After GRE, GMAT offers Online At-Home proctored test with changes in Pattern, Fees; Implications for Indian MBA

Soon after its rival ETS announced at-home GRE test on March 23, Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) announced on April 15 that GMAT exams can be taken at home. GMAT Online will have a slightly different Exam Pattern and will be available across the world except in some countries like China. This move comes in the wake of many leading US B-schools including Kellogg School announcing waiver of GMAT/GRE for upcoming MBA admissions. This MBAUniverse.com article reviews this important global MBA trend, and explores implications for Indian MBA education.

GRE makes the first move
Global testing body Education Testing Service (ETS) announced on March 23 that its GRE exam will be available as at-home “human proctor online test” starting March 23 in the United States, Canada, France, Germany and a few other countries at the same cost of taking the GRE at a test centre (generally $205). ETS also said that at-home exam will be available in additional locations in the coming days. ETS also added an at-home option for its TOEFL language test.

In a statement on its website, ETS said: “To meet the needs of students who are unable to take the GRE General Test at a test center due to public health concerns, ETS is temporarily offering a GRE General Test at home option. The test is identical in content, format and on-screen experience to the GRE General Test taken at a test center. It is taken on your own computer at home and is monitored by a human proctor online through ProctorU^®.”

Since the announcement, thousands of test-takers have registered for this test, forcing its close rival GMAT to offer a similar option.

GMAT Online Exam announced on April 14
On April 14, GMAC announced that it will offer “GMAT Online exam which is an online and remote proctored solution developed to support candidates and schools during the disruption to test center-based delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.” GMAT Online exam is intended to primarily support candidates working to meet upcoming B-school application deadlines, GMAC said on its website. 

GMAT Online Exam Structure
GMAT Online exam is slightly different from its offline version. While GMAT online includes the Quantitative, Verbal and Integrated Reasoning sections, it omits the Analytical Writing Assessment Section. This has apparently been done to roll out the service at the earliest. Each of the three section in GMAT Online will contain the same number of questions and time per section as the offline in-person exam. The sections are as follows: 

	Off-line In-person GMAT		Online GMAT
Sections	Questions	Time (min)	Questions	Time
Quant	31	62	31	62
Verbal	36	65	36	65
Integrated Reasoning	12	30	12	30
Analytical Writing	1	30	Omitted

Source: MBAUniverse.com Analysis

Also, the Sectional Order for the GMAT Online exam is currently fixed as Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Integrated Reasoning.

15 min check-in for online proctored system
While the exam time for GMAT online is 2 hours 45 minutes for the exam, there will be additional 15 minutes to check into the online proctored system. According to a US media report, “GMAC will use a live human proctor at check-in and through the entire process of taking the exam. A test-taker can click on the chat icon at the top of the screen to contact the proctor who will observe the test-taker through their webcam and computer microphone.”

To enable comparability, the GMAT Online exam will have the same type and number of items and section times as the exam administered in test centers. It will also use the same scoring algorithm and score scale for the Section Scores and Total Score as the test center-based version. GMAC has also clarified that GMAT online exam scores are valid for 5 years.

According to GMAC, GMAT Online exam is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Candidates can schedule an exam appointment up to 24 hours before an available testing window. Appointment dates are available beginning April 20, 2020 until June 15, 2020. 

GMAT Online exam is available in most locations, but not in Mainland China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Slovenia due to “regulatory and local data privacy rules.”

GMAT Online exam can be taken on both Windows and Mac personal computers and laptops. This is good news for students, as GRE exam is available online on Windows based computers. 

Some US, European B-schools announce Entrance Exam waivers
Kellogg School of Management, one of the Top US B-schools, has announced that it is offering test waivers for its upcoming application cycle. Kate Smith, Assistant Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Kellogg wrote on official blog: “To say that we’re in the midst of widespread change is an understatement… We also know that the online options for the GMAT and GRE that became available recently do not accommodate everyone and present the added challenges of studying in a crunched timeline… We are announcing that we are waiving the GMAT/GRE/TOEFL/IELTS requirement for those applying to Round 3 for the Full-Time MBA Programs and a Summer Quarter start for the Evening & Weekend MBA Program.”

Similarly, University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School has said that Round 3 applicants may submit applications without GMAT/GRE if their test was cancelled.

INSEAD too has informed candidates that it will be more flexible and accept MBA applications without test scores, while also offering support with deferral requests and payment plans.

Many lower ranked B-schools in US and Europe have gone ahead and announced GMAT/GRE waiver.

Possible implications for India
In times of crisis, flexibility is key. Some possible implications for Indian MBA education can be:

• Indian Testing Agencies like AIMA, that offer MAT, should quickly launch ‘at-home’ version of MAT Online Exam. TCS and other leading IT companies possess these skills and solutions.
• GMAC and ETS should consider offering a special one-time lower fee for GMAT and GRE for next 30-45 days for Indian test takers. Current cost of appx Rs 15,000-20,000 is too high for mass test market. This gesture will increase their goodwill in both Institutions and Test takers.
• Regulator AICTE should consider modifying the mandatory requirement of a national MBA exam before candidates are admitted. Admissions can be given provisionally, and students can submit a score within 100 days of admissions. AIMA in any case conducts MAT in September.
• B-schools are adopting Online modes of admissions, including Interviews on Skype/Zoom. This must be encouraged and invested into.

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