The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s ethics code violates federal antitrust law.
Recently, the department requested information from admissions officers and college counselors who last year helped revamp the association’s new code of ethical standards, known as the “Statement of Principles of Good Practice.” Two admissions officials who received the letter said the department is apparently investigating whether colleges have agreed to “restrain trade” within the student-recruitment process.
The code, which has been revised over the years, is meant to protect college applicants’ interests in the increasingly competitive enrollment realm. “It guides our actions in the face of current and emerging pressures,” the document says. “It empowers us to build trust and find common ground while we work to ensure that every student’s dignity, worth, and potential are realized in the transition to postsecondary education.”
In an email to members on Tuesday, NACAC said it “knows little about the scope and intent of the inquiry, but we are cooperating fully to provide all requested documents.” The Justice Department declined to comment.
One recipient of the Justice Department’s letter told The Chronicle that he was baffled by the request. The department’s concern, he said, seemed to pertain to Section II, part B of NACAC’s ethics code, which governs “dates, deadlines, and procedures” in the admissions process. That section bars colleges from requiring an application before October 15, for instance, and requires them to give regular-decision applicants until May 1 to make a final choice.
“This is basically like a subpoena for all my records — all my notes, any files,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because, he said, NACAC had asked recipients of the letter not to speak about it publicly. “This is going to raise a lot of questions for our profession, to say the least.”
Eric Hoover writes about admissions trends, enrollment-management challenges, and the meaning of Animal House, among other issues. He’s on Twitter @erichoov, and his email address is eric.hoover@chronicle.com.
Correction (1/10/2018, 10:15 a.m.): This article originally misstated what NACAC’s ethics code says about the earliest application deadline a college can impose. That passage has been corrected.
