ADCOM Report 2008-09

2008
ADMAP PROJECT REPORT

ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE 2008-09
Ajay Simha
Ashutosh Mishra
Divyabh
Budhiraja
Ibha Mendevell
Manik Singh
Meenu Sharma
Niharika Charan
Nikhil Mirashi
Raunak Chandra
Ritesh Pal
Rohan Khanna
Vikram
ADCOM-08 Report SPJIMR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Working for the Admissions committee 2008 -10 of SPJIMR was an

enriching experience for all of us. Interaction with aspirants and the
administration, which was full of passion and dedication and very
committed to the cause, was an immense source of learning.
We are thankful to the ADMAP process of SPJIMR, for providing this

platform of responsibility, which required from us perseverance,
dedication, innovation, passion and empathy. It facilitated the holistic
development of each member. The practical experience has set up the
foundation of the critical aspects necessary for becoming a successful
manager.
We are thankful to Prof. Parimal Merchant for spearheading the

committee and helping us implement our initiatives successfully. We are
indebted to him for making our committee work a success with
invaluable ideas, innumerable brain storming sessions and facilitating all
our initiatives. We also wish to thank Prof. Suranjan Das for his
charismatic and ingenious ideas and for adding innovation to the
committee.
We also express our gratitude for our honourable Dean, Dr. M. L.

Shrikant, who paved the way for us through the ideals set up by him.
Each individual of the admissions committee has grown spiritually and
the work done by him is the reflection of the fine principals instilled in
him.
A Special thanks to Dr.Uma Narain and Mrs. Varsha Parab for making
the whole ADMAP journey simple and joyful one, thus achieving its goal
of development of managerial potential.
We are also grateful to all faculty members who helped us on various

critical aspects, which helped us in the development of the admission
process. We acknowledge their help and cooperation in making the
2 ADMAP Committee Report

admission form and in making the admission process a better experience

for the aspirants.
We are indebted to the administration department of SPJIMR that

fulfilled all the logistics requirements timely and enabled us in making
the whole process hassle free.
We thank the administration department of SPJIMR who always helped us
in the logistics requirement. They were of great help every time we
needed and because of their valuable help, the whole process was
flawless.
We also would like to thank the whole of SPJIMR family for their
continuous support despite the hectic schedules.
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...........................................................................................2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..........................................................................................5
STRATEGIC TASKS AND OBJECTIVES....................................................................6
Mission Statement:...........................................................................................6
Strategic Objectives:.........................................................................................6
Strategic Tasks:................................................................................................7
ACTIVITIES TIMELINE............................................................................................8
I. Pre Admissions Form Launch Phase............................................................9
II. Admissions Application Form Live Phase..................................................10
III. Application Form Processing, Interview Process Design and Short listing
Phase11
THE A-PLAN CONTEST- A NEW INITIATIVE..........................................................13
EVALUATION OF THE CANDIDATES.....................................................................14
Selection Criteria.............................................................................................14
Definition of Grades........................................................................................15
Evaluating Work Experience...........................................................................15

Evaluating Subjective Questions.....................................................................15

Versatility - Having a wide variety of skills..................................................15
Achievements..............................................................................................16
Guidelines for grading on Versatility and Achievements..............................16
Guidelines for grading on Academic Information/Other details....................16
THE INTERVIEW PROCESS:.................................................................................17
Scheduling of faculty and interviews:.............................................................17
Process Flow at the interview location:...........................................................17
A typical interview day....................................................................................21
BUDGET REPORT (FOR THE INTERVIEW PROCESS):...........................................22
INITIATIVES & MAJOR SYSTEM CHANGES............................................................23
TEAM PROCESSES..............................................................................................24
Forming...........................................................................................................24
Storming.........................................................................................................24
Norming..........................................................................................................24
ADMAP Pillars.....................................................................................................26
LEARNINGS.........................................................................................................27
Recommendations.............................................................................................29
APPENDIX...........................................................................................................33
I. Admission announcement in newspaper......................................................33
II. Sample Copy of Minutes of Meeting.............................................................34
III. Gantt Chart showing scheduling of activities............................................36
IV. Some Reponses Received.........................................................................37
Some Reponses Received

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Admissions process sets up the path for the rest of the activities at SPJIMR –
it is the foundation stone. However, the planning for this event begins well in
advance, and the Admissions Committee undertakes many administrative
practices to ensure the smooth and efficient execution of the whole process.
The Admissions Committee interacts with various stakeholders during the
course of the year – management, admin, faculty, vendors, candidates, batch,
etc. ADCOM uses ADMAP’s four pillars, i.e., Administrative Context, Strategy,
Roles, and Processes, to carry forward its internal and external processes, and
ensure effectively handling of administrative situations.
At the onset, a master budget was drawn up featuring major expenses

(admission notifications in dailies, admission process, and other expenses), and
effective administration resulted in cost savings for the Admissions Committee.
The first stage for ADCOM was setting the stage for the admissions process.
A priority task for ADCOM was to demystify the myths about SPJIMR regarding
courses and programmes, the admissions process, specializations, dispelling
myth about work experience individuals given preference over freshers.
The second stage was preparation for taking the admissions process online and
involved design and distribution of admissions CDs, online application form,
placing notifications in newspapers, etc.
The third stage was the design of the interview process including operations
and logistics – no. of days, most effective use of resources (especially human
resources), design of registration console, and control room console, organizing
dry runs, etc.
The fourth stage was the Admissions process. This mainly involved planning the
location, arranging the interview panels, designing the process and finally
implementing it over a span of 2 months. This year, as an initiative taken up by
committee, top HR professionals from the corporate world were invited to be
part of the admission process. Even alumni with more than 5 years experience
were invited to add more value to the whole admission process.
The fifth stage involved ADCOM's closure activities such as the final selection
process, involving IT Infracom for the procurement of laptops, detailing bank
loans, declaration of final list, despatch of final offer letter, and sending
guidelines to new participants regarding various aspects of the college.

The recommendations drawn based on yearlong events include - reaching a

wider student community, streamlining the admissions process, strengthening
relationships with alumni and corporates, cross-committee tie-ups, and
releasing a transparent admission criteria.
The recommended strategies will enable the Admissions Committee to further

enhance its performance and serve its mission of “Attracting the best talent
through effective communication of the innovative pedagogy which
integrates academic and personality development programmes.”

STRATEGIC TASKS AND OBJECTIVES
Mission Statement:
“Attracting the best talent through effective communication of the
innovative pedagogy which integrates academic and personality
development programmes.”
Strategic Objectives:
In any field, choosing the horses for the courses is very important.
SPJIMR’s PGDM programme is among the top 10 management courses in
the country and to maintain this quality and high standards, the selection
procedure assumes even greater importance. With more than 18000
applicants vying for 180 odd seats, it becomes an arduous task to select
the best. It is the major objective of the Admissions committee to ensure
that the best talent across the country gets in. Overall, the objectives can
be enlisted as follows:
Reach out to a wider student community: SPJIMR has a unique

selection process that is not just restricted to an entrance exam.
SPJIMR believes that performance on a single day is not enough to
justify selection or rejection. Hence, we accept scores of three
different exams and to add to it, the unique profile based selection
process. Thus, a perfect blend of experience, intelligence and
freshers is achieved.
Brand building: With a b-school rising up every alternate day, it

is imperative for an institute to maintain its point of differentiation
and live up to its reputation. Admission committee each year
reaches out to a large number of applicants and more importantly
to coaching institutes. Further, it is necessary to project your brand
favourably in order to ensure good recruiters and maintain the
trend of good placements. Notable progress was made by strong
presence of the SPJIMR admissions team in public forums like

Pagalguy and a concerted brand building and awareness exercise

conducted in collaboration with coaching centres across the
country. It also serves the purpose of dispelling age-old myths
about SPJIMR.
Convenience of candidates: Many times, the dates allocated to

candidates are unsuitable to them and it results in severe
inconvenience especially when there are college-exams or work-
place assignments. Hence, we provided candidates not only the
option of choosing their nearest interview centre but also a
convenient date. Besides, the process was automated to the extent
possible to facilitate quick interview process. In addition to that,
several requests for venue and timing changes were processed to
facilitate the candidates.
Simplify and Standardize the Admissions process: With the

application form already being in online form, the manual
intervention at the application stage has been eliminated. Still at
various points in the entire admissions process, processes have not
been standardized and simplified leading to delays and cost
overruns. We aimed at making the process simpler both for the
candidates as well as the institute.
Strategic Tasks:
Simplified application process: The process involved literally no

use of paper and it was entirely internet enabled including
payment. Yet at the same time, cash or DD payments were also
allowed for those who preferred it. In addition this year, option of
payment through net banking was incorporated in line with
changing times and internet usage.
Admissions CD and advertisements: SPJIMR is probably the

only institute that dispatches its information free of cost via CD
unlike others who give their brochures only on purchase of form.
Besides CD, constant notifications and advertisements through

print, media and web keep everyone updated on the latest

developments.
Web forums: Online forums on Pagalguy, social networking sites

are one of the most important sources of information for aspirants.
Here, they get a chance to get their queries solved, talk with
seniors and know more about ‘Life @ SPJIMR’, the admission
process and any other data on interviews, specializations etc.
Short-Listing criteria: Almost every single college considers

either the CAT score or the XAT score as the only selection criteria.
This ends up becoming an elimination process rather than a
selection process. While SPJIMR does consider these scores, which
are given a major weightage, other aspects like academic
consistency, achievements, versatility and exceptional talent in
various fields are also important. Appropriate weights were given
to work experience and the field of study during graduation. This
process though complex helps in filtering out consistent performers
rather than a onetime good performance in an exam.
Interview Calls: SPJIMR is unique in the manner it conducts

interviews - group interviews are held and not Group Discussions
and Personal Interviews. This tests the ability of a candidate to hold
his ground amongst others and test his mettle amongst peer
competition, an everyday event in B-Schools.

ACTIVITIES TIMELINE
One of the biggest constraints in the committee work is time. This is

particularly so for ADCOM since the admissions process is one of the
most critical process of the college and vital to proper functioning of the
college. Therefore, we had to ensure that the timelines designed by us
are strictly adhered to and any shortfalls had to be compensated by any
means possible. The entire admissions process can be divided into three
phases, namely:
1. Pre Admissions Form Launch Phase

2. Admission Application Form Live Phase
3. Form Processing, Interview Process Design and Short listing Phase
I. Pre Admissions Form Launch Phase

The admissions form was to be launched in August and the team
was in the forming stage. Therefore, there was very little time to
initiate many changes. The first decision was related to keeping
the form in online mode only or providing a paper form also.
Considering logistics and resource requirements, we decided to
keep the form in online mode only. In addition, decision was taken
regarding raising the application form taking into account inflation
and other costs. Subsequently a proposal was made to the director
for raising the fee, which was duly approved. The sub activities or
tasks involved in this stage were as follows:
Upgrading the application to get relevant information – The

application form in its present form was fairly serving its purpose
of capturing the relevant information about the applicants. But
after reviewing the form and brainstorming amongst ourselves, we
found that some modifications could be made to the form. For this,
each of us went through their own experiences the previous year
and came up with shortcomings of the form. The aim was that the

form should do justice to all types of people: freshers, people with

experience, from different educational backgrounds. Also we had
to capture consistent performance of the applicant, in line with
guidelines of the institute. Therefore, some extra fields were
added to the form. In addition to that, the form was checked for
errors and as a result, several modifications were suggested to
ensure that applicants do not make mistakes in filling up the form.
Communicating changes to Vendor – Having come up with

suggestions for changes to be made, same were required to be
communicated to the vendor. For this, we had prepared a
document that listed all the changes to be incorporated in the
form in a clear cut and precise manner. This document was passed
on to the software vendor, and after discussions with him, the final
version of the form was prepared.
Testing the application form – Since various changes had been

incorporated in the form, they had to be tested for proper
functionality before going live. Therefore, a team of three
members (with relevant skills in IT) was assigned the task of
carrying out the checks. After checking and further modifications,
green signal was given to the vendor to make the form live for
applicants.
Admissions advertisement and website modification – With

escalating costs of publishing advertisements, we were
constrained by the budget for putting admissions notification in
the newspapers. Also the notification had to be modified to make
some cosmetic and content changes. Following the notification in
newspapers, same was to be communicated on the institute
website. This process was done with the help of IT-INFRACOM and
CC of the institute.
I. Admissions Application Form Live Phase
This was perhaps the longest and one of the most important
phases of the admissions process. The phase started from the
release of online form (16th August) and ended with last date of

form submission (30th November). During this phase, several

activities related to answering queries, clearing doubts, promoting
the college and the program, attending to technical glitches were
carried. All these activities are briefly described here and in detail
later on in the document:
Handling Problems in Form filling and submission – This was

one of the biggest activities during the second phase. During the
form filling process, applicants faced some troubles which had to
be ironed out promptly. During the initial stage, there was an
attempt at hacking the college website, resulting in security
violation and red flagging of form and website by Google. This had
to be dealt with immediately as it was serious cause of concern. In
addition to this, there were some problem related to non-
acceptance of payment through the credit card as well some
problems related to saving of data in the form during the dying
stages of the process. These problems were addressed. The entire
job was divided among three members of ADCOM to ensure proper
co-ordination and balanced work load.
Replying to the Queries – There are always some applicants who

have queries related to either the courses in SPJIMR or the form
content. All these queries needed to be handled. The queries which
were of repetitive and common nature were put in FAQ section of
the website. Queries were mainly through three channels of
communication, namely: the official admissions email id
(admissions09@spjimr.org), social platform PAGAL GUY and
admissions support staff through telephone.
Brand-building and Awareness activities –Diwali Interaction,

Pagalguy, Query-handling, Website updates were the activities
aimed at dispelling the myths about SPJIMR and helping out
aspirants. Mails at regular intervals were sent to applicants
regarding life at SPJIMR to increase visibility and perception about
the institute and building the brand. Diwali Interaction was carried
out by the help of PGDM 2008 batch, who visited their home towns
during the vacations and gave presentations at various places e.g.
colleges, coaching centres etc.

A-Plan contest – This was a new initiative taken by ADCOM. It was

aimed at tapping the talent of the entire batch to improve the
admission process and suggest recommendations for improving the
admissions process. Some of the recommendations were
implemented. Others could not be implemented due to lack of time
and resources.
Plan for activities in the third phase – Since the last phase was
extremely crucial and involved huge amount of logistics, the
planning of the third phase commenced towards mid November.
One major decision which had to be taken was regarding process of
conducting the interview. A survey of PGDM 2008 batch
participants and faculty was conducted to know about their
preferences. Based on results of the survey as well as other
arguments put forward by members of ADCOM, it was decided that
the interviews would be held 4 different locations i.e. Delhi,
Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai. As per the initial plan, it was
decided that the interviews would be spread over February and
March. But due to unavoidable circumstances, they had to be
shifted towards the end of March only.
I. Application Form Processing, Interview Process Design

and Short listing Phase
This phase started from 1 December and went on till March. During
this phase, some of the main activities were:
Constant updates – Regular and timely updates were required to

be displayed on the website. Also, it was essential to ensure that all
data was accurate.
Freezing on the short listing criteria – The SBU Heads

essentially decided the criteria and this criterion were used in the
selection process. The detailed selection criteria have been listed
separately in the report.

Short listing of Candidates – The process followed was on lines

similar to last year. The first shortlist was purely based on a
candidate’s profile which consisted of Academics, work experience
and achievements in extracurricular activities. The CAT/XAT/GMAT
score was not considered at this stage. This would have come into
picture in case a candidate made it to the final call. This list
primarily consisted of candidates who achieved a 'S' grade in all
the parameters. The grading of each applicant (exclusive of the
first shortlist) was then carried out. This time the CAT/XAT/GMAT
scores were given weightage accordingly. This criterion was
applied for selection of candidates who could not make it in the
first shortlist i.e. who did not fulfil the 'S' grade for all parameters.
This formed the basis for the subsequent shortlists. The applicants
were selected based on multiple criteria such as Academics, Work
Experience, CAT/XAT score and Extra Curricular activities. Each of
these heads was graded for each applicant and the criteria were
applied accordingly.
Planning the interview panels and logistics– Since the

interviews were to be conducted over 4 different locations, it was
essential that all the matters pertaining to the logistics are solved
beforehand. This was done through the co-ordination and help of
Mrs. Madhura Ranalkar and Mrs. Jayshree of SPJIMR, who were
responsible for handling the contact with external colleges. One
member of ADCOM was dedicated towards arrangement of rooms
and related infrastructure at various locations. The interview panels
were formed taking into consideration the preferences of the
faculty members.
The Interviews –Since the dates of interviews fell within the

DOCC project period, it was tough co-ordinating various activities.
Students from ADCOM as well as others who could make it were
given a chance to be a part of the panels. Another new initiative
this time was to involve alumni and corporate HR heads in the
interview process. The process at different locations was done
through co-ordination of the admin staff of the institute as well as
the admin staff of the location. For each interview location, one
member of ADCOM was made in-charge of the process, which had

to ensure smooth and proper functioning of the process. Both the

rounds were held on the same day.
[Refer to Appendix III for detailed activity chart]

THE A-PLAN CONTEST- A NEW INITIATIVE
One of the new ventures this year was the introduction of the Admissions
plan contest.
It had the following duo objectives:

• to identify and remove the obstacles that the brand SP faces in
attracting the talent across the country using the immense
intellectual potential of the batch
• to give a challenging task to the students and make them think and
work for the solution
About 15 entries were received from which 5 were shortlisted.

Presentations were made in front of our respected faculty and 2 winner
teams were announced.
The A-plan primarily aimed at getting ideas from the entire batch to
improve the admissions process, generate some innovative ideas to
increase the number of applicants and to address any glitches in the
existing process. It also planned to find ways to dispel myths about
SPJIMR in the outside world and improve awareness.
The initiative was very successful and helped the team look at certain old
issues in different ways as well as throwing light on certain old issues,
giving new ideas to improve the admission process.
Some of the suggestions were as follows:

• Leverage the power of internet and social networking sites
through:
– Video on YouTube describing SP Jain Interview Process, and
hence removing the myths and false apprehensions of the
applicants
– Every present participant to be encouraged to have a profile on
these sites
– Interviews of certain selected participants to be posted

• Leverage the power of SP Jain’s Brand Ambassadors in following

ways:
– T-Shirts
– E-mail signature – carry the YouTube link
– Identify Alumni for all the undergrad colleges to market SP Jain
in their previous colleges.
• Publish the events happening at SPJIMR at leading sites like
PagalGuy, MBA-Universe, as well as in newspapers, magazines –
bring the brand SP to limelight
• Conduct events and seminars at other undergraduate colleges.
Organize events and invite participation from other B schools as
well as undergraduate colleges
• Organize chat session with the applicants and help them out with
their last minute problems and fears
EVALUATION OF THE CANDIDATES
First short listing of applicants for first round of interviews was done
before the CAT/XAT scores and a profile-based list was published. The
applicants were required to enter the following data through their online
application:
Specialisation Opted for:

i. Finance Management
ii. Marketing Management
iii. Operations Management
iv. Information management
Subjective data
i. Versatility
ii. Achievement
Work-Experience details
i. Experience (months) – latest as well as previous
ii. Company/field

iii. Job profile

iv. Total Work Experience (months
Academics
i. SSC: Name of the Board and Percentage
ii. HSC: Name of the Board and Percentage
iii. Graduation: Name of University, Percentage, CGPA*10, Academic
Achievement
iv. Post Graduation: Name of University, Percentage, CGPA*10,
Academic Achievement
v. Other Certification/Program
Selection Criteria
The criteria for evaluation were more or less same as the last year.
Different criteria were used for different specializations.
• Finance & Marketing, a fresher was treated at par with the ones
having work experience; though candidates with relevant work
experience were given due credit for the same.
• Operations & Information Management, candidates with relevant
work-experience were given the preference.
Definition of Grades
Each candidate was graded on the above parameters on the scale

mentioned below:
S - Outstanding
A - Very Good
B - Good
C – Average/Below Average
Evaluating Work Experience

Two related but different terms were used for evaluation:
Relevant Work Experience:

The data entered in the current Employer and the previous employer
fields of the Work Experience Section of the application form was to
be used to determine whether the applicant has the experience
relevant to the field of specialization chosen by him/her.
Total Work Experience:

An exposure to the corporate world for more than a year, we believe
helps a professional understand the team dynamics and corporate
world, which should be valued even if the work experience is not
relevant to the field of specialization. This data was to be used from
the Total work experience field in the form.
Evaluating Subjective Questions

The subjective questions on versatility, achievements and other details
were evaluated by students of PGDM 2008 batch. To ensure
confidentiality, the students were allowed access only to the versatility
and achievement sections of the candidates and were not allowed to
access the personal details. The students were given a detailed briefing
on how to evaluate the subjective part of the students profile as below.
The students were asked to rank the subjective fields as S, A, B, C based
on their evaluation. Each candidate’s profile was rated by two randomly
selected individuals.
Also, the profile which was ranked as S by both the individuals was again
evaluated by the faculty.
Versatility - Having a wide variety of skills

It was defined as concurrent superior accomplishment in non-related
areas such as education and sports, poetry, painting, dancing, social
service etc. Accomplishment is different from mere interest. e.g.: playing
Ranji Trophy while being an engineering student can be termed as
'Outstanding' versatility.
Achievements
It was defined as an act of finishing especially by means of exertion, skill,
practice or perseverance which results in an award of certificate/ reward/
recognition. E.g. any national and international level award in a
competitive challenge can be termed as 'Outstanding'.

Guidelines for grading on Versatility and Achievements
• S - Good performance at International/National/State level

• A - Participation at International/National/State level ‘OR’ Good
Performance at Inter District/University/College level
• B - Good Performance at intra college/school level.
• C - Mere participation at school/college level or “No data entered”
Guidelines for grading on Academic Information/Other details
• S - University/College topper, Gold Medallists in Academics, NTSE

scholar, Good Performance in Academic Competitions
(International/National), etc.
• A - Participation in Academic Competitions at International/National
level, good performance in inter school/college academic events,
consistent Class topper, etc
• B - Good Performance in intra college/school academic events, above
average academic performance
• C - Average/below average academic performance or “No data
entered”
Academic Information/Other Details:

Achieving academic excellence such as being a university topper, college
topper, getting certificates for excellent academic performance, winning
medals in projects undergone, being an NTSE scholar, winning in
international/national /regional Olympiads etc.

THE INTERVIEW PROCESS:
Scheduling of faculty and interviews:

The applicants were given a choice of 4 different interview locations;
they could apply online for their preferred location as well as date which
made gave them a dual advantage. The following estimate was made
regarding the interviews, with 2096 applicants shortlisted for the
interviews across the four cities:
Panels Panels
in in
Percenta Applica round round
City ge nts From To 1 2
Delhi 27 % 559 2nd Apr 4th Apr 4 2
24th
Bangalore 39% 822 22nd Mar Mar 6 3
28th
Mumbai 23% 484 26th Mar Mar 4 2
30th
Kolkata 11% 231 29th Mar Mar 3 1
The average duration of interviews was estimated to be of 60 minutes,

which were fragmented as follows:
• 45 minutes - Average duration of one round of interview
• 15 minutes - Additional time required for browsing profile sheets
and grading
There was different number of panels depending on the need at a

particular place. The faculty were enquired about their choices of
locations and were allotted accordingly.
Process Flow at the interview location:
The following was the setup designed by the team:
• Round 1 Registration desk

PGP 1 Volunteer
COORDINATOR
PGP 1 Volunteer
Running COCOs PGP 1 Volunteer / Admin member

• Round 2 Registration desk

• Verification desk
The process flow is as under:
AT DESK 1 -
Drops
In
InIncharge
charge
acharge
photo
Applicant
compiles
staples
hands
with Interview
The
approaches
one
itfolder
over
process
photo
to
contents
IDthe
at
&desk
the
name
running
for
back
1 in
written
a particular
coco
of evaluation
in
forthe
the
slot
drop
continues...
charge
sheet
panel
box
Folder contents for ROUND 1:

a. Profile sheets of applicants for that particular slot
b. Evaluation sheet for each applicant
c. Aggregated score sheet for that particular slot
d. Result Summary Sheet for Round 1.
The profile sheets were bundled slot - wise; which was pre-decided based
on the preferences of the applicants. These bundles were carried to the
respective interview locations by the volunteers/admin members. This

made the job of desk 1 in charge much easier as he just had to check
who all (in a particular slot) had arrived and accordingly compile the
folder contents.
AT DESK 2 –
The in charge had to receive the folders from the running COCOs once
the Round 1/2 get over and follow the process as under:
I. ROUND 1 gets over

PutsInthe
charge
aggregate
In Separates
charge
Staples
announces
Compiles
receives
sheet
a new
the
Keeps
Makes
folders
the
and
profile
evaluation
folders
The
list
them
the
a Set
DISQUALIFIE
QUALIFIED and
of
sheet
process
verdict
qualified
from
in
of
gives
sheet
separate
6from
profile
the
sheet
them
for
candidates
the
running
each
in
evaluation
tothe
the
profile
coco
carton
running
andof separates
Round
of evaluation
the profile
D continues...
cartons
sheets
sheet
sheets
COCOs
1 sheets
Batching Criteria: No two
Profile sheets
candidates who were a part of 1st

In charge receives 4 folders from running coco of the interview slot which got
round group should be together;
over
Each group has candidates from
all streams

II. ROUND 2 gets over
In charge
In charge
receives
keeps
folders
themfrom
safely
theaside
running
in aCOCOs
separate
of round
carton
2
Folder contents for ROUND 2:

a. Profile sheet of the shortlisted candidates (received from the
running coco of the round 1)
b. Evaluation sheet for each candidate

c. New aggregate sheet, with names of shortlisted candidates filled

manually
AT DESK 3 –
Verification of the documents was to be done at this desk by the admin

members, against that entered by the candidates at the time of filling the
application. The admin members were provided with laptop which had
the data entered earlier.
uatesVerifies
the CGPAtheusing
documents
Makethe
note
mark
produced
of the
sheets
issues,
by
submitted,
the
if candidates
and compare it with that
anyclaimed
RUNNING COCOS –
• Escort candidates to respective panel rooms

• Take folders from Desk 1 In Charge and keep them in Round 1
Interview rooms
• Take evaluated folders from these rooms and give them to Desk 2
In Charge
• Take folders from Desk 2 In Charge (2 in number) and keep them in
Round 2 Interview rooms
• Take evaluated folders from these rooms and give them to Desk 2
In Charge
COORDINATOR –

• Reach the designated campus early and ensure –

○ Room scheduling for the entire day
○ Paraphernalia in each panel (water, folders, pens and pencils
for panellists)
○ Desk1, Desk2 and Desk3 with above mentioned
paraphernalia
○ Folders for Round 1 with above mentioned contents
• Call up HR/Alums to confirm their participation on the
communicated day/times
• Resolve ad-hoc issues of any PGP1 volunteer
• Ensure proper storage of documents at EOD
• Ensure faculty, HR executives and Alums are looked after well
• Interact with candidates, address their concerns and find out
common issues faced, resolve them
• Take care of issues like transport, food, escorting HR/Alums and
attending interviews
A typical interview day
Round
Round 1
2
Slot Slot Start End
I 9:00 10:00
II I 10:00 11:00
III II 11:00 12:00
Lunch Break
IV III 13:00 14:00
V IV 14:00 15:00
Tea Break & Snacks
VI V 15:15 16:15
VII VI 16:15 17:15

VII 17:15 18:15

BUDGET REPORT (FOR THE INTERVIEW PROCESS):
This year the interviews were conducted in four cities across the country
viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata. The decision of conducting
the process across these four cities instead of only in Mumbai, was taken
keeping in mind one of the major objectives of the admissions process –
convenience of candidates.
This resulted in a whopping increase in the budget, the justifications for

which are as underlined below:
• There was a huge increase in the flight tickets, and keeping in mind
that the applicants would have to travel to Mumbai no matter
where they are, however, instead if we conduct the process across
the four cities, it would result in lot of savings for them.
• The team also felt that apart from the money factor, there was
time factor too involved as maximum of the applicants would face
a time crunch with all B-school interviews lined up during the same
time, and hence interviews across the country was a much
convenient option for the applicants.
• This also addresses the feedback that we had received from the
applicants who had got rejected in the first round of interview.
There was general sense dissatisfaction among the applicants that
the institute must not call everybody till Mumbai.
The budget details are as attached in the appendix, the total figure being
Rs. 7, 63,597.
Achieved savings:
The budget did achieve savings for the applicants.
No. of students Avg fare if in

called Mumbai Total fare
2000 Rs. 4,000.00 Rs. 80,00,000.00
There were 2000 applicants called for interviews this year. In case the
interviews were conducted in Mumbai, the applicants would have to

spend an average of approx. Rs. 4000 each in travel. However, since the
interviews were conducted in four different cities with the choice of
interview centre being given to the applicants, we believe that this figure
of 80 lakhs would have come down to at least 50% by the institute
spending Rs. 8 lakhs. This indeed is a huge saving.

INITIATIVES & MAJOR SYSTEM CHANGES

TEAM PROCESSES
Working in ADCOM brought together a team of 12 individuals, each one

completely different from the other. Each one of us had a different
ideology and view point about SPJIMR’s admission process and harboured
ambitions to bring about a difference to this setup. Managing the
admissions process of a premier institute was a task of great
responsibility and repute and each and every member of this was proud
of being given the opportunity to execute this task of great significance.
What followed were months of immense learning in terms of
administration and understanding team dynamics, learning’s that each of
us would keep with us for the rest of our lives.
Forming
The first few meetings of ADCOM were highly unstructured and none of
us were aware as to what needs to be done. Our roles and
responsibilities were not clear to us and there was confusion all around.
Also the deadline for publishing the advertisement was coming close and
there was enormous pressure on us to start working as a team. A loose
distribution of tasks was done, a representative chosen and we set about
our tasks, still not clear about what exactly needs to be done. Team
“ADCOM” was formed on paper but in practice we were still a disjoint set.
Storming
With passage of time, the work load began to mount. By now, the tasks
had been clearly allocated. It was decided that our actions will be defined
by a consensus within the team. Perhaps a problem of working in big
teams is that there are a huge number of view points for every problem
and it’s difficult to find a middle path. ADCOM faced similar problems and
at times this led to delays in work because we could not come to a
consensus. However, the team members realised that we were spending
too much deliberating on issues than actually acting upon them. This
marked a paradigm shift in the functioning of team – we became a group
of performers from a group of stormers.

Norming
ADCOM was now becoming a high-performance team. The level of
understanding and appreciation of each member’s roles and
responsibilities was driving the team to do well together. The stress
levels were very high during the last days before the close of the
application and the entire team pitched in to help the members handling
the queries of the prospective applicants. The team also came up with
new and innovative ways to reach out to the fellow batch mates to seek
their inputs to improve the admissions process and the prospective
candidates to solve their problems and handle queries. The members
also ensured that all the stakeholders of the admissions process were
kept well informed about all the developments on the admissions front.
Be it handling queries of internal as well as external stakeholders,
gathering support from the batch for ideas or in conducting admission
interviews across the four locations, the team put up one face – We were
united in our thoughts and actions and this perhaps is the single most
important reason for the enormous success of this team.
Responsibilities & Task allocation

As we had already decided on the task schedules in the beginning, we
formed sub groups to accomplish it. Everyone’s role and responsibility
was clearly defined and deadline was given. The responsibility was on
the group to help each other in accomplishing their work in the best
possible way. We always tried to be fair and everyone was given equal
amount of tasks and responsibilities to fulfil.
Leadership development
Each member was given a chance to lead the group in some way or the
other to inculcate leadership role in them. We tried to give proper
feedback to each other and it also helped in our personality
development.

ADMAP Pillars

LEARNINGS
Planning
Planning is the first step in starting any activity and the success or
failure of the activity depends on how planning has been done.
Therefore, if we fail to plan, we plan to fail. This was the most
important learning while working in ADCOM. All the activities which
were planned meticulously were also executed flawlessly. Thus,
planning is the stepping stone to success or failure.
Taking Care of Stakeholders’ Interests

There is no way to succeed until and unless we can appreciate the
perspective of different stakeholders and incorporate it into the
process. We reviewed the entire admission process in light of the
problems faced by us ourselves as applicants and made best effort
to make it candidate friendly. Admissions Process has several
stakeholders, namely ADCOM, Applicants and Institute. While
doing any work related to admissions process, we had to take into
account the interests of all the stakeholders and this is true for any
corporate also.
Coordination & Cooperation

With no dearth of tasks to do and shortage of time and resources,
an individual cannot survive, let alone succeed in this world.
Therefore, we have to ensure that we get co-operation and co-
ordination from others. We tried to ensure that the tasks are
distributed amongst the members equally so that each one is able
to contribute with his maximum potential. Since the admissions
process has several stakeholders, we had to ensure co-ordination
with other committees and external agencies in getting the work
done.
Strong Communication Link

Importance of clear and precise communication cannot be

overemphasised in current day world. To ensure that the partners
with whom we are working are on the same level as us, we have to
ensure that the communication between them is strong. This helps
in delivering the intended results and prevents pitfalls in path to
success.
Team Work
ADMAP committee work has been so that it instils the concept of
effective team work within the individuals. We learnt the
importance of team work in most practical way. With multitude of
tasks at hand and varying interests of members, we had to ensure
that we work as a team to achieve the targets set by us. Teamwork
ensures that the tasks are divided amongst the members in a
balanced manner and brings forth several ideas of doing jobs to the
table.
Constructive Contribution
Being a part of the interview panel was a great learning process. It
created a sense of responsibility as well as underlined the need of
thorough preparation before facing/taking an interview because
stakes can be really very high for either party. The students were
not only supposed to observe, but also evaluate the candidates.
This can play an important role in selection of the candidates
because an individual psychologically tends to select candidates
similar to him/her. It was a great opportunity to learn the art of
conducting interviews. We learnt that an interview is meant to
bring out the worst as well as best out of a candidate as per the
situation.
Understanding Organisational Structure & Processes

Admissions work involved dealing with various individuals of the
institute as well as external agencies e.g. vendors, corporates.
Every organisation has some systems and processes in place for
any kind of work. Therefore, an understanding of these is very
critical to dealing with them and also determines the probability of
getting the work done. We learnt that if try to bypass these,

various unpleasant conditions can arise which can harm

relationships.

Recommendations
Process Improvement
1. Fix the timelines for various activities taking into consideration all
the effort that would be required to complete the activities and also
taking a buffer for glitches if any.
2. Online Chat sessions to dispel the doubts can be organised. This

would also improve the visibility of the institute and the course
within the target audience.
3. Reminders can be sent to the candidates who have incomplete

forms or have not submitted the forms. Also same process can be
repeated for profile sheets filling process.
4. Admission interviews process should not clash with DOCC project,

Placements or any other major activity of the college to ensure that
the members put in their maximum effort for the committee work.
5. Interview process needs to redesigned to take into account the

practical aspects of implementing the process( Increase the buffer

between the rounds for evaluation, lunch break at suitable time,

flexibility for unforeseen conditions)
6. Maintain the HR/Alumni data carefully so that it will be useful for

designing the interview process and also for the placements point
of view.
7. Normalisation process needs to be reviewed and possible new

methods of normalization of scores may be explored.
8. More Colleges, Universities and Companies need to be included in

the database, based on the previous years’ data. This would help in
proper normalisation process.
System Improvement
1. The online application form, though updated this year, still lacks in
functionality and security aspects. For functionality aspect, a
thorough review of various check parameters employed in the form
needs to be done. For security aspect, migration to ASP.NET is
recommended.
2. For making the relevant and recent updates available to the

applicants, service support needs to be improved from the vendor
side. Particularly near the deadline dates period.
3. Applicant username and password can be sent along with the

application submission confirmation mail to bring down the request
for username/password retrieval.
4. Application no., which is generated at time of application form

submission, can be sent along with the application submission
confirmation mail to enable the candidates in tracking their status
for further purposes.
5. Guidelines for forming a new username and password should be

properly and clearly communicated to the candidates.

6. Ensure that the same candidate does not fill two application forms.
7. The same form has been used for years now. The aesthetics of the
form need to be changed and form should be made more user-
friendly.
8. Four payments are available currently for paying the application

fee viz. Online (credit card), DD, Net Banking, Cash Receipt. Some
options which can be explored are: Debit Card, SBI (ATM).
9. Process of filling the profile sheet for interview can be made online
through an online form. This would eliminate the manual
intervention for downloading and printing the forms.
10.Simple database based software needs to developed for help in

verification and registration process.
11.Admission Information CD needs to be revamped. Also the

contents of CD should be made available on the institute website.
12. Online Feedback Facility system may be designed for getting the
feedback about the admissions process from the candidates.
Administrative Process Improvement
1. Monitoring of activity to ensure adherence to timeline. This would

go long way in improving effectiveness and efficiency of the work
done.
2. Plan-B should be designed, for every plan envisaged, for any

activity to take into account the worst possible scenario.
3. Team members need to understand each other well before starting

on tasks. To effectively and efficiently handle the processes, from
the beginning of ADCOM committee work, extensive meetings
should be held. Thereafter, task allocation should be done taking
into consideration capabilities and interest of members. Random

task allocation does not produce any results and instead hampers
the progress.
4. Members of the team need to have strong communication link

between them to ensure that all the members are on same
platform with regards to latest developments in the admissions
process.
5. Changes to be incorporated in the documents e.g. evaluation

sheet, result sheet should be considered from the initial stages of
the interview process design. This would ensure no last minute
glitches.
6. Effective relationship needs to be built with other ADMAP

committee, external agencies and participants of PGDM program.
This would help in three ways:
i) ADMAP committee: Help in co-ordinating several tasks to be
done in the college within the committee work domain.
ii) External Agencies: Help in getting the desired results in a
time and resource efficient manner
iii) Participants of PGDM program: Act as the primary brand
promotion agents of the college and the program, thus
enabling a greater reach and visibility.
1. To ensure that situations requiring fire-fighting do not arise, ensure

that the deadlines ( application form closure, interview slot
selection) do not fall on weekends or holidays( to ensure
availability of staff to handle the issues).
2. Fostering of innovation and new ideas to bring about quantum

improvement in systems and processes.

Team Formation

APPENDIX
I. Admission announcement in newspaper

II. Sample Copy of Minutes of Meeting
1. Name of the committee ADMISSIONS Date

16-9-08
2. Members present: Ritesh, Ashutosh, Raunak, Divyabh, Meenu,
Manik, Vikram, Ibha, Nikhil, Ajay, Niharika, Rohan
3. Agenda
I. Finalize the text of the SMS to be sent to each applicant who

submits his online application.
II. Admissions09 - 1) GMAT Dates 2) Credit Card 1200/1000 3)

Confirmation of receipt of DD
III. A-Plan Proposal
IV. Pagalguy - Update on the interview
V. Any update on the changes in admission process- Sir was due

to meet with Dir and Dean sir
VI. Admission CD - Update
____________________________________________________________________
_
1. Proceedings (discussion points)
I. The text for the sms to be sent to each applicant who submits
his online application was discussed upon. Three suggestions
came and they were discussed and the final text was finalized.
II. Sir was happy with the A-plan proposal and it was decided that
the details would be finalized soon. The contest would be

started with the batch address. In addition to this, sir also put
forward some more creative ideas to increase the number of
registrations. He asked us to go and conduct survey of colleges
like NM and VJTI to gain knowledge about what graduating
students think about MBA and which colleges they eye. He also
encouraged the members of the committee to think out of the
box and to come up with ideas that can then be discussed upon
III. Pagalguy interview would be held in 3rd week of September. The
committee will decide upon the content and review the previous
interview
IV. Regarding the admission process, sir, will discuss with the
director and the dean and intimate the committee with the
developments.
V. Admission CD: 2000 copies of it have been sent to Mukesh in
the Admin to be dispatched.
_______________________________________________________________________
1. Decisions taken
I. The final text of the sms was finalized and will be mailed by
Ashutosh to sir.
II. The queries of admissions09 were addressed and the answers
were duly mailed.
_______________________________________________________________
1. Action Plan
What When Who
i) discuss the content BY:

of pagalguy interview 23.09.2008 All members of ADCOM
08
ii) discuss the content
of A-Plan Proposal 23.09.2008
All members of ADCOM
08


I. Gantt Chart showing scheduling of activities

II. Some Reponses Received

ADCOM Report 2008-09

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

ADCOM Report 2008-09

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2008

ADMAP PROJECT REPORT

Working for the Admissions committee 2008 -10 of SPJIMR was an

We are thankful to the ADMAP process of SPJIMR, for providing this

We are thankful to Prof. Parimal Merchant for spearheading the

We also express our gratitude for our honourable Dean, Dr. M. L.

We are also grateful to all faculty members who helped us on various

2 ADMAP Committee Report

admission form and in making the admission process a better experience

We are indebted to the administration department of SPJIMR that

3 ADMAP Committee Report

Evaluating Subjective Questions.....................................................................15

4 ADMAP Committee Report

At the onset, a master budget was drawn up featuring major expenses

5 ADMAP Committee Report

The recommendations drawn based on yearlong events include - reaching a

The recommended strategies will enable the Admissions Committee to further

6 ADMAP Committee Report

STRATEGIC TASKS AND OBJECTIVES

Reach out to a wider student community: SPJIMR has a unique

Brand building: With a b-school rising up every alternate day, it

7 ADMAP Committee Report

Pagalguy and a concerted brand building and awareness exercise

Convenience of candidates: Many times, the dates allocated to

Simplify and Standardize the Admissions process: With the

Simplified application process: The process involved literally no

Admissions CD and advertisements: SPJIMR is probably the

8 ADMAP Committee Report

print, media and web keep everyone updated on the latest

Web forums: Online forums on Pagalguy, social networking sites

Short-Listing criteria: Almost every single college considers

Interview Calls: SPJIMR is unique in the manner it conducts

9 ADMAP Committee Report

One of the biggest constraints in the committee work is time. This is

1. Pre Admissions Form Launch Phase

I. Pre Admissions Form Launch Phase

Upgrading the application to get relevant information – The

10 ADMAP Committee Report

form should do justice to all types of people: freshers, people with

Communicating changes to Vendor – Having come up with

Testing the application form – Since various changes had been

Admissions advertisement and website modification – With

I. Admissions Application Form Live Phase

11 ADMAP Committee Report

form submission (30th November). During this phase, several

Handling Problems in Form filling and submission – This was

Replying to the Queries – There are always some applicants who

Brand-building and Awareness activities –Diwali Interaction,

12 ADMAP Committee Report

A-Plan contest – This was a new initiative taken by ADCOM. It was

I. Application Form Processing, Interview Process Design

Constant updates – Regular and timely updates were required to

Freezing on the short listing criteria – The SBU Heads

13 ADMAP Committee Report

Short listing of Candidates – The process followed was on lines

Planning the interview panels and logistics– Since the

The Interviews –Since the dates of interviews fell within the

14 ADMAP Committee Report

to ensure smooth and proper functioning of the process. Both the

[Refer to Appendix III for detailed activity chart]

15 ADMAP Committee Report

THE A-PLAN CONTEST- A NEW INITIATIVE

It had the following duo objectives:

About 15 entries were received from which 5 were shortlisted.