Surveys

Got a call regarding a survey being held for IBA’s MBA program. Was apparently focusing on reptition, market value of degree among other stuff. interesting and commendable step. Got another survey in the mail. Am putting it up in case you didnt get it. i would appreciate if you guys who got the survey could post your answers here. would make the blog a bit active (yes, am still trying to beg for active participation in this blog).  the questionaire is this. i hope i dont offend the person who is doing the survey. 

Questionnaire

“ Improvements at IBA “

Please help our study by filling in this short questionnaire.

1. Do you think IBA has a room for improvement?

a) Yes

b) No

2. If yes, what area(s) requires improvement?

Scale : (Extremely Poor = 5, Excellent =1) 

a)  Performance in Relation to the Objectives of the University	1     2     3     4     5
b)  Organizational Structure	1     2     3     4     5
c)  Accountability	1     2     3     4     5
d) Facilities (Library, Cafeteria, Sports,  Recreational Activities )	1     2     3     4     5
e)   Managerial Responsibility (Budgeting, Scheduling)	1     2     3     4     5
f)    Student Participation in the Governance of the University	1     2     3     4     5
g)   Course taught quality and  understandability	1     2     3     4     5
h)  Instructor ability to teach and create students’ interest in subject	1     2     3     4     5
g) Other (Please Specify) : ________________________________

3.  Do you think IBA infrastructure needs to revamped?

a) Yes

b) No

4. If yes, which area requires renovation?

a)  Auditorium	1     2     3     4     5
b)  Class Rooms	1     2     3     4     5
c)   Library	1     2     3     4     5
d)   Computer Rooms	1     2     3     4     5
e)   Academic Staff Rooms	1     2     3     4     5
f)    Administration Block	1     2     3     4     5
f)    Library	1     2     3     4     5
g)  Praying Area	1     2     3     4     5
h) Other : (Please Specify) ________________________________

5. Which is your most basic concern about IBA that needs to be addressed and improved? 
 
 

6. How in your view the said concern can be addressed?  
 
 

7. Additional comments (on teacher, instruction setting, examination…) 
 
 
 
 would like ppl to comment more on Questoin 5 and 6

they capture the essence of this blog.

The holiday confusion on first mid term

First there is news that there is a holiday then there is news that the govt took back the decision then follows uncertainity on what will be IBA’s decision.

This has happened before and will continually happen in the future unless the University comes up with a solution to address the problem. I would suggest that IBA has a website it is not at all being used to any potential. The news that should be up there should also concern such events and IBA’s decision.

Another suggestion would be to use the live ID’s that have been given to the students. To email them regarding the decision.

Another suggestion could be to have a partnership with either Ammana or Chopaal and have student registration and to use their network to send out messages to the existing students.

There should be some authentic source which can let the students know, cause frankly speaking this CR calling up concerned parties or the GS calling up people to find out whats going on and then telling it to ppl and to forward the message is becoming archaic. Needs to remodelled.

OPEN DOOR POLICY

Dr. Ishrat Hussain has an open door policy. you dont need to ask anyone before entering. though i do suggest you knock for the sake of being polite. If you have a problem regarding anything, at all. you can go and tell him. He’s there to help you.

For those who have seen the vision. and when i said that when one day someone might ask tell me whats wrong. well, might be a bit early to say it, but am pretty pretty sure of it that , that someone is the Director & Dean of IBA, Dr. Ishrat Hussain.

Change is flowing from top. Are you at the bottom to support it?

Formation of Committees- Executive and Academic

Dr. Ishrat Hussain formed two committees. Executive committee and an academic committee. Not sure what the executive committee will be doing yet, but the academic committee is going to look over the curriculum and subjects being taught and will decide how to make the courses better.

The members for the academic committee are

Dr. Mohammad Nishat -Economics and Finance

Dr Waseem Khan -Centre for Computer Studies

Dr. Mohammdad Iqbal -Management

Mr. Aman U Saiyed -Accounting

Dr. Hamen Das Lohano -Economics and Finance

Ms. Yasmin Zafar -Marketing

Dr. Javed Hussain -Social Sciences

Ms. Tahira Maryam Jafri -Economics and Finance

No idea on how this committee would be functioning but it would really help if this committee could involve people from the industry and current students in the process as well as faculty members from internationally renowned universities.

Like for marketing. We could hold a string of sessions for covering the marketing course. A meeting comprising of Current Teachers, Advertising Agency Heads, Brand Activation Agency Head, Marketing Managers of MNC and Local companies, Media Buying House Heads, Students that have taken these courses and atleast two to five internationally renowned universities faculty members , they can attend using video conferencing.

The agenda to be discussed could involve defining the basics of marketing, knowledge required for each facet of marketing, the best way to include case studies, projects for each marketing course, broad outlines for the contents, identification of marketing resources that could be used, what should be learnt in internships and a mentorship program for the gifted marketing students.

what do you say?

Placement office controversy

There are reports circulating for quite sometime now that the placement office is itself putting on the MBA/BBA restrictions in the job ads. A call to an MNC recently resulted in the disparency  coming to light when they denied that they asked specifically for MBAs.

The placement office is renowned for helping the fresh graduates of the institute of business administration to get into good places and is working as it is. Considering the number of students graduating its doing a fairly decent job . Still it does leave a lot required on its part.

The job seminars leave a lot required. The no effort on part of the placement office to educate the industry about the difference of the Four Year Bachelor program puts a lot of hurdles. The mail system although appears to be the way to go, where you have to sign up for the updates to get the mail could be developed into a website where the jobs can be posted and IBA graduates can benefit from them.

what do you guys think?

Event Slaughter

the all hyped up event of bake sale for which the CWS society had been working so hard for the past few weeks was slaughtered. yes, it was very bloody yellow and green spilt on the floor. The remains (read chairs and tables) left carelessly from the previous night’s event caused a lot of problems to the affluent class (read us) while we were parking our cars. The yellow and green tent at the back also took up a lot of space ( the contractor’s container and his office dont occupy space and hence dont take up parking space ).

the students had booked stalls and had committed donations to the needy and were ready to start off a smashing bake sale with a lot of people dressed up too. but You-Know-Who was not very happy since there was not a lot of parking space, as in how can there not be enough parking space. So, there was a storm, or well an order, which was to take down the tent and all the preparations done for the bake sale regardless of the fact that it was being done for a good cause. i mean who, really who cares, whether the money from the bake sale was promised to some patient in need of it in ICU or for some kid’s education. Like we would rise above ourselves and do something for someone else. Anyways the tents were brought down and it looked like not like war, rather slaughter as Beowolf would say.

The golgapays were sold in the canteen, the brownies given off , Cake Alaska was shared. The students managed to scavange some sort of a bake sale after the slaughter, even though it was skimpily thronged in the small cafeteria. the charts were torn, the decorations were lying on the ground, the petals and flowers and leaves adorned the tarnished platform of City Campus rather than hands of fair maidens.

The storm lingers on. No further events would be held and no one should approach You-know-who regarding them. i wonder what he will do after reading this? ban events? impose martial Law? do something more unpredictable?

my point, the chairs and tables in the morning were wrongly left, but i dont think it was entirely the fault of the student bodies, the event was long and hectic so a little leeway could be granted. A stern warning should have done the job. But to take away an event which is the only event held in IBA which contributes to some form of charity by the students just seconds before its scheduled to start is inhumane, not only to those who spent hours and days preparing for it but to those who had hopes attached to the little, i mean very little that we had promised to contribute. Some people did manage to get money across to those whom they had promised. we dont break our word. we just dont.

[for those who arnt getting my twisted sarcasm, when i say we dont really care, i dont mean that we dont really care, its my twisted sarcasm which has taken a more twisted turn than usual]

THE GOOD STANDING RULE

The good standing rule in the prospectus states

“Students are required to maintain discipline and good conduct & behavior during their studies at the IBA. A student shall be deemed to have lost good standing and consequently his/her name shall be dropped from the rolls of the Institute if his/her conduct and behavior is found objectionable from a disciplinary point of view.”

The rule is by far the most vague rules and is applied pretty widely. i know the statement is supposed to be general and all, but given the recent expulsions and suspension, a lot of students think that the Good Standing Rule should be more elaborative on what it encompasses.

Given the last few incidents the good standing rule encompasses:

1. Taking pictures inside the class without the teacher’s permission

2. Attempting to reschedule a class

3. Using abusive Language in class

4. Skidding in the car park

5. Cheating in examination.

6. Cell phone being present inside the examination hall

Suspension is now named as Expulsion

Four suspensions or so called expulsions in the last week. both were appropriately explained in the notices.

the first one was from MBA 4, two students were expelled for taking pictures of a teacher . the one who took pictures for a year and the other one, whose cell it was for a week.

the second expulsion from BBA 2 sec 2, the CR and another student were expelled since they wanted to go to a concert and were tryin to shift the classes but when the teachers declined they misinformed the class. (according to the notice board) i think this certain punishment was a bit severe.

and i still cant comprehend why the notice says Expulsion notice and not suspension notice.

Update: The concert was FESF child benefit concert and the new director has declined to reverse the decision, saying that the committee is senior and that the decision stands.

We as students still feel that the decision is harsh.

New and the acting director

Dr. Ishrat Hussain took the post as director IBA , w.e.f. March 12, 2008. but he had to fly to islamabad on the same day. hence, Professor Dr. Mohammad Nishat is the acting director

Board Meeting held today

IBA board of governors met today at city campus . It’s being speculated that it was one of those meeting where we bid farewell to the dean and director. Speculations are also rife regarding the fact that Dr. Ishrat might start sitting in University Campus from tomorrow and in City  campus from the day after