The National Association for College Admission Counseling’s (NACAC) Assembly voted in September to remove three provisions from the Code of Ethics and Professional Practice that may violate antitrust laws. The two-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division found that several codes limited competition and, if removed, could potentially help lower the cost of college for students. This investigation sparked the proposal to remove the provisions, including banning incentives for early decision applicants and recruiting students who have committed to a college.
The changes aim “to advance a good-faith compromise with the department and to mitigate the potential impact of other actions the department might take,” NACAC wrote on its website.
Recruitment of students after final decisions
- “College choices should be informed, well-considered, and free from coercion. Students require a reasonable amount of time to identify their college choices; complete applications for admission, financial aid, and scholarships; and decide which offer of admission to accept. Once students have committed themselves to a college, other colleges must respect that choice and cease recruiting them.”
- “Colleges will not knowingly recruit or offer enrollment incentives to students who are already enrolled, registered, have declared their intent, or submitted contractual deposits to other institutions. May 1 is the point at which commitments to enroll become final, and colleges must respect that. The recognized exceptions are when students are admitted from a wait list, students initiate inquiries themselves, or cooperation is sought by institutions that provide transfer programs.”
Perhaps the most noteworthy of the removed provisions is the code stating that colleges must respect the final choice of students after the May 1 deadline. With this no longer in the code of ethics, it allows colleges to continue to recruit students by offering more communication, additional financial aid, or other incentives to students throughout the summer, even if students have already committed to other schools. This removal and increase in competition also opens concerns that schools will raise their deposit amounts to avoid students changing their minds. With the changes in this provision and the attempt to continue to engage committed students, college recruitment will likely turn into a year-round cycle for all schools, not just those who do not meet their enrollment goals by May 1.
Recruitment of transfer students
- “Colleges must not solicit transfer applications from a previous year’s applicant or prospect pool unless the students have themselves initiated a transfer inquiry or the college has verified prior to contacting the students that they are either enrolled at a college that allows transfer recruitment from other colleges or are not currently enrolled in a college.”
The removal of the provision below provides colleges the opportunity to solicit previous applicants who enrolled at another institution in order to encourage them to transfer. Removing this provision allows colleges to continue to communicate with students throughout their term at other institutions and continue the recruitment cycle to encourage students to transfer.
Early Decision incentives
- “Colleges must not offer incentives exclusive to students applying or admitted under an early decision application plan. Examples of incentives include the promise of special housing, enhanced financial aid packages, and special scholarships for early decision admits. Colleges may, however, disclose how admission rates for early decision differ from those for other admission plans.”
The final provision that was relates to incentives for students who apply early decision. With this provision removed, schools can provide premium housing or scholarships to students who apply early decision. Critics of this removal believe that students will experience even more pressure to make choices about college prematurely.
While these changes have been made to the NACAC Code of Ethics, many schools do not plan to act on the changes right away. In an interview with Inside Higher Ed, former NACAC president, Stefanie Niles, said that just because NACAC revoked its rules on early decision and nonpoaching, that does not mean that colleges have to drop the rules.
Sources:
Inside Higher Ed: NACAC Agrees to Change Its Code of Ethics
Education Live: Colleges just got a lot more leeway to recruit students
Forbes: The Department Of Justice Aims To Unravel The College Admission Market