Open Distance Learning Centre

Faculty of Science, University of Colombo

BSc (External) in Electronics and Automation Technologies

General Guidelines

01. Introduction
The BSc (External) in Electronics and Automation Technologies programme offered
by the Department of Physics, University of Colombo has a total of ninety (90) credits
with thirty (30) credits from each of the levels (Level I, Level II, and Level III). The
course units are composed of lecture-based course units and laboratory-based course
units. The medium of instruction is English.

02. Programme Objectives

BSc (External) in Electronics and Automation Technologies degree is designed for
students aspiring to become a professional in the field of electronics and automation.
Students pursuing this degree will not only learn fundamentals related to Electronics,
Programming, Physics, Mathematics, and Statistics but also develop practical skills
required to become competitive in the emerging technologically advanced job
markets such as IoT. Development of soft skills is embedded in the curriculum
enabling our students to approach problems scientifically, to be innovative and to
become confident leaders in technology driven global businesses.

03. Eligibility and Admission Criteria

GCE Advanced Level Examination (local) – Three passes in one sitting in Physical
Science stream or Biological Science stream (Preference will be given to those who
have done Mathematics)
OR
GCE Advanced Level Examination (local) – Three passes in one sitting in
Technology Stream (Preference will be given to those who have done Engineering
Technology and Science for Technology)
OR
Any other equivalent academic/professional qualification acceptable to the faculty
and the senate (eg: Cambridge/Edexcel A/L, City and Guilds, HNDE, NVQ Level 4
course from a related discipline etc.)

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 General Guidelines for BSc (External) in Financial Engineering Degree Programmes - 2024 intake

04. Programme Duration

The duration of the programme is 3 years. In each year, the programme is conducted
over 3 terms of 15 weeks. The lectures, lab classes and exams are held on Sundays
while occasionally some lectures/exams might be held on Saturdays.

05. Evaluation Criteria

● The theory course modules are evaluated through written examinations
and/or assignments where appropriate. In some instances, course units may
require a mixed-mode evaluation including continuous assessments.
● In the courses employing continuous assessments for the student evaluation,
eligibility to sit for the final examination necessitates above 40% of marks
in the continuous assessment components including the mid-examination.

06. Online Examination Fee Policy

● If the student is a Sri Lankan citizen residing in Sri Lanka and wish to
undertake an online examination outside the university premises, it must be
informed at the examination registration process and approval should be
obtained by writing to the programme coordinator.

● If the student is a Sri Lankan citizen residing in Sri Lanka and intends to
undertake an online examination outside the university premises, it is
mandatory to pay LKR 75000 as an additional examination fee, in
conjunction with the standard level fee. However, if the payment is done
separately for the three terms it is mandatory to pay LKR 30000 per term.

● In the event that the student is a Sri Lankan citizen residing in Sri Lanka at
the time of registration, subsequently migrates, then they shall request online
examinations by remitting the online examination fee of LKR 30000 per
term. However, the student will be categorized as a Sri Lankan coming from
a foreign territory, resulting in a modification of the course fee structure to
align with the corresponding category for the subsequent academic year
registration.

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Open Distance Learning Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo
07. Scheme of Evaluation
The Grade Point Average (GPA) is computed using grades assigned for all courses
including the research project. The minimum grade a student should achieve to pass
a course unit is C. The grades shall be assigned as shown in 7.1.

7.1 Grade Points and GPA

The Grade Points shall be assigned using the following table.

Marks Range Grade Grade Point

85-100 A+ 4.00

70- 84 A 4.00

65-69 A- 3.70

60-64 B+ 3.30

55-59 B 3.00

50-54 B- 2.70

45-49 C+ 2.30

40-44 C 2.00

35-39 C- 1.70

30-34 D+ 1.30

25-29 D 1.00

00-24 E 0.00

The GPA shall be computed using the following formula, GPA = ∑ wigi / ∑ wi
where, wi = number of credit units for the ith course and gi = grade points for the
course.

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 General Guidelines for BSc (External) in Financial Engineering Degree Programmes - 2024 intake

7.1a Grading System for Enhancement/ Intensive Courses

Enhancement/ intensive courses carry only a letter grade as specified below and do
not carry a Grade Point Value.

Marks Range Letter Grade Attainment

70- 100 H Honours

55- 69 M Meritorious

40- 54 S Satisfactory

00- 39 U Unsatisfactory

7.1b Examination Results and Scrutinization

Examination results will be published through the Student Information System (SIS)
and shall be considered final. However, if a student wishes to apply for re-
correction/re-scrutinization, the request should be made through the SIS. Requests
made through other means of communication shall not be considered.

7.2 Repeat Examinations

• In the event of examination failure, students shall repeat the examination
during the next available opportunity.

• If a student retakes the examination and is concurrently registered for the

subsequent level of the degree program, then they shall retake the
examination in the next available opportunity without paying any additional
fee.

• If a student retakes the examination and is not concurrently registered for

the subsequent level of the degree program, a fee of LKR 65,000 will be
levied for the examination retake.

• In the regular final academic year, if a student opts to retake an examination

during a regular academic session, no additional fee will be incurred.
However, should the student choose to repeat the examination during a non-
regular academic session, a fee of LKR 65,000 will be levied.

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Open Distance Learning Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo
 • A student obtaining a grade below C shall re-sit the course examination for
the purpose of improving the grade. The grades obtained in the first and
subsequent attempts shall all be listed in the academic transcript. The highest
grade obtained is used for the calculation of the final GPA. However, the
highest grade considered for the determination of award of a class is C.

• If a student is absent for the final examination of a course, AB (Absent) shall

be assigned instead of a grade.

• If a student obtains an AB (absent) at the first attempt of the examination,

then the next attempt shall be considered as the first attempt.

7.3 Maximum Allowed Period

The maximum stipulated period of the programme of study leading to the Bachelor
of Science (External) Degree in Financial Engineering is nine (09) academic years
from the first registration.

08. Certificate/Diploma/Degree Awarding Criteria

Level I – Certificate

(a) Completion of a minimum of thirty (30) credits in Level I,

AND
(b) Obtaining a grade not lower than C in course units aggregating to at least twenty
(20) credits in Level I,
AND
(c) Obtaining an overall GPA of 2.0 or above in Level I.

Level II – Certificate

(a) Meet requirements for Level I Certification,

AND
(b) Completion of a minimum of sixty (60) credits with at least 30 credits from Level
II,
AND
(c) Obtaining a grade not lower than C in course units aggregating to at least twenty
(20) from Level II,
AND
(d) Obtaining an overall GPA of 2.0 or above in Level II.
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 General Guidelines for BSc (External) in Financial Engineering Degree Programmes - 2024 intake

Diploma (SLQF Level 3)

(a) Completion of a minimum of thirty (30) credits of the course units in Level I,
AND
(b) Obtaining a grade not lower than C in course units aggregating to a total of 20
credits for specified set of Level I courses indicated by * in Section 10,
AND
(c) Obtaining an overall GPA of 2.0 or above.

Advanced Diploma (SLQF Level 4)

(a) Completion of a minimum of sixty (60) credits of the course units in Level I and
Level II,
AND
(b) Obtaining a grade not lower than C in course units aggregating to a total of 40
credits for specified set of Level I and Level II course units indicated by * in
Section 10,
AND
(c) Obtaining an overall GPA of 2.0 or above for the sixty (60) credits for Level I
and Level II course units.

Degree (SLQF Level 5)

(a) Completion of a minimum of ninety (90) credits with at least thirty (30) credits
from each of Level I, Level II and Level III.
AND
(b) Obtaining a minimum GPA of 2.0 in course units aggregating to at least twenty
(20) credits at each of Level I, Level II and Level III.
AND
(c) Obtaining a minimum overall GPA of 2.0 in Level I, Level II, and Level III taken
together.

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Open Distance Learning Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo
Awarding Classes

If a student satisfies the requirements for obtaining a degree within three (03)
consecutive academic years of the External Degree Programme
AND
First Class: If a student has a minimum overall GPA of 3.70.
OR
Second Class (Upper Division): If a student has a minimum overall GPA of 3.30.
OR
Second Class (Lower Division): If a student has a minimum overall GPA of 3.00.

09. Examination Offences

● Examination offenses fall into any of the following misconducts that shall
be committed by students during the conduct of an examination. These
include, but are not limited to:

❖ Possession of unauthorized documents and/or devices

❖ Removal of examination stationary from the examination hall
❖ Copying
❖ Obtaining or attempting to obtain improper assistance
❖ Cheating or attempting to cheat
❖ Impersonation
❖ Disorderly conduct
❖ Aiding and abetting the commission of any of the above offenses.

● When submitting reports, dissertations or any other evaluative assignments

such as research projects, projects, case studies, plagiarism is considered a
serious offense, equivalent to an examination offense. Plagiarism is defined
as:
❖ Submitting another person’s work as your own
❖ Including another person’s work (language, ideas, results, data,
graphics, images, etc.) in your submissions without proper
acknowledgment or citation
❖ Copying another person’s paragraphs or sentences into your work
without any changes, even when the sources are cited
❖ In cases where it is necessary to quote (copy word to word) a
sentence or two of someone else’s language, failure to put such
sentences within quotation marks.

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 General Guidelines for BSc (External) in Financial Engineering Degree Programmes - 2024 intake

● Any candidate who is found guilty of an examination offense or plagiarism

is liable to any one or more of the following punishments:

❖ Removal of his/her name from the pass list

❖ Cancellation of his/her candidacy from the whole or part of the
examination
❖ Suspension from any University examination for such period as the Senate
shall decide, or indefinitely
❖ Suspension from the University for such Period as the Senate shall decide,
or expulsion from the University.

10. Course Modules

Level I in Electronics and Automation Technologies

Notional
Course Code Title Credits
Hours
EA 1101 Analogue Electronics - I* 2C 100
EA 1102 Electronic Circuit Simulations* 2C 100
EA 1103 Sensors & Actuators* 2C 100
EA 1104 Introduction to Programming* 2C 100
EA 1105 Algorithms and Computations* 2C 100
EA 1106 Physics for Engineering* 2C 100
EA 1107 Measurements Laboratory* 2C 100
EA 1120 Analogue Electronics Laboratory* 3C 150
EA 1121 Digital Electronics Laboratory* 3C 150
EA 1130 Calculus 2C 100
EA 1131 Probability and Statistics 2C 100
EA 1140 Web Application Development I 2C 100
EA 1150 Computer Applications 2C 100
EA 1151 Creativity and Innovation 2C 100
EA 0040 Intensive English Course†
EA 0050 Intensive Mathematics Course†

*Compulsory courses to complete to obtain diploma

†Intensive English and Mathematics course conducted during the orientation period

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Open Distance Learning Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo
Level II in Electronics and Automation Technologies

Course Notional
Title Credits
Code Hours
EA 2101 Analogue Electronics - II* 2C 100
EA 2102 Computer Architecture* 2C 100
EA 2103 Data Communication Techniques* 2C 100
EA 2104 Digital Signal Processing* 2C 100
EA 2120 Microcontroller Laboratory* 3C 150
EA 2121 Sensors and wireless communication for IoT* 3C 150
EA 2122 Instrumentation Laboratory* 2C 100
EA 2130 Applied Numerical Methods* 2C 100
EA 2131 Data Analytics* 2C 100
EA 2140 Database Management 2C 100
EA 2141 Mobile Application Development I 2C 100
EA 2142 Computer networking 2C 100
EA 2150 Business Economics 2C 100
EA 2151 English for Communicating Science 2C 100
*Compulsory courses to complete to obtain advanced diploma

Level III in Electronics and Automation Technologies

Course Notional
Title Credits
Code Hours
EA 3101 Power Electronics 2C 100
EA 3102 Programmable Logic Controllers 2C 100
EA 3103 Advanced Fabrication Techniques 2C 100
EA 3104 Applied Machine Learning 2C 100
EA 3120 Data Acquisition for IoT 3C 150
EA 3121 Robotics Laboratory 3C 150
EA 3131 Multivariate Analysis 2C 100
EA 3140 Web Application Development II 2C 100
EA 3141 Mobile Application Development II 2C 100
EA 3142 Fundamentals of Cyber Security 2C 100
EA 3150 Entrepreneurship 2C 100
EA 3151 Business Communication 2C 100
EA 3160 Final Year Project 4C 500

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 General Guidelines for BSc (External) in Financial Engineering Degree Programmes - 2024 intake

11. General Information and Contact Details

Upon payment of the required registration fee for the academic year, students will
be given the username and the password of the SIS (Student Information System).

All the course materials and assignments will be made available on the LMS
(Learning Management System).

All students registered in the SIS (Students' Information System) can log on to the
LMS using their registration number as the username and the password provided to
the SIS.

All student requests should be made by filling the Student Request Form available
on the EAT Help Desk (Link to the EAT Help Desk can be found on the homepage
of the LMS). Requests made through other means of communication will not be
considered.

Web address External Degree, Faculty of Science

https://science.cmb.ac.lk/edp/

LMS (Lecture Management System)

https://lms.sci.cmb.ac.lk/edphub/lms/

SIS (Student’ Information System)

https://lms.sci.cmb.ac.lk/edphub/sims/

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Open Distance Learning Centre, Faculty of Science, University of Colombo