By Nancy Beane

The 2013 ACCIS Election results are in!  We are pleased to announce that Larry Momo and Ari Worthman have both been elected to the Board of Trustees for 2013-2016.  Jenny Rickard’s appointment to the Board of Trustees for a full term as a non-counselor/outside expert has also been affirmed by the membership.  Finally, changes to the by-laws have been overwhelmingly approved.  Certainly, we thank all who ran and look forward to strong leadership by these new trustees on the Board as well as active involvement by the entire membership.  The challenges we face in meeting the needs of our independent school students while working as an active voice in a much broader way in education world-wide are great.  Building on the strong foundations laid since ACCIS was established, we look forward to an exciting future.
 
These three trustees bring a wealth of experience and talent to the Board.  Larry Momo is a seasoned veteran of work on both sides of the desk including five years as Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Columbia University followed by nineteen years as Director of College Counseling at Trinity School in New York.  His background with NYACAC, NACAC, and the Skaneateles Institute, including stints with Admission Practices regionally and nationally will serve ACCIS well as will the discerning mind he possesses and the probing questions he is known to ask.  He writes that he is “energized by the prospects that ACCIS has to uphold standards, support underserved populations, mentor the next generation of counseling professionals and prompt change that will benefit, not just our own students, but all those affected by the college process.”
 
Ari Worthman also has experience on both sides of the desk and is currently at Lakeside School in Seattle where he will become Director of College Counseling this summer.  A member of the Board of Directors for SACAC as Admission Practices Chair until his move to Washington State, he and others participated in the 2005 NAIS Conference where the ideas for ACCIS were generated.  Involved from the beginning of this organization, he served for three years as leader for ACCIS’s Training and Support Team and has attended every Summer Institute.  His energy and creativity combined with this experience will serve our organization well and will be a huge asset in the work before us.
 
Jenny Rickard, currently Vice President of Enrollment Management at University of Puget Sound, brings an incredibly diverse background of talent and experiences in all areas of college enrollment management, including admission, marketing communications, technology, and financial aid. With multiple degrees, including a doctorate in higher education management from University of Pennsylvania, she was previously at Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr, site of last year’s highly successful Summer Institute.  During her tenure at Bryn Mawr, goals of 50% more applications and 50% more students of color were both achieved.  She has served on numerous boards and also has a strong financial background.  Her credentials in so many areas make her appointment to the Board as an outside expert a natural.

Space available in the ACCIS Pre-Institute Workshop for New College Counselors and the 2013 Colloquia

A few spaces are available at the Pre-Institute Workshop for New College Counselors at Macalester College, Friday, June 14 – Sunday, June 16, 2013. 

If you have hired a new College Counselor or if you or someone on your staff who has between zero and two years of experience at the secondary level, this annual Workshop for New College Counselors is a program to consider. Designed to explore the challenges encountered specifically at independent schools, the Workshop will be led by a team of seasoned counselors who will host seminars and facilitate discussions.

If you have any questions about the Workshop for New College Counselors, please contact Tracy Stockard, Pre-Institute Director (stockardt@gilmour.org).

It's not too late to make plans for the summer. Space is still available for the Cleveland Colloquium focusing on the “Adolescent, Educational and Professional Transitions in College Counseling and College Education” hosted by Case Western Reserve University,  August 4-6, 2013. The group will also visit Oberlin College.

If you have questions, please contact Colloquium Co-Directors Renee Bischoff (rbisc@hawken.edu) or Jenny Rifken Fisher (jrifken@us.edu).

By Gavin Bradley

As we wade through the final few weeks of the 2012-13 cycle and begin to plan for next year, I wanted to update you all on one of ACCIS's newer initiatives.

From our earliest meetings we have hoped that the collective voices of our little organization could positively influence the national conversation on college admission.  While the students in ACCIS schools represent a small fraction of high school students nationally, the wisdom and experience of our membership is widely acknowledged and respected.  ACCIS members hold leadership positions in every major national and regional professional organization in our field and are often called on to provide commentary on college admission in various media outlets.

Last January, at a meeting of the ACCIS executive committee and board of trustees at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, we discussed ways we could provide support for deans, directors, and staffs of college admission offices who were acting in the best interest of students.  This was borne of an idea that has been knocking around the organization of an “ACCIS seal of approval” for admission professionals and offices who seem to be trying to do things right, something akin to the CTCL endorsement.

In an effort to start the ball rolling a number of us drafted a letter of commendation for John Mahoney and his staff at Boston College.  As many of you know, John made the risky choice of adding a supplemental essay that was sure to cost them applications.  The general consensus among ACCIS members was that this thoughtful and intentional choice served both students and Boston College in positive ways. Unfortunately, BC saw a more severe drop in applications than they expected and the ACCIS leadership saw an opportunity to offer our support for a college side colleague who is trying to do the right thing.

Below is the text of the commendation that was sent to the president of Boston College, the secretary of the Board of Trustees, and to John Mahoney.  We've included John's response was well.