Journeys in Learning Beyond the Classroom

 

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July 8, 2004

Wooing of Guidance Counselors Is
Raising Profiles and Eyebrows
By GREG WINTER

ictor L. Davolt has an obscurity problem. Regis University, where he is the admissions director, is not exactly what he would call a "bumper sticker college," not "by any stretch of the imagination."

He is working on it, though. For the last two years, Mr. Davolt has been playing host to high school guidance counselors, the "extremely influential" people he hopes will send more students to his 90-acre campus in Denver. He flies them in from around the country to meet the faculty, review the curriculum and, well, go skiing on the world-famous slopes of Vail, try snowmobiling or spend some time at a spa getting a facial or massage - all courtesy of the university, of course.

"It makes a huge difference as to how they're going to convey our university," said Mr. Davolt, whose office also treats the counselors to a professional hockey game and rooms at a luxury hotel. "They are definitely going back with a different mind-set than when they came."

Though the image of the admissions process is often one of high school guidance counselors sidling up to colleges in hopes of gaining an advantage for their students, the reality is sometimes the other way around.

Colleges are so intent on getting not just enough applicants, but the best ones, that some are lavishing perks on guidance counselors, raising questions about the difference between merely promoting a university and currying favor with those who speak directly into the ear of students and parents trying to evaluate it.

The colleges themselves seem uncertain as to what is, or is not, appropriate. Some say theater tickets are all right, but professional sporting events are questionable. Others say massages are obviously out of bounds, but fancy dinners and waterfront cruises that feature a city's skyline are fine.

"Where is the line? That's a tough one," said John J. Gladstone, associate academic vice president for enrollment services at John Carroll University in Cleveland. "For many years, schools just lived on their known reputation, but nowadays we're much more aware that this is a buyer's market, and we want to show our best side."

When Centre College in Danville, Ky., invites counselors to visit, for example, it puts them up in a bed-and-breakfast and takes them golfing at a country club and to the racetrack. It even gives them a small stake - around $50 - so the counselors can gamble on the horses.

Goucher College in Towson, Md., takes visiting counselors to the theater, the symphony and an occasional Baltimore Orioles game. John Carroll University has rented out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum for a night to thank Jesuit counselors for referring students. The University of Southern California took more than a dozen counselors to the Orange Bowl last year, also out of gratitude and to create what it called a "lifetime memory."

The United States Air Force Academy has counselors test their mettle in a flight simulator, though airsickness is a common consequence. Some colleges in vacation areas like the Adirondacks or Vermont invite counselors to bring their families and stay free for a few days in the summer. And the University of Denver used to fly in counselors to ski Vail but ultimately stopped because it cost the university too much. (Rumors that the event, called Winterfest, was canceled because an ungainly counselor broke a limb have been greatly exaggerated, the university says.)

"With competition, the perks for the counselors do seem to have increased over time," said Robert Blust, dean of admissions at Marquette University, in Milwaukee.

Mr. Blust takes counselors on a dinner cruise on Lake Michigan but draws the line there. "I don't know where the line is, from promotion to being over the top,'' he said, "but that's not a direction we want to go in."

Every university has a right to market itself, and it is important, if not critical, for counselors to see the universities they advise students about, many in the profession agree. What is more, if universities do not pay for airfare, hotels and meals, counselors are a lot less likely to visit, making them less effective at referring students to the right institutions.

But to go beyond that, into the realm of perks that have little or nothing to do with gaining knowledge of the university, crosses an obvious ethical boundary, many college and high school officials contend.

First and foremost, they say, guidance counselors are supposed to do just what their title implies: provide students with trustworthy, objective advice. By that logic, accepting gifts from the very universities they are paid to assess poses a conflict of interest that undermines the covenant between counselors and students.

"Of course it's unethical," said Jon Reider, director of college counseling at San Francisco University High School and a former admissions officer at Stanford University. "You want to be purer than Caesar's wife. When the trust isn't there, the counselor is useless. It's also a terrible misuse of funds. Think of the custodians who are barely making a living wage and the kids taking out bigger loans."

Mr. Reider's position is seen as a bit too puritanical by others, who argue that there is a great burden on small, little-known colleges to make their names recognizable. Though the theater or a professional sporting event may not bear any direct relevance to what goes on at the university, they argue, treating counselors to such events showcases the community and is hardly likely to stimulate a big rush of applications by itself.

"Is this germane to the benefits of attending the institution?" said Chris Ellertson, dean of admissions at Trinity University in San Antonio. "You could make a better case for the symphony than for the racetrack. But you've got to play to whatever your area offers."

"You do hear about counselors having a good time," Mr. Ellertson added. "You hear them talk about the programs that are fun. But I think the high school counselors are discerning enough to separate the good time from what the university has to offer."

Or are they, some counselors wonder. While most counselors may think of themselves as professional enough to give students the best advice, some contend that perks invariably cloud judgment.

"It's human nature," said Ralph S. Figueroa, director of college guidance at Albuquerque Academy, a private high school in New Mexico. "We can't help but be swayed by people who are nice to us, who buy nice things for us. And it's not just the actual impact. It's the implicit appearance that we have reached an agreement here, that we're going to watch out for students to send a college's way."

Some of the ambiguity may stem from the profession's own guidelines. Both the counselors and the colleges belong to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, which prohibits "unprofessional promotional tactics." The policy explicitly bars counselors from accepting "any reward or remuneration" for the direct "placement" of a student at a college. But when it comes to accepting gifts from the institutions the counselors may encourage students to apply to, the rules are silent, leaving most in the industry to use their own judgment.

"If we're not doing the wining and dining, we're falling behind," said Al Newell, vice president for enrollment at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pa. "We all want to get on that kid's list, so at some level it behooves us."

Counselors point out that most of their visits are anything but glamorous, carried out on cramped buses on frenetic tours in which they see a half-dozen colleges in half as many days. But for those universities that spend the extra money, colleges say, there is little question that treating counselors well has its benefits.

"Each and every year we see the numbers of applications increasing, and also the word of mouth," said Lisa M. Hill, associate director of admissions at Goucher, adding that her college began flying counselors to campus and taking them to shows and concerts in Baltimore in the mid- to late-1990's. "People are talking about us. Counselors know about us. This program helps set us out there. Yes, it is a bit of money and time and effort, but we like the result."

Some in the profession say colleges risk making a bad impression when they skimp on banquets and accommodations, arguing that guidance counselors will assume that the institution's finances are too weak to support a better showing. Others argue that some counselors have come to see it as their right to be treated well after so many years of service to students and, in effect, the colleges, too. But most place the responsibility on the colleges, particularly on the marketing mentality that has become so entrenched in recent years.

"At the end of the day, people need to realize that colleges are businesses," said Katherine Cohen, an independent college consultant. "They're trying to stir up interest, because the more applications they get, the more selective they become and their ranking goes up. Then their alumni see that and give them more money. It's very clear what they're doing. That's how they stay in business."

Constance L. Hays contributed reporting for this article.