At its annual meeting this past weekend, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) voted overwhelmingly to change its ethics rules in response to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Among other things, the changes removed a provision that forbade institutions from recruiting students who have already committed to attending other institutions.
From Inside Higher Education: "Some experts on higher education believe that without the provisions, colleges will be tempted to poach students from other colleges. But the mood at the meeting was to avoid that issue; most people voted to save NACAC, which could not afford a long, drawn-out fight."
Also from Inside Higher Education: "Even if colleges don't change their behavior at all, the vote is a break from the past because it is being prompted by an antitrust investigation by the Justice Department. That investigation is part of a climate that has become much more hostile toward higher education and its admissions processes."
From the Chronicle of Higher Education: "Under pressure from the Justice Department, admissions officials have changed the ethics code that governs the recruitment process. Now many of them expect bidding wars and poaching of students."
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