Do you trust college admissions officers? Do you view us as dedicated public servants working tirelessly to help you achieve your dreams in the most time- and cost-efficient manner? Or do you, perhaps, consider us the aggressive sales force behind education, about as welcome as those people in the mall who NEED you to stop and try their face cream/hair extension/perfume combinations?
I trust that most of my colleagues fall closer to the former than the latter. The reality is, however, that a massive portion of our jobs is to convince a particular group of students that they should enroll at our schools – and in many cases, enroll for a particular price.
For numerous years, the federal government has been concerned that college admissions officers’ motivation to enroll students surpasses their duty to appropriately guide prospective students. As a result, there is a set of laws and policies that precludes colleges and universities from paying bonuses or incentives to recruiters based on numbers of students recruited or basing salaries on enrollment numbers.
Since recruiting is a big part of the admissions job, it is not surprising these laws are nearly impossible to enforce. While few institutions, if any, will officially say their admissions officers’ salaries or jobs are based on enrollment, there are any number of incidents where admissions officers have been “exited” when targets weren’t achieved. At the other end of the spectrum, those of us who have enjoyed remarkable enrollments tend to be offered jobs at other institutions that are coincidentally packed with raises and promotions.
At the moment, there is a noisy discussion about the use of enrollment incentives at for-profit institutions. Traditional nonprofit universities play the part of innocent angels, saying they are shocked at the blatant conflict of interest created by the clear bonuses and incentives that some for-profit institutions use to try to motivate their “sales force.”
Of course, unethical marketing doesn’t require incentives. Many college admissions officers are hyper-competitive regardless of how they are rewarded. Often alumni of the institutions, college admissions officers have enormous passion for their school’s successes. While there is no doubting the sincerity of their loyalty, there is also little doubt that some go over the top in claims of student financial support, academic quality, and graduate job availability.
How Does the Business of College Admissions Impact You?
When the system leans so far towards awarding incentives for enrollment success, many admissions officers reach a point of saying ANYTHING to get you to enroll.
While I am not a fan of the direct, overt, and excessive incentives and bonuses some institutions use, I’m also a realist. My job is, in no small part, to make sure that Mason has an amazing incoming class of students that reaches targets of quantity, quality, and diversity. At some level, no matter how ethical, honest and just generally wonderful my conduct, I am still a partisan for my institution, which, if I haven’t mentioned lately, is clearly the BEST UNIVERSITY IN THE WORLD.
See what I mean? It all comes down to being a smart consumer. Regardless of the great information, propaganda, and shameless plugs you may get from any college admissions officer, you should also do your own research on each institution. On the other hand, you are certainly welcome to just take MY word for it.
Be seeing you.
About Andrew Flagel