The top rank has been acquired by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) New Delhi. IMT Distance and Open Learning Institute is amongst the leading distance education providers in the MBA domain.
Let us have a look at the top five institutes in the ranking:
| Rank | Name of the Institute | Location |
| 1 | Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) | New Delhi |
| 2 | Yashwantrao C. Maharashtra Open University | Nasik |
| 3 | IMT Distance and Open Learning Institute | Ghaziabad |
| 4 | Sikkim Manipal University | Gangtok |
| 5 | University of Mumbai | Mumbai |
The top institutes were under three broad domains, namely Input (Reach & Resources), Process (Learning & Experience) and Output (Results & Efficiency). The weightages of Input, Process and Output are 300, 400 and 300 respectively, making the total weightage 1000.
Careers360 had shortlisted 50 institutes on the basis of the student enrolment data. The logic was the popularity of the institutes on the basis of their admissions.Careers360 then sent letters to these 50 institutes and on the basis of their response and from the data supplied by Distance Education Council (DEC), 32 institutes were chosen for ranking purpose. “Further, visits were made to all the institutes that responded as well as to select study centers of others to build a robust database,”Careers360 mentioned. “The input primarily looked at the reach, infrastructure and diversity of the institutes in providing distance education. The process emphasized on the quality of resources and delivery mechanism, while output focused on the performance of the institute in facilitating the trained students in getting a better prospect,” it added.
Careers360 magazine and Yahoo! India conducted a survey on institutes offering Distance Education and has come up with the top 32 institutes. The top 10 includes five open universities, three private players and two dual mode State-level universities.
