, Hockey as well as Courts for Basketball, Volleyball, Badminton and Ballbadminton.

ISTD-C Students' Club

The Indian Society for Training and Development,(aka ISTD) is the official Students' Club of Crescent Engineering College. It has been in existence for almost a decade now. It is a part of ISTD, Delhi and works under the ISTD, Chennai Chapter.

The college teams which form a part of ISTD-C(alias ISTD-Crescent) have represented college in various cultural events across the country and have won accolades all over. The ISTD-C conducts various events inside the college to bring out the hidden talents in the students and also to acquaint them to participate at events outside the college.

The Students' Club has various clubs under it, where the students can show their talents and nurture their interests. The clubs include The Arts Club, Astronomy Club(newly formed ), Dance Club, Design Club, Dramatics Club, Editorial Board, Literary Club and The Music Club. The complete details of the clubs can be obtained at the comprehensive [www.istdcrescent.org website] of the students club.

The main productions of the students' club include a Writers Inc. Newsletter every semester and the annual students magazine, Writers Inc. by the Editorial Board. The mega event of ISTD-C is Orion, a two-day annual cultural event held every March. The club comes out with new productions every year which include stage plays, training and workshops for students.

SECE

The Society for Electronics and Communication Engineers, is the official society for the Department of Electronics and Communication engineering in Crescent Engineering College (now B.S.Abdur Rahman University).

The SECE conducts a lot of events, including seminars, conferences and symposiums that are aimed at imparting valuable knowledge to the students.

The masterpiece of SECE is the National Technical Symposium which they conduct every year at the premises of Crescent Engineering College (now B.S.Abdur Rahman University) and it is called Impulse.

Infinity

Infinity is the annual math symposium of the college , and the standards set at this event is used at the benchmark for most events of a similar nature in Chennai , and even in India .

12 March 2010 marks the scheduled date when Infinity happens this year.

External links

• Crescent Engineering College
• B. S. Abdur Rahman University
• Crescent Engg. Alumni
• ISTD - Crescent Students' Club
• Orion 2010's official website
• Infinity 2010's official website
• 2^nd National Conference on Recent Trends in VLSI, Information and Communication