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How IIMs & Prometric led the CAT to run smoothly
By: MBAUniverse.com | 25th Nov 2010
This in-depth analysis by MBAUniverse.com Educators Digest delves into the actual, behind-the-scenes story that helped IIMs & Prometric make CAT 2010 a great success.
No surprises were anticipated when the Indian Institutes of Management and Prometric, held a Press Meet to declare the successful completion of the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2010 with its two test delivery partners, MeritTrac and Everonn. Rather, it presented an opportunity to understand directly, the real, untold story, behind the scenes of CAT 2010.
The success of CAT 2010, with its 20-day test marathon that was conducted over 246 labs, in 78 locations and using 9,000 computers, was confirmed by Mr. Soumitra Roy, Managing Director, Prometric India.
Mr. Soumitra Roy stated, “We are happy that this year’s administration met or even exceeded global standards. To test so many candidates, across such diverse geography and physical environment, within a set period is something that we are proud of. What is most satisfying is overcoming infrastructural challenges and delivering on our commitment of smooth and fair testing for all eligible candidates. All registered candidates who showed up with proper documentation and on time, have successfully completed their tests. This wouldn’t have been possible without consistent support from the IIMs and delivery partners.”
Mr. Ramesh Nava, Vice President & GM, Asia Pacific, Japan & Africa, Prometric, stated, “We are in the process of collecting not just statistical data but all types of data across forums, blogs and so on so that we can conduct data forensics in every step of the process and find places to optimize.”
CAT 2010 Convener Prof. Himanshu Rai stated, “We still have got a long way to go. We’ve got to get to a state when CAT is available throughout the year.” He added, “What was promised and delivered by Prometric is either equal or exceeds global standards in terms of the parameters that were set. Mostly, it has exceeded global standards.”
Areas of improvement were briefly stated by Prof. Himanshu Rai, “We want to introduce online vouchers, reduce the 90 min waiting period and address these areas without compromising on quality. We will do an analysis proactively by looking at what people are talking about and see how we can implement better.”
On analysis, it is clear that several factors make CAT 2010 stand out and these got thrown in as essential components that went into the successful making of CAT 2010:
Meticulous Planning
Planning by Prometric started and continued at a dynamic pace, paving the way for adoption of state of the art technologies such as biometric testing, finger prints etc. During the test development phase, Prometric worked closely with IIMs professors along with specially trained subject matter experts from other top B-schools of India.
Change in partners
Prometric had partnered with NIIT for CAT 2009, but for CAT 2010, Prometric partnered with two test delivery partners - MeritTrac and Everonn, who are experienced players in the testing industry. In partnership with MeritTrac and Everonn, Prometric evaluated and selected 78 test centers based on good technical and physical infrastructure. In addition to tightening the processes for site readiness and training, Prometric implemented a longer test site preparation period. By site, the reference is to centers where CAT exams were scheduled to take place.
Test Developing and Revamping
With due consideration of the numerous difficulties faced by the CAT takers last year, Prometric revamped and improved their site and the testing process accordingly. Firstly, the registration interface was developed.
As confirmed by Mr. Soumitra Roy, Managing Director, Prometric India on 25th November 2010, “We developed questions with IIM professors and subject matter experts and these were put into a question bank. The questions were finally reviewed again by IIM professors and we came up with a sizeable question bank.”
He emphasized on the revamping that they did by citing specific examples. They had developed a brand new site for CAT 2010 candidates and ensured a seamless registration form with a focus that “we have to take care of the candidate.” He pinpointed the videos that were provided on the site to educate students on what to expect on the testing day. About results, he stated that January 12, 2011 would be the date on which the results would be announced.
CAT 2010 Convener Prof. Himanshu Rai stated that every effort was made to ensure that students faced no disadvantages in terms of question papers that had similar difficulty levels. He stated, “Equating is done through psychometric method. We make sure that our question papers had similar difficulty levels across sections. We ensure that no student faced disadvantages in this regard.”
Emphasis on data security
CAT 2009 had suffered technical glitches that occurred due to virus attacks. Based on this, Prometric took more caution in choosing the test sites and ensuring the security. Prometric also ensured that the test sites were absolutely sanitized and insulated.
Communication and Engagements
This year, Prometric and IIMs engaged with the media to answer queries and create awareness so that all stakeholders are kept well aware of all the developments. The IIMs were cooperative with the candidates. The IIMs extended the dates for Voucher Sale and registration as a response to the requests made by candidates who could not buy the CAT voucher or register within the given time period. The CAT 2010 voucher sale was supposed to end on September 28 and the registration was till September 31. These were extended by a week each.
To those who wanted to know “What Next?,” there were answers that had ‘futuristic’ possibilities but seemed to be already underway in terms of processes.
CAT 2010 Convener Prof. Himanshu Rai stated, “We want to take CAT across frontiers – offshore to make it viable and in sync with global practices. The road ahead is steep but we have the will to do what it takes.”
On 25th November, 2010, Dr. Devi Singh, Director, IIM-Lucknow Noida campus, stated, “I am happy that it is over and delighted at the way it has been conducted. We have learned our lessons from the previous year and implemented what we learned. Prometric demonstrated the finest testing experience. We want to create CAT as an independent organization that can be self sustaining and be taken care of on its own. There is some movement in this direction but nothing is ready to be announced yet but it will happen very soon.”
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