Graduate Management Admission Council

The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) is an international non-profit association of business schools that provides products and services to academic institutions and prospective graduate business students. The organization owns the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), a standardized exam that is widely used by graduate business administration programs (e.g. MBA, Master of Accountancy, etc.) to measure quantitative and verbal skills in applicants. GMAC also serves as an information source for journalists and members of the public interested in information about management education and the role it plays in the overall economy.

GMAC is based in McLean, Virginia—a business center in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. In 2007, the organization opened an office in London, its first international location.^[1] GMAC also has a representative based in Hong Kong.^[2]

GMAC was first convened in 1953 by Educational Testing Service (ETS)^[3] to coordinate a group of nine business schools interested in developing a standardized test for applicants to business schools. The exam ETS developed was initially known as the Admission Test for Graduate Study in Business (ATGSB).^[4] The ATGSB was renamed the Graduate Management Admission Test in 1976.^[5]

The GMAT

Main article: Graduate Management Admission Test

The GMAT is today used by more than 4,750 graduate management education programs at approximately 1,900 business schools worldwide. The exam, taken more than 250,000 times per year,^[6] is designed as an objective predictor of how well a student will perform academically in the first year of a graduate business education program. The GMAT has been shown by researchers to be a reliable predictor of academic performance in businesss school,^[7] especially when used in combination with an applicant’s undergraduate grade point average.^[8]

The GMAT is delivered under contract to GMAC by Pearson VUE of Bloomington, Minnesota. The test is developed for GMAC by ACT Inc. of Iowa City, Iowa.^[9]

The Triple Nine Society uses the GMAT as one of their admission tests into their society. They require a score of at least 750 for admission.

Governance

The Graduate Management Admission Council has 183 member schools from 22 countries, including Australia, Canada, China, France, Great Britain, India and the United Kingdom.^[10] In 2007, the organization embarked on an effort to increase its membership outside North America.^[11] GMAC is governed by a 16-member board of directors that includes representation from business schools and private industry.^[12]

Conferences and other services

In addition to providing the GMAT, the Graduate Management Admission Council offers an array of other services to the graduate business education community. These include professional development programs and conferences for business school leaders (such as the GMAC Annual Industry Conference), search services to help students learn more about the offerings of different business schools^[13] and student preparation materials for the GMAT.^[14]

GMAC surveys corporate recruiters, graduate business students, and business school staff and alumni to gauge their feelings about the job market and collect other data. Data from the surveys are released to the public on the organization’s Web site, gmac.com.^[15]

GMAC runs mba.com, an online portal with information about topics graduate business administration programs and the career options available to people with graduate business degrees. The website provides software to help prospective business school applicants prepare for the GMAT. It also allows people to set up an appointment to take the test at one of several hundred testing centers in nearly 100 countries.

See also

• Graduate Management Admission Test
• Master of Accountancy
• Master of Business Administration
• Standardized Test

References

1. ^ "London Business School Official to Lead European Operations of Graduate Management Education Group". Archived from the original on 2 April 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080402102134/http://www.gmac.com/gmac/newsandevents/pressroom/pressreleases/lbsofficialtoleadeuropeanoperationsofgmac.htm. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 
2. ^ "Hong Kong’s Professor Japhet Law Named First Chairman of GMAC Advisory Board in Asia". http://www.gmac.com/gmac/newsandevents/pressroom/pressreleases/japhetlawnamedapacchairman.htm. Retrieved 17 June 2008. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Nairn, Allan; Ralph Nader (1980). "ETS and the Client Organizations". The Reign of ETS: The Corporation That Makes Up Minds. Ralph Nader (Privately Published). p. 303. 
4. ^ "GMAC About Us". http://www.gmac.com/gmac/aboutus. Retrieved 16 June 2008. 
5. ^ "Selections Magazine 2004". http://www.gmac.com/selections/2004/birthday.html. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 
6. ^ "Profile of GMAT Candidates, 2004-05 to 2008-09". http://www.gmac.com/NR/rdonlyres/EEFE1A18-4FCE-421D-ACE1-67C9D86A444B/0/ProfileofGMATCandidates0509.pdf. Retrieved 22 April 2010. 
7. ^ "Evaluating the Predictive Validity of Graduate Management Admission Test Scores". http://epm.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/66/2/305. Retrieved 16 June 2008. 
8. ^ "Understanding Validity". Archived from the original on 25 January 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080125085843/http://www.gmac.com/gmac/ResearchandTrends/ToolsandServices/VSS/UnderstandingValidity.htm. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 
9. ^ "GMAC Taps Pearson VUE and ACT, Inc., to Provide GMAT Exam Beginning in 2006". http://www.gmac.com/NR/rdonlyres/839EBDA5-214A-4A46-BAF1-0915C9FD78E4/0/Dec10APPROVEDPressReleasecopy.pdf. Retrieved 16 June 2008. 
10. ^ "Governing Schools". http://www.gmac.com/gmac/aboutus/governance/governingschools.htm. Retrieved 22 April 2010. ^{[dead link]}
11. ^ "Graduate Management Admission Council Introduces New Global Executive Team". Archived from the original on 2 April 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080402103824/http://www.gmac.com/gmac/newsandevents/pressroom/pressreleases/gmacintroducesnewglobalexecutiveteam.htm. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 
12. ^ "Board of Directors". http://www.gmac.com/gmac/aboutus/governance/boardofdirectors.htm. Retrieved 22 April 2010. 
13. ^ "GMAC School Services". http://www.gmac.com/gmac/schoolservices/. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 
14. ^ "Take the GMAT". http://www.mba.com/mba/TaketheGMAT. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 
15. ^ "GMAC Research & Trends". http://www.gmac.com/gmac/researchandtrends. Retrieved 17 June 2008. 

External links

• Graduate Management Admission Council official Web site
• mba.com The Official GMAT Web site
• The Official GMAT Blog by the creators of the GMAT test
• Pearson VUE official Web site
• ACT official Web site