Title: Let me in! The predictive validity of graduate management admissions test and other variables in the admission system of Masters of Business Administration programmes

Authors: Jesús Tanguma; Laura Serviere-Munoz; Aleida D. Gonzalez

Addresses: College of Business Administration, The University of Texas-Pan American, MAGC 3.318, 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, TX 78539, USA ' Division of Urban and Professional Studies, The University of North Texas at Dallas, 7400 Houston School Rd., Dallas 2-335, TX 75241, USA ' College of Business Administration, The University of Texas-Pan American, 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, TX 78539, USA

Abstract: Data were collected from a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) programme in a public university in the southern part of Texas. Analysis of variance results indicate that there are gender as well as ethnicity effects. Similarly, regression results indicate that only ethnicity and gender of the subjects contributed significantly in predicting the students' graduate grade point average. However, different predictors account for the variance depending on the ethnicity/gender. Women scored lower graduate management admissions tests, but they surpassed their counterparts in academic performance during the MBA programme, raising questions as to the predictive validity of such exam. Finally, a change in the graduate admission system calls for consideration of soft issues when engaging in processes reengineering.

Keywords: GMAT; graduate management admissions; admissions tests; admission requirements; GGPA; graduate grade point average; academic performance; educational systems; resource planning; process reengineering; hard issues; soft issues; graduate programmes; graduate success; gender; Hispanics; non-business majors; MBA courses; higher education; universities; analysis of variance; ANOVA; ethnicity; predictive validity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBSR.2012.046356

International Journal of Business and Systems Research, 2012 Vol.6 No.2, pp.209 - 223

Published online: 14 Nov 2014 *

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