CAT Going Online - IIMs to outsource the Exam

After facing criticism over errors and leaking of exam questions ahead of the common admission test (CAT), an all-India test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as an entrance exam for their much-soughtafter management programmes, IIMs are now looking to outsource the exam to a global testing company.

The institutes, which have rolled out the process for inviting tenders from companies for conducting CAT, have already shortlisted four companies, two of which command strong presence in global testing market.

The companies in the race are ETS Prometric, Eduquity Ventures, Attest and Pearson VUE (Virtual University Enterprises).

While ETS Prometric is a US-based company that handles global exams, such as the graduate record examination (GRE) and test of English as a foreign language (TOEFL) for admission to universities and colleges in the US, Pearson VUE of Pearson Plc., based in the UK, is the sole testing partner worldwide for tests such as the graduate management aptitude test (GMAT) and Cisco Corp.’s certification exam.

Of the two Indian companies in the bidding process, Bangalore-based Eduquity Ventures currently conducts Bitsat for the Birla Institute of Technology, Pilani, and Attest is a testing division of Aptech Ltd, a company that deals in computer training and courseware.

The four companies have been selected after a March pre-qualification notice.

About 30 companies had placed initial bids.

Hoping to make CAT an online test by 2009, IIMs are currently working on the tender document for the process. >>> Read Complete news at Livemint

CAT 2008 results and scores also through SMS, email

IIM-A plans to introduce CAT Scores through SMS and Email from current year

Scores of the Common Entrance Test (CAT) conducted by Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) will now be available through SMS and email.

"Getting CAT scores through SMS and email is an option introduced by us to decrease the pressure on our website where the results are available online," Head of the IIM-Ahmedabad examination committee Satish Deodhar said on Thursday.

"When the CAT results are announced, lakhs of candidates log on to the IIM website to know the results. This puts a lot of load on the website," Deodhar said.

"So, we have decided to introduce the service that would allow the candidates to know their scores by sending an SMS or putting up a request through email. We have mentioned these options in this year's CAT information bulletin itself," he said.

"We will be sending the scores through post, which will be considered the most authentic document," Deodhar said.

Last year over two lakh students had appeared for CAT examinations.

Deodhar said they had tried out the SMS service last year and had received good response and that's why it has been officially introduced from this year.

CAT-2008 will be conducted on November 16 and results will be declared on January 9, 2009, he said.

Source : The Hindu

CAT Application Forms to cost more this year

The Indian Institutes Of Management (IIMs) have increased the cost of their application forms by Rs 200 for general category and OBC students and by Rs 100 for SCs and STs for CAT-2008 , reports the Times of India

Last year, the Common Admission Test (CAT) form was priced at Rs 1,100 for open category students and Rs 550 for reserved category candidates. This year, this has been raised to Rs 1,300 and Rs 650 repectively. Interestingly, the management institutes had charged Rs 1,100 for the application form in 2004 and then increased it to Rs 1,200 for general category students and Rs 600 for SC/ST candidates in 2005.

In 2006, the IIMs brought down the rate of the form to Rs 1,100 for open category and Rs 550 for reserved category students. Sale of application forms brings in crores of rupees for IIMs. If 1.72 lakh students took the CAT in 2006, the numbers touched 2.07 lakh last year.

The CAT is IIMs' golden goose. The exam rakes in handsome revenue for the management institutes. A report by the V K Shunglu (former Comptroller and Auditor-General) Commission had observed that IIM-Ahmedabad alone netted Rs 168.96 lakh in 2002-03 through CAT against Rs 4.25 lakh in 1991-92. At IIM-Bangalore, the collection was Rs 247.07 lakh, while the expenditure was Rs 51.4 lakh. In the case of IIM-Calcutta, the income from CAT increased to Rs 283.62 lakh in 2001-02 from Rs 33.97 lakh in 1992-93.

The IIMs, which will conduct the Common Admission Test on November 16 this year, have decided to continue with the paper-pencil test. Last year, the IIMs had advertised that they were looking for agencies to take the CAT online.

Check out CAT 2008 Notification

Non IIM institutes participating in CAT 2008

CAT 2008 Dates announced. Application forms from July 14, 2008

CAT 2008 on November 16, 2008
Common Admission Test for admission to MBA in IIMs

CAT 2008- Important Dates

Issue of CAT Bulletins by Axis Bank STARTS	JULY 14, 2008 (Monday)
Issue of CAT Bulletins by Axis Bank ENDS	AUGUST 8, 2008 (Friday)
Issue of CAT Bulletins by IIMs ENDS	AUGUST 13, 2008 (Wednesday)
Last date for receipt of completed CAT 2008 Application Forms	05th September, 2008
Common Admission Test 2008 Date	NOVEMBER 16, 2008 (Sunday)

For more infor , Check out CAT 2008 Notification

CAT Going Online, What would it be ?

Students and teachers alike say they will welcome any move to make CAT online and increase its frequency to twice a year

The buzz among management students is that the CAT may soon go online and its frequency increased to twice a year. Sources say the CAT committee is in touch with a global testing firm, Prometric (known for conducting tests for the GRE and the TOEFL).

With the number of CAT applicants increasing from 90,000 to 2.3 lakhs in the last four years, conducting the test on the ground has be come increasingly difficult. “An online test will help us handle the huge number of students appearing for the test each year,” says Asish Bhattacharya, Admissions Chairperson, and IIM-Calcutta. The leak of the CAT question papers in 2003 may have also influenced the need to go online.

CAT online means one will have to take the test sitting at a computer. “Online testing is definitely not web based,” says shiva kumar, Director, career Launcher. The test duration will probably vary between three and three–and-a-half-hours.

Of all the available test models, two are most commonly adopted by examining institutes. The first is based on a fixed pattern of questions categorized as easy, medium and difficult. This is similar to the BITSAT model of testing. The Second model is based on student aptitude. Questions appear in succession and difficulty levels change based on each student’s ability. This is the pattern followed for the GMAT and GRE.

Though an online test does not spell a fundamental difference to students, they will just have to be more comfortable with appearing for an examination on a computer. “An online test for CAT is a very good move, for us though it will still be the same old paper and pen exam.” Says Deepali Sen, a B-School aspirant who will be appearing for CAT this year.

No Decision on Online Common Admission Test (CAT) in 2009

A recent News in Business Standard titled CAT to go online from November 2009 reports "

The directors of the seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will meet later this month to discuss details of a proposal to take the Common Admission Test (CAT) online by 2009.

The CAT exams may also be formatted on the lines of the GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) so that the scores are valid for two to three years.

An IIM Calcutta professor who is working on the proposal said the primary reason for taking the CAT online is the increasing number of aspirants."

In Response to the above, IIMs clarified on CAT website ( www.catiim.in ), "in view of increasing number of candidates, IIMs are considering various alternatives for modifying the process of conducting CAT, if necessary. Online testing is one of those alternatives. However, IIM-A says that the proposals are at the preliminary stage of discussion."

In 2007, around 230,000 students took the CAT exams. This year the number is expected to exceed 300,000.

Your Success Chances in CAT !

CAT has been rated as the most difficult MBA entrance test in the world by the Economist Intelligence Survey .

Also, if the numbers are any indication, more and more aspirants are lining up for a career in the managerial ranks instead of sweating it out on the shop floor.

Around 230,000 candidates are scheduled to take the Common Admission Test (CAT) — one of the most competitive exams in the world — next month.

This translates into a 21 per cent increase in the number of CAT aspirants over last year, when the total number of candidates stood at around 190,000. In contrast, the number of aspirants for the CAT exam a decade back was only 40,000.

The increasing numbers are indicative of the importance of CAT as the premier management entrance exam as well as the growing economy, which has seen an explosion in the creation of managerial jobs. The country’s seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) use only CAT scores to shortlist candidates. The IIM’s annual intake is 1,600 students, including IIM- Shillong, which starts operations from academic year 2008. In effect, the ratio of aspirants to the number of IIM seats available is 1:125. If one were to take the total number of 3,400 management degree seats available across schools (99, not including the IIMs) that use CAT scores to select candidates, the ratio stands at 1:59. CAT is as competitive as the IIT engineering qualifying test, the Joint Entrance Examination, which saw as many as 200,000 candidates appear for just 4,193 seats spread across the seven IITs in 2007. The numbers also hide the growing gap between the demand and supply of seats in the top management institutes across the country. The top 10 B-schools accepting CAT scores, barring the IIMs, have a capacity of only around 2000 seats. Read Complete News at Business Standard click here

Edulogicx ties up with Reliance to conduct mock pre-CAT

Edulogicx India Private Limited, a Bangalore-based knowledge network services company, will conduct online mock pre-CAT examinations for the aspirants of CAT-2007 on August 11-12. The exam will be held at all the 241 Reliance World outlets.

Edulogicx will be using the technology platform VEDAS (Virtual Education Delivery and Assessment System) for the test.

Students can register online (www.edulogicx.com), and get the hall tickets from the nearest Reliance World outlet.

Approximately 25,000 candidates will get assessed on a single technology platform, which is likely to create a world record of non-stop online examination, an Edulogicx press release said.

“The special feature of the mock test is students who register online will be eligible for free use of 'Educard' for a period of 15 days,” it added.

Reliance Web World Private Limited has signed an MoU with Edulogicx for marketing Educards through their web world stores across the country. Source: Business Standard

CAT- Most Popular MBA Entrance Exam in India

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is an all-India test conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) as an entrance test for the management programmes of its six business schools.CAT - Common Admission Test -Most Popular MBA Entrance Exam in India - Overview
CAT the most popular test among prospective management students because it is accepted by the best institutes - Indian Institute of Management(s).

180,000 students compete for less than 1200 general seats in the IIM's which makes it even more selective than all the Ivy League Universities put together. Even with a top 1% score, a candidate must also cross the equally stringent hurdles of a group discussion and an individual interview.>>Read Complete Article

• Other MBA Institutes Accepting CAT Scores
• MBA Entrance Exam Dates & Notification