As an immediate service to GMAT® using programs, the newly formed GMAC® Research and Development Department (R&D) will soon unveil improvements to the Validity Study Service (VSS) developed with the help of extensive input from business schools. The VSS measures the effectiveness of the admissions process, including use of the GMAT® test in predicting student academic performance in b-school core curriculum. VSS reports are now shorter and easier to understand, with more graphs and more details on the value added by each predictor variable. Your continued input on the design of these reports is welcome.
The Council’s new R&D department is responsible for the Council’s assessment, survey and applied research, and development activities. The department is comprised of two divisions, one devoted to psychometric research and the other charged with market research and analysis. Headed by Executive Director Lawrence Rudner, PhD, MBA, R&D will collect critical information for understanding business education and improving the GMAT® test. Rudner’s staff will also be making certain GMAC® data sets available to the public for the first time.
In the future, R&D will look to the deans and faculty of graduate business programs in an analysis of the skills taught throughout the industry. The department will be conducting a widely distributed survey to identify the core skills taught in management education and the skills you expect incoming students to have already mastered. The data will help us improve the GMAT® exam and develop diagnostic tests, as well as create new products to help students prepare for the rigors of a management education MBA program.
GMAC® Research and Development would like to help you find the answers to questions you may have about industry trends. For more information, please call 1-703-749-0131, or send an email to research@gmac.com.
To learn more about the Validity Study Service, please visit www.gmac.com/vss. More information about the GMAC® survey research program is available at www.gmac.com/surveys.
GMAT® and GMAC® are registered trademarks of the Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®).
