NMAT by GMAC looking to be accepted among AICTE approved MBA exams

GMAC’s acquisition of NMAT exam has taken everyone with surprise. Citing India as the growing market for management education, Sangeet Chowfla, President and CEO of Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), had said in March, “NMAT exam furthers GMAC’s mission to help build the study of management education locally, regionally and globally, and to make admissions accessible and successful for more candidates.”

But a few questions nagged us. What’s the reason behind this acquisition? And why acquire NMAT; why not SNAP or CMAT etc.

To find some answers, Shiksha.com recently caught up with Vikram Shah, Associate Director - Market Development - South Asia at GMAC and Anant Rastogi, Director Marketing - South Asia , GMAT and NMAT by GMAC.  Here’s what they had to say:

Vikram Shah, Associate Director - Market Development - South Asia, GMAC

Q. Why acquire NMAT? Why not acquire any other exam like SNAP, MAT or IIFT? These are also well established examinations.

Answer: When we started thinking about making an impact in the Indian market, we looked at each and every test to check what is available and how GMAC can make a difference. As to why we chose NMAT over other exams, many factors came into play.

One perspective was to make sure that our mission related to connecting talent and aspiration with available opportunities is being met with the exam. With NMAT, we saw an opportunity that can benefit both the candidates and schools alike.

NMAT by GMAC: What the change means for MBA aspirants?

As you know, CAT is an exam for top B-schools, mostly IIMs. Rest of the B-Schools in India do fish into the CAT pool, but ultimately, it is IIMs that get the creamy layer of candidates.

We felt that NMAT can make a difference in a big way. It is also more aligned to our overall mission. NMAT has a broad testing window (75-days window cycle) for candidates and it is in line with GMAT. GMAT is a year round exam. One can take the exam anytime of the year. Also, NMAT is delivered by Pearson VUE. GMAC has a very strong global partnership with Pearson. It is easier for us to replicate the processes related to GMAC and eventually NMAT.

An important factor from B-Schools’ perspective is test delivery. There’s a need of an MBA exam in India which can evolve in to an industry exam. CAT and XAT exams are to some extent industry exams. But most CAT or XAT takers are associated with just a few schools. So, there is no broad strategy for other schools and candidates who are not in the top 95 or 99 percentiles. NMAT gives that perspective to schools as well. So, once we start enrolling more schools, we can hope NMAT to become the industry exam where a school can fish for candidates at a 60 percentile as well as 85 percentile with a clear-cut understanding of the level of that candidate. So, that was the idea behind acquiring NMAT.

Q. But there is already an exam like CMAT in place which is doing something similar to what you aim to do. Moreover, CMAT is centralised government exam. So, how is NMAT different from CMAT?

Answer: We did evaluate the available opportunities in the market. We had a great deal of respect for the work that NMIMS, a premier management institution in India, has done to establish and build the NMAT exam. The test is based upon psychometric principles. At the same time, NMIMS  shares GMAC’s goal of increasing opportunity for students and using the NMAT to help schools improve and diversify the admissions process. Pearson VUE’s involvement in delivering the NMAT exam was another factor in our decision to acquire the exam. GMAC is committed to helping more students connect with more opportunity to gain admission and to take advantage of the career opportunities available through management education.

Q. How do you plan to increase the reach and scope of NMAT considering the fact that CAT and CMAT already have more than 2 lakh takers?

Answer: MBA exams essentially helps a candidate to get through B-Schools. So, we have two strategies to ensure what we do is right for both the candidates and B-schools.

From a candidate’s perspective, we have rebranded the exam. NMAT by GMAC is a re-titled exam now. NMAT does not feature anywhere. We are also introducing candidate-friendly features. Starting this year, candidates have an opportunity to pay through more payment options at the time of registration. We have close to around 65 banks though which one can pay using net banking/ credit card/ debit card/ demand draft.

The other thing is that, candidates have a choice to select the section order. Candidates can also revise their answers. So if someone completes the section and wants to go back and see any question or revise an answer, they can do that. Candidates can also take the test three time in the 75-day window. There is no negative marking. There’s also a self-scheduling option.

Q. But these are features NMAT already had. What are the new features?  

Answer: The top three features which GMAC has added this year is the number of institutes. Till last year, NMAT was a one institution test. But this year, NMAT by GMAC is 12 institutions test. So candidates can apply to 12 schools through NMAT by GMAC scores. We are working towards including many more good B-Schools. But as you know, we completed the acquisition sometime in March this year. So it’s going to take some time.

Q. Among Tier I B-schools, very few institutes accept NMAT scores. How are you trying to rope in the top guys?

Answer: In 2011, regulating body AICTE had come up with a circular which states that any institution which is governed by AICTE (such as colleges offering PGDM subjects) can enrol students through only six national tests. Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET), conducted by IITs, was one of them. But later JMET was scrapped, and they replaced JMET with GMAT, which is our primary test.

Q. So will NMAT by GMAC replace GMAT?

Answer: No, the NMAT by GMAC exam will not replace the GMAT. On the contrary both will work in tandem as companions and we are working with AICTE to see how the NMAT by GMAC exam can be added in the list. 

Q. Could we expect this regulation to come through in this academic year?

Answer: There is no clarity on that as of now. However, GMAC is actively pursuing to get NMAT by GMAC approved in the six tests.

Q. Will there be a change in the testing console this year?

Answer: There is no any change in console related to testing this year.

Q. What would be the probable changes in the test pattern in future?

Answer: We are working on the roadmap of NMAT by GMAC internally and sometime by the end of this year, we will be in a position to answer about the subsequent enhancements in the test.

Q. What could those enhancements be? Do you have any idea?

Answer: At this moment we have not charted it out in detail. We are working on both test enhancement and test accessibility – more and more people getting aware and the ability to write a test from any location.

We have also launched the Official Guide for NMAT by GMAC 2015 by the end of August. As a testing body, we want to be transparent with the candidates in terms of what they are writing, what they are getting into and what the kind of test NMAT by GMAC is. The guide is priced at Rs 799 and candidates will have an option to buy it from Flipkart, Amazon and other online platforms. They can also buy offline from a retailer. This is a paper guide. We will also come up with some online solutions in September, related to full-length exam.

Q. Any particular advice that you would like to give to the candidates in terms of test prep?

Answer: The entire idea of coming up with the idea of guide is that candidates should understand in detail about all the sections. The guide has four full length NMAT by GMAC tests.

But a particular thing which we would like to the candidates to know is that, this year it’s a two-step registration process for the candidates.

The first step is to complete the registration for NMAT by GMAC on nmat.org.in. The second step is to go the individual school’s website and complete the application form.

One of the additional benefits we are giving to the candidates, is that candidates can apply to business schools after reviewing their results. For an example, a candidate takes the NMAT by GMAC in October and receives the percentile score in October- end. If the candidate is satisfied with the score, they can then apply to the 12 B-Schools. Else, the candidate can choose to take the exam again and apply, because most of these B-schools’ admission window are open till March.

Q. Will NMAT by GMAC be an international exam? If international students want to pursue any test or course in India, they could take NMAT and vice versa.

Answer: We are taking this test globally to Africa and other emerging markets as well. We are exploring an opportunity with some Schools in Africa to check that whether NMAT by GMAC can be a test for African students. A separate group is working on that. Sometime in the coming year, we will have a lot of clarity on it. But to start with, we want to take this test to emerging markets, not only India but Africa, South East Asia and all other emerging economies.