Dear kjs1,
after hearing and reading so much on the issue, it is really easy to comment that, I must be aware of the fact "buyers beware" :).
By the way, each of the aspirant is free to make an opinion about the bias/unbiasness of the facts.
Unfortunately, when I was joining there was no Mr. Jha who came to PG and put forth all the truth about one of the top 10 B-school inside out. The information we had was the inflated salary figures on the site and the buzz that SPJIMR is amongst the "top 10". Both of them when seen in the context are wrong. I am sure once the candidates spend 11 odd months in the campus all of my comments will come to realization one by one.
Anubhav is really right in saying that there is a vast market for this product (PGPM). Had the quality been there the admission will stop right after the first list is out, and it will not go till 4th list and now the rolling admission offer. :).

Anubhav has made the points in a manner which looks devoid of bias. It has been a informative post to read.

Mr Jha ,
If am sure when you signed for this course you were fully aware of the consequences. If not then first blame yourself then the institute. I would agree that there is a lack of clarity on many fronts but that does not absolve each one of us who have made / would make a decision to join SPJain's 1 yr program.

To all the SP jain students ,

There is so much that have been written. And some comes from a trusted source(s) ( Anubhav happens to be a acquaintance ), yet we have not have a final word on placements and other issues raised by them. This your thread take control.

Thanks a lot Anubhav for taking out some time for this forum. I am sure many more will come. I will not disect your opinion but will add mine.

Hello All,

I was in the same batch as Mr.Jha, and would like to give you an unbiased view from my end.

I would categorically say Mr.Jha's views are true, but the views may be slightly biased because of his personal experiences and expectations.
When something is categorically true, there is no question of it being biased or unbiased :). I have no gudges on the insti as I know that this insti is handicapped by its limitations.

Mr.Vikas, may be wrong in analyzing the fact that out of a batch of 80 only 2 have shown a negative bias/experience. After the course people have gone back to the industry and may not find the time nor the energy to add to or waste by voicing their opinions because we did what we had to when we were in the program and ensured our next batch doesnot face the same issues as we did. Hence their might be an improvement year-on-year.
Take a note of the above point Mr. Vikas and company. Very well said Anubhav.

The issue stands as "PGPM is not a flagship course of SPJIMR and will never be..!!", PGPM is more about having a complete range of products (Courses) for its target market (MBA Aspirants). Some of the readers may get offended, but this is reality.
To add to this, some of the profs even go on saying that do not compare yourself with 2 year programme, as they come through CAT.

However, I have seen PGPM changing the life of a few...changing for good..from sitting in front of PC's to a life where they have seen more than 6 countires in the last 4 months!!:-P But such numbers are limited thats a fact.
Anubhav, I strongly disagree. If some one has visited 6 countries in 4 months, it doesn't mean that he gotten a plum job. For that matter I know at least 2 of us, who do not have a job till date.

The fact also remains that what you make out of ur MBA- PGPM is completely upto you, its your networks, your planning your ambitions that will help you gain the maximum out of PGPM.
I agree, the planning can pay. But when you come to hear that "Oh, you have a gap of one year in your career" it hurts. Few of us kept looking for job for the entire 6, 7 months thorough various means.

The 2 yrs program is spoon feeding when it comes to placements, and the exact opposite for PGPM. Many organizations come to the campus for PGPM recruitment (upto 70% of the batch is placed through these) for the remaining 30% its a case of whether the profile and the compensation is as per expectations. Some very comendable offers were made during our placements, infact we had a case where the organization came to recruit from the 2yr programs but after interacting with PGPM they decide to go ahead with us for the opportunities.

The program lacks industry alignment for sure, some of the activities and modules need re-alignment and doing away with in some cases like the internship (ALP) and the GITA SHIBIR, ADMAPS. We need to understand that people who come for these courses are already managers, analysts etc. and no organization is going to have internship projects which are above these levels (with an exception from a few organizations). Hence why the internship?? also most of the participants have some background in social work etc. so even a DOCC accept for a few projects was not so helpfull.
True there are many worthless courses and activities. I am sure the past 5, 6 batches would have given feed back to remove them but till date they are part of the programme.

The institute seriously needs to chart out the way ahead for the PGPM programs else its existence will be more because of continuity rather than creativity and academic excellence.

One change that has happened is that PGPM now shares the same placement coordinator with the PGDM(2 yr) program and I expect this to have a positive effect, personally.

For all those who want to take a call on the program whether to join or no: 1 yr programs have a long way to go before they get the full recognition, organizations need to wake up and start accepting this fact and also the fact that a 1 yr program participant may be an equally capable candidate like the one from a 2yr MBA.

MBA is done once in a lifetime (exceptions here) - if you have the opportunity try opting for the IIMA/B/C, ISB, Foreign Univeristies: rest everything is the same.... (ISB is also creating many unplaced MBA's due to their huge batch size)

There is no professionalism in the programme, the top management is simply apthetic to the lacunae of the programme.
1. The placement activity is run by the professors, why not by a separate dedicated cell.
2. They waste time on DOCC, ADMAP and intership why not this time can be ustilised for specialization or other courses.
3. Visiting faculties are not at all worthy, they are not even available for any further contact in the campus.
4. They keep the placement data a top secret. For our batch the placement exercise started at least 6 months in advance and they manage to bring only 4 to 5 companies in the campus. That too for such companies one need not do an MBA.

My response inline:

Question - Did the college refrain from providing this data during placements?
Yes insti has the policy of not sharing the grade points with the companies during placement. And this made/allowed many participant to just concentrate on self generated opportunities.

And weren't you at free will to put it on your CV. Companies visiting campus could have asked for this anytime 'if they needed it' - from college or from the individual.

For your kind and sweet information, entire batch has to follow "One and only pattern" of CV. wherein each and every information is reviewed and rereviewed. So there is no question of mentioning GP on the cv of an individural.

---

Despite our initial refrain from confrontation and the later responses, there is no point in going on and on.

You guys simply cannot rebut, cos I am telling the truth and the facts backed by eye witness accounts which the aspirants cannot see.

I can see ultimately you guys are resorting to vilifying methods. Be professional, rebut with facts and figures. Vikas says that we are alien, using unidentified id's, if it is true, why did I receive call from the faculties? Not to say that the call was rather threatening and words used were not holy at all. But I do not care.

Saying that the institute is in top 10, means little. Which is only due to their 2 years programme. The institute talks a lot about ethics, teaches GITA in the classroom on the contrary look at this. The data posted on palcement is utterly misleading.
Firstly they say we are not placement agency, then why do they post palcement data on the site?

Secondly, they say "100% placements for the (11-month) PGPM programme at SPJIMR". Just below they say for the 5th batch they achieved 100% palcement. And in the next para they give detail about their 6th batch(our batch :)). The whole information is an exercise to make us believe that they achieved 100% palcement for 6th batch too.

Thirdly, I do not know which method they used to arrive at the average figure of 14.62, where as most of the offers (whosoever got it) were much below that. The students were at time forced to accept the offer.

Fourth: In the list of participating companies they have included the names of self generated opportunities companies too. You decide on your own whethre they should claim for the palcements which candidated got after the program is over and and they have left the campus and they got it after some real tough times and trauma.

Finally, all of the candidates will have different reasons to join or not to join the program. But take your decision in the backdrop of the unseen and unknown information posted on this forum. I have been with my batchmates for more than a year and I know their take on the insti and palcement too. In the time to come you may see many other id's posting their views on the programme.

Sorry folks, the last thing I want is a confrontation. I will not use any sarcasm nor I will single out any individual. As I am wrting on the forum, at the same time I am in cntact with few other batchmates of mine.

Well regarding the quality of specialization, I have already gone through the fin specialization and the current batch is yet to go. The quality is so bad that we had to make several complaints to our SBU head for finance. And need not say that entire finance batch was complaining not just I. Ultimately we forced the removal of one of the visiting facluty. Finally one of the courses was not even conducted properly, Only 2 sessions.
Well if the SPJIMR is so proud of quality of education, then why do not they share the grade points with the visiting companies. You score 3.8/4 or u score 1.8/4, all are equal. No incentive for academic performance.

Setting the facts right on the finance courses..

The course PGPM has
Financial Accounting in the first sem,
Financial Statement Analysis in the second sem,
Corporate Finance in the third sem

plus
12 weeks specialization in Finance, where students can choose from a list of about 12 subjects.

A bit judgmental aren't we?

I think the questions are rather specific to me, so I will refrain from answering. You should have used PM facility instead.

Mr Jha,

Where are you located? Is it possible to meet you in Mumbai? We would like to talk to you face to face to get an idea. I will have certain questions to ask

1. What were your expectation when you joined SP Jain and in what ways it was not met?
2. What was your experience and salary and what was offered to you? Did you not get Job through campus or you refused because it was not upto the expectation.
3. Why are your views about the course negative? I believe that the course is more for a value add than any change of course. I mean if I am in IT consulting and want to change course to Finance, I should rather go for 2 year MBA.

Regards,

Two points: I envy your offer and happy that dilemma is yours :).
Jokes apart, I guess you must be going for finance stream. Well 7 to 8 weeks of specialization window is that you get for honing your skills on the complex finance concepts (true for other streams too). Mostly external faculties come. Most of them are utterly incompetent, very few impressive. But I learnt more finance in CFA level 1 iteself, than in the entire PGPM program. So the decision is yours.

Mr. Jha.. I somehow believe u as none from the PGPM (like Vikas and others) are rebutting your point.

I have an interview on 16th, I have 5 yrs of experience and have a 7 figure offer from an IB.

Wat If I clear SPJ?? This is their 8th batch and whatever Im reading about PGPM, I guess they should have improved their program quality to have better placements.

In a dilemma.

Thanks,
mbapaapi

Well it is both: Placement as well as quality of the program. Not an "either or case". I agree with you on the poit : "its our responsibility to know what we are getting into but not on the point : "how one individual, especially with a negative view, can influence people's mindset".
Here the audience is vastly experienced and mature. I am just trying to bring out that aspect which is not visible to them, so that they can take an informed decision.

WOW this is so funny, how one individual, especially with a negative view, can influence people's mindset.

So what is the concern here, not 100% placements or the course ? If its the course, then why are you guys even applying for it. The onus is on us to do a proper research and then apply.

If its the placement, again school can only facilitate placements by getting companies to campus or by organizing networking events. No college and I mean no college in this world can ever guarantee a 100% placement.

Not trying to demean anyone here, just a personal thought. But again, its our responsibility to know what we are getting into.

All the best.

Guble Says

Can you pls let us know the exact picture !!! how many of you really got placed ???

Well I cannot give the numbers here. But in sum, a good numbers were left even after 1.5 months of offcially the program being over (15th Dec). All those who got placed very few were satisfied. In cases candidates were even forced to take up offers below par their expecatations and choice, just to increase the numbers. Even in their official records they show those offers which have not been accpted by the candidates.

And this is funny, they held the certificate and marks sheet, in return for the self generated offer letter. Though I got it after some effort :).

Dear Mr. Jha,

Could you please inform, what is the all time maximum salary offered to PGPM batch people having 14 years of work experience? (in area of operation management or any other stream)

Candidates with more than 10 yrs of exp had to suffer the most. They were like untouchables for the companies and most of time they were not even shortlisted. Reasons: 1. their higher salaries 2. Their age 3. Companies think it will be difficult to mould them for a new role. 4. such candidates come with niche areas and companies do not find a ready made role/profile for them.

Well, either the institute should provide placement or not at all. They take some effort for placement and manage certain %age. For the rest they say "You are experienced", "You have your own contacts", "Don be dependent on the insti" and bla bla.... . This is ridiculous. There are institutes who do not provide any placement assistance. So there must be uniformity in the policy. For your failure do not fall back on the placement policy.

Hi Mr. Jha,

I hope you might have got the job by your own. This was the question by the interview panel also as please do not be 100% dependent in the college and after having significant years of experience, you might have developed some contacts in industry.

Don't know what is the case with the current batch, either they themselves are trying to attract the employer or college is putting their 100% for the placement.

Let's see, when the result is declared (both for admission and current year placement).