Bhubaneswar: Higher education department on Wednesday began the Phase-1 e-admission process for undergraduate (UG) courses in degree colleges through the Students Academic Management System (SAMS).This year, the department has scheduled the commencement of the 2026-27 UG academic session from July 9. Officials said the Common Application Forms (CAFs) will be available on the SAMS website (www.samsodisha.gov.in) from Wednesday, and students can submit their applications online by June 10. The admissions will be conducted in three rounds.The department will publish the first merit list on June 17, while admissions under the first round will be held from June 18 to 20. Similarly, the second merit list will be released on June 29, and admissions under this round will be conducted from June 30 to July 4. After the academic session begins on July 9, the third round, reserved for spot and waiting-list admissions, will be conducted on July 17.Higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj said the decision to begin the academic session early was taken to ensure timely completion of UG courses so that students can prepare and apply for competitive examinations. Prior to 2025, the academic session used to begin in Aug.The Phase-2 UG admission process will begin after the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) declares the results of the instant examinations for Class XII students of the state board. While the CHSE Instant examinations are scheduled for July, the council usually takes around 60 days to publish the results.The department said the Phase-2 admissions will be exclusively reserved for left-out students, meaning those who fail to secure admission in any degree college during Phase-1 will be allotted the seats.This year, the total seat strength in UG courses stands at 2.76 lakh across 1,050 colleges. Admissions to nine self-financing and unaided degree colleges have been restricted for the new session following the withdrawal of recognition.
