IIMs to discuss reforms – autonomy, research and faculty evaluation

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and the government on Wednesday hope to seal a reform blueprint for the country’s top B-schools based on a set of three reports aimed at enabling the IIMs to emerge as global leaders.

Greater autonomy coupled with performance evaluation of faculty and research are key aspects of the proposed reforms which IIM Directors will discuss with HRD minister Kapil Sibal, government sources told HT. The discussions are crucial because influential sections within the IIMs are not comfortable with some of the proposals, Institute sources said.

One of the three panels set up by the government earlier this year, headed by IIM Calcutta Chairman Ajit Balakrishnan, has suggested that the IIMs focus on increasing research output from about 50 Ph.D.s annually at present to 150. The panel has suggested the government fund up to Rs. 30,00,000 for each Ph.D. scholar. “Ph.D. research is not something from which the IIMs earn any revenue, which is why we need the government’s financial support if we are to increase our Ph.D. output,” a member of the panel said. The panel has also suggested that teachers at the IIMs teach up to 160 hours in classes annually. This proposal is the subject of discussion among teachers.

Another panel-under Maruti Chairman R.C. Bhargava — whose reports will be discussed on Wednesday, has proposed streamlining of the Boards of Governors. Directors are also likely to seek greater autonomy in faculty appointments.

Source: Hindustan Times, October 13, 2010

IIMs to export CAT to foreign business schools

The brutally competitive Common Admission Test (CAT) is all set for a cross-over. The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), which conduct the entrance exam, have been approached by business schools in Sri Lanka to do a CAT for their candidates as well, a plan that will take off next year. “We refused to conduct the CAT for them this year, but will do so in 2011,” confirmed Himanshu Rai, Convener of CAT-2010.

Although the Indian market is shrinking, the IIMs feel the CAT is likely to get fatter as it flies out. “Apart from Lanka, B-schools in several countries in South-East Asia have shown interest in admitting students through the exam,” Rai said.

Indeed, Rai had hinted at such a development last month in an article he wrote for a financial daily. “CAT ought to be taken across the frontiers since that would make it more viable while bringing in the best global practices,” he had written. “The road is steep but the IIMs have always had the will and the capability. They have led others to global standards and they will continue to do so.”

In 2009, after 33 years of a paper-pencil format, the test graduated to a computer-based one. The CAT in foreign lands, too, will follow the existing Indian model. The IIMs will hire an agency to conduct the exam; questions, however, will be designed by them, for which the IIMs have been thinking of setting up a company under Section 25 of the Indian Companies Act, 1956. “Setting up a separate entity will ensure that a handful of IIM faculty members are de-linked temporarily from teaching and are involved only in conducting the exam. Few realise it, but it is a mammoth task,” said an IIM faculty.

Currently, the IIMs have signed a five-year-long contract with an American-based testing firm, Prometric, to conduct the computer-based test. While the U.S. company is paid a fixed fee, the IIMs make their bucks through the money that flows in from applicants’ registrations and from the fees they charge other B-schools for using the CAT scores to admit their candidates.

This year, apart from the IIMs, 157 B-schools across the country will use the CAT marks to select their students from a pool of 200,600 Indians who will sit for the test.

Source: The Times of India, October 13, 2010

IIMs to raise funds Yale University style

The elite Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), which largely rely on government support, may soon raise money from their alumni. On Wednesday, the IIMs will discuss the report of a government-appointed panel that outlines the need for professional fund-raising by setting up dedicated offices and appointing experts, two officials of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) said.

The committee has suggested an initial plan for the four oldest IIMs — at Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bangalore and Lucknow — to raise Rs. 400 crore (Rs. 4 billion) from their alumni. The plan follows Yale University’s fund-raising model, under which the institutes will identify prospective fund givers, solicit money from them and keep them informed about how it is being used.

“The committee has given its report and has some forward-looking proposals. It will be discussed at the IIMs’ meeting, chaired by HRD minister Kapil Sibal,” one of the officials said. “The proposal for raising an initial Rs. 400 crore by four IIMs over a period of three years is an achievable target, looking at the wide alumni base of these institutes.”

The committee which was set up by the MHRD, is headed by Hari S. Bhartia, Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIM-Raipur and Co- Chariman of Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd. Bharat Gulia, Manager – Education at audit and consultancy firm Ernst and Young, said the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have been successful at pooling resources from alumni. “These B-schools have not done so. Their students are in good positions worldwide and it would be great to leverage it,” he said. “IIMs are looking for greater financial autonomy and this is a positive step.” He added that unless professionals are hired, the fund-raising effort won’t succeed.

The second MHRD official said IIMs are gradually becoming global brands, and raising funds professionally to fuel their growth is an important step for them. “A growing brand like IIM cannot entirely depend on government money. This effort suggested by the committee is one of the alternative ways to become financially robust,” the official said. Both officials declined to be named.

The Bhartia Committee has proposed that, like Yale University, the four IIMs should reach out to former students who can contribute by making presentations and inviting them on campus for further interaction. Those who cannot spare the time should be given the option of donating through telephone or Internet banking. They should also be allowed to donate in cash and kind, another model followed by Yale.

Besides the four schools mentioned in the report, India has six more IIMs at Indore, Kozhikode, Shillong, Rohtak, Ranchi and Raipur. While the older IIMs receive Rs. 20 crore (Rs. 200 million) a year from the government, the new ones at Rohtak, Ranchi and Raipur will receive Rs. 400 crore each over the next eight years.

“This is just the beginning. We have submitted the report, and a final decision will be taken on Wednesday by the HRD minister,” said a member of the Bhartia Committee, also requesting anonymity. Besides government funding, IIMs also raise some money through executive programmes and consultancy. The Wednesday meeting, to be attended by the Directors and Chairpersons of all IIMs, will also discuss governance, curricula and branding of IIMs.

Source: Mint, October 13, 2010