GROUP RESEARCH PROJECT ON

PROSPECTUS OF XIMB

Group 7
Abhijeet Dash
Chavan Prajakta
Kundan Mohapatra
Sakshi Choudhary
Shitika Ujjain
Sumukh Savanur

UM14001
UM14021
UM14032
UM14046
UM14052
UM14057

ABSTRACT
The main purpose of the prospectus should be making available all possible information an
aspirant seeks to obtain before deciding to join the institute.

Summary
The report provides an analysis and evaluation of the current Prospectus 2014 of XIMB and
Xavier University. Methods of analysis include comparison with the prospectus of two best
colleges in India which offer the same set of courses. A primary research was also done to find
out the opinion of the students, to access each parameter on which a good prospectus should be
judged. Results of the data analysed have been showed in the form of Pie charts.
The report finds the prospectus in its current position needs improvement. The major areas that
require remedial action include:

Mention of the good alumni network

Making the prospectus light on information

The report concludes that to a large extent the image portrayed in the prospectus and the real
scenario at XIMB were matching for 68% of the students who took the survey. However, a new
and improved version of the prospectus was created based on the findings of the research. The
new prospectus includes a special mention of the Alumni network, portrays a usual day at XIMB
and is lighter in terms of content as per the remedial action.
The prospectus of a college is like a mirror giving the true image of the college in terms of both
content and intent. Upgrading of the prospectus every year becomes necessary to match the
requirement of time and reflecting the academic growth of the institution.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The past fortnight had been a great learning experience and it wouldnt have been without the
support of various people, who helped us to accomplish our project successfully. We express our
sincere thanks to all those who had guided us in one or the other way.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude Fr. A. C. Jesurajan for giving us an opportunity
to work in a team and enhance our communication skills. We would also like to thank father for
providing us with an insightful topic which helped us brainstorm the varied hidden aspects.
We would also like to thank all those who took our survey and helped us in the primary research
of the topic.

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Table of Contents
1.

2.

3.

4.

Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1

1.1.

Problem Statement ...................................................................................................................... 1

1.2.

What is Prospectus? ..................................................................................................................... 1

1.3.

Presentation of information in prospectuses. ............................................................................ 2

1.4.

Designing a Prospectus ................................................................................................................ 3

1.5.

Instructions ................................................................................................................................... 3

Instruments and Questionnaire ........................................................................................................... 5

2.1.

Instrument ................................................................................................................................... 5

2.2.

Questionnaire .............................................................................................................................. 5

Experimental Design ............................................................................................................................ 6

3.1.

Step 1: Themes and Issues .......................................................................................................... 6

3.2.

Step 2: Survey .............................................................................................................................. 6

3.3.

Step 3: Comparative Study of prospectus of various colleges ................................................. 6

3.4.

Step 4: Data gathering from online and print media ............................................................... 6

3.5.

Step 5: Detailed Analysis ............................................................................................................ 7

3.6.

Step 6: Reporting ........................................................................................................................ 7

Analysis of Data .................................................................................................................................... 8

4.1.

Review of Harvard Business School Prospectus .................................................................... 11

4.2.

Comparison Analysis of various Indian B-Schools ................................................................ 12

4.3.

What does XIMB (XUB) want to portray through its prospectus? ...................................... 12

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1. Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1.Problem Statement
\

The purpose of this project is to read and interpret what the prospectus 2014 of XIMB and
Xavier University tries to project in its prospectus to the aspirants applying to the institution.
The first objective of the project is to research on the different admission brochures published
by the top management institutions across the country and try to interpret the image these
brochures try to project. The second objective constitutes preparing a new prospectus 2015 to
incorporate any new ideas or suggestions found during the research.
The research revolves around the prospectus which are documents issued by the institutions
which give a general idea about the facilities available in the institute. It also gives
information about the faculty as well as the courses available.
The analysis of prospectus is divided into two parts. The first section deals with comparative
analysis of prospectus of different institutions with respect to XIMB. The second section
deals with the suggestions and the new ideas incorporated in the prospectus.

1.2.What is Prospectus?
A university or school prospectus is a document sent to potential (prospective) students to
attract them to apply for admissions. It usually contains information about the institution and
the available courses, including advice on how to apply and the benefits of accepting a place.
Many universities have an individual prospectus for each course or group of courses that they
offer. Most universities have both online and paper versions of their prospectus, and they are
divided into an Undergraduate Prospectus and a Postgraduate Prospectus. If asked, an
application form can be sent.
The prospectus usually contains information on the individual courses, the staff (professors),
notable alumni, and the campus, special facilities (like performance halls for music schools
or acting stages for drama schools), how to get in contact with the university, and how to get
to the university. Some universities also provide an audio recording of their prospectus being
read aloud on CD for the sight-impaired. A prospect is for entry in a specific year or
semester/term (e.g. September 2007) is usually available one to one-and-a-half years
beforehand. Some universities also use the term 'prospectus' to mean the formal meeting for
proposing a graduate thesis or dissertation.
Every college builds its prospectus which is given to the students during they are admitted to
the college. This prospectus is like a mirror and as one looks into it he should get the image
of what the college is in terms of content as well as intent. If this prospectus remains the
same every year then it portrays a picture of stagnation in terms of academic growth of the
institutions. So up gradation of the prospectus is necessary every year new content and new
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intent that matches the requirements of time and reflecting academic growth of the
institution.

1.3.Presentation of information in prospectuses.

(a) The information required in a prospectus need not follow the order of the items or other

requirements in the form. Such information shall not, however, be set forth in such fashion as
to obscure any of the required information or any information necessary to keep the required
information from being incomplete or misleading. Where an item requires information to be
given in a prospectus in tabular form it shall be given in substantially the tabular form
specified in the item.
(b) You must present the information in a prospectus in a clear, concise and understandable
manner. You must prepare the prospectus using the following standards:
a) Present information in clear, concise sections, paragraphs, and sentences.
Whenever possible, use short, explanatory sentences and bullet lists;
b) Use descriptive headings and subheadings;
c) Avoid frequent reliance on glossaries or defined terms as the primary means of
explaining information in the prospectus. Define terms in a glossary or other
section of the document only if the meaning is unclear from the context. Use a
glossary only if it facilitates understanding of the disclosure; and
d) Avoid legal and highly technical business terminology
(c) All information required to be included in a prospectus shall be clearly understandable
without the necessity of referring to the particular form or to the general rules and
regulations. Except as to financial statements and information required in a tabular form, the
information set forth in a prospectus may be expressed in condensed or summarized form. In
lieu of repeating information in the form of notes to financial statements, references may be
made to other parts of the prospectus where such information is set forth.
(d)
(1) To enhance the readability of the prospectus, you must use plain English principles in
the organization, language, and design of the front and back cover pages, the summary,
and the risk factors section.
(2) You must draft the language in these sections so that at a minimum it substantially
complies with each of the following plain English writing principles:
a) Short sentences;
b) Definite, concrete, everyday words;
c) Active voice;
d) Tabular presentation or bullet lists for complex material, whenever possible;
e) No legal jargon or highly technical business terms; and
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f) No multiple negatives.
(3) In designing these sections or other sections of the prospectus, you may include pictures,
logos, charts, graphs, or other design elements so long as the design is not misleading and the
required information is clear. You are encouraged to use tables, schedules, charts and graphic
illustrations of the results of operations. Any presentation must be consistent with the
financial statements and non-financial information in the prospectus. You must draw the
graphs and charts to scale. Any information you provide must not be misleading.

1.4.Designing a Prospectus
Institutes often use prospectus to make themselves get identified from the other business
schools. The prospectus is the first communication between the aspirant and the institute. The
visual appeal that it is successful in creating in the eyes of the readers constitutes the major
requirement of a good prospectus.
However, a few basic elements must be kept in mind while designing a good and vibrant
prospectus

The prospectus should be crisp and short, while highlighting the important points

It must create a unique image of the institute

It should be easily understandable and should not be too complicated.

1.5.Instructions

Decide what the prospectus is for (to describe a proposed project, to outline the benefits
of a product or financial tool) and the audience it needs to be directed toward.
Outline the main topics (headings) to be addressed within the prospectus. For example,
a prospectus for an art competition will need to address the purpose or reason for the
competition, eligibility of the artwork and artist (size and medium of the work, the age,
training, and geographical location of the artists), entry fee, procedure for entering,
calendar of deadline dates, shipping directions, awards/sales offered to accepted
entrants, selection process, other topics of interest to the prospective entrant (name of
jurors, venue for the showcasing of the selected works, catalog details).
Collect the pertinent information and fill in the chosen headings of the prospectus.
Choose a style in which to present the information. For example, a research prospectus
will differ from a financial product prospectus although both are created with the
intention of garnering support and revenue. Both will use active voice, both will outline
the history of the product or research. However, each will be speaking to a different
type of audience with different types of needs and pre-existing knowledge.

Place the prospectus information in the appropriate format for printing, sending,
handing out or mailing. This may require the work of a graphic designer, a legal
perspective and marketing expertise.

2. Chapter 2: Instruments and Questionnaire

2.1. Instrument
Out of the 6 research methods in management we have taken Field Method which takes the
views of the people or the uncritical opinion of the people. We used the mass survey
technique using the web survey tool- Qualtrics.The Qualtrics Mailer provides an easy and
convenient way to distribute the survey among large groups of people. By using the mailer,
we sent customized email invitations to our participants and tracked their response.
2.2. Questionnaire
1. Did you go through the prospectus completely before the final admission?
o Yes
o No
2. What is the first thing you look for in the prospectus of a Business school?
o Placements
o Infrastructure
o Course structure
o Student life
o Career path
o Faculty and Publications
o Fee structure and Financial Aid
3. How important do you think pictures are in the prospectus Business School?
Rate it on the scale of 1 to 5
4. What attracted you in the prospectus of XIMB?
o Stress on social awareness, values and ethics
o Rankings
o Alumni Base
o Placement figures
o Ongoing research by the faculties
5. Did the prospectus 2014 depict the true picture of XIMB?
o Yes
o No

3. Chapter 3: Experimental Design

Given the constraint involved in floating the questionnaire beyond the four walls of XIMB we
surveyed the students of XIMB and XUB campuses only. There were 230 responses in total to
the questionnaire we floated over the internet. We believe the data collected, largely reflects the
sentiments of the crowd in other business schools too. The challenge was to generate reliable
estimates that are comparable over time.
3.1. Step 1: Themes and Issues
1. Find out the image that the institution wants to project and show if it has succeeded in
attaining its purpose.
2. To ascertain goal is attained or not, make the necessary changes and prepare a Prospectus
2015 that will incorporate your suggestions.

3.2. Step 2: Survey

Analyzing of survey consisted of a number of interrelated processes that were intended to
summarize, arrange, and transform data into information. Our objective was to understand
the characteristics of typical B-School student, then transform the raw results into
information that enabled us to paint a clear picture of what the prospectus should contain.
The questionnaire consisted of four questions which we believe captured the logic behind the
decision to choose the B-School prospectus. The questionnaire was floated over the internetSocial Media and E-mails to the students. This helped us to reach out to students from both
the campuses in a very quick time.
3.3. Step 3: Comparative Study of prospectus of various colleges
We used compare-and-contrast model to analyze the prospectus of some of the major BSchool in India. This helped us to capture several commonalities and crucial differences
between these prospectuses. The frame of reference for the comparison of prospectuses was
the inclusion of some key parameters like statistics, alumni base, student activities, and
placements and so on.
The grounds of comparison was how premier B-schools in India project themselves through
their prospectus to the aspirants.
3.4. Step 4: Data gathering from online and print media
With the proliferation of B-Schools in our country aspirants now have to choose between
plenty of premier colleges. Electronic media especially internet and mobile applications have
become important resources for information gathering for the aspirants. Several internet
portals have now started the services of answering frequently asked questions regarding
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MBA admissions. These internet portals and other media platforms were included as a part of
our research data.
3.5. Step 5: Detailed Analysis
Analysis is the most important aspect of the survey research. Data set collected must be
turned into actionable information. The process of analysis lead to a variety of courses of
action.
We carried out a basic analysis using charts and tabulations. We also carried out a simple
regression analysis to find out why a person answered the way that they did.
3.6. Step 6: Reporting
After analyzing your survey data, we created a report of the findings. As the findings
required significant explanations and were text heavy, we created reports using MS Word.
Report analysis includes display of trends and patterns using pie charts and analysis and
comparisons of B-Schools to support the conclusions we have drawn.

4. Chapter 4: Analysis of Data

The response indicates

that majority people go
through the details in the
prospectus before joining
the Institute.
Thus it plays a major role
in their decision of joining
or not joining.

The response of the students

depict that placement figures
is the first thing they look for
in a prospectus.
Student life and fee structure
follow thereafter.
Thus these areas must be paid
special attention while
drafting the prospectus.

33% students rated the

importance of pictures as 5 and
27% as 4 which shows that
pictures are very important for
the target audience. It adds to the
visual appeal and makes the
prospectus more interesting.

After placement companies and

figures, the social values and
alumni details attracted the
attention of the students. The
committees and institutes rankings
also had an effect on their
decisions.

To a large extent the image

portrayed in the prospectus and the
real scenario at XIMB were
matching for 68% of the students
who took the survey

The revised prospectus of XIMB attached herewith has been designed keeping in mind the
changes that need to be incorporated after analyzing students views and comparison with other
top B schools. One new area that has been laid focus upon is the Alumni network. The Alumni
network plays a very important role in the life of a B school student. They play a major role in
the placement an internship processes. Also efforts have been made to describe a typical day at
XIMB. The uniqueness of the life at XIMB has influenced lot many people and has attracted
students to the institute. The other sections have mostly been kept intact with minor changes.
The prospectus has been kept light on information and minute details as those willing to read
details can do so from the website too and unnecessary information overload makes the
prospectus dull and boring. This also ensures a sense of curiousness among the aspirants to know
more about XIMB.

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4.1. Review of Harvard Business School Prospectus

BROAD TABS

SUB POINTS

REMARKS

THE HBS
DIFFERENCE
What will you do?

6 Differentiators

ACADEMIC
EXPERIENCE

Curriculum
Faculty & research
The field method
HBS case method
Initiatives
Joint degree programs
The section experience

STUDENT LIFE

CAREER PATH

ADMISSIONS

FINANCIAL AID

Activities, government
& clubs
Student profiles

1. Student community connects easily with

crisp and bulleted points and this has
been taken care of in their prospectus
2. Usage of vivid colors and pictures
3. 6 concrete points that sets them apart
from other institutes.
1. Focus on learning in practice i.e, through
case studies and discussions of live
problems.
2. The curriculum has been presented in
such a way that it appears interesting and
practical rather than being just
theoretical.
3. The importance of case study highlighted.
4. Clearly lays down the social initiatives of
the institute.
1. List of clubs laid down alphabetically
adding to the visual appeal.

Career assessment
Career
development
resources
Career outcomes

1. Career path well defined for the new

prospective students.
2. Details about career counselling and
support services laid down.

Who are we looking for

Class profile
Application process
Application dates
Events
From the director
Webinars
Cost summary
Domestic students
International students
External
funding
opportunities
How to evaluate a
sponsorship offer

1. Clearly defined qualities that they are

looking for in a student.
2. Class composition in terms of gender,
nationality well defined.

11

1. Scholarship and other details

transparently laid down.

4.2. Comparison Analysis of various Indian B-Schools

Broad Categories
Directors Message
Campus
Infrastructure
Why this B-School?
Industry InteractionBusiness Conclaves,
Guest Lectures ,
Conferences,
workshops
conducted
Life@ B-school
Student Activities /
Committees
Notable Alumni
Laurels @ B-school
competitions and
cultural festivals
Faculty Messages
Admission Process
Convocation Pictures
Programmes Offered
Financial Aid/
Scholarships
Global MBA
Research &
Publications

XIMB

XLRI

IIM -Bangalore

Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes

Yes
No

No
No

No
Yes

Yes
Yes

No
No

Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes

No
No

Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes

Yes
No
Yes
No

Yes
Yes
Yes

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No

Yes
No

Yes
Yes

No
No

4.3. What does XIMB (XUB) want to portray through its prospectus?
Target audience: The prospectus is sent to only those candidates who apply to the institute to
provide them in depth knowledge about the Institutes course, culture, faculty etc and helps
them to compare it with the other B schools.
The Xavier Institute of Management that has now become a part of Xavier University has
additional motives to achieve while issuing its prospectus from this year onwards. The
emphasis will be laid on the University tag that it has now achieved which will add to its
reputation. The expanding campus and additional courses will now be laid more focus upon.

12

However as this is a Jesuit institute, utmost importance shall be laid up on the social ethics
that the institute has been proudly proclaiming since the beginning.
The prospectus shall also mention about the placements and highlight the fact that increase in
batch size did not affect the placements adversely.
Any other new initiative taken by the institute or its students in the past year shall be
highlighted. Infrastructural developments shall also be displayed primarily via pictures.
Alumni achievements can be mentioned to strengthen readers confidence in the institute.

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