Before selecting an institute or college for study everyone should keep some important points in mind.
- Approval/Recognision:
It is not necessary that a Certificate or degree offered by every institution is recognised and not all courses approved by the relevant regulatory authority. But a recognised certificate/ degree and an approved course is required for most of the jobs in the public as well as private sector.
A college/institute should be affiliated to a recognised university if it is not a deemed university itself.
If an institute offers professional courses (e.g. engineering, medical, education related) all such courses should also be approved by relevant regulatory authorities. AICTE gives approval for engineering, management, architecture, computer education, hotel management related courses. MCI gives approval for medicine related courses, DCI for Dental courses, NCI for nursing courses, NCTE for eduction (e.g. B.Ed., M.Ed.), ICAI for accountancy related courses and ICWAI for Cost and works Accountancy.
A deemed university must be recognised by UGC (University Grant Commission).
Besides above, accreditation by an accreditation body increases credibility of an institution. NAAC (National Accreditation and Assessment Council) accreditates universities and colleges. NBA (National Board of Accredatation) accreditates engineering and management related courses.
It is important that approval and accreditation given to an institution is valid for a particular time period. Thereafter, institution has to obtain further renewal for courses.
There are many institutions which provide certificates and degrees not recognised or approved by any organisation. In that case acceptability of such certificate or degree is onto the reputation of institution itself. - Rankings:
Rankings in various groups and categories give an idea about institution reputation and past performance. Just collect rankings of the last few years and compare accordingly. - Infrastructure & Other Facilities (Value for money):
Check whether institute has enough areas, well equipped classrooms and science and computer labs, proper library, canteen, playground, etc. Is there any power backup system, emergency handling system. Some of these facilities are basic and some are add-ons. Also Compare fees charged with the overall facilities being offered. A short visit to institute will be enough to check all this. - Teaching Staff:
Ability and quality of teaching staff, both regular and visiting, is very important to measure ability and quality of institution itself. Find out whether faculty is qualified and experienced. You can consult with present students or check institution website which normally display bio-data of faculty members including head of organisation. - Placements:
Check if institute provides placements facilities to its students, whether any campus interviews being held, how many students got placements through this placement service and to which companies. Analyse placement records of the last few years. Even better if you can talk with such old student.