Finally, The How

The B-schools were ranked based on objective data and the satisfaction scores of key stakeholders i.e. industry, students and faculty. The survey was open to all B-schools in India, and a questionnaire designed for the survey could be downloaded by any school from the website, www.indiabschools.com. Invitations were also sent separately to 950 B-schools to participate in the survey. In all, 234 of these institutes responded. Information on some institutes, which didn’t participate directly, was obtained from secondary sources that were available to us. The validation exercise was done by a special team which cross-checked the data by asking for necessary documents like appointment letters, balance-sheets, annual reports and other relevant records. Veracity of information was also checked by the ‘mystery shopping’ method, where the surveyor didn’t reveal his identity to the institute.

The objective scores were got evaluating each of the participating B-school against the following six broad parameters:

• Placement performance
  
• Intellectual capital
  
• Infrastructure and facilities
  
• Industry interface
  
• International Linkages
  
• Extra-curricular activities

The satisfaction survey of recruiters was conducted online (indiabschools.com), in which 639 respondents participated. The recruiters were asked to rate the graduates of the various B-schools that they were familiar with against six different parameters; effectiveness in application of knowledge of subject/skills, analytical skills, communication and presentation skills, creativity, proactive attitude and ability to work in a team. The satisfaction survey for students and faculty was open to both the categories in all the B-schools. Once again, they could log on to indiabschools.com and the survey was open since September 2004. In all 6,345 students and 1,125 faculty members participated. The aggregate score of the year-long exercise was taken to assess an institute. The students and faculty members were also asked to rank top B-schools both across the country, and in their respective states.

The overall scores were then collated on the basis of weightages given for each of the main parameters. The weightages have been decided on the basis of regular discussions and interactions with the various stakeholders. The results for the current B-school survey and other related detailed findings are available at indiabschools.com.

The project team: Naveen Bhatt, T.K Pradhan, N.K Sinha, B. Bhattacharya, G. Upadhyay, Ajay Kumar and Premchand Palety.