Now GMAC and the deans of the 36 Historically Black College and University business schools are doing something about it by teaming up to better prepare African American students for success in the GMAT and graduate management education.

David A. Wilson, GMAC president and CEO, noted in an address to the HBCU Deans Roundtable Summit in Atlanta, Georgia,* last week, “The time has come to work together to increase the accessibility of the exam for African American students and to help you better prepare them for the exam.” He added, “Diverse candidates bring great value to schools and, ultimately, to the corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations that hire them.”

As part of the partnership, GMAC will provide the schools with a certain number of fee waivers to use at their discretion to ensure that no student is denied access to the exam for financial reasons. In addition, GMAC is providing test preparation materials, including the new 12th edition Official GMAT Guide and GMAT Prep CDs, to the schools. In October, the GMAT mobile testing center will begin a nine-month, 32-stop tour of HBCUs and Hispanic-Serving Institutions that are at least 40 miles from the nearest GMAT test center, further enhancing student accessibility.

Edward Davis, dean, School of Business Administration, Clark Atlanta University, said that the new initiative should improve the diverse applicant pool for all universities and boost the number of students attending graduate business programs at Clark Atlanta and other HBCUs.

“We look to the HBCUs to help us achieve the diversity in our program that benefits all of our students,” added Melvin T. Stith, dean, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University.

* Wilson's address was also noted on the Clear Admit blog.