MBA at sundown

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION: With employers looking at part-time MBA courses favourably, demand from students and supply of these courses from institutes are fast picking up. Part-time MBA diplomas and degrees are either being resurrected or modified to suit the booming labour market.

For instance, the department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi, has decided to revamp its three-year part-time MBA programme in technology management after a two-year gap. The institute had put the programme in abeyance "to work out the course modalities".

The contents and credits for its part-time programme will now be equivalent to that of the full-time programme.

Xavier's Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar (XIM-B), on the other hand, has decided to double the number of part-time MBA students by conducting the programme twice a year instead of once a year as it currently stands. XIM-B has seen a 20 per cent increase in enrollments this year as compared to last year.

Says Sunil Malik professor part-time MBA programme at XIM-B, "Part-time MBA grads are being sought after like any other full-time MBA graduate. Students of part-time programme in fact not only bring knowledge but also experience to the organisation."

There are two types of part-time MBA programmes (classes are held in the evenings so that working students can attend them) available -- three-year degree and one year part-time diploma. The choice of institute is a major consideration.

Rankings of part-time MBA programmes in India are not available. But there are institutes which have been running part-time programmes for years. While reputed institutes can charge a fortune between Rs 1-4 lakh, institutes affiliated to Universities, give a part-time MBA degree in Rs 50,000.

In Mumbai, JBIMS, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), K J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research (SIMSR), L N Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research and Chetana Institute of Management Development and Studies are some of the management colleges offering a part-time MBA programme.

A host of other institutes which offer one and three-year part-time MBA diplomas and degrees are Management Development Institute (MDI) Gurgaon, Xavier's Institute of Labour Relations (XLRI), XIM-B, IIM Kozhikode and IIM Bangalore et al are some of the institutes providing a part-time MBA programme.

Part-time MBA programmes have the same specialisation opportunities as the full-time MBA programme. But some institutes offer only a small number of concentrated study courses and emphasize on the core curriculum.

However, is part-time MBA worth spending money and time on pursuing it? Besides proving a boon for professionals who cannot take time off from work to attend a full-time course, the programme scores as it helps the students develop a network of business relationships that can facilitate a change of careers.

Says Subash Dorai, an executive with Saudia Airlines who is pursuing a three-year part-time MBA programme at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS): "With experienced people in a class, there is a lot of learning from across industries. Real-life situations and problems are incorporated in the classroom sessions where solutions are explored. This course has made me confident and aware of a business environment."

One drawback, though, of a part-time MBA course is that no lucrative placement opportunities await the candidate. Work-related travel or relocation may also hinder one's plan of completing the course.

Says Boman Moradian who has been teaching at JBIMS for 29 years,"The institutes cannot encourage placements for part-time candidates as it would incur the wrath of the companies whose employees come to the institutes to study."

However, there are exceptions too. While institutes are planning to revamp their part-time MBA programmes, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, has discontinued its much-acclaimed three-year part-time MBA programme (which it had been running for 13 years), to start a post-graduate programme for executives (PGPEX).