Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) today formally announced their joining the technology bandwagon by taking their admission test NMAT computer-based. Furthermore, the institute plans to take the test international by organizing it in Australia, UK and 12 Asian countries apart from in India. At the same time, NMIMS has steeply escalated the cost of application – Rs 1,650 for the test and an additional Rs 1,000 if you qualify for the group discussion and interview.

The exam will be conducted across two hours in staggered batches at various centers in India, Australia, UK and 12 Asian countries within a window period of 10 days from January 30 to February 8, 2010, said NMIMS in a press release sent today. “The online move will not only target students from India alone but also candidates from UK and other Asian countries. NMIMS has a total number of 420 seats available offering 300 seats under the MBA programme, 30 seats under the MBA (Banking) programme, 30 seats under MBA (Capital market) programme , 30 seats under MBA (Actuarial Science) and 60 seats under MBA (Pharmaceutical Management) programme,” it added.

It may be noted that the use of ‘word’ online does not imply that the test is going to be administered through the Internet, but they have probably used the word because it has come to be synonymous with computers in colloquial usage.

Why go online? According to NMIMS, “The online move will help in handling a huge number of candidates as the estimated projection for 2009 is of 50,000 plus compared to 46,000 candidates last year. The online NMAT venture will not only lead to uniformity and transparency in assessment but also reduce malpractice to an extent. It further implies that the online exam concept is not mere ideation but a step that will promote participation and openness to a wider extent among aspirants and build an environment conducive to learning and growth.”

NMAT comprises of three sections – Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Analysis and Logical Reasoning carrying equal weight age. The registration for the online NMAT entrance test will commence on October 27, 2009.

“A registration fee of Rs 1,650 is to be submitted through online payment/demand draft/Cash deposit in select Axis Bank Branches for candidates from India. An additional sum of Rs 1000 will be charged to those selected for the group discussion/personal interview. NMIMS will also provide mock tests to the registered candidates.”

This makes NMAT the costliest entrance test in India, especially so since the results of the test are considered only by NMIMS. This could actually reduce the number of casual test-takers from NMIMS’ application pool and allow it to manage only the very serious applicants, if there were such a thing existing for NMIMS. On the other hand, many applicants might question the value for money gained by entering such an expensive admission process, since other Indian b-schools are able to manage in much lesser.

The most interesting bit of this announcement is clearly the ambitious plan of administering NMAT in Australia, UK and 12 Asian countries. The standard line of thinking among Indian b-schools on the subject of getting an international footprint and attracting international students into their programs has concentrated on setting up campuses abroad. In contrast, the approach of taking the entrance test international is an interesting spin on the subject. I’d be looking forward to the demographic profile of test-takers when NMIMS completes the NMAT registrations, to see if interest in the test has largely been from Non Resident Indians and on-site IT professionals, or also by people of foreign ethnic origin.

Anyhow, this gets us four computer-based management entrance tests in India – the Common Admissions Test (CAT), AIMA’s Management Aptitude Test (MAT), BITS Pilani’s BITSAT and now NMAT.