hey guys....i am doing my project on online cat...whether it will be successful or not....wat are the things dat students are looking for when we mean online Cat....whether this approach of e-learning will change the approach of classrooms,classes,whether paper-pencil format will be replaced by a single click option....does student really need classrooms to learn..?this are the things where i m getting stucked...!!!! i need to prepare a questionaire on all this things......i am confused with how to start.....whether my questionaire needs to introduce option of e learning first and online cat later....as e-learning is the broader aspect.....
Really looking forward for your suggestion.......
hey friend, here are some reviews on ONLINE CAT check them out..
The directors of all the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in the country are slated to meet next month to review the first online Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted for entry into the IIMs and other business schools, an official said on Wednesday.
Satish Deodhar, the convenor of the CAT-2009 examinations told media persons in Ahmedabad that the directors are also likely to take a decision on whether to continue with the online tests in view of the complaints this year, and also review IIMs partnership with Prometric in conducting the online test.
The venue of the meeting is yet to be fixed.
Admitting to some glitches, Deodhar, however, said that the CAT-2009 was "very successful".
"If my opinion is sought as the convenor of the first online test, I would favour continuing with the system. Beginnings have to be made and some problems do take place the first time over but are corrected in time. Computer test is the future," he said.
Deodhar said that some candidates had raised issues pertaining to transparency of the online test and its results, but denied that there had been any wrong judgement or that aspirants had suffered due to the glitches.
He also made light of the Right To Information (RTI) queries in the matter of the online tests pointing out that as a public institution, the IIMs always received RTIs even when the tests were conducted through the conventional method.
"IIM-Ahmedabad, received five RTI queries last year, while the number had gone up by one after the first online test this year. In case of a genuine complaint on CAT score, we will ask Prometric to re-evaluate the score," he added.
"CAT scores were accurate and were calculated based on the best international testing practices,"
The software glitches that marred the first online version of the reputed Common Admission Test (CAT) will force a total review of the mechanism, top officials of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) told ET.
“There is a certain level of output that is expected and everything will have to be reviewed. We will evaluate the entire experience of CAT 2009 after all this is over and if problems pile up, everything concerning the 5-year contract with Prometric will need to come back to the table afresh. We will be professionals,” IIM Lucknow director Prof Devi Singh said.
Around 2.4 lakh candidates have registered for the CAT exam this year for admissions to the IIMs and other top B-schools in the country. Originally planned to be conducted over 10 days, the duration had to be extended as various centres across the country had to shut down post a virus attack.
IIM Ahmedabad director Samir K Barua said that directors of all seven IIMs had signed the contract with Prometric, the company chosen to carry out this years online exam. “This (a review) is a decision that has to be taken by all of them. I cannot make a statement on this,” he said.
Prof Ashish Bhattacharyya, a senior member of the IIM Calcutta faculty and former CAT group chairperson felt that the kind of mistakes that happened this time were not desirable. “This situation needs a thorough investigation. Even the IIMs have to oversee this, for the complete responsibility cannot rest with Prometric alone,” he said.
Prof Bhattacharyya hinted that the online version is here to stay. “That (technology) is the way ahead. But a review is essential. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Prometric needs to be replaced. It can also be that they learn from what has happened and subsequently rectify their mistakes. If there is a contract, there can also be an exit clause. But changing someone is not necessarily the answer. After all, a lot of things were taken into account before zeroing in on Prometric. So it is not guaranteed that replacing them will lead to better results,” he said.
IIM Kozihikode’s director Debashis Chatterjee said there will have to be two major considerations. “We definitely need to look after the interest of the students, but we would also have to look at the whole issue in the light of the IIM brand equity,” he remarked.
“The matter of review hasn’t yet come up in the meeting of directors, but individuals have opinions. We will collectively take a call, but not until the facts are on the table,” Mr Chatterjee said. IIM students are in favour of a review of the entire system.
One of them, a second year student at IIMC, Paul Savio, felt the contract (with Prometric) needs to be reviewed. IIMs should check whether it is a competency issue or an integrity issue, as in, if Prometric did not take all adequate safeguards before the test, said IIM Indore student Ravi Mehta.
“A review is very necessary.. More than Prometric, the CAT has the IIMs’ reputation riding on it. So a review is very essential for the IIMs’ reputation management,” he said.
According to CAT committee chairperson and IIM Ahmedabad professor Satish Deodhar, IIM directors had a conference call a few days ago and once the tests are over, they will take a look at the statistics and take a comprehensive review.
“I feel very bad that this has happened. I wish there had been less teething problems. Just like CAT is a national asset, this has also become a national experience. The directors will take a look at it. But it must also be remembered that for tests like GMAT/GRE, employees have been trained for so many years. This was the first time that our guys received any training. The CAT’s demands are such that we need to hold it for 2.4 lakh-plus students and we don’t have a 365 day window. It was a gargantuan task, but we made a sincere effort. A change to the online format had to come one year, but yes, it could have been better,” Mr Deodhar said.
