The new MBA Pathfinder® data warehouse for business school information will be phased in over the next several weeks to allow school representatives to enter data through gmac.com (go to www.gmac.com/pathfinder).

The MBA Pathfinder® data warehouse, the database of school information that feeds the school search tool on mba.com, has undergone an expansion. It will soon accommodate more types of program information than ever before. Once final testing of the enhanced system is complete, schools that currently have data in MBA Pathfinder® will be contacted and asked to update their information and add new data. Following this phase, all other schools that use the GMAT® exam in admissions will be invited to enter their data.

If you are contacted and asked to enter data, please do so right away. Data should be entered as soon as possible in order to maximize the value of new reporting tools that will be introduced in 2005, allowing schools to retrieve their own information and report it to outside parties. (Schools are advising GMAC® on all issues related to the display and reporting of data, and discussions are ongoing. ) By submitting data promptly, schools will also help to establish the MBA Pathfinder® data warehouse as the definitive source of objective, consistent, and comparable industry information for prospective students, business school professionals, and the media.

The data warehouse will supply information to a new-and-improved MBA Pathfinder® school search engine that will launch on mba.com in 2005. The current MBA Pathfinder averages about 37,000 searches per month by prospective students researching schools and programs. More comprehensive information in MBA Pathfinder® will help prospective students to make better, more informed decisions about where to seek a graduate degree and will help schools promote their programs.

As a reminder, schools retain full ownership of and accountability for their data and will specify how and when their data are to be displayed publicly and reported to the media. Data submitted to the data warehouse must be reported according to the standards and definitions set forth in the MBA Reporting Criteria document and the MBA CSC Standards for Reporting MBA Employment Statistics (for employment data). All submitted data are subject to agreed-upon procedures in order to ensure their quality and accuracy. These agreed-upon procedures and voluntary “mock audits” to help schools improve their data management and reporting are underwritten by GMAC® as a service to schools, at an annual cost of approximately U.S. $300,000.

For more information on the MBA Pathfinder® data warehouse, data submission and agreed-upon procedures, and the MBA Pathfinder® school search tool for students, please send an email to pathfinder@gmac.com.

GMAC® and MBA Pathfinder® are registered trademarks of the Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®). All rights reserved.