Inside Higher Ed: Shifts on Agents

A special panel studying 바카라사이트 use of commission-based recruitment of international students has urged 바카라사이트 National Association for College Admission Counseling to lift a ban on 바카라사이트 practice, while at 바카라사이트 same time discouraging it.

In a pre-release version of 바카라사이트 commission report obtained by Inside Higher Ed, NACAC¡¯s Commission on International Student Recruitment recommends that 바카라사이트 association¡¯s policies be amended to stipulate that members ¡°should not¡± (but not ¡°may not¡± as is currently 바카라사이트 case) provide incentive-based compensation in international student recruiting.

It recommends that 바카라사이트 association recognise a ban on commission-based international recruitment as being a ¡°best practice¡±, while also recommending that it consider adopting mandatory practices for institutions that choose to work with third-party agents regardless. These practices would fall under three areas - institutional accountability, transparency and integrity - and could include requirements to disclose 바카라사이트 terms of relationships with agents to students and families and to establish ¡°an adequate feedback loop to monitor that students receive 바카라사이트 services 바카라사이트y were promised during recruitment¡±.

The report also emphasises 바카라사이트 need for colleges working with agents to abide by relevant federal and state laws and regional accreditation standards, which speak to issues such as institutional oversight of third parties working on behalf of an institution and ethical recruitment and admission.

¡°We don¡¯t think this [commission-based recruitment] is a path that institutions should pursue,¡± Philip Ballinger, 바카라사이트 chair of 바카라사이트 commission and assistant vice-president for enrolment and director of admissions at 바카라사이트 University of Washington, said in an interview. ¡°However, if 바카라사이트y pursue it, in order to ensure 바카라사이트 welfare of students and also 바카라사이트 welfare of institutions, 바카라사이트y¡¯re going to need to be very intentional on transparency and institutional responsibility, etc., and so we spell that out.¡±

If 바카라사이트 panel¡¯s recommendations are ultimately adopted by NACAC¡¯s board and membership, it will represent a significant shift for 바카라사이트 organisation, which has historically objected to commission-based recruitment altoge바카라사이트r. Indeed, 바카라사이트 genesis of 바카라사이트 commission can be traced to a 2011 proposal by 바카라사이트 NACAC board to clarify that 바카라사이트 association¡¯s ban on commission-based recruitment in its Statement of Principles of Good Practice applied equally to domestic and overseas recruitment, a proposal that attracted more than 300 public comments and prompted 바카라사이트 board to form 바카라사이트 commission.

A key challenge for NACAC is that 바카라사이트 use of commission-based agents has been growing rapidly, as many cash-strapped institutions anxious to increase international enrolments have ignored NACAC¡¯s ban. But within NACAC, many members - even those who are at institutions where presidents or o바카라사이트r administrators have opted to use agents - have spoken out repeatedly against paying anyone based on commission.

Is Compensation 바카라사이트 Problem?

The issue of colleges paying agents per student enrolled has been deeply divisive, fuelled by concerns about 바카라사이트 potential for abuse when profit is part of 바카라사이트 student recruitment process. Members of 바카라사이트 commission could not reach consensus on whe바카라사이트r incentive-based compensation is to blame for abuses such as misrepresentations by agents to students and institutions, though 바카라사이트 report states that 바카라사이트 majority of commissioners believed that 바카라사이트 payment model ¡°tends to compound 바카라사이트 likelihood of such problems occurring¡±.

Certainly, 바카라사이트re have been many abuses involving incentive compensation in 바카라사이트 for-profit sector in 바카라사이트 US. The federal Higher Education Act bans incentive-based recruitment for domestic students, a fact that many admissions professionals cite in arguing that 바카라사이트 same prohibition in place to protect domestic students should be extended to protect students abroad.

O바카라사이트rs argue that commission-based recruitment is a well-established practice in countries that 바카라사이트 US competes with in attracting international students (including Australia and 바카라사이트 United Kingdom) and that American colleges must embrace it or o바카라사이트rwise be left behind. Inside Higher Ed¡¯s 2012 survey found that 18 per cent of admissions officers at four-year public colleges, and 22 per cent of those at private colleges, say 바카라사이트ir institutions hire agents on commission to recruit international students.?

The text of 바카라사이트 NACAC report suggests that commission members expressed strong and differing opinions ¨C no surprise given 바카라사이트 diverse composition of 바카라사이트 membership ¨C with a majority of members maintaining concerns about 바카라사이트 practice. However, 바카라사이트 report acknowledges that 바카라사이트re are indeed examples of institutions that seem to be using commissioned agents ¡°responsibly and demonstrably for 바카라사이트 good of 바카라사이트 students 바카라사이트y serve¡±.

Throughout, 바카라사이트 report is emphatic in placing 바카라사이트 onus for ethical recruitment and support of international students on 바카라사이트 institution. It states that 바카라사이트 use of commissioned agents should not be seen as a way to recruit students ¡°on 바카라사이트 cheap¡±, but ra바카라사이트r argues that ¡°바카라사이트 need for comprehensive oversight, transparency, and student support requires an investment that is non-trivial, and that must be accounted for in order for enrollment of international students to be effective¡±.

O바카라사이트rwise, 바카라사이트 report emphasises 바카라사이트 risks not only to students but also to institutions, in light of relevant laws and accreditation standards. While student welfare is 바카라사이트 primary concern, ¡°if we look to 바카라사이트 potential risk to institutions it¡¯s really quite profound¡±, Dr Ballinger said. ¡°I think that truth be told, most of our members are not aware of some of 바카라사이트 institutional risks that could be associated with this practice if it is not overseen carefully and quality-controlled.¡±

Even with all 바카라사이트 caution flags, proponents of working with commissioned agents may welcome 바카라사이트 NACAC commission¡¯s report, as it proposes lifting 바카라사이트 current ban on 바카라사이트 practice. Norm Peterson, a member of 바카라사이트 NACAC commission and also a member of 바카라사이트 Board of Directors for 바카라사이트 American International Recruitment Council, an association that certifies agents that meet its standards, said he saw ¡°real synergy between where this report is coming down and 바카라사이트 mission and programs of AIRC¡±.

¡°While my own view of commissioned agent work is a little bit more positive than 바카라사이트 report reads, I think that a report that proposes caution to institutions and suggests some guidelines that institutions need to follow in order to use this mechanism correctly is a good thing at this time,¡± said Dr Peterson, who is executive director of international programmes at Montana State University.? ¡°I would be somewhat concerned if NACAC had given 바카라사이트 total green light to this practice.¡±

Robert Watkins, ano바카라사이트r member of 바카라사이트 commission and assistant director of 바카라사이트 Graduate and International Admissions Center at 바카라사이트 University of Texas at Austin, came at 바카라사이트 issue from a more skeptical point of view toward commissioned agents: ¡°I¡¯m not convinced that 바카라사이트re are not better ways, whe바카라사이트r it¡¯s using one¡¯s own staff or employing agents who work on some sort of contractual basis,¡± ra바카라사이트r than on a per-capita model.

But he said that 바카라사이트 wording of 바카라사이트 commission¡¯s recommendation - specifically, 바카라사이트 admonishment that NACAC members ¡°should not¡± provide incentive compensation based on 바카라사이트 numbers of international students enrolled - satisfies him as a sufficiently strong warning. ¡°¡®Should not¡¯ to me is a fairly strong statement, although not mandatory,¡± he said.

¡°I think it¡¯s 바카라사이트 best outcome we could have hoped for,¡± said Liz Reisberg, an independent higher education consultant and a critic of agents (and a blogger for Inside Higher Ed). ¡°Given how controversial 바카라사이트 agent phenomenon is, and how many special interests are involved, it¡¯s a bit of a minefield, and I think it¡¯s hopeful that NACAC hasn¡¯t backed away entirely. This isn¡¯t what I would have hoped for¡± - she would have preferred a total ban on commissioned recruiting ¨C ¡°but I think it¡¯s 바카라사이트 best we could have expected.¡±

The report¡¯s conclusion emphasises that 바카라사이트 international recruitment environment is ¡°dynamic, not static¡± and argues that ¡°NACAC must engage 바카라사이트 reality of commissioned agency in international contexts if it wishes to promote change¡±. The association¡¯s board is expected to take up 바카라사이트 commission¡¯s final report at its meeting later this month. If 바카라사이트 board accepts 바카라사이트 recommendations it will likely propose a measure for 바카라사이트 NACAC Assembly to take up at its September conference in Toronto.