Best B-Schools 2016 - Stand out of the clutter
XLRI Jamshedpur, very recently, got the AACSB international business accreditation for its doctoral program and in the process, joined a select group of 777 global business schools1 to have earned this accreditation. IIM Calcutta also won the European Foundation for Management Development Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) accreditation becoming the third business school in India to receive it. From the establishment of the first full-time MBA in Andhra University in 1957 and establishment of the first IIMs in Calcutta and Ahmedabad in 1960s to getting global accreditations2, Indian management education has come very far.
Some key figures that need to be highlighted:
- 5,500 management schools.
- Three times more B-Schools to choose from compared to 2011-12.
- 5,20,000 seats for MBA education.
And this is not counting the unapproved institutions. With a myriad of options available for management education aspirants, it becomes important to distinguish the best from the rest. Considering the limited seats available in some of the renowned colleges, and a lack of quality education in many B-Schools in tier 2 and tier 3 cities,3 it is important for aspiring management graduates to know which institutions stand out and across what parameters. Better salary is not the only motivator for students who aspire to do MBA, many other critical factors include the desire to create a good network, enhance their skill and personality, facilitate career growth and progression.
In view of this, NHRDN, in partnership with People Matters, has released the B-School Ranking for fourth year in a row, ranking B-Schools on ten key parameters. Besides being a holistic ranking of 50 B-Schools in India, it also ranks the institutes individually based on certain key parameters.
The robust methodology followed ensures credibility in the ranking which is further aided by the fact that NHRDN is a voluntary professional organization. P. Dwarakanath, Head Group Human Capital, Max India Ltd. and past President of NHRDN states, “The rationale behind the ranking is to provide some service to the community and stakeholders, particularly management institutes. This ranking has no commercial gains associated with it.”
Evaluation parameters
The ten evaluation parameters - ‘Student quality’, ‘Intellectual capital’, ‘Infrastructure’, ‘Campus life’, ‘Academic excellence’, ‘Placements’, ‘Corporate connectedness’, ‘Accreditation and linkages’, ‘Governance and vision of institute’, ‘and Alumni strength’ were finalized through consultations with 30 senior executives of some of the largest organizations in the country. “The ranking is an evaluation of the academic environment and industry reputation of the leading B-Schools in the country and the ranking across different parameters gives credible information about where B-Schools stand in every criterion. This can help B-schools engage in a self-improvement exercise in areas where the scores are low,” said Kamal Singh, Director General of NHRDN. The 56 schools which have participated in this assessment have been ranked on ten broad parameters to measure the quality of knowledge creation, application, and dissemination.
Methodology adopted
The study methodology was devised and executed by Cinque Education, an independent research organization.The selection process of the B-Schools started with the first step of shortlisting exercise. A list of institutions was created based on ranking studies from several sources in the last five years and after deliberations with an advisory team and NHRDN Board members. Only the schools which offered courses affiliated to the University Grants Commission (UGC) or the All Indian Council for Technical Education (AICTE) were selected.
As part of Step 2 (Survey Initiation), the selected institutes were invited to participate in the study. A questionnaire was sent to the participant business schools, which was designed to measure the ten key competencies. It was followed by Step 3 (Validation of Data) as a part of which, the data was then collected and validated over the course of next several months. The research team, along with a senior corporate representative visited every participant business school in the country and conducted interviews with deans, faculty and students alike to validate the authenticity of the claims made by the business schools. In the final step (Final Analysis & Tally) the B-Schools were then scored against the attributes and adjusted against any prevalidation biases.
Rankings, like these, can assist students in making informed decisions, and enable them to be a part of institutions which excel in their preferred criteria of choice. This cover story presents the rankings of institutions along with their individual scores across parameters.
Click on the image below to see the full ranking list
Check out the rank list with B-school profiles below
Best B-schools 2016: Ranks 1-10