After a careful study of administration in higher education, it has been observed that the academic standards are dwindling, the causes of which can be attributed to many factors like administrative mismanagement, paucity of qualified directors and faculty, political interference and manoeuvering in matters of appointments and administration, financial sleaze, apathy of students and teachers, inadequate resources and lack of strategic leadership at the institutional level. With a clear indication of such flaws, there is a need to study and understand the impediments in the development of higher education in India. It all starts with assessing the existing leadership practices at such management institutions and further understand how effective leadership contributes to institutional effectiveness. This paper assesses the leadership styles at different management institutions, which include autonomous as well as university affiliated colleges, with regard to important academic and administrative activities like placements, results, attendance, faculty appraisals, accreditation, monthly payments, infrastructural facilities, computerization, facilities provision, and faculty-student ratio. The proposed research enables in establishing the actual relationship between different leadership styles and the institutional effectiveness. The paper concludes with suitable suggestions and recommendations.

There has been a significant contribution of higher education in independent India which provides a beginning for the creation of a knowledge-driven society. However, there are certain important aspects that have been neglected which call for attention and reform at higher education. Eventually, there have been a lot of attempts at accomplishing academic excellence, according to the National Knowledge Commission (2006). The report critically focuses on the unmet higher educational needs with specific emphasis on the number of universities and also discusses the essential improvements in the quality of higher education. At the same time, the report also states the need for creating institutions that are exemplars of excellence, on a par with the best in the world.

The primary flaws highlighted by the National Knowledge Commission (2006) for higher education with regard to universities include obsolete curricula, absence of learning and creativity in the assessment systems, absence of practical assignments, live projects, and changing academic calendars with delay in timetable and results, inadequate infrastructure, lack of interdisciplinary courses, non-provision of grants and absence of reward-based systems for research activities, inadequate volume of research as compared to international universities, less or no accountability in monitoring academic systems, unresponsive structure in governance without any accountability which does not promote autonomy.

With a clear indication of these flaws encountered at the university level, there has been a serious attempt at studying the nature of the above-mentioned problems. Further, it can also be observed that not all these problems can be solved by the academic leaders at the institutional level as regards governance, which is why it was imperative to understand the nature of problems encountered at institutional level. However, certain important qualitative factors having an institutional significance like admissions or the total intake, placements, attendance, results, accreditation, infrastructure, salary, computerization, facilities provision, and faculty-student ratio were further studied at institutional level.

Higher Education Journal, Online Management Education in India, Online Education Market, National Knowledge Commission, Information and Communication Technology, Global Market, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, TRAI, Corporate Bodies, Business Schools, Financial Resources, Indian e-Learning Market, Online Management Development Program, Business Management Courses, Time Management, Communication Process.