IIM-Calcutta not to award degrees this year

KOLKATA: The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C), unlike a few other IIMs, will not award MBA degrees to students of its two-year management programme who graduate in 2018. Instead, the institute has adopted a wait-and-watch policy.
The IIM Act 2017 has allowed IIMs, the country’s premier B schools, to confer degrees instead of postgraduate diplomas.




IIM-C authorities said they require time to study the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations relating to awarding degrees and ensure the institute complies with all norms. So, on Saturday, when IIM-C hosts its 53rd annual convocation, the 460 students will be handed out diplomas, not degrees.

“According to the act, IIMs have been granted the status to award degrees, but only after the programmes meet the UGC guidelines,” said a source. “But this requires ground work and considerable time. Also, we are yet to receive the rules, which will be framed by the HRD ministry.”

Most IIMs, including IIM-C, had been facing difficulties in interpreting the provisions of the act, which was passed last December. “Though individual IIMs had been given autonomy in deciding when to start rolling out degrees, there are several uncertainties,” the source added. “Despite the ministry making it clear in a meeting on March 14 with the chairman of each IIM’s board of governors that they will not oppose the decision to start conferring MBA in retrospect to students who had taken admission in 2016, we are waiting for the MHRD to frame rules based on the act. Also, IIM-C is yet to finalise the regulations as well,” he added.

Considering all these aspects, especially the lack of time before a clear picture emerges, the institute has suspended the idea of awarding degrees from 2018.

As things stand now, IIM-C will award degrees and doctoral certificates from next year, only when a uniform decision is taken at the upcoming IIM council meeting. The council, which is represented by the directors, is yet to arrive at a consensus over the IIMs’ degree-awarding status. “Some IIMs — like the ones at Bangalore, Udaipur, Indore and Vizag — have gone ahead and issued degrees. But we want to see if a degree is legally tenable,” the source added.

He pointed out that since some IIMs had already awarded degrees without waiting for a unanimous decision, it may lead to legal trouble. “The students have taken admission through the same common entrance tests, have enrolled in the same academic programme, are in different institutes that are governed by the same set of guidelines. But awarding some of them different graduation certificates may lead to trouble,” said an IIM-C faculty member.

“Without consensus, many institute heads were not in favour of going ahead on their own,” added a source. “Moreover, it involves a process, which includes approval from the board of governors, without which nothing can be done. The regulations also need to be tabled in the board of governors meeting so that suitable amendments can be made and we can start awarding degrees as soon as possible. But it is too early to decide on the matter.”

The country’s first IIM will also have to take a re-look into it’s one-year diploma programmes. The institute is likely to take a call on various courses, some of which are run in association with other prominent institutes like IIT-Kgp and ISI Kolkata, very soon. IIM-C may decide to convert them into degree programmes as well, the source said.

In another decision, the IIM-C admission committee and faculty council has proposed to hike the admission fee for the PGDM programme from Rs 20 lakh in 2017 to Rs 21 lakh from the 2018-2010 session. The proposal will be placed at the board of governors meeting on Saturday for approval. “IIM-C is proposing a fee increase, based on inflation. The jump is only of 5%. IIM Ahmedabad has increased the fee to Rs 22 lakh, while IIM Bangalore is at Rs 21 lakh this year,” said the source.