I can think of two parameters where a college can be strict : Academics and Administration. There might be more but I’ll focus on these two.
Academics: One might think that academics at BITS are very liberal especially due to the fact that officially there is no minimum attendance requirement in any course so other components must also be leniently dealt with. But that is not true. Many courses have 5 or 10% marks for attendance. Besides there are components of evaluation such as quizzes, assignments and homework that aren’t compromised (ie, if missed you don’t get to give them again). Missing of Tests 1/2 or comprehensive exams is only accepted for serious medical or family issues. Missing a comprehensive exam results in ‘Not cleared’ grade in that subject usually and you can do nothing about it unless you had unavoidable reasons to do so.
Although not all departments are equally rigid in grading (Some are little more tough than others), they all follow some basic guidelines that cannot be messed up with. For eg. the evaluation of tests is very transparent with availability of answer sheets after checking and facility of recheck requests, but if you don’t collect your answer sheet on prescribed day then there is little chance that you will be allowed to submit for recheck.
Grading is relative but the marks range for grades is decided by the instructor of the course only. And average marks usually result in grade C or B-. I wouldn’t call that too strict. Again the checking depends on the instructor and the subject and nothing much you can do about it.
Cheating at exams is also dealt with seriously. The punishment of-course depending on the level of cheating.
Administration: Being located in Goa is one big reason why administration here has to ensure high levels of strictness. And when I say high, I mean ‘don’t-mess-with-it’ high.
Possession or consumption of alcohol in campus or other such things (you know :P) are absolutely not tolerated and the straight punishment being hefty fine and semester-back. There are breath-analyzers at the campus gate to ensure same.
The out times for weekdays are 5:30pm to 10:30pm, Saturday 1:00pm to 10:30pm and Sunday morning to 10:30pm. If you fail to enter the gate by 10:30pm on any day you are flagged (depending on the delay. 10–15 minutes beyond 10:30 might not be a problem but probably not more). If the frequency of fault is too much, your out time might be reduced or completely removed for few days based on seriousness of offense.
You need to provide parent’s permissions for staying out of the campus to the warden and viable reason to do so.
All being said, BITS Goa is a fun place. You can enjoy a lot here without the rules ever being a problem given the you remain within certain limits. Besides, the strictness is the reason many parents (including mine) agreed to send their children to a party-place like Goa to study. It is necessary for the reputation of any good college to maintain some level of strictness.