To compile the national and state rankings of India’s most respected medical colleges, C fore field researchers interviewed 205 faculty and 234 final year medical students countrywide, asking them to rate medical colleges on six parameters, viz, competence of faculty, faculty welfare and development, research and innovation, pedagogic systems and processes, placements and infrastructure and support systems. The informed interviewees were also asked to assign weightage to each parameter. The rating scores awarded under each parameter were totaled for the purpose of final ratings and ranking. The ‘infrastructure and support systems’ parameter was assigned highest weightage (350) indicating that provision of state-of-the-art clinical labs and well-equipped teaching hospitals is the most important criterion for assessing the teaching-learning and research capability of medical institutions. The parameters of ‘competence of faculty’ and ‘research and innovation’ were given equal weightage (250) with ‘faculty welfare, pedagogic systems and placements’ allotted 200 points each. Parameter rankings which highlight the prime strengths of highly ranked institutions are useful because they enable students to select institutions whose priorities match their own.
