University of New Mexico Executive MBA Drops Entrance Exam Requirement

• The University of New Mexico will no longer require the GRE or GMAT for entrance into its executive MBA program.
• The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are both graduate admission tests used by various universities for admittance.
• A growing number of schools are dropping GRE and GMAT requirements for admission to their executive MBA programs.
• Both tests have recently undergone overhauls and now require less time to take.

Another business school has dropped entry exam requirements for its executive master of business administration (MBA) program, following a nationwide trend.

The University of New Mexico (UNM) Anderson School of Management permanently removed the entrance exam requirements for its executive MBA program, school officials announced, effective for students applying for a June 2024 start.

An executive MBA is geared toward working professionals, and it often features a cohort-based model that meets during non-work hours to accommodate students' schedules. Anderson's executive MBA includes online classes, networking events, and a cohort model.

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) are both graduate admission tests used by various universities for admittance. Both tests are widely used for admission to graduate programs at business schools, but a growing number of programs are dropping the tests as admissions requirements.

The GMAT is largely used by business schools and was recently revamped into the GMAT Focus Edition — a redesigned version that is shorter than its predecessor and geared toward flexibility while examining high-demand skills like data analytics. The GRE is widely used across graduate programs of all types, and it likewise recently underwent an overhaul to require less time to take.

Anderson dropped the GMAT and GRE requirements in order to address the value in the applicant's career experience and the lessons each applicant has learned along the way, according to a March press release from the business school.

Removing the exam as a requirement rewards that experience, the release reads.

A number of schools have moved away from requiring those tests in recent years, particularly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Business school leaders said in a 2022 study from MBA Roundtable and Wiley that they saw increased volume and diversity of students as a result of their test-optional policies.

As many business schools move to test-optional admissions, it is important to see how they are innovating their curriculum to meet the needs of changing learners attending their programs, Jeff Bieganek, executive director of MBA Roundtable, said at the time.

The development of appropriate pre-program learning opportunities as well as adaptions to courses and overall curriculum will be increasingly important to guarantee student success. It is important to see how schools are driving those innovations.

The University of New Mexico release noted that other business schools' executive MBA programs — including at New York University (NYU), Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Southern California — likewise have test-optional policies.

NYU's Stern School of Business dropped its executive MBA GRE and GMAT requirements in 2011 after a longstanding test waiver policy.

For the senior-level applicant who is considering our program, a standardized test can present an unnecessary barrier to applying, NYU Stern Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions Isser Gallogly said in a press release. We expect their record of outstanding professional accomplishment to outweigh the need for a GMAT.