New format offers solution for business schools and candidates as testing centers around the world remain temporarily closed. Registration opens April 14 and testing appointments available beginning April 20.
RESTON, Va. (Apr. 14, 2020) — The Graduate Management Admission Council™ (GMAC™), administrator of the Graduate Management Admission Test™ (GMAT™) and a global association of leading graduate business schools, today announced the release of its GMAT Online exam, the only online assessment designed specifically for business schools and candidates exploring an advanced business degree. As the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the closing of testing centers around the world, GMAC quickly moved to offer an alternative solution that is accessible online. The interim GMAT Online exam will help candidates feel safe while meeting upcoming application deadlines and confidently continue with their goals, while also helping business schools globally as they look for relevant ways to evaluate candidates for their admissions process.
“Supporting candidates in their pursuit of business school and helping schools evaluate talent is at the core of our mission and has always been our highest priority,” said Vineet Chhabra, senior director and head of the GMAT™ product at GMAC. “As COVID-19 evolved, and quickly changed how we have traditionally administered the GMAT exam, our team immediately transitioned focus to developing an online testing solution that empowers business schools and candidates to discover and evaluate each other during this interim period. GMAT Online maintains the GMAC standard of offering a valid and rigorous assessment, with critical security practices and protocols tailored for an online proctored environment.”
Test Structure
GMAC has made the interim solution available on Mac and PC platforms and will prioritize the availability of the alternative assessment as the organization seeks to support test takers and schools in impacted markets, with the exception of markets limited by regulatory restrictions; these include mainland China, Iran, Cuba, Sudan, Slovenia, and North Korea. Additionally, GMAC is working to provide appropriate online options for candidates with disabilities who meet specific eligibility criteria.
The Quantitative, Verbal and Integrated Reasoning sections (omitting the Analytical Writing Assessment section) will have the same type and number of items and the same time for completion, creating consistency in content and structure with the GMAT™ 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. Appointments for around-the-clock test dates begin on April 20, 2020 and run through June 15, 2020, at which time the need for the interim solution will be reevaluated.
These have been an extraordinary few months for our world, and the graduate management education community. Our heartfelt thoughts remain with essential services workers on the frontlines around the globe. GMAC remains diligent in evaluating the latest information available in all impacted markets to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees, test takers and test center staff, and the communities we serve.
Candidates who wish to register for the GMAT™ Online exam can learn more here: www.mba.com/gmatonline
Additional information for business schools is available here: www.gmac.com/gmatonline
About GMAC
The Graduate Management Admission Council™ (GMAC™) is a mission-driven association of leading graduate business schools worldwide. Founded in 1953, we are committed to creating solutions for business schools and candidates to better discover, evaluate and connect with each other. We work on behalf of the schools and the graduate management education community, and guide candidates on their journey to higher education, to ensure that no talent goes undiscovered.
GMAC provides world-class research, professional development opportunities and assessments for the graduate management education industry, designed to advance the art and science of admissions. Owned and administered by GMAC, the Graduate Management Admission Test™ (GMAT™) exam is the most widely used graduate business school assessment, recognized by more than 7,000 programs worldwide. Other GMAC assessments include the NMAT by GMAC™ (NMAT™) exam, for entrance into graduate management programs in India, Nigeria, the Philippines, and South Africa, and the Executive Assessment (EA), which supports the admissions needs of more than 160 programs around the world.
Our flagship portal for graduate management education resources and information, www.mba.com, receives over 7 million visits a year and features the Program Finder matching tool and GMASS™ search service, a data-driven technology that helps connect candidates and business schools. These platforms are part of GMAC Connect, a suite of services that help schools attract students through recruiting solutions that marry our market intelligence, data, reach and candidate touchpoints.
Subsidiaries of GMAC include UK-based online publishing company BusinessBecause, a content-rich destination that helps students identify the right-fit business schools during the critical consideration and selection phases of their journey, and The MBA Tour, which supports business schools’ global recruiting efforts by organizing business education-focused events around the world.
GMAC is a global organization with offices in China, India, Singapore, United Kingdom and the United States. To learn more about our work, please visit www.gmac.com.
Media contact:
Geoffrey Basye, Director of Media Relations, GMAC
+1 (202) 271-1529 or gbasye@gmac.com