The Procedure

The BW-Synovate B-school survey 2011 has two parts: an objective, data-based survey and a perceptual survey that involves the various stakeholders in the  management education system. Since the surveys were carried out starting March 2011, the objective survey contains data for the academic year 2009-10.

Objective Survey
A structured questionnaire split into six main parameters and sub-parameters was emailed to all approved B-schools. The questionnaire was also uploaded on to the Businessworld website. A minimum entry criterion was that at least two batches should have passed out by 2010. A total of 350+ institutes were contacted, of which 139 responded with filled-in questionnaires and supporting documents. The questionnaire kits were closely scrutinised and back checks were done to verify the information. A few students from some institutes were contacted to validate the factual information related to infrastructure and industry interface. After the scrutiny, the information was further validated from secondary sources. Finally, 136 institutes were ranked; three institutes could not be ranked because of incomplete data (IIM Bangalore, MICA and Sydenham). Fifteen institutes declined to participate or could not submit the data within the given deadline.

Perceptual Survey
Another structured questionnaire was the basis of the perceptual survey. A total of 1,219 respondents were interviewed across 11 cities: Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata, Patna, Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. The respondents were asked to rate the institutes on six parameters based on their perception: infrastructural facilities (accommodation, recreational activities, IT infrastructure); educational system (overall curriculum and student evaluation mechanism); selection procedure for admissions; campus placements and salaries; industrial visits and corporate visitors conducting seminars and classes; and intellectual capital (quality of faculty and students). A proper geographical spread (sample size of approximately 300 interviews) across four zones (North, East, West and South) was maintained to ensure equal spread of B-schools in the survey. The quotas followed, across zones, were: recruiters (30 per cent); senior faculty members (15 per cent); MBA aspirants (20 per cent), students (20 per cent), and parents (15 per cent). Institutes that declined to participate in the objective survey have been kept out of the perceptual survey as well.