Membership Qualifications
IECA offers three categories of membership: Professional, Associate, and Student. Listed below are the requirements for each category to help you determine which is right for you:
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP
The professional membership category is for consultants who have demonstrated a professional mastery with years of experience. Annual dues for Professional Membership are $600.
To qualify for professional membership, consultants must have:
- A master's degree or higher from an accredited institution. Alternatively, an applicant may demonstrate comparable educational training or appropriate professional experience.
- Three years of experience in counseling or admissions, with a minimum of one year of independent practice.
- Advised a minimum of 50 students while he or she was employed in an institutional setting or working in private practice.
- A minimum requirement of evaluative campus visits within each specialty area:
College 50 visits; Boarding/Day Schools 25 visits; LD Schools/Programs 25 visits; Troubled Teen Programs 25 visits
- Professional references from at least two college or independent school admissions officers or psychologists/ counselors with whom the applicant has worked in the admission process. In addition, a third reference from an IECA member, another educational professional, or a client family is required.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
Associate membership is for those new to the field of independent educational consulting, who expect to meet membership requirements within two years, or those who are transitioning into the field of independent consulting from a school or institutional position. Associate members receive many of the benefits of professional membership, excluding listing in the IECA print or online directory. Associate Membership dues are $300 per year.
Guidelines for associate membership requirements:
- One-year minimum experience in educational placement, counseling or admissions.
- Reference from an IECA member or a director of admissions attesting to professional practice and one year of experience.
- Established, or be in the process of transitioning to an educational consulting practice.
- Applicants must be working toward the professional membership requirement of evaluative campus visits and number of clients served.
- A minimum of a bachelor's degree.
- While not required, completion of either of the followings is basis for granting associate membership: The IECA Summer Training Institute or UCLA’s College Counseling Certificate Program.
Student membership is designed for full-time graduate-level students studying counseling or a related field, who have not yet established a private practice, and who do not yet quality for another membership category in the Association. Student Membership dues are $60 annually.
Guidelines for meeting student membership requirements: