Dear Respected Authorities,

First and foremost, I kindly request the moderators at student@smail.iitm.ac.in not to reject this email again.

I am xxxxx xxxxxxxxx, a second-year undergraduate student in the Department of Biotechnology. I am writing to express the serious concerns many offline students of IIT Madras share regarding the impact of the IITM Online BS Data Science degree on our academic environment and opportunities. Below, I have outlined the pressing issues that need immediate attention and action.

Resource Scarcity: Online BS students have full access to limited campus resources like the library, CCD, and Ajanta. Offline BTech and other students struggle to find study spaces, especially during exam times. Ajanta, the only proper place for night study, is often occupied by online BS students, sometimes even using it as a sleeping area. This overcrowding severely hampers our ability to study effectively.

Entrance Standards: IITM BTech students undergo rigorous preparation for JEE Advanced, spending 2-3 years to secure admission. In contrast, the Online BS degree requires only passing the Qualifier Exam, which is nowhere near to JEE Advanced. Yet these online students enjoy almost all the privileges of BTech students, including on-campus hostel accommodation and access to offline courses. This devalues the immense effort put in by JEE Advanced qualifiers and creates an unfair playing field.

Degree Confusion: The degrees awarded to Online BS students do not indicate their online nature. The large number of students obtaining these degrees risks tarnishing the reputation of IITM, making it difficult for universities and companies to differentiate between offline and online graduates. Also, IITM has offline BS degrees through JoSAA JE Advanced, like BS-MS in Physics and BS in Biological Science, which can be largely affected by the online BS degree being the same as the offline traditional degrees.

Brand Value Dilution: The influx of Online BS students carrying the IIT Madras brand is diminishing the exclusivity and value of the opportunities available to BTech and other offline students. The ability to exit after one or two years and still claim IITM alumni status undermines the prestige of being an IITian. This dilution threatens the long-term reputation of IITM degrees. If IITM brand value is no longer exclusive like other IITs, why would anyone choose IITM in the first place?

Placement and Internships: Online BS students pose a threat to the placement opportunities for offline students in the future. Companies may struggle to differentiate between BTech and BS Online degree holders, potentially leading to a decline in jobs offered for BTech students.

Alumni Network: The large number of unqualified BS Online students claiming IITian status damages the reputation of IITM. This infiltration into the alumni network gives outsiders a false impression of the quality of IITM graduates, affecting future opportunities for offline students.

Mental Health of Students: The privileges given to Online BS students lead to severe mental health issues for offline students. Constantly having to justify that we are not online BS students affects our self-esteem and satisfaction.

Serving the Nation: While serving the community and nation is great, it should not come at the expense of offline students. Top institutions like Harvard and MIT do not offer online BS degrees with the same recognition as offline degrees.

Student Status: Since IITM BS Data Science students are technically students of IIT Madras, anything that they do, whether good or bad, can be used in the name of IITM. A prime example of this is the recent news of murder by a student who was branded by the newspaper as being an IIT Madras student.

In conclusion, the current situation significantly threatens the quality and reputation of IITM degrees and brand value. Immediate action is required to address these concerns and ensure that the hard work and dedication of offline students are not undermined as well as the excellent brand value built over decades.