Loyola College's Review and Verdict by CollegeDekho

Campus at a Glimpse

Spread across 79.5 acres, Loyola College boasts itself as one of the most highly respected colleges in India. It is a Catholic higher education institution managed by Jesuits. Along with an A++ grade from NAAC, the college has received the ‘Centre of Excellence’ status from UGC. Loyola College currently provides education to 12,107 students across 28 departments through 286 faculties, which gives a faculty-to-student ratio of 42.3%. A considerably higher ratio!

Course-wise, the college offers 19 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at each level in the arts, science, and commerce streams. The official website further mentions that there are 12 special institutes offering other courses like B.Voc, BBA, BMM, and BCA, among numerous others. Out of 28 departments, 11 offer M.Phil courses, and 12 of them have PhD courses.

Established in 1925, the college has come a long way in providing the requisite knowledge and meeting the reasonable requirements of the students. Regrettably, students opined about the administration's mismanagement and expressed an emphatic desire to curb the ethnic discrimination that takes place on campus. If news is to be believed, such incidences have also been highlighted over the years. Let’s learn more about the same in detail!

Loyola College Ranking

NIRF Ranking: Declining!

Our Take: 

There has been a steady decline in the NIRF Rankings from 3rd in 2021 to 7th in 2023 under the ‘College’ category. Regarding the parametric scores, Loyola College's graph showed a steep decline in ‘Teaching, Learning & Resources’, followed by ‘Outreach and Inclusivity’ with a score of 45.40. The declining numbers are evident, given the growing controversy surrounding the college. The recent controversy that surfaced was related to appointing a new Rector for the college.

Retrieved From: Organiser Weekly

Loyola College Academia and Batch Size

According to the NAAC 4th Cycle Re-accreditation Report released in 2021, Loyola College follows the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS), allowing students to select their choice of Allied Required, Allied Optional, Major Special and Skill-based papers. 

Academic Composition

Loyola College academia is a mix of classroom learning, written examinations, and class seminars/ assignments/ projects/ snap tests, depending on the courses.

Batch Size

As per the data retrieved from the NAAC 4th Cycle Re-accreditation Report 2021 of the college, the students admitted to each Loloya College course were below the sanctioned seat intake. Cited below are a few examples of the same:

Fees

Loyola College course fees are:

Our Take:

Students have voiced that the college is quite good for its arts, science, and commerce programmes, especially commerce, economics, and social sciences. Fee-wise, the students found it to be reasonable as well. Batch-wise, the numbers are good. However, many students have expressed that the college favours personal recommendations over eligibility at the time of admission. As per a student’s comment on an online platform, he applied to the BCom programme at Loyola College but was not admitted despite having a remarkable 94% score. Upon inquiring with the college, he was informed that all available seats were already occupied. In contrast, one of his friends mentioned that they were asked for a sum of Rs 8,00,000 for a B.Com seat in the first shift at Loyola College. There were instances where students were admitted a month after the B.Com classes had commenced.

Loyola College Infrastructure

Library

Established in 1930, the central library of Loyola College has over 1,02,000 books, 225 journals, 8,087 e-journals, and 48,146 e-books, along with facilities like:

Classrooms/Seminar Halls

As per the college website, there are a total of 134 classrooms, including seminar halls. It further mentions that each classroom is equipped with LCD projectors.

Our Take: 
Students from a few departments have expressed that the classroom and academic blocks need maintenance. The classroom structure is not proper, they further added. However, the number of resources available at the college library is quite impressive. Students can really benefit from these resources for their studies. 

Labs

The college boasts about its well-equipped laboratories, research units, and centres of research excellence. The website further mentions the fully air-conditioned language laboratory available for the students to learn English effectively.

Research Centres

Students have expressed that the college is good for research scholars with four major institutes of excellence, namely the Entomology Research Institute, Loyola Institute of Frontier Energy, Loyola Institute of Science Training and Research, and Loyola- Racine Research Institute of Mathematics and Computer Sciences.

Internet

The college claims to have a Wi-Fi-enabled campus with a 200 Mbps internet connection through an adequate number of Wi-Fi access points.

Hostel

Loyola College's website mentions that it has separate accommodations for boys and girls, with a total capacity of 1650 across 836 rooms. 

Here is the hostel fee charged:

Our Take:

Students, especially boys, have expressed that the hostel is good compared to nearby paying guest facilities. However, they have said that the infrastructure is not up to the mark, citing the fact that the campus is comparatively old. There are no attached bathrooms, and the environment inside the hostel is chaotic. Regarding the food provided, there was not much that the students had to complain about. We, therefore, conclude that the mess food is good! At the same time, the availability of labs and research centres proves the research-focused approach of the college.

Sports

Loyola College sports facilities are good, according to students. The website mentions that the students have access to a cricket field, a hockey field, and a football ground, along with 3 tennis courts, 1 Kabaddi court, 2 volleyball courts and 3 basketball courts equipped with floodlights. The college also boasts about having a 400-metre athletic field with 6 lanes. Indoor game facilities comprise 2 table tennis boards, 10 chess boards and 7 carrom boards.

Other Facilities

• Prayer Room
• Loyola Health Centre
• Food Court
• Recreational Centre
• Gymnasium

Our Take:
The sheer number of sports facilities available at the colleges allows students to engage in extracurricular activities, contributing to their overall growth. Students can enjoy quality recreational time at the food court or the recreational centre after their classes. The health centre looks after the physical health of students of the college. All of these are testaments to the college's focus on its students' wellbeing. 

Loyola College Internships and Placements

Internships

According to the official website, internships are provided to final-year undergraduate students for 30 days during the sixth semester. The following statistics were retrieved from the college’s NAAC 4th Cycle Re-accreditation Report 2021

Placements

Loyola College has not released any official placement reports. Here are the Loyola College placement statistics as per the NIRF Report 2023:

UG Courses| Duration- 3 Years

Our Take:
It is evident that a comparatively larger number of students opted for higher studies. Out of the remaining 1387 students, only 37.2% were placed, signifying that there is a lot of room for improvement in terms of campus placement.

PG Courses|Duration-2 Years

Our Take:
Out of 17 students who graduated, not a single student was placed in or opted for higher studies, which is very concerning. Since 2020, there has been no placement for PG 2-year students.

PG Courses|Duration-1 Year

Our Take:
Even though the median salary offered is pretty satisfactory, the placement percentage is not adequate at only 37.4%. Similarly, only 45.12% of students received internship/ project opportunities at the college. So, if the college would focus more on placements and internships, it would be beneficial for both students and the college's reputation.

Loyola College Diversity and Demographics

Loyola College is a religious minority institution accepting only males for admission in majority UG courses and acts as a co-ed institution when it comes to PG courses. Loyola College has been revolving around controversies for quite a few years, and interestingly, students have voiced that there are no cases of ragging. 

However, many students have complained about the religion-favouritism that takes place on campus. Here are a few newspaper snippets that justify the above statement apart from the student's personal comments:

Source: Firstpost

Source: Financial Express

Here is the gender ratio index and diversity representation of Loyola College students as per the NIRF Report 2023:

Loyola College: Gender Ratio Index

Our Take:  
It is apparent that the percentage of female students will be lower compared to males in the UG 3-year programmes, as most of the undergraduate courses are offered only to male students. However, that is not the case with PG courses, where both males and females are accepted, and the female percentage is quite satisfactory at 45%.

Loyola College: Diversity Representation

Our Take:

Analysing the data, it is evident that students outside Tamil Nadu do not prefer the college as much as the locals, as it comprises only 10% of the students hailing from TN. Students have expressed that the issues that Loyola College has webbed itself are one factor in such low numbers. Here is another newspaper snippet:

Source: Organiser Weekly

Loyola College Faculty and Administration/Management

According to the official website, Loyola College currently has 286 faculty members, of whom 117 are PhD holders. The faculty count is comparatively low compared to the number of students enrolled, with a ratio of 42:1.

Presently, Loyola College has 182 non-teaching staff taking care of the college administration and management. The student feedback received was blended. According to some, the staff were courteous and helpful, while a few students expressed their interaction with the staff member as regretful. 

Our Take:

On further investigation, we came across a comment where a student described his experience on the day of the entrance exam. He said that a total of 645 applicants participated in the entrance examination, vying for just 25 available seats. The question paper contained numerous errors, which were rectified only moments before the submission deadline. Surprisingly, some students even appeared for the exam without their hall tickets. He further added that the selection process seemed to heavily prioritise Christianity and recommendations, and there was no designated waiting area for parents accompanying their children to the entrance exam.

This signifies that there are areas where the college needs to step in and resolve the issues as soon as possible.

Loyola College Location

Loyola College is located at 01, Sterling Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai. Chennai Railway Station is at a distance of 7km from the college campus. At a distance of 19km from the college is the Chennai International Airport.

Our Take:

With a distance of only 5.8 km from the city, students have claimed the location to be favourable.

Loyola College Expectation vs Reality - CollegeDekho Verdict

Standing at 98 years old, Loyola College's infrastructure is applaudable. Students have found the course fees to be reasonable as well. They have also expressed that the curriculum is updated and meets the required standards. 

However, according to the hostellers, the hostel infrastructure needs an upgrade. The placement statistics are also alarming given the reputation of the college as being one of the best. With an acceptance rate of 77%, Loyola College admission procedure are not quite transparent and many incidents were highlighted that were directed towards the college’s not-so-legal approach towards admission, like donations and influential recommendations. Catholic favouritism was another issue that came up. Finally, with regard to the grave allegations that Loyola College is facing, both students and we share deep concerns.

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