Bangalore B-school classrooms are full despite the flexible attendance policy
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B), students are so self-motivated that this voluntary attendance system has not made much of a difference.
It is every student’s wish to be given the choice to either attend or skip class.
However, at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B), students are so self-motivated that this voluntary attendance system has not made much of a difference.
Beginning this year, attendance in classes is voluntary for the first year post graduate programme unless a professor wants the students to maintain a certain percentage of attendance.
The two-year post graduate programme in management is the flagship programme of the institute.Over the years, the minimum attendance requirement for students has been 75%. IIM-B may the only B-school in the country to relax attendance rules.
“Honestly, I feel no change since we are all very self- motivated which is what pushes us to attend classes even though this rule has come into existence. Each one knows how hard he/she has worked to get here. So we are not going to skip classes without a reason. The biggest incentive to attend is that the attendance level will be reflected on our grade sheet and no one wants it showing a low attendance level,” said Dhruv Shah, a first year PGP student.
The batch of 382 students is varied and has many chartered accountants.The voluntary attendance system may be solely aimed at them.
“For instance, for those from the economics and accounts background, attending some of the classes may really not be helpful, since they already have grounding in these subjects,” said Shah. “It’s probably for these reasons that flexibility has been brought in, although the students here are very sincere in their studies,” he added.In the first semester of the programme, six courses are mandatory.
“Four out of six of the professors have maintained the attendance level at around 75 %,” he added.In fact, in the new system, the attendance requirement can even be 90% if a professor insists so for his class.
Most students love the freedom and the onus that they hold.“The concept is brilliant since students are responsible for themselves. But I don’t see a drop in the attendance level. One has to attend classes because he or she can’t do what is taught in class on their own. If they don’t attend classes, they just won’t know what’s happening,” said Prakhar Shah, a first year student at IIM-B.
Although professors think it is too early to comment on the response to the new system, they feel it will not compel students to attend classes to learn.
“We want to treat them like adults, and if they can manage with self-learning, why not,” said C Manohar Reddy, professor of organisation behaviour, at IIM-B.
“We though that at the post- graduate level, students should be mature enough to take these decisions. What we have adopted for the flagship MBA programme is similar to what is followed in foreign universities and IIM-B is also working towards putting such a system into practice,” said head of communications and an adjunct professor.