Five Ways IECA Changed in 2022, and One Way It Didn’t

Those who work for any nonprofit—a school, a church group, or a membership society like IECA—know that change in such organizations can come slowly. Nonprofits are notoriously averse to alienating supporters and members, seek to develop consensus, and are more often than not pushed to change rather than embracing it.

Yet I know that when we look back on the history of IECA (which we’ll do soon as we close in on our 50th anniversary), we will see 2022 as a transformative year, one in which the association changed in substantial and fundamental ways.

1. Government Affairs

After years of avoiding any involvement in legislation and keeping a low profile even after being pulled into some state efforts to regulate or register IECs, in 2022 IECA wholeheartedly embraced our role in two ways: 1) We demanded that IECs be treated fairly and as valued small businesspeople; and 2) We became a valued source for state and federal agencies as they examined laws effecting adolescents and education. This past year IECA and its legislative counsel/lobbyists weighed in, with some success on several issues. We took positions designed to support members and their clients and responded with enthusiasm when a U.S. Senate Committee sought IECA’s advice on legislation being considered that impacted teens.

As one IECA member told me in a group Zoom meeting, “I have come to realize that unlike any other group, IECA has my back.”

2. Innovating How We Provide Education

For most of IECA’s history, member educational opportunities were conducted in person: conferences, Summer Training Institute, retreats, campus tours, and symposia were all held in person. COVID, of course, required us to reassess and within weeks we transitioned to online learning. Now we have the opportunity to reexamine the delivery models for our educational offerings. We are exploring what type of learning works best virtually and what works best in person so we can innovate all of our educational programming. Look for changes to conferences that reflect these changes, including advanced Harkness-style, small group sessions for advanced topics, more small-group discussions, new and improved networking, and more expansive tours.

3. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The IECA Board of Directors has fully embraced the idea that IECA needs to examine our processes, requirements, leadership, and programming to ensure that all are welcome, all who are qualified can find pathways to volunteerism and leadership, and all can participate. Diversity this year was a central focus. Are we ensuring that planned events don’t conflict with religious and cultural holidays? Are we ensuring that those with disabilities, including hearing and vision impairment, can access IECA information online? Do our conferences consider the needs of those who are neurodiverse? Do we ensure that membership is available to those who have a non-traditional background? There is much to be done, but recognizing these needs is an important start.

4. Growth of the Two Gs: Global and Graduate School

The growth in members with clients looking to study outside of their home nation, as well as those with clients looking into graduate and professional education, exploded in 2022. This offered IECA a critical challenge. I have often said that IECA should never ask folks to join if we are unable to meet their needs. Our Graduate and Global members presented us with such a challenge in 2022. As an association, we have embraced both and have re-committed to making both sub-specialties an essential piece of who we are. We launched study groups, affinity groups, and roundtables; we increased the number of educational sessions offered at conferences; we held our first global gathering in 2022 and will follow up with a university symposium in Italy early in the new year. Graduate school advising is growing quickly, and many members have offered to volunteer, present, and host; our processes are working overtime to keep up, and we are committed to doing so.

5. Embracing Our New Role

On the day I arrived at IECA, 28 years ago, I was told that IECA was the “gold standard” in the profession. Since that day, I embraced the concept and have told our board on numerous occasions that “protecting IECA’s reputational value” was as important as protecting our financial viability. But something changed this past year. It happened when government agencies and other educational associations reached out to us for support or guidance. It happened when hundreds of members in other associations joined IECA, either because of our legislative work or because of our diverse options of educational programming. It happened when members embraced the value of having experts in adolescent behavior, since increased numbers of “typical” adolescents were dealing with mental health challenges. It happened when we conducted a survey of volunteers and discovered that over 300 members are volunteering in significant ways. And it was cemented when we realized that all the above led us to a point when our membership includes 150% more IECs than any other organization in the US or the world. In 2022, our role as the leader of the profession was not simply an adage, it became reality and as a result our responsibility to the profession and to the public has grown.

6. One Way We Have NOT Changed

Despite these changes, IECA has fundamentally remained the same. Our expectations that potential members must demonstrate they are at the top of their profession remains, just as we stress ethics and excellence in our trainings. Our standards remain the highest in the field. We take ethical violations seriously. We remain committed to the concept that all IECs are colleagues, not competitors. And most critically, we continue to hold fast to the rule that IECA members work, always, in the best interest of their clients.

IECA Responds to Rick Singer’s Sentencing

IECA responded to today’s sentencing of Rick Singer, mastermind of the “Operation Varsity Blues” college admissions scheme, which has included the conviction of more than 50 people.

While Singer’s wrongdoing has resulted in a jail sentence today, and both parents and athletic directors have been similarly found guilty, these punishments have not resulted in fixing the many problems vexing college admissions.

“The Varsity Blues scandal led colleges to review their admissions systems to make sure they were ethical and upstanding, but the broader issue of opaqueness continues to plague the college application process—and result in heightened student and parent anxiety,” said Mark Sklarow, CEO of IECA. “While we applaud the court for bringing Rick Singer to justice, we continue to advocate for greater transparency in admission criteria from college admissions offices.”

The steep decline in college acceptance rates further heightens the anxiety levels of students and families. With many colleges moving to test-optional admissions due to the pandemic, the pool of applicants has grown, and acceptance rates have fallen to record lows for many colleges and universities: most recently 3.19% for Harvard, 8.56% for Rice, and 9% for Tufts, among others.

Adding to this, access to college advising is unequal across the country and particularly strained in urban and rural public high schools, where the average student-to-counselor ratio is 455:1 and more than 700:1 in some areas. This leaves school counselors overburdened and students under-resourced.

How IECA Assures Parents the Highest Ethical Standards in College Advising

Independent college advisors who seek to join IECA go through an extensive application process designed to assure the public that unlike Singer, the advisor they are working with is knowledgeable, competent, and ethical. They must have a master’s degree (or equivalent), at least three years of admissions counseling experience, experience working with scores of students, and have visited 50 campuses before they can be considered for professional membership. In addition, all members must agree to abide by IECA’s Principles of Good Practice and submit their marketing materials for review to ensure they accurately reflect the independent educational consultant’s role.

IECA members sign an annual pledge that governs their interactions with colleges, students, and parents. They agree to avoid any action that distorts or misrepresents a student’s record or interferes with a university’s ability to accurately evaluate a student. Because IECA consultants are committed to the highest ethical standards of practice, families find that IECA members have the student’s best interest as their sole focus.

Recent years have seen tremendous growth in the independent educational consultant profession, with IECA’s membership now totaling more than 2,600 consultants in almost every state and 41 countries around the world (reflecting a 60% growth since the Varsity Blues scandal broke). Throughout its growth, however, it’s adherence to the highest standards in ethical, student-centered advising has remained unchanged.  According to Sklarow, “Our growth is a testament to the public’s reaction to the Varsity Blues scandal. Parents wanted a way to be guaranteed that their IEC was both capable and earnest in finding the best possible college or university for their child.”

Sklarow continued, “Our members are ethical, compassionate professionals who dedicate their careers to advising students and families on their individual paths to success. They focus on the unique student’s needs to help them have a successful experience wherever they choose to attend college.”

How IECA Members Help Students and Families Navigate College Admissions

Families who choose to work with an IECA member educational consultant to navigate the college admissions process benefit from the consultant’s expertise, professionalism, and unbiased viewpoint to find the best-fit college for their student.

IECA members have extensive, firsthand knowledge of colleges—gained from touring dozens of colleges, meeting with admission officers, and conducting their own research. An IECA member consultant offers individual attention, spending hours with each student and their family to learn the student’s personality, interests, qualifications, and aspirations.

Combining their vast knowledge and their understanding of the specific student, IECA member consultants then help find the best-fit colleges for the student—those that provide the best environment for the student’s academic, social, and personal growth and meet the student’s financial needs. An IECA member consultant walks the student and family through each step of the college application process, meaning reduced stress and anxiety for the student and family.

IECA members believe there are many great postsecondary options for every student, and no student should be made to feel that they must become something they are not to get accepted. Being and presenting one’s authentic self and demonstrating one’s own talents and abilities is a way of ensuring the right college fit. This is central to what an ethical independent educational consultant does.

IECA Advocates for Religious Tolerance and Inclusion

IECA advocates for religious tolerance and inclusion and condemn all forms of antisemitism, extremism, hate, and bigotry. We believe no one should feel attacked or marginalized because of their religious beliefs, and that every student, family, and colleague should be treated with kindness, acceptance, and respect.

Disturbingly, antisemitism remains a persistent and serious problem in the US and globally. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reports that attacks on Jewish people and sites in the US were committed at record high levels in 2021, including hundreds at colleges and universities. We at IECA are deeply troubled by this intolerance and offer our support and empathy to our Jewish students, families, members, and affiliated professionals.

IECA is committed to helping families of all backgrounds have access to skilled and ethical academic or therapeutic guidance and to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community. We welcome all individuals, regardless of age, citizenship status, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, learning differences, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. Our work to promote equity, fairness, and inclusion must be constant.

We urge our members and colleagues to recognize and respond to instances of antisemitism, bigotry, and hate. Here are resources to help you take action today:

As leaders in education, we have an opportunity to model leadership that is focused on unity, support, and action. We must do our part to build a more tolerant, inclusive, and socially just society.

IECA Condemns Anti-Asian Violence

We at IECA are outraged, frustrated, and deeply saddened by recent hate crimes across the country targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI).  We grieve for the eight lives lost in Atlanta this week—six of whom were women of Asian descent—as well as the many other victims of anti-Asian racism, oppression, and harassment. IECA condemns all forms of racism and is committed to working toward a fair, just, and equitable society.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed a disturbing increase in anti-Asian violence, discrimination, and harassment globally. The events in the news this week, and stories shared during hearings in Congress in recent days, are the latest in a series of tragic and painful experiences. We offer our support and empathy to our AAPI students, families, members, and affiliated professionals.

IECA is committed to helping families of all backgrounds have access to skilled and ethical academic or therapeutic guidance, regardless of race, ethnicity, economic status, or zip code. Our work to continue promoting equity, fairness, and anti-racism must be constant. Join us in learning more and standing against social injustice. Here are resources to help you take action today:

As leaders in education, we have an opportunity to model leadership that is focused on unity, support, and action. We must do our part to build a more informed, inclusive, and socially just society.

How IECs Help Level the Playing Field in College Admissions

by Mark H. Sklarow, CEO, Independent Educational Consultants Association

I am pleased that in response to the recent college admission scam, many are looking for solutions that address colleges, athletic programs, the role of privilege, and the role of independent college counselors. Unfortunately, some have suggested a solution that would increase the benefits to the already privileged.

Some opinion pieces have appeared suggesting that no one should be allowed to charge for college admission advice. This attitude favors the wealthy, privileged families that are able to send their children to private schools, often costing in the tens of thousands of dollars and whose college counselors serve small numbers of just 20-30 students. Such a system provides a benefit to those privileged enough to provide such support, while leaving public school students behind. These public schoolers often face impossible ratios of 600 to 900 students per counselor—with that counselor handling crisis intervention, course selection, as well as college advising.

Independent Educational Consultants (IECs) help level the playing field by supporting working- and middle-class students who go to public school, by allowing families of more modest means to gain similar expert help and advice at an hourly rate that is affordable for most. In addition, all members of IECA commit to efforts to serve those from underserved communities.

Those that want to stop the use of all paid assistance (would they refuse paid tutors for students struggling in school, as well?) misunderstand the fundamental role of independent educational consultants. IECs help students explore college opportunities and find the right place for them to succeed academically and socially. IECs don’t get students admitted—they help students demonstrate why they deserve to be admitted at appropriately chosen schools. They help students find colleges they might not have heard of—often out of their region—and they help students put their best foot forward.