This Statement and Principles of Good Practice consists of principles that all member institutions are expected to follow to the extent that they are applicable to the specific institutional category. As members of a Body of Christ, we are called to a higher standard while recognizing the diversity of our membership and a rapidly changing admission landscape that raises new and complex ethical issues. We aspire to the best practices in our profession. In rare situations where the standard modus operandi is different for a particular institutional category, these principles need to be tempered by common sense, discernment and concern for the membership as a whole.
Even with our best efforts, this document cannot anticipate every new admission process or strategy that may be enacted. We trust, however, that members will always honor the spirit and intent of this document. As the college admission landscape continues to change, adjustments to the language, procedures or behaviors advanced in this document will be considered.
The work of college admission is based upon professionalism, collaboration, civility and a shared responsibility to educate students and families about the transition to and within post-secondary education. As such, we believe ethical behavior is the foundation of the counseling, admission and enrollment management profession.
Transparency and trust are essential components of the college admission and counseling process. We believe in providing students and parents with complete, truthful and factual information that will allow them to make informed decisions.
We will cooperate in the development of programs and services in post-secondary counseling, admission and financial aid to eliminate bias related to ethnicity, creed, gender, age, political affiliation, national origin, disabling conditions and socioeconomic status.
This Statement and Principles of Good Practice consists of principles that all member institutions are expected to follow to the extent that they are applicable to the specific institutional category. As members of a Body of Christ, we are called to a higher standard while recognizing the diversity of our membership and a rapidly changing admission landscape that raises new and complex ethical issues. We aspire to the best practices in our profession. In rare situations where the standard modus operandi is different for a particular institutional category, these principles need to be tempered by common sense, discernment and concern for the membership as a whole.
Even with our best efforts, this document cannot anticipate every new admission process or strategy that may be enacted. We trust, however, that members will always honor the spirit and intent of this document. As the college admission landscape continues to change, adjustments to the language, procedures or behaviors advanced in this document will be considered.
The work of college admission is based upon professionalism, collaboration, civility and a shared responsibility to educate students and families about the transition to and within post-secondary education. As such, we believe ethical behavior is the foundation of the counseling, admission and enrollment management profession.
Transparency and trust are essential components of the college admission and counseling process. We believe in providing students and parents with complete, truthful and factual information that will allow them to make informed decisions.
We will cooperate in the development of programs and services in post-secondary counseling, admission and financial aid to eliminate bias related to ethnicity, creed, gender, age, political affiliation, national origin, disabling conditions, and socioeconomic status.
As Christians, we are called to serve Christ and His church. Christ’s example of servanthood establishes a model we should seek to achieve as Christians and as members of NACCAP. In promoting our institutions to prospective students, we must seek to uphold our common bond in Jesus Christ. NACCAP member institutions are dedicated to the promotion of the integration of faith and learning and we understand and value the importance of counseling and view it as a fundamental aspect of our jobs as educators.
NACCAP’s mission is to be a leading and innovative organization recognized for effectively serving and engaging its members by providing vital professional development and initiatives that champion the cause for Christian education. This mission allows us to mobilize NACCAP members to promote enrollment at Christ-centered colleges and universities as we seek to further the Kingdom of God in obedience to the Lordship of Christ. We recognize that member institutions have individual and unique strengths and therefore, collectively, we serve the Body of Christ. Additionally, as servants, we must enable the student to discern accurately his or her educational needs.
Accordingly, all of our admission activities should be characterized by integrity, honesty and fairness as we deal with students, parents and others.
Counseling professionals must provide their students and colleges with complete, truthful and factual information that will allow them to make informed decisions.
Colleges are equally obligated to provide complete, factual and readily accessible information that will allow students and their counselors to make informed college comparisons and choices.
Implementation:
Advocating for the best interests of students in the admission process is the primary ethical concern of our profession. This requires that students receive college admission counseling they can trust.
Members will therefore adhere to high standards of individual and institutional professional conduct. Conflicts of interest, whether real or perceived, and unprofessional conduct undermine that trust.
Similarly, secondary schools, colleges, individuals and NACCAP member organizations and agencies should work together in an environment that fosters trust. Public discourse based on false or incomplete information, hearsay or malice is detrimental to that environment and to the fair and ethical practices necessary for the equitable recruitment of students.
Implementation:
The college admission and counseling community depends on trust. An important component in building trust is a respect for confidentiality.
Implementation:
The application plans known as Early Action, Early Decision, Restrictive/Single Choice Early Action, Regular Decision, and Rolling Admission are widely used throughout the United States by students and counselors. By agreeing to use only these application plans, colleges provide clarity and consistency to a process that would otherwise be complex and confusing. Colleges may use various application forms or types, but they must adhere to the application plans outlined below.
Implementation:
Colleges in the United States agree they will use only the plans defined below and will abide by NACCAP’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice’s definitions and stipulations. They will not identify these plans by other names, nor will they use these plan names to refer to other aspects of the college admission process.
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.
Implementation in the United States
Colleges in the United States agree they will adhere to NACCAP’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice’s established dates and deadlines, as specified below, for the fall college admission cycle. They also agree not to establish policies or engage in practices whose effect is to circumvent these dates and deadlines. It is understood that programs where students are dually enrolled in both high school and college are a recognized exception to these deadlines.
While NACCAP’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice provides deadlines for the fall admission of first-time undergraduates, it is silent regarding applications for terms other than fall because the differences in academic calendars make this impractical. However, colleges are still obligated to state their deadlines for applications, financial aid, enrollment deposits and housing on websites and publications.
Implementation outside the United States
Wait lists give students who were not initially admitted another opportunity to be considered for admission, and they help colleges manage their enrollments. By placing a student on the wait list, a college does not initially offer or deny admission but extends to the candidate the possibility of admission no later than August 1, should space become available.
Since the number of students willing to accept an offer of admission from the wait list declines each day that colleges wait to extend an offer of admission, NACCAP’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice permits colleges to assess in advance a waitlisted candidate’s level of interest and financial need and to require a timely verbal commitment once an offer of admission has been extended.
Timely wait list offers and acceptances benefit other waitlisted students who want to know whether they will be admitted. They also allow other colleges to know which of their deposited students are canceling their admission to accept another college’s offer from the wait list.
Implementation
Transfer admission is complex in ways that make it impractical to establish universal dates and deadlines for when applications may be accepted and when candidates must accept or decline offers of admission. Transfer admission is often contingent on the available space in the undergraduate class or in specific majors or programs, or on the number of first-year students who have accepted offers of admission. This significant variation in transfer recruitment and admission practices across institutions makes it difficult to standardize the transition for transfer students.
Fairness and transparency require that transfer candidates not be asked to make a commitment to enroll until they are able to review their financial aid award and an estimate of how many credits already earned will transfer and advance them toward a degree at the receiving institution.
Implementation
Commissioned agents are contracted and paid by colleges that partner with them to recruit international students to their institutions and to establish a local presence in particular regions abroad. Agents advise students concerning curricula, programs, and policies and may also provide in-country marketing or other services to their institutional partners. Some agents are also paid by their student and family clients for college counseling and such additional services as assistance with visa applications, housing, and adapting to a new culture.
NACCAP prohibits member institutions from using commissioned agents to recruit citizens of the U.S. or Canada or permanent residents of the US or Canada since commissions, bonuses, or other incentive payments provided on a per capita basis can lead to biased and self-serving college counseling. Since commissioned agents may be a main source of guidance for many families in countries that lack a significant presence of school-based college counselors, independent educational consultants, and college fairs, NACCAP’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice makes a limited exception when students are neither citizens of the U.S. or Canada or permanent residents of the U.S. or Canada.
NACCAP’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice requires that member institutions that engage agents must ensure that their relationship is completely transparent to students and families and conducted with integrity and accountability. There are ethical obligations that must be followed to protect students, provide a way for colleges to use agents responsibly, and provide the public with a basis for distinguishing agents who are ethical from those who are not.
Implementation
Admission officers are professionals employed by or representing colleges. Their work may include some or all of the following: recruiting and counseling students about the transition to college; informing students about undergraduate admission requirements, programs, and other offerings and opportunities; reviewing and taking action on applications for admission or scholarships. Admission offices may also be referred to as enrollment management offices and admission professionals may be referred to as enrollment managers or admission counselors.
Colleges in the US must only use plans known as Early Action, Early Decision, Restrictive/Single Choice Early Action, Regular Decision, and Rolling Admission for students applying as first-time, first-year candidates. Within these plans, colleges have a variety of deadlines and timelines for students to submit an application and to receive notification of a decision. Some colleges may also adopt a priority application deadline to alert students to academic programs and scholarships that may have limited space or funding.
Applications are the medium or tool used by a student to apply to college. Colleges may use their own institution-specific application form, forms that allow students to apply to multiple colleges, or a combination of the two. While some types of applications are directed at specific student populations and identified as priority applications, international student applications, visual or performing arts applications, etc., the application plans under which first-year students apply to U.S. colleges (such as Regular Admission, Early Decision, Early Action, etc.) must always adhere to the naming conventions and stipulations that NACCAP’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice has established.
Students are considered candidates for admission until they have withdrawn their applications, officially confirmed their intention to enroll (usually by submitting an enrollment deposit), declined their offer of admission, been denied admission, or have had their offer of admission canceled.
Commissioned agents are individuals or other third-party recruiters, sometimes working within a company or agency, who are contracted and paid by colleges on per capita basis to recruit international students to their institutions.
Conflict of interest: A situation that has the potential to undermine the impartiality of a person because of a clash between the person’s self-interest and professional interest or public interests. Conflicts of interest in admission and counseling may often be prohibited by employers, by professional organizations, by government regulations, and by accreditation agencies.
As defined by NASFAA, “Cost of Attendance is the estimated cost of attending an institution for one academic year. COA includes the following: expected charges for one year of tuition and fees (tuition = charges assessed for classes; fees = charges assessed for other college services); room and board for resident students; estimated living expense (includes allowance for rent, utilities and food) for off-campus living; estimated transportation costs; estimated books and supplies; and miscellaneous costs.”
Counselors are professionals who advise or counsel students about making the transition from secondary school to college or about transferring from one college to another. The term typically refers to secondary school counselors, independent educational consultants, counselors associated with community-based organizations, and transfer advisers at two-year and four-year colleges.
The receiving college’s review and evaluation of a transfer student’s prior academic record is called credit evaluation. The process is used to determine which prior college courses and credits will be applicable to the graduation requirements at the new institution. The evaluation will include all coursework completed at postsecondary institutions as well as any credits earned through Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge, and College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exam scores.
When colleges specify deadlines for applications, deposits or other commitments, the deadlines refer to the postmarked date if responses are sent by ground/ air delivery. If they are sent electronically, colleges must also specify whether the deadline’s time zone is the sender’s or the time zone of the college.
Deferred/mid-year admission refers to offers of admission to first-time, first-year students for the spring semester/winter quarter, instead of the typical fall enrollment start date.
Enrollment deposits are the fees or written commitments that confirm a student’s intention to enroll. They may also be referred to as tuition deposits or enrollment fees. Housing deposits are the fees that colleges require to hold a student’s place in on-campus housing.
As used in the U.S. and as defined by NASFAA, “Expected Family Contribution is a measure of how much students and their families can be expected to contribute annually to the cost of the student’s education for the year. The EFC is calculated with a formula specified in the law and is based upon the information provided by students and their families during the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) filing process.”
As used in the U.S. and as defined by NASFAA, “A program that provides part-time employment to students attending institutions of higher education who need the earnings to help meet their costs of post-secondary education and encourages students receiving FWS assistance to participate in community service activities.”
Students who apply as first-time undergraduate matriculants are known as first-year students. These students typically have no previous college experience since graduating from high school.
A guaranteed transfer program describes a deferred admission program where a college declines to admit an applicant as a first-year student, but guarantees admission as a transfer student for a subsequent term so long as the candidate completes college-level courses elsewhere and meets certain other requirements.
Independent educational consultants or counselors are professionals working on a fee-for-service basis who provide services exclusively to students and families in the college selection and application process.
In NACCAP’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice, the word individuals refers to other professionals employed by or representing an institution or organization.
Members must comply, where applicable, with local, state or provincial, and federal or national laws and regulations. This includes, but is not limited to, student privacy, misrepresentation, incentive compensation, the issuance of visas, security, conflicts of interest, civil rights, non-discrimination, disabilities, disclosures, reporting, and transparency. In the U.S. these include, for example, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Higher Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Clery Act, and federal, state and local civil rights laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination.
Legacies are applicants who have a relative (usually a parent or sibling) who is either a current student at the college or a graduate.
Members are individuals (Associate Members) or undergraduate, graduate, seminary or secondary schools (Institutional Members) that fulfill all requirements for membership in NACCAP.
A professional organization for financial aid administrators in the United States which sets the guidelines and ethical practices for the administration of financial aid.
Official offers of admission may be transmitted by mail, electronically or on official websites as determined and approved by the college’s chief enrollment officer.
In NACCAP’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice, the word organizations refers to groups whose primary activities consist of providing counseling, admission or financial aid services to students or providing consulting services to college admission professionals.
Lawful permanent residents, also known as green card holders, are non-citizens who are lawfully authorized to live permanently within the United States.
Colleges often use the term priority application to describe an application created for specific populations of students applying for general admission, particular programs or majors, or scholarships. It is not to be confused with application plans, which refer to when students will be notified of admission and when they must make a commitment to enroll.
A priority deadline is an application deadline that colleges may establish for programs and majors that have limited space. It alerts students to the fact that, if they wait until the regular deadline, these programs may be filled. Sometimes the term is also used if students want to be considered for particular scholarships.
In the United States and throughout NACCAP’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice, secondary schools refer to the high schools that students typically attend before they begin college. They may be public or private/ independent and offer general, technical, vocational, and/or college preparatory coursework. The term may also include statewide agencies or private organizations that certify home- schooled students. While high schools typically include grades nine through 12 or 10 through 12, NACCAP acknowledges that college counseling may begin well before the ninth grade.
Student-athletes are students recruited by U.S. colleges to participate in varsity athletics. Since it is understood that colleges in the U.S. must adhere to national signing periods when recruiting students who are candidates for athletic scholarships, the recruitment of scholarship athletes falls under the purview of national athletic associations, rather than NACCAP’s Statement of Principles of Good Practice. Those associations include the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
A transcript is an official academic record that features a student’s course of study at an institution. Information usually includes courses taken, a progress rubric and other indicators of the student’s academic development and achievement.
Transfer students have typically earned or attempted college-level course credits after graduating from secondary school and are applying as matriculants from one undergraduate institution to another. The definition of a transfer student is determined by the receiving institution and may be based on the number of credits earned or attempted at the student’s previous institution(s).
The majority of content in this document has been adapted (with permission) from the Code of Ethics and Professional Practices of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).
Revised 04-06-2021
Throughout our history, NACCAP has been committed first and foremost to serving the needs of our members. NACCAP has always maintained a commitment to its membership principles while pursuing Christ-centered excellence in all that we do to further the cause of helping students seek quality educational opportunities that are honoring to the Lord. In a very practical way, we have endeavored to celebrate our commonalities and set aside our differences to advance the cause of the common vision we share as an active body of Christian schools that embrace the furtherance of education in a Christ focused context.
While unified, our members are distinctive as are the challenges we each face. The demographics of our industry and the students we serve are changing. NACCAP’s members are serving diverse students in a complicated and dynamic world. With demographic changes and the challenges of declining college enrollment, it is vital to expand the reach of Christian education through strategic enrollment practices.
NACCAP is comprised of members from various backgrounds and Christian beliefs, working on campuses that are rooted in a variety of traditions. The membership is connected by the truth and grace of Jesus Christ, a care for each other and our collective passion to champion the cause for Christian education. Scripture indicates, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5: 15-15, NIV). We believe that greater diversity enhances our members experience by providing a better context for demonstrating the unifying power of the Gospel.
We are committed to living out the word of God:
“God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all give the one Spirit to drink.”
“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”
In addition to these scriptures, our statement of faith provides a foundation for this framework.
As a result of these scriptural truths, our mission statement and membership principles, the Board of Directors and NACCAP staff endeavor to develop stronger initiatives to encourage deeper diversity among enrollment leaders and teams as well as services and partnerships to increase enrollment of diverse students through the strategic plan. We will focus this work in a manner that is consistent with our mission as a Christ-centered membership organization. NACCAP has been and remains dedicated to the advancement of Christian higher education that is aligned with the historic Christian faith. This compels us to be mindful of perspectives that may cause division within our body of members. We take our membership practices seriously and value meaningful discussion on the matters that join us together.
