A Study On “Branded Institutes & Students Perception”

Branding Education is more than creating a brand name or a logo or indulging in large media exercises. It is as an exercise that helps develop an identity that inspires people. Today education is not only about bookish knowledge. Now it extends way beyond classrooms to the play fields, stage, music rooms and the very personality of the individuals concerned. The members of a school recognize themselves with its brand. Business schools should accordingly ensure that the strategic focus of their education programs reflects the reality of today's employment market and what students expect from such programs. They should strongly consider allocating additional resources to these programs, improving program flexibility, and further encouraging student participation. The branding strategy and programme of a B-school need to go far beyond the product portfolio and embrace the whole offering from the business school including products, price, place and more importantly people. The paper analysis some of these challenges and their impact on students' satisfaction with their institute experience.

Introduction: Branding is both an art and science, once successful it provides the B-school the necessary enigmatic aura. It’s a culmination of discussions and process that starts with business school faculties, staff and Students. Today education is not only about bookish knowledge. Now it extends way beyond classrooms to the play fields, stage, music rooms and the very personality of the individuals concerned. Today the members of a school recognize themselves with its brand. The alumni constantly are considered products of their Alma-mater. In the same way each success and failure of its members becomes part of the ‘brand’ called institute.

As schools and the MBA degree itself face unprecedented challenges in the wake of the global economic crisis, not only the tools and techniques used to reach prospective students are changing, but also the marketing strategies employed to seal the deal. Print ads and brochures sent via snail mail are antiquated. Business school fairs are already less relevant than they used to be as applicants do their initial research online. Some veterans of the industry even think these events will come to a halt eventually. Our objective of the research is to raise the importance of branding for institutes (B-Schools) and the parameters of the basis of which the students select an institute. The parameters may be tangible or intangible. The institutes which are not
Lecturer, Medi-Caps Institute of Technology and Management, Indore
branded are no more in the market. The study also includes that how much an institute is concerned for creating itself as a ‘Branded Institute’ to match the student’s perception.
2.    Brand: A brand is the identity of a specific product, service, or business. A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol, color combination or slogan. An educational brand is defined by intangible factors like the quality of the education it imparts, its faculty, culture and resources available for students. The other factors are campus size, quality of the graduating batch and their track record in getting jobs. For education institutes, the “product” to be branded is very different from regular consumer product. “The relationship between the product (education) and the consumer (student) is time bound and predetermined, and the consumer cannot enjoy two competing products simultaneously,” .
3.    Why brand a college?
Education has been the mission; it was never about the Bottom Line. But due to increasing competition for private and state funding and the proliferation of school choices including for-profit and online learning options, colleges have been turning to branding and marketing as a tool to compete more effectively and drive enrollment and donations. An impetus behind many of these branding initiatives for colleges big and small is an acknowledgment that applicants have so many choices and not every institution is a "Harvard". Education today is a trillion dollar industry in India (approximately 20,000 crores), business school (B-school) education has seen spiraling growth in the last 20 years. The first business program was started in 1954 by the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management in Calcutta. There were 118 B-school programs in 1989 and 744 in September 2000 (Abid Hussain Committee). Recently, industry estimates suggest that  there are more than 1,300 B-schools in India.
 
If a B-school wants to build a long-term future, consistent improvement of quality is essential. Quality has to be operational in various parameters like quality in inputs (faculty and infrastructure), quality in processes, (active learning time), quality in outputs, (tests and gradation scores) and quality in outcomes (gainful employment). Innovative colleges, universities and private enterprises are positioning themselves to take market shares from those B-schools that fail to respond to customer needs (Hatfield and Taylor, 1998).

4.    Top B- schools in India
    Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM A).
    Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM C).
    Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM B).
    Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM L).
    Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur.
    Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.
    Indian Institute of Management, Indore (IIM I).
    Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode .
    Management Development Institute, Gurgaon.
    SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai.

5.    Framework of branding of Institutes: Economists have classified various goods or services under three categories-
1. Search Goods
2. Experience Goods
3. Credence Goods
Products have more search properties whereas services are more experience and credence oriented. Typical example of search good is scooter where a customer requires a lot of information before buying a good. In experience goods like restaurant service, a customer values product more by experience, the ambience, the quality of service etc. Credence goods are highly valued goods with premium attached to them. The approach presented firstly blends the 4Ps of services marketing with the Aaker's brand identity framework. A service's marketing mix consists of 4Ps (product, price, place, promotion). People dimension along with organizational culture, values and other issues are put under brand as organization.

5.1    Product: Educational institutes can be termed more as Credence goods. They are knowledge based and provide information not commonly available to masses. So they come at a premium price. These schools come under Experience service. These institutes typically concentrate on innovation of service. For example, some institutes can concentrate on Cultural events or bonding among students by social get-togethers, parties which enrich the experience of students.

5.2    Place: Geographical locations play an important part in selection of a institute. Typically, institutes in Metros have advantage for strategic reasons. The rich, affluent families are concentrated in these parts and so institutes have added incentives to attract them. Besides, a institute has access to all international facilities, close proximity to industries etc. So typically, Metros and Tier-I cities are ideal for brand imaging followed by Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Rural India still suffers from lack of basic amenities and so building a brand there will be venturing into new markets.

5.3    Price: Pricing strategy depends upon reputation of institutes. Credence goods as described are premium brands and can charge higher prices. Similarly institute that have strong alumni network, good industrial contacts fall under credence goods and can be categorized as premium products. So they can charge high price/fees to enhance brand image. Experience goods or schools which focus on creating a good ambience with focus on strong student-faculty relationship, emotional bonding with parents can charge middle range fees, depending on place and promotion factors.

5.4    Promotion: Promotional campaigns, posters, advertising boards, Radio announcements on Local radio stations are some strategies schools can engage in to enhance brand. Institutes in India, spend around Rs. 150 million annually on advertising and promotional activities. According to TAM Media Research, ad spends by the education sector have been growing steadily over the last three years, with the education sector accounting for 15 percent of overall print advertising and 1.1 percent of TV advertising in 2008. Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), the pioneer of “full page color ads” in national newspapers says it has an annual marketing budget of Rs. 800 million and concentrates on print. “The IIPM brand has been created through smart content-driven advertising,” says Amit Saxena, president,  Corporate Communications, IIPM.

The institute has been dogged by several controversies, the most recent being the nasty blogger controversy in 2005 regarding the veracity of its claims in its print ads. “There is no such thing as bad publicity. 2005 was a very good year for IIPM in terms of the quality of students we attracted,”  Word of mouth publicity plays a huge role in promoting search service-providing , especially in Tier II and Tier-III cities. Local Newspaper campaigns are a good way to promote their institute. Also Alumni network plays a huge role in promoting institutes.



6.    Branding Process Flowchart

 


7.    Student’s perception regarding branded institutes: Students perceive that the branded institute will inculcate the following, and looking on to these factors the student decides which institute to be opted. 

 



8.    Infrastructure: “Institute Infrastructure" refers to the site, buildings, furniture and equipment that contribute to a learning environment. It is widely recognized that student performance is strongly affected by the design and suitability of those facilities in which it takes place.
         The institute we design and build must:
    • promote effective learning and teaching;
    • incorporate new technology;
    • be environmentally sustainable; and
    • support community involvement.

9.     IT facilities: The institute should have adequate IT facilities so as to enhance an environment of learning and also open the vast and unlimited realms of knowledge through the internet. It also helps in student and faculty support, and aids quick networking. Some requirements are:
• A number of dedicated public Personal Computers
• Printing and scanning facilities
• Quality networking
• Internet connection
Current-day students are heavily exposed to digital technology and this has changed their world-view. In that sense, today’s classrooms should be digital. Consequently, students’ learning experience is shaped as much by a teacher as the information they have access to on the Web.

10.    Faculty: It is extremely important to possess the right kind of faculty for the various streams. A institute gains from the number of PhD and well qualified/educated persons who are appointed as faculty. The credentials of the faculty add a lot to the credentials of the institute too. So, all steps must be taken to attract the best talent possible. To do this apart from providing competitive salaries a institute should also look to provide additional benefits and perks. Concept of Agency theory can be applied to keep reputed faculty with institute. Regular feedback should be taken from both students and parents to monitor faculty performance. If possible a 360 degree feedback mechanism should be incorporated.

11.    Placement: It is one of the most important determinants for the growth of B-School. Following is the salary package detail top B-Schools.


 

12.    Security: In the wake of recent happenings of violence in institute and also the rise in terrorism, security becomes of paramount importance, also anti ragging committee should be formed.
Certain requisites are:
•    Prevent and manage school violence
•    Reduce safety risks and liability

13.    Alumni: They represent the result of all that goes in to a student during his/her stay in the institute. The alumni represent how successful the pedagogy of a institute has been. The institute’s success can be easily seen as a direct manifestation of the success of its students as well as outgoing faculty. That’s why as a institute ages and quantity of its successful alumni piles up, it is gradually seen as inspirational. Ideally should be must for all category services institute to create brand image. The older is the B-school, the bigger is the alumni base. Make alumni database –batch wise, sector wise-- modify it often. Share that with all alumni. why should an ex student come back to alma mater wasting his valuable professional and personal life unless he/she finds some value addition in it !
                                “MBA's know the value of networking.”

14.    Culture: With time every institute generates its own culture. The culture can be explained as the cumulative sum of the value systems that the institute has imbibed over the years. The examination based curriculum of our country aids the ‘competitive culture’.

15.    Lab facilities: Lab facilities are required for improving brand image of any institute. Mainly affect Experience and Credence service category institute.

16.    Pedagogy/Curriculum: Academic curriculum should not be too rigid, but flexible. Students should be allowed to take their interest subjects rather than following fixed structure.

17.    Ranking: It is a must for institute's survival .Institute should participate in all major B-school rankings like in Business today, Business world, Business India, outlook etc. MBA aspirants are always guided by these ranks, even for corporate; ranking is a rational tool to select its required manpower from different campus. institute's customers can never be wrong. Institute have got to value, customer’s view. Generally, while grading any educational institution, faculty and amenities are the primary aspects that are kept in mind. But in case of IIMs, it is the students who play a major role in making them special. This is because the entrance process is so tough and rigorous, that only the best can join the IIMs,” Symbiosis Institute of Management-Pune, which got an overall ranking of 12, has also been rated in the top 15 in all parameters. The institute was established in 1978 and its alumni are placed in important positions in the industry. They are strong academic ambassadors of the institute. They are currently focusing on improving the student-faculty ratio and recruiting adequate number of faculty with PhD and for that we are coming up with a research and innovation center.

18.     The Business School Rankings parameter
    Quality Assessment (weighted by .40)
    Peer Assessment Score (.25)
    Recruiter Assessment Score (.15)
    Placement Success (weighted by .35)
    Mean Starting Salary and Bonus (.14)
    Employment Rates for Full-time Master's Program in Business  Graduates
    Student Selectivity (weighted by .25)
    Mean GMAT Scores (.1625)
    Mean Undergraduate GPA (.075)
    Acceptance Rate (.0125)

19.     Affiliations & Exchange: B-schools have collaborations with acclaimed international B-schools. For example ISB, Hyderabad offers an International Student Exchange Program, which gives students the opportunity to study for 1-2 terms at leading business schools such as the London Business School (UK) and Kellogg School of Management (USA). Exchange programs and affiliations encourage a healthy, cosmopolitan learning environment and promote global standards of education. Such programs are optional, even if you do not participate in a program yourself, the experience of interacting with visiting students will also benefit you a lot.

20.    Financial Aid: MBA programs do not come cheap. However, it is quite easy to obtain financial aid for pursuing an MBA, especially if you are doing the MBA from one of the top ten B-schools. Most Indian B-schools do not offer scholarships till you reach the 2nd year and most of these are merit based. However, most banks are willing to give students a loan to pay for their education at extremely nominal rates and these are not required to be repaid till you start working. It is highly recommended that you do not allow financial constraints to stop you from joining a good B-school and to go in for loans. In fact, these loans actually reduce your tax burden once you start drawing those 6-7 figure salaries.

21.    Course Offered: Today an MBA is no longer limited to marketing, finance and other traditional specializations. Applicants now have various options to choose from. For example specializations like rural management (IRMA), foreign trade (IIFT), retail (KJ Somaiya, Welingkar's & SP Jain), supply chain management (NITIE), systems management (IIMC, IIT-Bombay) among others. There are certain B-schools which are reputed for their specializations; for example MICA is known for its Advertising, IRMA is known for their rural management course, etc.

22.    Counselors: They are updated and trained to offer career guidance. They are aware and in constant touch with the latest happenings in B-schools and the programs that they offer. Once the counselors gauge your aspirations and your level of readiness, they can assist and provide you with proper career guidance.
 
23.    Magazine Journal: For developing institute's own brand publishing your own quarterly management journal is of utmost importance. Institute should arrange competition amongst ongoing batches, alumni and faculties for writing in different management categories. Out of that repository, best one will be chosen for the journal even industry leaders, CEO, MD can contribute their real life management experience in it. There should not be any compromise in quality .Topic should be very relevant one and out of the box thinking should be encouraged .These journals should be distributed to different corporate houses, MBA coaching institutes and other B-schools on regular basis Faculties should be encouraged to write at least one book a year. For that they should get incentives. Make you visible among your competitors and customers and start building rapport by taking B-school Branding,

24.    Tie Up: Existing students are like institute's current assets. At every stage of two years course they should feel that there is sustainable value addition. ‘Value for money’ proposition works quite well for them. for both students and faculties , there should be tie up with foreign university .student and faculty exchange programme must be part of two years rigor .exchange of inputs and ideas between institutes should be carried out so symbiotically so that at the end of the day both the parties experience a win-win scenario. There should be tie up with different corporates for upgrading and developing courses to make it relevant and dynamic in every area –mark, fin, sys, HR, Ops –at least 2-3 corporates strong in related areas should proactively participate to develop course, MDP and executive programme. Also make sure that different companies CEO, MD visit your campus and alumni meet very often for sharing their experience. Through interactive session, show them your class, get the desired attention.

Tie up with different NGOs like – CRY, CARE; to work in tandem for social cause like natural calamity, AIDS, child labour, woman empowerment, rural development etc. it is necessary to do societal marketing to address social causes to get greater acceptability in govt bodies and society by showing that your MBAs are down to earth, don’t live in ivory tower .build a holistic brand image. Organizing seminars in various cities for building awareness is important and for that matter tying up with various MBA coaching institutes like IMS, Career Launcher, TIME- - is a very pragmatic idea .Apart from joint seminars, constantly be in touch with these institutes .Show your performance, placement, up gradation of course – prove with rock solid information why you are better than so many B-schools .once they are convinced, they will pass them those information to MBA aspirants. So make these coaching institutes your spontaneous mouth piece for MBA aspirants.

25.    Event management: It is the most in thing and any B-school should exploit its advantage to the hilt. Any event management creates a short term buzz around the brand. It’s like promotion of a product. co branding at different management, economic and business seminars; participate in Biz quiz, debate, extempore organize by corporate, media house and B-schools –all come under purview of event management .not only participation, achieving laurels one after another in these events is essential to augment visibility and brand image amongst corporate and other B-schools.

26.    Online: In today’s World Wide Web era, none can afford to miss online interaction with its stake holders. Institute should develop web site very carefully. Before that go through at least 50 Indian and international B-school sites.  Institute's web site should be very attractive, highly informative, dynamic, very much user friendly .There should be different topics related to Indian and
world business and economy. Website must be a good repository of business and industry knowledge. Build awareness of  institute website amongst MBA aspirants and corporate through online ad like banner, flash in different portals (rediff,indiatimes etc) .

27.    Conclusion: A brand is a commitment that a college or university makes to its most important audiences .With the increasing cost of college tuition, the competition for students, and, in the case of state colleges and universities, decreasing state funding, colleges are continually looking for ways to attract students, fund their mission and stand out from the crowd. A good brand should speak to internal audiences--faculty, staff, students and donors--instilling pride in the institution. It also should resonate with external audiences, burnishing the institution's image As the research depicts that the student prefer to take admission in branded institute hence the institute focus on creating a brand for itself. For this the institutes has with itself with various features like placement, infrastructure, tie-ups as discussed. This in turn helps to create a balance between what a  students needs and what the institute offers. Students satisfaction helps in building brand image. MBA in India is having multifaceted aspect. With the cut through competition students have to face numerous entrance exams which create a competitive environment in all streams, because of which the institutes are emphasizing on creating a brand for their institute.

“When successful, a brand is more than window dressing; it's a strong, truthful, convincing statement about a college or university's mission and purpose.”




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