by Mark H. Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

A new national survey released yesterday by the non-profit research organization Public Agenda, and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, paints a depressing picture of college advising. In their survey of young adults who graduated from college, the researchers explored how helpful the respondents’ school-based counselor was in meeting their college search, application, and financial aid advisory needs. The respondents found little to cheer.

Two-thirds of those surveyed rated their counselor “poor or fair” at “helping you decide what school was right for you,” with 62% indicating a similar rating in the area of financial aid advice. Over 50% gave “poor or fair” evaluations to their counselors for “explaining and helping you with the application process,” while nearly half said that they were made to feel like little more than a “face in the crowd.”

The researchers were quick to note the conditions under which counselors typically work, including excessive caseloads often double or triple the national recommended number of students. In many school districts, college counseling is one aspect of a counselor’s duties that may include academic advising, crisis intervention, and lunchroom duty.

Little in the report came as a surprise, and one might suspect that as executive director of the professional association representing educational consultants working in private practice, we would greet the findings with some degree of pleasure. In fact, I am deeply disturbed by the findings and place the blame where it belongs: NOT on the backs of hard-working, overwhelmed school counselors, but squarely at the feet of school boards who have refused to recognize the importance of good, well-trained counseling staff.

So let me be clear in terms of the solution:

(1) What I believe is simple: every student deserves great college and career advising, not just those in private school or wealthy suburban districts—or those who can afford the services of an educational consultant. Every child.

(2) Counselor caseloads should not exceed the recommended maximum of 250, as set by the American School Counselors Association.

(3) Every counselor doing college placements should take coursework specific to college counseling—few actually have—like online classes offered through UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC Irvine.

(4) A member of the counseling team should be specifically trained to advise students with learning differences on their school search and application process, as well as offer advice on the transition to college.

(5) Schools should find the resources to ensure opportunities for professional development. Counselors must know the latest trends and changes to admission policies, financial aid, and more.

(6) School districts must release counselors to visit campuses regularly, to better understand the social, academic, and community aspects of the college and be better able to advise students and families.

These six recommendations would go a long way to improving counseling by supporting the training and professional development of college counselors and recognizing the limits to effective advice when one is over-worked and under-supported.

Because the educational consulting community supports great counseling for every child, we hope that these changes—which Independent Educational Consultant Association members already benefit from—are extended to school counselors, and we stand with our professional colleagues as they seek the resources they need to more effectively serve students in finding great college matches.

by Emily Snyder, IECA Member (Virginia) and Chair, IECA College Committee

In “Inside the College Rankings” in Friday’s US News and World Report, Bob Morse (of the Morse Code), cites the recently released “UCLA Freshman Survey: Fall 2009″ as evidence that students are using a variety of factors—not just national rankings—when making a decision about where to go to college.

The survey asked 219,864 incoming freshman at 297 colleges to rate as many as 22 factors that they considered to be “very important” in influencing their decision to attend a particular college.

The survey results show that financial aid (#3) and cost of attendance (#4) are very important considerations—no surprise given the current economic climate. With other factors, such as campus visits (#5); size (#6); social climate (#7); and location (#9) receiving a higher rating than national rankings (#12—down from #11 last year), it is clear that the groundwork that IECA has laid for educating students and families on making a decision that is right for them has taken hold. Hopefully we won’t have to work as hard to dispel the myth that a university’s national ranking determines it worthiness.

In the data driven age of the 21st century, where statistical comparisons are used for making all kinds of decisions, national education rankings will continue to play a role in most families’ decision-making process. For what it’s worth, in my opinion, to assume otherwise would be shortsighted.

However, as the importance of national rankings shifts, so does our responsibility. Do we even need to continue to debate whether rankings are worthwhile? Can we use this survey as a conversation changer in how we counsel families?

When the conversation surfaces, why not say that rankings are out there, that each one represents one source’s results (and in some cases opinion), and that we would all be better served to focus on the factors that are the most important to each particular student’s situation; let’s be the ones to shift the conversation. The fact that US News is giving coverage to a survey that some could construe as “devaluing” the importance of the national rankings speaks for itself—the timing is right.

The results of the UCLA survey prove that students and families are heeding the advice we provide; something we should all be proud of. It also renews my faith in what we do for students—guide them as they utilize available resources to evaluate their options and make decisions that are right for them.

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

Can I admit that I tuned out? After a week of tearfully watching the news and reading stories of orphaned children, collapsed schools, amputated limbs, starving babies, and grieving families, my mind needed to escape and so, I tuned out. I watched American Idol instead of CNN, and The Daily Show over the Nightly News. Last weekend I turned on the TV but quickly switched from CBS to the Food Network to Comedy Central. It was no use as the telethon for Haiti was everywhere my remote took me. Yes, I had donated and yes, I felt compassion but frankly after a week, somehow things seemed more daunting and hopeless.

Then a few things seeped past my defenses. There were still rescues, unbelievably, after a week, 10 days, and 12 days. The looting we were told was inevitable never really materialized, despite the desperation and lack of a working government. I saw a story on ABC about an Israeli MASH unit set up on a soccer field with a maternity ward and NIC unit that was operating so effectively that babies were being born, healthy, and being named “Israel” by grateful parents.

A few days ago I received a message from an IECA associate member, Maryline Kruger (FL). A native of Haiti herself, it brought an international crisis into our own community. While Maryline’s immediate family survived, she shared with me the desperation many shared and the daily struggle to meet the necessities of life.  Maryline posted her personal message on the IECA TalkList a few days ago. After reading her message I wanted to write one last comment, perhaps a final reminder about what Haiti needs. My thoughts are no more insightful but I felt the need to comment, perhaps thinking of others who, like me, had to tune out for a while.

Needs are still immediate: food, water, and medical care. Nearly 2,000 emergency medical responders remain in Haiti and the U.S. military, as well as U.N. forces, continue to be the sole source of food and water for many.

But I worry about the generation of kids. Perhaps a million are now without parents. Nearly all with a future further challenged by living in tent cities or worse, without nourishment, medicine, communications, and schooling. For me—and nearly all of you I’m sure, it is our emotional connection to children that motivates us in our work and personal lives, and motivates me now to make just one more donation to save the children of Haiti.

I know many have given all they can. I hope others will join Maryline in giving just a few dollars more to the charity of their choice—for the kids, for their survival, for their future.

Now, I promise, back to IECA business.

by Dodge Johnson, President-Nominee, IECA (Pennsylvania)

I have to say that Mark and I took on a lot of challenges – and that we had a great time gnawing on them.

Our seminar leaders asked us to set an “audacious” goal. So after looking at the member survey, we said, “Okay, why not reshape the world so that families making educational choices ask not whether they should work with an educational consultant but ask instead which IECA consultant would best meet their needs.” I’m sorry to have to tell you that we didn’t get it all done, But we made a pretty good stab at it.

Fortunately, we have Diane’s momentum to build on and her insistence that we plan our future instead of just letting it happen. So we brainstormed about how we might bring our goal to pass. Here are some of our ideas. Members will no doubt have a lot more.

How we can turn our powerful new social networking tools into a megaphone for IECA?

Could alliances with other groups produce not only new friends but also new benefits? For example, schools value how we match clients. That’s why TABS put on their website a search engine where families looking for a school can choose an IECA consultant.

Could advisory boards drawn from colleges/schools/programs suggest how we might establish relationships they’d most like to have with us, get the most out of visits with them, present candidates in ways they find most helpful?

Could we grow more opportunities for consultants to present themselves and IECA to the world – and offer ways to help them make good presentations even more effective.

I’m discovering how important it is for each of us actively to champion IECA as the “gold standard” while championing ourselves. Because the best way to get the world to ask the right question is already to have planted the right answer in their minds.

All this was just brainstorming, of course. The board will decide how we’ll build on our strategic plan and what steps we’ll take to bring us closer to big goals. But I’m excited by the prospect of thinking audaciously.

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

“The pace of change in programming within your association must be commensurate with the pace of change in your member’s world.”

This little bit of truth was but one of hundreds of things that IECA President-elect Dodge Johnson and I heard over the last two days. We were attending a symposium for chief elected officers and chief staff officers run by the American Society of Association Executives. Of course the above bit of knowledge comes with further awareness that we live in an era of unprecedented and unpredictable change. Does any IECA member really know what will be the major challenges facing them in their own practice in their own community in the fall of 2013? Yet somehow, we are told, the association must be preparing now for that unknowable reality. The job of officers and staff is to prepare our members for what the future holds and to be sure that we become a significant resource to help our members thrive in whatever challenge arises.

While the times may change and the daily realities of consulting work may change, the basic premise of what makes an association important to its members does not. Associations are about three things: (1) Community (2) Connections (3) Communication. Our commitment has always been for IECA to be the premiere community, widely recognized and respected as bringing together the leaders in the field to share experiences, knowledge, and to understand the changes taking place in admissions, education, and adolescent health. We are well aware that communities of consultants are easier than ever to create: organizations can start up, or gather online, but what IECA guarantees is that those who choose to join in OUR community are also well screened for competence, ethics, and value a commitment to the success of young people.

Over the last year we have tackled the last in that alliterative series—Communication—in new and exciting ways. This blog and social networking have enabled us to assist our members in this new frontier of possibilities. At the same time, we continue to print our newsletter and brochures. We have expanded opportunities for face-to-face networking through our Speed Meetings, and our College Fairs are larger than ever. It is this very diversity—allowing members to share and communicate in varied formats—that demonstrates our great success.

One of the first items shared with our training group was the unique nature of associations, where the primary consumers, owners, and workforce are all the same: the members. Members are indeed the leaders, filling all Board positions. They also serve as the volunteers that steer our committees, outreach to allied professionals, and help spread the word. And unique among all business systems, these same members are the primary consumers: paying dues, paying conference fees, and attending workshops and campus tours.

Of course we were also cautioned not to allow a situation develop in which members feel they are there to be “sold to” rather than “served.” I took this as a great caution and was reminded of the feedback we heard from many, including the Schools Committee to balance IECA’s fiscal needs with our commitment to serving members. It is a message we heard and to which we will respond.

Over the course of our two days, we were asked to identify one “mega” strategic issue that we expect IECA will confront in the coming years. Rather than pull one out of the blue, Dodge and I were able to access the results (so far) of our ongoing member survey of strategic initiatives. There we found our answer. Members overwhelmingly have identified our mega issue: expanding public awareness and hiring of educational consultants in their educational search, with an effort to ensure that IECA members are seen as the “gold standard” in the profession. It is this overriding member concern that will be front and center as IECA looks at what we need to do to ensure our members are prepared to confront the changes that are coming, as they pursue what the field will be like for them personally in the fall of 2013 and beyond.

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

I had a brief e-mail exchange last week with Scott Jaschik, editor of Inside Higher Education. He called my attention to the Web site of a consulting firm that was meant to appeal to parents of one ethnic group. Scott was pretty sure that the owner of the site wasn’t an IECA member, and he was certainly correct. To me, everything about that site—and the approach taken by those charlatans—reflected the worst of private consulting.

What they were selling, versus what reputable, ethical consultants—those who are members of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA)—provide to families is the difference between student success and parental failure.

The Web site Scott directed me to, and scores of others like it that I have seen in recent years, speak only to the narrow question of HOW TO GET IN. That is, no discussion of how to choose a school, what benefits come with a large vs. small school, public or private, urban or rural, cut throat or supportive, liberal-minded or conservative, diverse or not, close relationships with teaching staff or large lecture halls. None of that—or hundreds of other criteria—is ever mentioned. What is being sold: how to get into to a very exclusive school.

Whenever I explore such a site (knowing the services of a consultant are being offered to students, but with parents as the customer), I fear for the child. For the parent drawn in by such claims is seeking, I think, some level of prestige that they think they get for themselves when their child enrolls (or all too often is rejected from!). They are asking all the wrong questions: How do “we” get in? What do we have to do? What are the secrets?

Here are the questions I’d rather see parents asking:

What’s the best fit?

Where will my child thrive, mature, grow?

What will best suit her/his learning and motivational style?

Where will they be happy?

Where will my child be successful over the long haul?

What often makes this worse—and this was certainly true of the ad I was directed to last week: the admission process at elite schools was portrayed in an almost secretive, sinister light. The consultants promised that they knew the secrets, the language, the keys to use to fool the admission staff into accepting their child. How absurd! In this specific instance parents were warned that discrimination against their child’s ethnic group was rampant and only by using their secrets and their tricks could their child get in.

Once and for all let’s say what is the truth: admission staff members are hard-working, dedicated professionals seeking to create a freshman class reflective of the school’s overall mission and strategy in as fair a way as they can. They accept students who are the strongest candidates within that framework based on what they have achieved and their potential—both personally and what they’ll bring to campus. A good consultant succeeds when s/he understands a college, appreciate its strengths and weaknesses, and can pair this to what a student needs to thrive, succeed, and be happy.

The choice for parents is clear when they explore a consultant’s Web site or interview them by phone in order to determine if they are honest, capable, knowledgeable, and have your child—and your family’s—best interests at heart. What is the central focus of their “pitch”? The success of your child over the next four or five years at a school where he or she will grow and learn and mature—or just getting in? And which is it you really want for your child?

Or to be more stark, parents can ask themselves the following question: “Which is my priority: my child getting in, at all costs even to a school where they may not be happy or well-suited but will bring honor to me?” Or:  “Finding a great match where my child will shine and succeed?” And let’s again note: these firms promising to use smoke and mirrors are full of nonsense: they have no ability to “get your child in,” and despite their claims, no proven track record. Jacques Steinberg of the New York Times looked at the claims made by many of these companies and found them full of lies, distortions, and false claims. That’s why none of them can gain membership to a group like IECA.

I’m proud to represent the organization that has talked about and promoted the importance of the “match” for more than 20 years. We have fought the notion of tricks, gimmicks, and packaging of students. IECA believes that success is measured not by the thickness of the envelope but by the richness of the school experience. I hope you agree.

by Lisa Temkin (Illinois), IECA Member

I just thought some of you might be interested in hearing about a liberal arts presentation that Jill Burstein and I organized as a marketing event for our consulting practices.

We have three admissions people from three different liberal arts schools in the Midwest coming to speak on liberal arts curriculum—the flexibility, opportunities, how it’s different from the traditional university paradigm, what type of student it’s a fit for, etc.

Lake Forest College has generously offered a small auditorium and we’ll provide coffee, snacks and a variety of hand-outs. Just in case you know someone that might be interested the details are:

Sunday, January 31st, 2010 at 1:00 p.m.
Lake Forest College, Hotchkiss Hall, Meyer Auditorium
Lake Forest, IL

Speakers are Diane Kanney from Lake Forest College, Tony Bankston from Illinois Wesleyan University, and Mary Karen Villenes from The College of Wooster.

Should be very interesting; they are all dynamic speakers. If you have any questions about how we put this event together e-mail either Jill (collegefinderjb@aol.com) or myself (Lisa@GloEduCon.com).

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

Here we are just six days into the New Year, and I’m already focusing on what the consulting field will look like at the mid-point of the new decade. More specifically, I wonder how consultants’ work will be different, what their challenges will be, and what the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) will be doing to ensure consultants’ success.

This wonder is not mere mental exercise. It is essential that IECA always look forward, peer around the bend, examine what’s off in the distance, if we are committed—as we are—to remaining (1) the most recognized and important association in the field of educational advising and (2) an essential part of every great consultant’s arsenal.

The process for planning for 2015 officially kicks off this week in two key ways. Every IECA member received an invitation to take part in a survey coordinated by the Strategic Planning Committee. This survey comes after nine months of work by the committee has been completed, including a review of the successes and failures of recent years and the creation of a report card on the 2005 Strategic Plan. With more than 700 active members, we hope for a major response to the survey. If you are an IECA member, please get started as soon as possible and share your thoughts, opinions, concerns, and more. We have been blessed in the past with survey responses way beyond what other associations report. We hope for another such response now.

This Sunday, Dodge Johnson (PA), president-elect designee, and I will depart for a training symposium designed to prepare for the next several years and strategically beyond. We will be attending a Symposium for Chief Staff Officers and Chief Volunteer Board Officers, sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives. This intense program will give not only time but also professional training to ensure IECA is well positioned to take on new initiatives and tackle whatever comes along in this new decade. Our goal is stronger leadership to further strengthen a great association.

As we begin turning our attention to what IECA is to become, please e-mail, blog, text, and communicate in other ways to share your thoughts. Complete the survey, in the coming days (check your e-mail for the link), and make a pledge to commit yourself to IECA as a volunteer or active participant.

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

I admit to being a person who is rarely satisfied with the way things are. I believe in the need to change and that includes both personal change and actions to ensure that the Independent Educational Consultants Association continues to move forward, developing new approaches, new programs and new initiatives so that we are always meeting member needs. Allow me to illustrate using just one example. Following an IECA Summer Training Institute in Claremont, California, I sat down with Sue DePra and Steve Antonoff to review the participant evaluations. They were off the charts with virtually every attendee giving the Summer Institute nearly perfect scores, and comments from most attendees that it was among the best training sessions they had ever attended. The three of us then spent the next two hours re-writing the curriculum, developing new interactive elements, implementing ‘labs’ and strengthening the program further. The result was taking a great training program and making it remarkable.

Now as I reflect back on 2009, I feel great about the excellent work of staff, Board and committee leadership, and volunteer members who combined to make it a great year. We advanced dramatically in our efforts to use social networking to promote IECA and the profession, and to improve communications. We initiated new program in learning disabilities and adopted our new Standards of Excellence. We implemented significant changes during our conference: from Speed Meetings to Conference Central and from point/counterpoint sessions to master classes. Participation among colleges has never been higher, and despite the economic downturn our membership is up, conference participation is up, and our training workshops were larger than ever.

But as I look ahead, I know what I want to achieve in the coming year for IECA and for my own work as Executive Director: to take IECA from a great organization to a remarkable one. Looking at the success of America’s most lauded associations, I hope we use their example to become an exceptional force for our members. To become ‘remarkable,’ I think Board, staff and volunteers need to meet these expectations:

• Member Service—we exist as an association for one reason: to meet the needs of our membership. That commitment to member service should always be the top priority.

• Align all services, conferences, and activities with IECA’s mission. That mission, unchanged in 30 years, is to help professional consultants to serve the interests of students and families in their educational decision-making.

• Seek feedback and input from members and our related constituencies. In the next several weeks, members will be asked to complete a strategic planning survey and a survey from the Education & Training Committee. These will set our priorities over the next several years. We have now begun to involve schools, colleges, and programs in conference planning and regularly seek their advice on programming.

• Be willing to fail. As we look to be innovative, creative, and dynamic, we must be willing to accept that success require risk-taking and that means we will fail from time to time. Such failure is inevitable and will lead to new successes.

• A nimble, flexible, national office that is able to meet changes in the marketplace and ensure that such changes are quickly and capably brought to our members to help them succeed in their own work.

• Building alliances with not-for-profit and for-profit companies, institutions, and organizations that will help us further our mission and better serve clients and students.

I look forward to hearing ideas from our members, colleagues, and families on how we can best serve each to make 2010 and IECA remarkable in the year ahead. Join us in this effort: volunteer, get involved in committees, affinity groups, or other efforts, and above all, offer your ideas on what IECA should be doing.

by Mark H. Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

I have spoken and written several times regarding the issue of international recruiters or agents. Such agents are used by colleges to find students overseas, paying the agent a per-head fee once the student enrolls. The practice has long been criticized on several fronts. Such agents typically conceal their business relationship from students and families. They pose as consultants, promising students to help them find a good college match and assist with applications. They never tell the family the truth: that they only refer students to one of the handful of colleges that pay them the bounty they demand. Colleges have begun to discover the downside as well: such students arrive on campus often without the skills necessary to succeed. Because the agent is only paid once a student enrolls, there is too much gamesmanship in the process that ensures students are registered, but all too often flunk out.

In a recent blog I noted that paying agents on a per-head basis is so clearly improper that it is actually illegal for colleges to have such a business relationship domestically. The Higher Education Act contains a provision that bars colleges from providing incentive compensation. While the law has not yet kept up internationally, I suspect it is just a matter of time before such actions are illegal everywhere. Even if not illegal, such methods of filling dorm beds have proven to be illusory as students drop out and return home.

Last week, in a historic decision, the University of Phoenix agreed to settle a case in which admission representatives claimed they were paid based on how many students they enrolled, a violation of the Higher Education Act. The settlement of more than $78 million dollars against the university demonstrates yet again that such behavior is simply wrong. While this was a domestic case, it is a reminder that scores of colleges engage in this same practice internationally. IECA believes strongly that colleges will be better served, and root themselves more firmly on ethical ground, by ending the practice of supporting fee-for-student agents.

Luckily, there are a growing number of independent educational consultants throughout the United States and the world. Affiliating with Independent Educational Consultants Association ensures families—and colleges—that these are educated, ethical professionals who do not accept any payment from colleges or schools, and who pledge to always put the students’ interests first.