IIM-A sets ‘placement reporting standards’

Some of the top global B-schools such as those at universities in Harvard,Stanford,Pennsylvania and MIT follow these standards,IIM-A said.

Saturday’s consultation resulted in a draft that would be circulated among various B-schools,and is expected to be formalised and implemented beginning July 31,2011. It is also to be uploaded on the IIM-A website.

According to the chairperson of placement committee at IIM-A,Professor Saral Mukherjee,two main areas to be looked into include the total guaranteed cash components (because a cost-to-company does not always specify this) and the maximum earning potential a student is offered by the company that recruits him or her.

However,individual details would not be divulged and confidentiality would be maintained. Only details like the maximum,minimum and mean salaries and averages would be made public,and not what a particular company offers or a particular student is offered,said Professor T V Rao,who led the consultations.

These standards would be open to audit,but whether that audit is to be done by a an external agency or by the B-schools among themselves has not been decided yet,said Prof Rao.

If these standards are adopted,it would mean that B-schools will release their respective placement reports three months after the final graduation,Prof Mukherjee said,adding that this time period is necessary to gauge the changes that may have taken place during the interval. She said reporting placements too early would not include factors like a company having crashed in that period or a student having changed jobs.

Initial response lukewarm

Saturday’s consultation,however,did not attract the response it was expected to,with only 44 of the total 268 invited stakeholders attending. IIM-A sought to downplay a low turnout saying even if only a handful of B-schools adopt it initially,the “transparency” factor would bring in more institutes and recruiters into the fold eventually.

IIM-A had invited 170 B-schools (out of an estimated 2000-plus Indian B-schools),85 recruiters and 13 media and ranking agencies,out of which 33 B-schools,4 recruiters and 7 media and ranking agencies attended.

Why these standards

The draft standards note “the popularity of today’s B-schools rests to a certain extent on their placement records,and B-school aspirants look forward to placement reports and take decisions based on these”.

In a note circulated before the consultations began,the institute said one of the key objectives of the standards was “to give access to in-depth information about placements to the media (to) reduce chances of misinterpretation,especially while comparing information from two or more B-schools”. Another objective,it said,was “to avoid MBA employment reports becoming marketing devices to attract students and employers”. IIM-A,however,does not have an estimate of the scale of such practices in the past.