Workshop Series Aims to Close Widening Gap in Minority MBAs

Fewer blacks and Latinos are seeking master’s degrees in business administration than five years ago, according to a recent study commissioned by the Graduate Management Admissions Council.

“Minorities are somehow being missed by graduate schools. They don’t know where to go or how to qualify,” said Daniel Langston, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Black MBA Assn. “It may not appear to be a crisis on the surface, but the long-term result is that we have no strong arm for economic development in minority communities.”

To remedy the problem, the admissions council and the Black MBA Assn. are sponsoring a series of workshops aimed at black and Latino undergraduates and others interested in management careers. The first stop on the five-city “Destination: MBA” tour is Los Angeles, and 300 prospective students are expected to attend the free event on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Los Angeles Marriott Hotel. The MBA Forum, a recruitment program for all graduate management applicants, will be offered in the afternoon. Interested students can call 1-800-843-8554 for more information.

While the MBA has increased in popularity in the ‘80s, the number of minorities pursuing the degree has dwindled. From 1974 and 1984, total minority enrollment rose to 8% from 7%, while total MBA enrollment nearly doubled to 205,000 students. But minority enrollment peaked in 1980 at 8.5% and has since declined steadily, the council study said.

The problem is most severe among blacks, who now account for 3.6% of MBA students, down from 4% in 1974. Asians, included in the minority figures, are doing better, increasing to 2.5% from 1.8% over the 10-year period.

“Minority students are less likely to take advantage of traditional channels of information--placement counselors, testing courses and the business schools themselves. They rely more on peers and acquaintances,” said William Broesamie, president of the Los Angeles-based graduate council.

According to Langston, minority enrollment has decreased because graduate schools make fewer exceptions for blacks and Latinos than they did 10 years ago. “The ground rules have changed. Business schools are not as anxious for minorities. Special minority programs have been stopped or de-funded.”

Blacks and Latinos also tend to be less prepared and score lower on the Graduate Management Admissions Test, used by business schools to measure prospective students, Langston said.

“Right now minorities are consumers,” Langston said. “We want to see them be producers. But we need management training. The workshops are the first step.”