In the last decade, there are quite many things that B-schools in India have showcased to lure/attract students into their programs. Due to the excessive usage of these so called "Unique Selling proposition" or at times the "Unique factors" by almost every b-school, these terms have now become irrelevant and are not associated with the way aspirants choose their Business school or programs.
The following things will probably be done away with:
1. Approvals - of the program (mostly AICTE). This no longer has any significance as the majority of the ones with the approvals are the ones sulking and possible are the worst examples of how a b-school shouldn't be.
2. AC Campus - How does it matter?
3. Well Stocked Library - Isn't this the bare minimum of a good MBA/PG program?
4. Free Laptop - Sounds like some Free Lunch being distributed at some temple and therefore will attract people to join. Heck! Why would someone who is paying Rs.5,00,000 as a course fee and additional expenses along with that have pains to buy a laptop worth Rs.25,000? And more so, how can this be a salient feature of a program?
5. Placement (100%) - A closer look with say how much of this is true. Some in the industry speak of horrific stories of how HR departments are paid money by a bschool to get the student an offer for 3 months and then probably chuck him out. If this is true, then thats a big scandal in itself. The important question is - Do I want to join an Educational institute or a Placement Agency to find me a job?
6. Additional Program of SAP - This is actually laughable stock. I mean, there are so many credits available for students in some of the best institutes that something like this is hillarious.
7. Hostel Facility - Why does anyone have to mention this as one of the key features?
8. Visiting Faculty from XYZ Institutes - Which means that full-time faculty strength is low or absent and therefore academic rigour is absent. visiting faculty is always a way of saving cost for any b-school.
9. Hygenic Canteen - As if food in other campuses kill aspirants.
10. Wi-fi Campus - If I belong to the 1990s and have slept after that to be woken up to do an MBA, I may say "wow" to that. People who understand the way technology has evolved and the requirements to be provided to MBA students, they will find this mention amusing.
11. Scholarships - At the counseling stage, this becomes "Discount". Education becomes some kind of bargainable commodity. This factor has been overused and aspirants have no respect for something like this anymore, therefore this too is avoidable in communications to aspirants.
12. International Curriculum - Some even go the distance of saying that their curriculum reflects those of Harvard's or Wharton's. For the unknown, this might be an attraction, but for the larger section of aspirants who are aware of facts and do their research, this is a LIE. You cannot ever replicate the curriculum of those Universities because the kind of credits available and the amount of teaching hours and number of Professors teaching there is not possible to be replicated by even some of the best in India.
If B-schools avoid these and get into properly identifying themselves with the aspirants, it will be better for the bschools in every possible way. The question is - do they have anything substantial to talk about if they choose to omit these from their Advertisements?
No comments:
Post a Comment