Students Navigate Foundation Course Academic Policies, Prompting a Replanning of Trajectories at Ashoka

During the summer preceding Monsoon 2026, the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) revamped the Foundation Course (FC) policy. This was communicated to students via email on June 30th, 2026, and mandated that undergraduate students complete all nine FCs within the first two years for upcoming batches, citing academic “flexibility” as its rationale. As the semester draws to a close, students are now seeing how the policy plays out in practice. Some students shared that they have had to rework their minors, while others have had to rethink their broader academic trajectories. In particular, the policy appears to weigh heavily on students who want to pursue a semester abroad. Since FCs are unique to Ashoka, they cannot be matched to credits earned at other universities, which means planning a semester abroad around them requires careful thought. With the new policy effectively mandating faster completion while limiting course options, many students, particularly third-year students, are struggling to balance the two. The Edict spoke to students who are facing difficulties and are unsure how to manage FCs alongside their other courses in the semesters ahead.

The OAA maintains that the policy creates more flexibility in later semesters. However, in conversation with The Edict, many students felt uncertain about this. Krishnav Sachdev (UG ‘28), an English and Media Studies major, questioned the reasoning behind it. “No line of logic from the inception of this policy can lead me there,” he said. Idhant Chutani (UG ‘28), an Economics & Finance major, suggested that students now have considerably less room to try out courses and see what sticks. Under the previous system, students could choose whether to complete their FCs early or prioritise major and minor courses before fulfilling these requirements. Sana Sood (UG ‘28), a Sociology-Anthropology major currently on a semester abroad, described this exploratory period as one of the most valuable aspects of Ashoka’s academic structure. Having entered the university undecided, she deferred her FCs for two semesters to explore disciplines such as Biology and Sociology before changing majors in her second year. “Without having that opportunity, I would not be as sure or as satisfied with my path,” she said.

The revised policy also limits students’ ability to choose FC sections based on their academic interests and preferred professors. Sachdev had deliberately deferred two FCs to take them with professors who had previously been on sabbatical. This semester, however, those sections were open only to first-year students, with no concrete promise that professors would rotate back to senior sections in subsequent semesters. His timetable was structured around his major and minor courses, which left him with FC options he did not prefer. According to an email sent by the OAA on June 30th, 2026, which announced the policy to students, it included a list of professors who might be teaching FCs for senior years, albeit marked as tentative and no concrete guarantee was provided. Chutani, who had been following his department’s recommended trajectory and was on track to finish his FCs in his third year, found that few sections fit his schedule, and the sole section that did was heavily oversubscribed. Both students described a situation in which senior sections were limited while first-year sections were made available to them at a later stage during a second registration process.

Because FCs cannot be matched to credits earned elsewhere, a semester abroad leaves fewer semesters for students at Ashoka to complete their requirements. Sachdev shared that he now has to fit three FCs into his last two semesters. Chutani explained that certain courses in his trajectory run only every alternate semester, so a missed course can mean a full year’s delay, and he took extra minor courses to fulfil minimum credit requirements. Sood, meanwhile, was informed by her department representatives that the recommended deadline to complete FCs is not mandatory; however, the official presentation shared by the OAA stated that “SY students may choose not to follow the recommendation, but it will be at their own risk”. She still reworked her plan, and particularly because some core courses are offered only in spring, she is considering a summer semester to finish her three remaining FCs before her fourth year. “The new policy definitely made tackling major requirements, semester abroad credits, and FC requirements more complicated,” she said, though not impossibly so. 

The registration process itself was riddled with technical difficulties and failures. The Academic Management Systems (AMS) portal crashed on 4th August, 2026, which prompted the administration to re-run the process on 6th August, 2026. Reflecting on this, Chutani said the failure introduced several complications due to increased uncertainty about securing courses and planning his semester. Sachdev, meanwhile, recounted waiting for a seat in a Quantitative Reasoning and Mathematical Thinking (QRMT) section. Despite being 150th on the waitlist, he was still 105th when Shopping Week ended and ultimately could not secure a place.

The revised FC policy, and the abruptness with which it was introduced, warrant closer understanding of the decision at the administrative level. Its central premise – that completing FCs earlier creates greater flexibility in later semesters – is questionable when it leaves students with fewer opportunities to determine their interests at their own pace. As students are pushed to finish their FCs in their first two years, it reduces potential academic exploration. Consequently, it requires students to make academic decisions before they have had sufficient opportunity to discover their interests. Until students’ concerns are adequately reflected in the policy’s implementation, the flexibility it promises may remain more apparent on paper than in practice.

[Edited by Ananya Mahnot and Avika Mantri].