About 25 years ago, management courses in India were synonymous with IIMs. However, with time, several good B-schools have emerged to cater to the growing population of management aspirants. IIMs, though, continue to be the best, offering innovative courses to satisfy the needs of all sections of students. Apart from these, there are more than 5,000 management institutes in India.
With mushrooming MBA/PGDM schools and the huge amount of money a students needs to spend for management education, it has become very important to select the right business school.
So how can we differentiate between these institutes? The task of choosing the right management institute has become even more difficult because there is no standard parameter or universally acceptable criteria in our country. The surveys carried out by leading magazines have only added to the confusion.
To make it slightly clearer and simpler, here are seven parameters that you can analyse before joining an institute:
Accreditation : Accreditation assures quality education, financial aid opportunities, credit transfer and other important parameters. Without accreditation from national recognised organisations such as AICTE, AIU, or UGC, an institute is not eligible to participate in government student assistance programmes.
You can’t opt for PhD or any research work if the institution is not accredited and your degrees will not be recognised.
It helps if the B-school is accredited by an international body such as Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), Association of MBAs (AMBA) and European Quality Improvement system (EQUIS). This is like a seal of approval and shows that a B-school has taken the effort to follow the best practices and standards that the accrediting bodies demand. International recruiters value a B-School with international accreditation.
Faculty : It plays a pivotal role in preparing a student to face the real life and come out triumphant. All institutes have detailed profiles of their permanent and visiting faculty members. One can talk to faculty members by visiting the campus and take their opinion about the B-school.
Pedagogy and curriculum : One of the key strengths of a B-School is the variety and flexibility in teaching pedagogy. A good management institute would focus on experiential learning and teach you how to think, teach cross-functional competence, functional domain knowledge and team work.
Scholarships : In India, the annual cost of management education is about ₹4-₹5 lakh in regular courses. Availability of bank loans coupled with scholarship schemes, will make even programmes affordable for the common student.
Placements and alumni : An institute that gives you a detailed list, and claims to place at least 70 per cent of its students is the one to look out for. Management Development Programmes (MDPs) and corporate consultancy are good indicators of future placements. You can try to get in touch with the industry professionals to get their opinion about B-schools as well.
Alumni are the mirror of any institute. Their profiles determine the reputation of a college. . You can talk to students who have passed out of the institute and see what they have to say. Find out if there are enough alumni in your field of interest. If you are not very convinced about the profile of alumni, be cautious.
International exposure : Premier B-schools build international networks with partner institutions to give students an opportunity to study one or two terms at other leading business schools through exchange programmes. Check the MOU/ bi-lateral agreements of B-school with foreign institutes by contacting their international cell or by interacting with the professor-in-charge of international relations.
Campus life : Campus life plays an important role in making students versatile. A good institute should have a healthy mix of people. Extracurricular activities can help their character bloom fully. However, a good part of management education involves team work and managing a large number of projects.