Admission Process for Indian Institute of Management Sirmaur

Master of Business Administration 2023-25 Batch

 

This document details the process that will be adopted for selecting candidates for Admission to the Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the Indian Institute of Management Sirmaur (IIMS) for the batch of 2023-25.

IIMS is part of the consortium of 9 participating IIMs that conducts Common Admission Process (CAP) and considers Common Admission Test (CAT) as a evaluation criteria for admitting students in its flagship MBA programs. The admission process has been progressively refined over the years, based on cumulative data on the Common Admission Test (CAT) applicants, and the academic and industry performance of the candidates that were admitted to IIMS. The process arrived at is based on the relationship between the academic performance of students of the MBA in IIMS and their past academic performance, their CAT score, performance in the admission interview, prior work experience, and diversity criteria. The selection criteria and weights given to various parameters are based on data from previous cycles as well as on inputs from relevant stakeholders. The selection criteria are usually reviewed every year and revised as necessary.

IIMS has found over the years that students who perform well academically in the MBA are typically those who have a consistently good academic record during their secondary school, higher secondary school and graduation level, besides exhibiting sufficiently high managerial aptitude as measured by the CAT. Therefore, IIMS uses multiple parameters, namely academic performance in 10^th & 12^th grades, graduation programmes as well as the candidate's section wise scores in CAT to judge the suitability of a candidate for the MBA. Relevant work experience, if any, is also given weight in the selection. Evaluation by multiple criteria is also consistent with empirical research on recruitment and selection that shows greater efficacy of recruitment processes that use multiple criteria. The CAT score, over and above being a selection criterion, is also used to establish the minimum level of proficiency that is expected from the candidate in respective faculties as indicated by section-wise minimum scores in the CAT. The various criteria mentioned above are used to arrive at a composite score for every candidate, which in turn is used to select candidates for the subsequent stages. The remaining part of the document explains this process in detail.

IIMS adopts a two-phase selection process and accordingly these selection criteria are applied in two phases. The first phase of the process is applied to all eligible candidates who meet the cut-off criteria as mentioned in Table 1 to determine candidates to be called for a personal interview (PI). The PI would be conducted through online mode for this admission cycle as agreed among CAP members. The PI process will be common to IIMs which are participating in the Common Admission Process (CAP). The second phase consist of preparing the final selection/merit list on the basis of the composite score arrived at using weightages as per valid CAT-2022 score, PI score, academic profile, work experience and diversity (academic disciplines and other criteria), as mentioned in Table-2. The selection process, parameters and weights are used uniformly for all applicants within a specific category. Sufficient candidates are shortlisted at each stage from each social category to meet the reservation requirement for each group, as applicable at that time as per Government of India norms.

IIMS would not be taking any Written Ability Test (WAT) for the Admission Process of MBA 2023-25 Batch as per the decision among the CAP participating IIMs. During the Interview, the panel will evaluate each candidate's academic background, quality of work experience and professional fit in terms of program requirements and industry-appropriate behavioral competence. The scores of the Interview and criterion as specified in this document (with appropriate weightages) will be used cumulatively in the second and final phase to select the candidates for the programme.

 

Phase 1: Shortlisting for Personal Interview (PI)

A shortlist would be prepared comprising candidates who have secured a pre-determined minimum cut-off score on all sections of CAT 2022 (except for Supernumerary seats for promoting diversity where specified) as outlined in Table 1 below.

 

Table 1: Criteria for shortlisting the candidates for PI process

 

Note. These are the minimum prescribed cut-offs for preparing the short-list. The actual cut-off scores of those called for interviews could be higher. The criterion mentioned in above Table is subject to revision at any point of time depending upon the admission requirements of IIMS. The criteria w.r.t. individual sectional percentile and the overall percentile may be lowered/relaxed, if the actual number of shortlisted candidates are found to be less than the required number of candidates to be called for PI in one or more categories. The relaxation, if any, in the cut-off criteria shall be to ensure a sufficient number of candidates for each of the categories for PI process. The Admission Committee at IIM Sirmaur reserve the right to have a higher/lower cut-off than those mentioned above.

 

Phase II: Preparation of Final Merit List

IIMS look forward to accept candidates who reflect high quantitative, managerial and people skills coupled with suitable corporate experiences. Moreover, IIMS also intends to create a diverse learning atmosphere supportive of creativity and inclusiveness. In pursuance of the same, the following criteria are designed to attract and groom students In this phase, a final merit list will be prepared based on the following criteria listed in Table 2.

 

Table 2: Final Selection Parameters and Weightage

SN	Component	Weight	Method of Scoring
1	Scaled CAT Score	45	CAT Score Scaled CAT Score = (----------------------------------) * X                                      Highest CAT Score of 2022 Where, X = 45
2	PI Score	25	Personal Interview as per CAP norms
3	Academic Performance (%)	10	X = 3 Marks	XII = 3 Marks		Graduation = 4 Marks
			If < 70 = 0	If < 70 = 0		If < 60 = 0
			70-80 = 1	70-80 = 1		60-70 = 1
			80-90 = 2	80-90 = 2		70-80 = 2
			>90 = 3	>90 = 3		80-90 = 3
						>90 = 4
4	Corporate Work Experience	10	0 - 11 Months		0 Marks
			12 - 17 Months		04
			18 - 23 Months		08
			24 – 29 Months		10
			30 - 35 Months		06
			36 – 41 Months		03
			42 – 48 Months		01
			Over 48 Months		0
5	Academic Diversity (DFa)**	5	If Graduation in any discipline listed in Annexure A with minimum of 60% marks Else		DFa = 5 DFa = 0
6	Other Diversity (DFo)***	5		If meeting the criteria of any category listed in Annexure B	DFo = 5
Else		DFo = 0
Composite Score		100

 

** Refer to Annexure A for categorization

*** Refer to Annexure B for categorization. In case of Supernumerary seats DFo scores (5 marks) would be added to CAT score weightage making X = 50. The rest of this document's points will remain the same in case of any supernumerary admission process for enhancing diversity.

 

Work Experience:

IIMS duly recognizes the value of experience in enhancing the learning experience for the student in the classroom. Accordingly, it assigns credit for a candidate’s work experience in the selection process.

Therefore, IIMS is keen to ensure that the work experience claimed by the candidate is authentic and professionally significant enough to deserve credit. For example no consideration is given to any time spent as an intern, either during or after the course of study in a programme, or any periods of apprenticeship such as articleship required as part of certain professional courses, or any unpaid work undertaken in any organization or institution. Similarly, no marks would be allocated for voluntary work or unpaid services rendered to an NGO or such work. Similarly tuition or coaching teaching experiences will not be counted. The work experience gained through full-time employment will be considered for the calculation of the work experience score. Also, only completed months will be considered. The length of experience will be calculated as per the CAT 2022 application form. Work experience until a date as finalized and accepted by the CAP committee will be considered. The final decision of considering a particular kind work experience that is not covered in this document will rest with the Admission Committee of the IIMS.

Candidates will be required to produce the following as evidence of work experience for each instance of employment claimed by the candidate:

1. Letter from each of the employers that the candidate claims to have worked with. The letter should state the following details (i) The starting date of the employment, ending date of that respective employment, and positions occupied during employment with that particular employer. In case the candidate claims to have moved through different positions / titles during the period, the application should provide the starting date of each of those positions, pay with break up during each of the positions held and a brief description of the responsibilities during each of those positions held by the candidate. The letter should be furnished on the letterhead of the employer organization, should carry a seal of the employer, and be duly affirmed by the authorized signatory.
2. In addition the candidate should provide a brief write up of the responsibilities held by the candidate in each of the positions in each of the organisations in which the candidate claims to have worked. In case the employer had opened a provident fund (PF) account during the period of employment the candidate should provide the PF registration number.
3. The name and designation of the official to whom the candidate reported and the contact coordinates of the official to whom IIMS may write in case it wishes to verify the employment related claim that is being made.
4. Presentation of employment claims that are not in conformity with the requirements above are liable to be considered incomplete and disregarded by IIMS at its sole discretion. Further, IIMS is at liberty to verify any or all of the employment related claims made by the candidate. Upon such verification, if it is found that some are all of the claims made are factually untrue such candidate’s application will not be processed further at IIMS. Such candidates may be further disqualified from being considered for Admission to any programme at IIMS in future. After a candidate joins the MBA at IIMS if it comes to IIMS’s notice reliably that the candidate had made claims that cannot be substantiated as factual and true, the candidate is liable to be expelled from the programme forthwith. In the event of such expulsion the candidate will forfeit any fees paid until such expulsion.

 

Admission under Supernumerary seats for female students

The admission process under the supernumerary quota for girl students shall be conducted separately by the Institute as per its requirement for promoting gender diversity. A valid CAT 2022 score along the criteria for preparation of the merit list, as mentioned in Table 2 in this document, will act as a guiding framework for filling numerary seats for female students.

 

Admission for International students

The admission process under the supernumerary quota for International students shall be conducted separately by the Institute and shall have the following selection process:

Eligibility criteria

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification (from at least a three year programme) with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA/Grades from a recognized university/institute after at least 12 years of school education.
• Valid GMAT/GRE/TOEFL/IELTS Score (Taken within last five years)
• An international student is one who is not a citizen of India and not holding an Indian passport.

Selection Process

• The shortlisted applicant shall be invited for a personal interview via email.
• All invited applicants will have the option of interviewing at IIM Sirmaur campus or over remote video conferencing.
• Final selection is based on a diverse set of attributes which includes performance in the prescribed test, performance in Personal Interview, Academic performance, co-curricular and extra-curricular achievements, and work experience.

 

Reservation Policy:

IIMS follows reservation policy as per Government of India norms and as notified in the latest CAT advertisement Eligibility and Information Bulletin.

 

Offer Acceptance Fee, Withdrawal and Refund

A candidate receiving an admission offer from IIMS shall be required to accept the offer within the specified time and date and shall need to deposit an offer acceptance amount @ Rs. 50,000/- to reserve the candidature within the stipulated time period as per the admission offer letter. The amount so deposited shall be adjusted in the Term Fee at the time of Registration. However, a candidate may wish to subsequently withdraw the offer upto a time limit as may be specified in the admission offer letter. In such case/s, the amount shall be refunded to the candidate after deducting the processing charge of Rs. 1,000/- only.

 

Closing Date of Admission/Registration:

In the event of withdrawal by a student from the Programme after the closing date as mentioned in the offer letter, No Refund of either the Offer Acceptance Fee and/or Term Fee will be made. Further, a student would be required to submit an undertaking of this understanding that s/he will NOT be entitled to any fee refund after the closing date of the Admission process as defined in this paragraph.

 

Note:

• Offers of Admission under any category/quota shall be strictly in order of merit in accordance with the selection parameters and cumulative score obtained by a candidate.
• All information in this document is pertinent to the current admissions cycle alone and therefore, no inference can be made from this document about the admissions process that will be used for future admission cycles at IIMS. IIMS reserves the right to change, modify or adopt any new admissions process that it deems necessary, at any point.
• If only the CGPA is available in place of graduation percentage, it will be converted into equivalent percentage as per the conversion formula/norms provided by the board/university/institution. In case a conversion formula is not provided by the university/ institution, the obtained CGPA computed as the percent of maximum cumulative grade points shall be considered the aggregate percentage
• If any board/institute/university awards only letter grades without providing an equivalent percentage of marks on the grade sheet, the candidate should obtain a certificate from the board/institute/university specifying the equivalent marks which should be used. The original equivalence certificate needs to be submitted at the time of the Interview if shortlisted for the same.
• The percentage of marks obtained in Class X and Class XII would be the aggregate marks of all subjects that appear in the marks sheet or grade sheet, irrespective of whether the Board considers them for calculation of percentage.
• Any misrepresentation or suppression of information by a candidate at any stage during the admissions process or at any later date, will lead to immediate disqualification of the candidate from the MBA program of IIMS and the onus of the responsibility and its consequences of misrepresentation or suppression of information lies on the candidate.
• All the aspirants should check their emails and the IIMS website (https://www.iimsirmaur.ac.in/) regularly for updates on Admission related communication & activities.
• Any dispute concerning admissions to the MBA Batch 2023-25 would be subject to the jurisdiction of the competent courts within the territorial jurisdiction of the city of Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh only.

 

Annexure A: Disciplines Considered for Academic Diversity

SN	Category of Discipline
1	Arts/Humanities: Anthropology, Archaeology, Education, Fine Arts (Dance, Music, Painting), Geography, History, Journalism, Languages, Library Science, Literature, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Social Work/Welfare, Sociology, Liberal Arts, Home Science, Performing Arts (Drama/Theatre), Education (including Physical Education and Sports), Law
2	Commerce/Economics: Accountancy, Auditing, Banking, Business Mathematics, Business Administration, Business Organization, Commerce, Economics, Economic Development and Planning, Public Administration, Public Finance, Secretarial Practices.
3	CA/ ICMA/ CS/ PMC (Project Management Course)/AMIE*
4	Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Physics, Statistics, Medicine/Dentistry, Pharmacology/Pharmacy, Architecture, Physiotherapy
5	Emerging Technologies: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science
6	Others Non-Engineering disciplines in which a degree/diploma has been obtained from a recognized body as per Govt of India norms*

 

*Note. Only pass in the final examination of these categories will be considered for the award of marks. Final discretion on any other academic category not included in above table that would be classified into any other Professional qualification or ‘Other Non-Engineering disciplines’ in which a degree has been obtained as per GoI norms, rests with the Admissions Committee of IIM Sirmaur.

 

Annexure B: Other Diversity Criteria

SN	Criteria	Supporting Document
1	Female or Transgender	No document required
2	A person holding other than Indian citizenship	A copy of Passport
3	A person holding awarded patent by the appropriate granting authority in any country	A copy of patent
4	A person/soldier disabled in war, war widows and their children	Letter from the relevant authority
5	Victims of human trafficking, forced prostitution, and their children	Affidavit
6	Founders of companies whose annual turnover is a minimum of INR 1 crore or whose valuation is a minimum of INR 10 crore	Relevant ITR/RoC document*
7	Orphans/Kids whose both parents have died	Certificate from relevant authorities

 

Final discretion on deciding eligibility under this category rests with the Admissions Committee of IIM Sirmaur.

 

Note: *Mandatory list of documents required to claim work experience in the case of self- employment/partnership experience/self-owned start-up:

• Registered partnership deed of the firm Filing with Registrar of Companies (RoC) GST registration of firm
• PAN Card of the firm Income Tax Returns (ITR)
• Bank account statement of the firm Statutory Auditor Appointment of the firm
• Purchase/work orders for the duration of claim of the firm/company’s operations and MSME certificate (if applicable)
• DIPP Certificate of Recognition (if applicable)

These documents should explicitly mention the name of the firm, registration number and the candidate as a promoter/director.

 

Admission Policy MBA Batch 2023-2025