GD Goenka University's Review and Verdict by CollegeDekho

Campus at a Glance

Said to be an internationally acclaimed and premier higher educational institution, GD Goenka University (GDGU) has accomplished 29 years of experience in providing students with education across multiple disciplines such as agriculture, engineering and sciences, hospitality and tourism, humanities, social sciences, education, law, management, medical and allied sciences. GDGU also has UID Unitedworld Institute of Design, Centre of Excellence Occupational Health, Safety, Fire & Environment and a department for International Partnerships and Student Mobility. 

GD Goenka University, part of the GD Goenka Group, operates alongside GD Goenka World School offering an IB/ IGCSE curriculum and GD Goenka World Institute offering undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from Lancaster University, UK. The QS IGUAGE “Diamond” rated university, is recognised by UGC, the Bar Council of India, the National Council For Teacher Education, the Pharmacy Council of India and the Council of Architecture. It is affiliated with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research as well.

Claimed to be one of the finest universities in Delhi, GD Goenka University has earned a lot of inaugural titles regarding its infrastructural facilities. GD Goenka claims to be the first to provide yellow buses, a centrally air-conditioned school, the first to introduce mineral water dispensers and the first educational institute to include a hi-tech gym with life fitness equipment in 2000.

GD Goenka University has earned a lot of appreciation from the students regarding its academia, infrastructure and placement. However, if the news is to be believed, the university campus has witnessed some cheap shots in the recent past. Despite being an old player in the game, GD Goenka University has lightened its strictness towards the administration division. At least, this is what the student thinks!

GD Goenka University Ranking

NIRF Ranking: In the Race!

• As per the GDGU website, ASSOCHAM awarded the university with the title of ‘Best Upcoming Private University in India’.
• GDGU is a QS I-Gauge Certified University for Advanced E-learning Excellence on Academic Digitisation (ADV E-Lead)
• GD Goenka University is a QS I-Gauge Gold-rated University as well as a QS I-Gauge Diamond-rated University in Teaching and Learning.

Our Take: For the very first time, GD Goenka University has found its place in the NIRF ranking 2023 as one of the top 125 best educational institutes for Pharmacy. Further, with ASSOCHAM publicising GDGU as the best upcoming private university, students can have a positive lookout on this university!

GD Goenka University Academia and Batch Size

In terms of academia, the GDGU curriculum aligns with the principles of the New Education Policy (NEP). The university follows a Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) under the Co-Design, Co-Delivered and Co-Certified model. It follows the “T” Structure dual specialisation. GDGU reasons that the curriculum will help students gain in-depth knowledge of their domain of choice and prepare them to face the industry or pursue higher studies. Apart from this, GDGU has international collaborations with the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and the International Association of Universities (IAU). Students can take maximum advantage of such opportunities and exposures to acquire education on par with global standards.

There are a total of 124 GD Goenka University courses offering 34 degrees. As per the website, admissions are offered to the students through entrance exams like CUET, NATA, LSAT, etc. depending on the courses. GD Goenka University is said to have received an all-time highest number of applications recorded at over 3,00,000 in 2023, a very big number, indeed! 

Academic Composition

For most departments, the academic composition of GDGU comprises lectures, lab work, and projects. 

Fees

Given below is the approximate breakdown of the fees incurred by a student enrolled at GD Goenka University:

• Annual Fee: 86%
• Admission Charges: 10%
• Security Deposit:4%

The annual fees for some of the popular GDGU courses are as follows:

Our Take

• Given that over 3,00,000 applications were received by CUET students, it can be deciphered that students consider GDGU as one of the three universities they select as their preferred choice at the time of choice-filling.
• Even though the curriculum is worth mentioning, students have pointed out that only 20% of the faculty are well-qualified. If the quality of teaching has been compromised as claimed by the students, the fees charged are not worth it!

GD Goenka University Infrastructure 

Library: According to GDGU, the university library has streamlined its operations through library software, ensuring efficient access to a diverse array of academic resources, including books, journals, online databases, DVDs, and other valuable materials. Library and Information Centre has several sections, including the Reference Section, Circulation Section, Audio-visual Section, Periodical Section, Book Bank, and Digital Library to meet the academic and research needs of the students, scholars and faculty members. Except for university holidays, the library is available for students from 9:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.

Transportation: Even though the university claims to provide transportation facilities for the students, students have demanded an improvement regarding the cab facilities.

Hostel: GDGU has separate accommodation facilities for both men and women with facilities like 24*7 hi-speed wifi, AC rooms, security and mess food as per the diet plan. However, students have complained about the degrading standards of the hostel facilities provided, especially the water-related issues. GDGU has adopted strict rules for women and the hostellers have found it to be very useful given the university’s location which many claim to be unsafe.

The GD Goenka University hostel fee structure is as follows:

Our Take:  The hostel facilities offered to the students are quite satisfactory. However, the fees seem to be quite high according to the students, not to mention the prevailing water-related issues.

Clubs: As per the GDGU website, students can join any of the following clubs cited below:

Annual Fests: GDGU students have claimed that fests are organised every year. Apart from DJ Night and Celebrity performances, the following are the events organised:

Other Events: As per the GDGU website, the university conducts events such as GD Goenka Orientation, Reva Fresher’s, Sohna Marathon, Foundation Day, Transcend Farewell, Convocation and Alumni Meet.

Other Facilities: Apart from classrooms and laboratories for each department, the university has Wi-Fi connectivity, canteen facilities, medical facilities, swimming pool, squash courts, auditorium and committees like Student Engagement and Experience (SEE), Board of Student Activities (BSA) and National Service Scheme (NSS) to organise events in and out of the university campus.

GD Goenka University Internships and Placements 

Internships:

Students have affirmed that internship opportunities are available for all the students as part of their placement training programme, known as corporate programmes. All the internship-related activities are regulated by the Corporate Resource Centre (CRC) which is the GD Goenka University placement cell. Further, they added that the scope of the internship varies from department to department.

Placements:

The Corporate Resource Centre (CRC)  looks after the overall GD Goenka University placements. The university has claimed to have provided 99% on-campus placement assistance. However, there are no statistics available on the university website. When asked the students about the same, they said that campus interviews are organised and companies like Wipro, VE Commercial Vehicles, Genpact, Cognizant, TCS, L&T, Reliance, NIIT, AIS, Rivigo have visited the campus so far. However, there were a few comments against the GDGU placement cell that we couldn’t ignore. Students have expressed that there were incidences where the placement cell authorities refused to sign a NOC, stating that attendance in the 8th semester holds more importance than placements.

Talking about placements in numbers as per the NIRF report, the GD Goenka University placement percentage increased by 36.27% in 2022 compared to that of 2021. There was also an increase in the median salary offered by 23.93%. The department-wise placement statistics of GD Goenka University for 2022 as per the NIRF report are stated below:

Engineering| Course Duration: 4 Years

Law| Course Duration: 5 Years

MBA| Course Duration: 2 Years

Pharmacy| Course Duration: 4 Years

Our Take: 

• GD Goenka University placement statistics stand out with a decent placement percentage. An ROI of 42.56% in the management department and 57% in engineering are among the highlights of GD Goenka placements. 
• The issues faced by the students regarding approvals from the placement cell must be tackled soon. This will help students plan their future in a better way without letting go of any good opportunities.

GD Goenka University Diversity and Demographics

Collaborating with more than 30 universities and institutions from countries like the USA, Canada, Australia, UK, etc., GD Goenka University accepts students PAN India. The university claims to have students pursuing GDGU courses from 40 different countries. As per the NIRF report, a total of 103 international students are currently enrolled, with the highest enrollment of 89 students in the UG 4-year program. Out of the total students, 56% students are from Haryana. Another point to be noted is that the female percentage is much less at only 26%.

Here is the demographic diversification and gender ratio index of GDGU students as per NIRF report 2023:

GD Goenka University: Demographic Diversification

GD Goenka University: Gender Ratio Index

Even though GDGU has earned many recognitions and accolades over the years, the university and its students have been in the news headlines for not-so-good reasons. Despite having a Student Grievance Handling Mechanism, a second-year student had to lock himself in his room for 36 hours and finally met a depressing fate because of ragging. The incident took place in April 2023 in the common room of the boy's hostel.

According to another leading newspaper snippet, Indian and Nigerian students of GDGU were involved in brawling over namaz on football grounds. After the incident, 22 students were suspended and around 60 Nigerian students left the university.

Talking about a recent event that took place in June 2023, three GDGU students were injured after they were allegedly beaten up by a group of five students at the campus parking lot. An FIR was launched against the five perpetrators. 

A student pursuing BTech CSE from GDGU had to leave mid-way due to constant bullying. Another student from Bihar commented that students from Haryana are given more preference, be it placement or training. He further added, “If you are an outsider, would suggest not taking admission in this college. Look for other options.”

Our Take: 

• The female percentage at the UG level is very low at only 29% for the UG 3-year courses, 32% for the UG 5-year programme and only 18% for the UG 4-year degree. Such a decline in female students can be justified by the growing scrimmages in and out of the campus.
• Despite being an anti-ragging campus, GD Goenka University has not taken any measures to maintain the same. The recent incidents of ragging and fighting stand as a testament. Making headlines for heinous offences within a span of three months is not only alarming but also enough to instil fear and stress among the students and parents.
• Strict disciplinary measures must be taken by GDGU before the time runs out. Or else, the reputation it garnered since 1994 will be tarnished within a few years. This is what the student thinks and we feel the same!

GD Goenka University Faculty and Administration/ Management

GDGU claims to have the best faculty with both the required experience and skills. Students are of the view that, like any other university, GD Goenka University faculty members are a mix and match of both, but the best faculty members comprise only 20% of the lot. Some spoke out that a faculty of one department can be seen teaching subjects of another department. A pharmacy alumna of GDGU recalled that the teachers were partial and lacked the required knowledge. Another issue that came up was that if any students confronted the teachers about their teaching, they were asked to pay a fine of Rs 5,000 per subject and at times, debarred from the exam, not to mention that the debarred criteria varied from department to department ranging from 75% to 100% attendance. Above that the late fine charged would go up to Rs 20,000. There were also instances where students were deliberately marked absent.

The student-faculty ratio in departments like Engineering, Law, Management and Pharmacy was found to be fairly decent as per the NIRF report:

Our Take: 

• The student-faculty ratio is good, but the quality is compromised. At the university level, a faculty of one department is not capable of providing the needed knowledge to the students of another department unless he/ she has the requisite qualifications.
• The faculty members being biased is concerning. Above that, the university cannot levy a fine on students for expressing what they think about the quality of teaching. Deliberately marking students absent, imposing fines and debarring from exams without any proper rules are not what a student should face in the classroom.

Administration-wise, the complaints we gathered are quite a few. The exams and practical-related information are not provided on time. Students have also said that there is no transparency in the admission process and admission withdrawal procedure is lengthy. The admission process of GD Goenka is also quite long and many students are offered admission a week before the semester exams are scheduled to begin. 

Given the plethora of courses, the university needs time to start with the withdrawal process. However, the rude and impolite behaviour of the staff towards students and guardians cannot be put as a reason for that. Furthermore, an ex-student expressed that it has been over a year and he has not received his refund yet despite endless calls and emails. The withdrawal rate is also high. According to a former postgraduate student, the session began with 18 students, but by the end of it, only 11 remained.

There are many hidden costs that GDGU students have to bear. Apart from fines, students are charged a fee to become an alumnus of the university. If any student is caught having their lunch in classrooms, they are charged with a fine of Rs 5,000. Students can be seen smoking within the campus.

Our Take: These are some serious allegations from which GD Goenka University must come out clean. With over 3,00,000 candidates looking forward to joining the university in 2023, the students can be seen having a lot of trust in GDGU and the university must totally respect that.

GD Goenka University Location

GDGU is located in the foothills of the Aravalli Range, Sohna Gurgaon Road, Gurugram in Haryana. However, its location, which is approximately 29 kilometres away from Delhi's International Airport, has been deemed inconvenient by students. They have also raised concerns about the lack of adequate transportation and shops within a 20-kilometer radius of the university.

GD Goenka University Expectation vs Reality - CLD Verdict 

GD Goenka University has performed well in terms of academia and infrastructure. The university boasts about providing a cutting-edge infrastructure, featuring a comfortable, air-conditioned 60-acre campus with Wi-Fi connectivity. Apart from well-stocked libraries and advanced laboratories, GDGU claims to provide residential accommodations of international standards. 

GDGU claims to offer students ‘A Life Worth Living’ but whether the university has been successful in providing the same is what we are trying to understand. Despite GDGU’s effort to provide the best to its students, the latter has not been satisfied in a few areas, like:

• Hostel fees being comparatively high along with the degrading quality of accommodation facilities provided.
• Poor quality of teaching and fines imposed on the students for addressing the same.
• Current news of ragging and fights within the campus. Such incidents have compelled many students to rethink their decision. 
• Incidents of smoking within the campus premises.
• Withdrawal rate being high. After paying such hefty fees, if a student considers leaving the university the best option, a lack of assurance by GDGU is evident.

GD Goenka University may receive hundreds of thousands of applications each year but how many students will ultimately graduate from GD Goenka University given the present scenario? The students demand an answer and so do we!

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