Grilling GMAC on the GMAT Cheating Scandal

(page 3 of 3)

Peg Jöbst
Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC)

Story Tools

• post a comment
• e-mail this story
• print this story
• order a reprint
• suggest a story
• digg this
• save to del.icio.us

Ultimately, while the FBI continues its investigation, GMAC decided to try to shut down the site via a civil suit, which was filed in June 2007. GMAC announced the ruling on June 20, 2008, as soon as it gained control of the Scoretop.com domain and hard drive.

fundoo_pc: Are you going to inform the people who do not fall under the criteria you mentioned that they are no longer being investigated?

GMACPegJ: Once we have completed our investigation and taken action against those individuals who violated GMAT policy, as described earlier, we will post a notification on mba.com that our investigation is complete.

bw_user: Did GMAC cancel any score so far as part of the investigation? If so, will the affected user be notified as well?

GMACPegJ: Since we began analyzing the Scoretop hard drive, we have not as yet canceled any GMAT scores.

Hunt5man: As someone who did my MBA a while back, I want to commend GMAC for taking action on Scoretop. However, I'm told that there still exist several Web sites operating in non-English languages (Chinese, Korean, etc.) where real GMAT questions are being discussed even today. What does GMAC plan to do about them?

GMACPegJ: GMAC continues to monitor sites for possible violations of its intellectual property and will continue to investigate all Web sites that claim to post GMAT questions.

chat_usa_co: Are the criteria for exclusion from your investigation final, or are there chances that GMAC may come back and open the investigation for all 6,000 members at a later date?

GMACPegJ: That is extremely unlikely.

Jamezz: As Lei Shi has reportedly fled to China, is GMAC planning to do something to stop him? He might resume his activities from China and threaten the future of many other innocent people through other sites like Scoretop.

GMACPegJ: The FBI investigation is ongoing.

Jamezz: If a student plans to buy GMAT material or subscribe to a tutoring service, is there a way to get full confidence that the material is 100% ethical? Is GMAC going to help students in doubt? If so, how?

GMACPegJ: GMAC does not endorse any specific Web sites or study materials for use in preparation for the GMAT, other than those operated directly by GMAC. GMATPrep software, available through the mba.com site, simulates the exam with retired questions, free of charge.

However, you can follow some general guidelines to help you avoid violating copyright law or GMAC's policies and procedures. Do not purchase, request, or share materials that claim to be "real" or "live" GMAT questions in any form. In addition, be wary if you see discussion threads in which test content is shared and real or "live" questions are confirmed as accessible via the site or any participant(s) of the site (online or offline). Do not share any test content with anyone else after you have taken the test.

Ralph4000: If a candidate were found to fit into one of those categories, and the score was canceled, would the student or prospective student be allowed to retake the GMAT?

GMACPegJ: Not likely.

333222111: How will GMAC be able to prove that only one person under a certain VIP screen name logged into Scoretop? There could be several people logging in and sharing the subscription under the same screen name, although only one person paid for the subscription. How about paying with a credit card for someone else? Wouldn't these issues make canceling someone's score unethical?

GMACPegJ: I have described our criteria for investigation. We have the hard drive from Scoretop and a strong and highly qualified forensic team of experts conducting our investigation.

FrancescaBW: Please let us know if you have any parting words for the audience.

GMACPegJ: We have an ethical responsibility to schools and test takers to investigate those individuals who threaten the integrity of the GMAT and the application process. Business schools place a very high value on ethical behavior. GMAC's responsibility to schools and test takers is to protect the integrity of the application process and the GMAT exam.

The great challenge that every GMAT candidate has is to distinguish between those test preparation organizations that abide by the rules and those that do not—between the test preparation that teaches you how to solve problems and that which promises you an unfair advantage.

The field that MBA aspirants run through is fraught with land mines. Caveat tester.