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Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Administration -- (PGDBA - DLP)
Frequently Asked Questions
Distance Education is gaining wider acceptance due to the convenience and flexibility it offers to the participating students. It is a mode of education designed for the professionals or for a housewife, who aspire to pursue business studies but don't have the facility or time to attend regular classes. It is quite understandable for a person to have numerous queries regarding the effectiveness of this study method. Some of the most frequently asked questions by the aspirants are mentioned in this section.
What is PGDBA-DLP?
The Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (PGDBA) - Distance Learning Program (DLP) is as the name suggests a program offered through the distance mode. Distance Education refers to teaching and learning situations in which the instructor and the learner or learners are geographically separated and therefore rely on electronic devices and print materials for instructional delivery.
How is it useful compared to a regular MBA?
The Master's Level PGDBA-DLP helps you to advance your educational and career goals without disruption to your personal and professional life. You can study at your own pace, in your own space - home or office, morning, noon or night at an affordable cost You can also put your learning into immediate action in your work environment.
When will the program begin?
There will be 4 batches each year. Batches will commence in January, April, July
and October month.
Who are eligible to apply to the PGDBA-DL program?
- Graduates from any recognized University.
- Diploma holders from any recognized polytechnic with 3 years of work experience post diploma
- Final year Degree students. However their admission will be confirmed only on submission of the attested Xerox copies of their Degree/Mark sheet. In case of failure, the admission will stand cancelled. There is no ENTRANCE EXAM.
How can you apply for the program?
The prospectus can be purchased from the Institute. Cost Rs. 500/- in person by cash or Rs. 550/- by post through demand draft drawn in favour of "Welingkar Institute of Management" payable at Mumbai. The application form is available on our website. Students have to fill the application form online, print out the filled in application form and submit it to the institute along with relevant documents and course fees. Students who have not purchased the prospectus before hand have to pay Rs.500/- additional over and above the course fees.
What should be enclosed with the filled in application form?
Attested photocopies of the degree certificate/diploma/provisional certificate and final year mark sheet. In case of diploma holders work experience certificate as per the proforma given in the application form should be enclosed. Please note that work experience certificate from current and previous employer(s) if any, totaling a minimum of 3 years work experience need to be enclosed.
What will be the duration of the program?
The program will be of 2 years duration. You need to completely clear at least 8 papers from the 1st year before you can proceed to the 2nd year. The maximum duration for completing the program is 3 years. Incase, any subject
or project report is left out, the student need to pay Re-Registration Fees of Rs.7500/-
to get one more year extention.
What is the course structure for this program?
The first two semesters are generic and will be common for all specializations. In the second year, one can choose from among the ten different specializations offered viz. Marketing, Finance, Operations, Human Resources, Supply Chain Management, General Management, Retail Management, E-Business, International Business and Banking Investment and Insurance.
What materials does a student receive on taking admission?
On taking admission, the student is given the entire set of 1st year study material consisting of 12 books, a set of 12 audio CD's one for each subject, one content CD and the student Identity card. Simultaneously, the students are activated on the system so that they can check up various notices put up on the website and can access various web-based facilities offered to them like Placement Opportunities, e-learning toolkit etc. with immediate effect.
When will the course materials be sent?
Once the fees are paid, the course materials will be sent within a maximum period of 30 days
What happens if I lose my ID card?
A duplicate ID card will be issued at an additional cost.
What is the procedure to cancel my admission and refund of program fees?
Please refer to the prospectus for details.
How much time commitment on a daily basis would be required for an average person to complete the program in 2 years?
If the student is able to devote 2-3 hours per day, he should be able to complete the course in 2 years. This is however an average time and can vary depending on the student's ability and other commitments.
How is the teaching methodology?
Please refer details provided under Methodology
Do the students get any web-based e-learning support?
In addition to printed study materials, students get "E-learning Toolkit" support through website. The E-learning toolkit contains summary, PPT as well as skill builder module for every chapter of each subject.
What do you mean by Virtual Classroom Facility (VCF)?
Welingkar holds Virtual Classroom sessions in which our Professor gives a live lecture from the campus studio and students can hear by logging on to the Internet from their residence.
Can everyone attend the Virtual Classroom (VCF)?
To attend the VCF lecture, students need to have a computer at home and must have a broadband connection of minimum 256 Kbps. The login id for VCF is created only for those students who have confirmed that they have a 256 Kbps broadband connection at home while filling their application form.
What will be the duration of the Virtual Classroom session?
Lectures will be conducted 2 days each week. Each live lecture will be of 2 1/2
hours duration. There will be 40 hours of live lecture per semester.
How many subjects are covered through Virtual Classroom Facility?
Currently, 8 subjects from the 1st year will be covered through Virtual Classroom facility.
Does the program have a Personal Contact Program (PCP)?
Yes. The first year of the program will have Personal Contact Program which will be optional. The PCP would attract a nominal fee of Rs. 300/- per subject for the first & second semester only.
When are the Personal Contact Programs (PCP) held?
PCP's will be held four times a year in Mumbai. All students are encouraged to attend the same in order to have classroom interaction and gain practical knowledge.
What will be the duration of the PCP?
The Personal Contact Programs will last for about 6 days each semester. During this period, a minimum of 7 hours will be devoted to each subject.
Can students use the Institute's library or its premises?
Since we have a large number of distance learning students, it is not feasible to allow usage of physical library at the Institute’s premises. However, to meet this need of our students, we have introduced “We Tube” facility in “Section for Current Students” of website. This innovative section contains video lectures on latest topics developed by experts, which can be very helpful reference material.
When are the exams scheduled?
Exams are scheduled four times a year. The exam timetable is given in the subsequent pages of this booklet and is also put up on our website http://www.welingkaronline.org under the section 'Notices - PGDBA-DLP'.
Where are the exams centres?
All exams are conducted through online mode and detailed information about online exam centres can be obtained from the office. The Institute reserves the right to add or change exam/PCP centres.
What is the evaluation criteria?
Evaluation would be based on a combination of mid term and end semester exams. A student has to secure a minimum 50 percent in both put together to pass.
What happens if I am not able to appear for my exams at the scheduled time or I fail in the exam?
You can again appear for mid-term and semester exam, whenever the exams are scheduled. However you need to pay a re-examination fee of Rs.500/- per subject. Please note that you have to completely clear at least 8 papers from the 1st year before you can proceed to the 2nd year.
When are the fees to be paid?
Please refer to the prospectus and our websites for the various payment plans.
What about award of certificates/diplomas?
On successful completion of the 1st year, you will be awarded the Advanced Diploma in Business Administration (ADBA) and on successful completion of the 2nd year, you will be awarded the Post Graduate Diploma in (Specialization Name) - Distance
Learning Program e.g. a student persuing marketing specialization, will be awarded
as Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management - Distance Learning (PGDMM-DLP).
Can I specialize in an additional specialization (Dual Specialization)?
You can choose to specialize in any additional specializations subject to the following conditions:
- The course fee will be Rs.5000/- less than the 1st year fees applicable to the batch in which the student joins.
- Program duration will be relaxed by a further period of one year. Thus students can complete the dual specialization within 4 years.
- You need to complete one specialization before you can join for the additional one.
Is the program affiliated to any University?
This is an Autonomous program of Welingkar Institute and is recognized by Distance Education Council, Govt. of India.
Do you offer placements?
Since a very large number of students take up this program, as well as student base is widely spread across the country and internationally, it is not feasible for the institute to offer placements to all the students. However, Welingkar is a highly respected brand and has a good reputation in the industry. This would ensure that students doing the PGDBA-DLP would be able to progress faster in their respective careers as compared to their peers. Also there is an online "Placement Opportunity" link, available on our website http://www.welingkaronline.org , where students can get specialization wise vacancy information from very first day of joining the program.
Do you offer any support for soft skills development?
As mere theoretical knowledge is not sufficient and so to supplement the theoretical part of the curriculum with hands on experience and to develop the overall personality, The Experiential Learning Program has been developed. This is available in three modules – Alpha, Beta, Gamma. All students are eligible to attend the Alpha module. It is a 2 day workshop being conducted during the first year of the program. Presently this module is conducted at Mumbai in three locations – Thane, Borivali and Matunga. Students get bonus marks out of 50 for attending the Alpha module.
At an additional nominal cost, students can also join for advanced level, Beta and Gamma modules. During these modules, students are tested on several fronts like perseverance, decision making, problem solving, and thinking on their feet etc. The activities are designed to guide through the process of identifying areas of weakness and applying the solutions significantly and positively to impact their performance back on their job.
Do you offer any other value added service?
Welingkar Institue continuously endeavors to add value to the program. Mentioned below are a few such initiatives:
- a)The “Newswire Services”, where working students can find news about the latest developments happening in their chosen specialization. This facility is provided as a link under “Section for Current Students” on our website http://www.welingkaronline.org”.
- b) Since it is difficult for working professionals to visit the library, we have introduced the concept of “We Tube”. The student can refer through video lectures on latest topics in various managerial areas. These are developed with the help of experts in these fields.
- c) During the course duration, we take our students for a few industry visits, for a guided tour onto the premises of various companies. These visits provide students with adequate exposure to understand the ever changing dynamics of industry and tackling live problems encountered on field.
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