How to choose a B-School?

[Sponsored Article]

By Manish Jain

Where to study?
In India itself, one needs to consider various locational factors. The proximity of a B-School to business hubs is very important, it has a great influence over the level of interaction you can expect to have with the industry. This factor affects the quality of education, visiting faculty, exposure to corporates, availability of live projects and internships as well as placement opportunities. The location also determines the kind of people you will get to interact with and learn from.

Degree or Diploma?
Many students are not aware of the differences between an MBA and a PGDM or a PGPM. There’s a thin line that separates them. MBA is offered by universities, or colleges affiliated to universities. PGDM is offered by institutions approved by AICTE and ministry of HRD. The MBA curriculum is designed by universities, but PGDM course curricula are framed by individual institutes. For both MBA and PGDM, Students are eligible for Government as well as private jobs and higher education.
On the other hand, PGPM is an autonomous programme which is neither recognised by AICTE nor by UGC or any university. There is no legal credibility of this course and students may face hardships in future.

General or Specialised?
While thinking for a specialised programme, it is important to check the reputation & intention of a B-School in starting a specialized programme and rather requires a clarity in your mind. An MBA in forest management should be done for your passion about forests and wildlife. If it is owing to an institute’s reputation, then issues might crop up later. A general MBA however, is still the best bet for students without any management experience/education, so that they can opt for specialisations later on as they find a sector of their calling.

Which credentials should you look for?
Find out the program’s acceptability with the list of potential recruiters you aspire, analyse the B-school’s placement statistics of last three years, number of students picked by top companies and the profile offered. Also, find out how active is the placement cell and/or the alumni network. But, don’t get fixated on placements, a B-School is not a placement agency. They are trainers who prepare you for the corporate world. This ability is owing to the faculty they employ, its curriculum and their emphasis on research.

Extract infrastructure details because it ensures sound technical & logistical support. A residential campus is ideal for Management Programme as it extends the opportunity for a student to interact with faculty members beyond office time and creates a strong peer learning atmosphere. Today, various ranking surveys provide you most of this information but remember to take all of these surveys with a pinch of salt though, and not to bother about the exact ranking of 'a' survey, but with the general opinion of a few put together.

International Accreditations?
In India, 27 management institutes are internationally accredited. It means that the MBA/PGDM offered by these institutes are qualitatively of international standards and the qualification from these institutes is accepted globally for both jobs and higher education. This is an old phenomenon in western part of the world but catching up in India. Such accreditations indicate the quality of education provided at these institutes and speaks of its global endorsement.

Are there affiliations & exchange programs?

Many B-schools have collaborations with acclaimed international B-schools. Exchange programs and affiliations encourage a healthy, cosmopolitan learning environment and promote global standards of education. Such programs are optional, even if you do not participate in a program yourself, the experience of interacting with visiting students itself will benefit you a lot.

Infrastructure?
Infrastructure in an institute plays an important role in students’ learning process. Generally, students should see how many programmes are offered by an Institute in the campus where he/she is going to study and relatively ‘Does the institute have proportional infrastructure?’. Generally residential programmes are considered as an ideal choice.

These days we see institutes offering management programmes from one building infrastructure, they may not be ideal places to study If you have an option.

How is the Alumni pool?
The alumni pool gives you multiple indications about the institute. Firstly, they can provide you with the first-hand raw feedback about the institute. Secondly, if they are in well-respected positions in various industries, it ensures a good standing for the school in the corporate world, which, in turn, implies better placement opportunities. Last but not the least, the pace of their progression in the corporate world speaks volumes about the institute on the whole.

Institute’s existence?
The period of establishment speaks a lot about the credibility of an institute. Older the better. It is noticed in past couple of years that many new institutes have closed their campuses as they find difficult to get students or quality students. Older institutes will have more corporate connectivity by virtue of having more Alumni and probably at higher positions which certainly affects the future placements.

In the end, my advice to all you future managers will be to finalise an institute only after actually, physically visiting the campus.

About the Author:

Manish Jain is Founder & CEO, IBA Bengaluru. His academic qualifications include B.E.(Mechanical), PGDBM (Finance), and MBA (Marketing).

Manish has managerial experience at MICO & Tata-IBM, MUHEPL and is also presently the Director-Business Development MUHEPL. He was a nominee for ‘Jewel of India 2002 Award’ and a recipient of “Rastriya Shiksha Saman Puraskar” by Indian Economic Development & Research Association (IEDRA) for his contributions to quality higher education. He received ‘Distinguished Service Award’ at IIM Ahmedabad for his contribution of developing Management Education in India. He is the driving force behind IBA, ably guided by an illustrious Academic Advisory Council and distinguished faculty members.