Monday 12 May 2014

Tamil Nadu engineering colleges sell hard to fill seats

CHENNAI: With more seats than students in the state's engineering colleges, the colleges have learned the business of hard sell — and the benefits of getting an early start and a jump on the competition. 

Students may have just started planning their careers, but engineering colleges start the process of advertising themselves as early as eight months ahead of admissions. These efforts range from hosting cultural events to participating in educational fairs. The colleges make sure they identify enough potential candidates to translate into admissions for the academic year ahead to let as few seats go empty as possible. By the time students had completed the Class 12 boards, the colleges are in top gear. 

Most colleges in big cities like Chennai participate in education fairs organised by media houses and vernacular newspapers. "It is important to reach the rural sector and vernacular newspapers and magazines are important advertising platforms for us," an official at an engineering college in Chennai said. 

The top institutions don't need to market themselves because their reputation will bring in the students anyway . "We are a 29-year-old institution and students know our repute. There's no need for us to advertise," said Ravindran T, a professor at Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering. 

But for lesser known colleges, participating in education fairs is essential . "Even before the results are announced , students want to get a fair idea about colleges and the courses they offer," said V Thiayagarajan, administrative officer, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam , Erode. 

For many parents and students, it is important to visit the campus before choosing the course and the institute. "Placements are key criteria for students . We ensure that the campus is open on Sundays too so people can visit," Thiagarajan said. College officials organise on-campus sessions for students to meet them. 

In Coimbatore, colleges organise 'cultural festivals' to which they invite celebrities, hoping they'll draw prospective students. School students learn about colleges through these events, usually organised between September and February, and get to see projects by the students of the college. Lesser known colleges even offer commissions to their students and faculty members if they convince students to apply. "These colleges pay between 5,000 and 50,000 for a successful admission ," an education consultant said. The amount a college pays per student is based on the course selected and the candidate's marks. 

Admissions to begin 

Arts and science colleges in the city will begin admissions from this week. Most colleges have begun receiving application forms after the Class 12 state board results were announced on Friday. Colleges will also wait for the CBSE results to be announced, providing equal opportunities to students for admissions.

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