Running head: ETHICAL TOOL 1

Ethical Tool

Anthony Perez

Western Michigan University

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Currently in the realm of admissions there are a lot of conversations that are addressing

the controversy of the bribery scandal that took place, however, what people are not talking

about is the ethical concern regarding access to higher education for underserved student

populations such as first-generation college students. This is an issue that is important to

understand and have conversations or trainings on. There is much that is done for students that

are first-generation once they have arrived at the institution, but there are not as many resources

for them while they are in the process of selecting their college or university.

As a current professional involved in the recruitment of prospective students, there is an

ignorance, rather assumption, that guides the approach to these prospective students; the

assumption is that the students attending the college fairs at their high schools or the national

college fairs are aware of the college search process, the types of questions they should be

asking, where to find information about financial aid, etc. It is these assumptions that have led to

the creation of my legal tool. My legal tool is a rough draft of what could be used as a marketing

piece for admissions counselors and other academic college recruiters to provide students further

details about the admissions, or it could be used as a training piece for folks new to the

admissions functional area.

The legal tool has been designed with the key areas that are presumed to be the most

important aspects of the college search: financial aid, application deadlines, finding the right fit,

and the admissions criteria. This tool does not address a legal issue, but rather the ethical

responsibility that admissions counselors have to students: access to education (NACAC, 2018).

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) has seven core values,

one of which is social responsibility. In this core value NACAC writes “we believe we have a
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duty to serve students responsibly by safeguarding their rights and their access to and within

postsecondary education.” (NACAC, 2018 p. 1).

McCuddy and Nondorf (2009) wrote an article about the ethics in college and university

admissions. In this article they mention stewardship and the admissions process, their concern

that is mentioned in this article is whether admissions counselors are putting forth enough effort

to recruit from areas that target low-income student populations. However, based on an article

written by Jaschik (2019) there is strong evidence that colleges are continuing to recruit in areas

that are predominately middle- to upper-class on the socioeconomic spectrum, or in private

schools due to the academic rigor.

Furthermore, in 2012 a response article was written by Ms. Hugo expressing her point

that the practices in recruitment have changed overtime, but the issues have remained the same.

One of which is that “there are still large numbers of first-generation students who don’t know

how to navigate the system.” (Hugo, 2012 p. 38). Chatelain (2018) recognizes the importance of

taking steps towards dismantling the system causing the inequity for students. She mentions in

her article “according to the National Center for Education Statistics, about one-third of college

students are considered first-generation…”

Bermejo, Bowling, and Hildebrandt (2017) are high school counselors that have written

an article discussing how to work with first-generation students from their perspective; one of the

things that these individuals mention is that both the student and the parents need assistance with

being aware of and meeting deadlines. It is especially important to communicate with parents of

first-generation students to inform them of the process, but to also aid them in encouraging their

students. Mitchall and Jaeger (2016) discusses the impact of parents on encouraging or

discouraging their student from pursuing college. Additionally, Mitchall and Jaeger mention the
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importance of providing information to the parents about the process and stresses that it is just as

important for the parents to be aware of the process as it is for the student.

Because of the inspiration I gained from the research I conducted for this project, I

wanted to investigate what resources are available at Western Michigan University for first-

generation students. While I did find resources available for first-generation students, I

discovered that there was nothing to aid them in the college search process, or something that

would give them more information about the admissions process for Western. This was

something I learned that, I believe, is worth noting because one of Western’s pillars is being

learner centered; I also believe that being learner centered could be extended to prospective

students in helping them through the admissions process.

To conclude, I recognize that the tool I designed is not a perfect tool nor is it a legal tool.

I do believe that it is an ethical tool that can be utilized to assist admissions counselors and the

academic college recruiters fulfill their ethical responsibility to first-generation college students.

Using this ethical tool either as a marketing- or training piece can be beneficial at addressing the

current ethical issue regarding access to higher education. There is a lot of research and articles

that have been composed on this topic which is why I felt compelled and reassured that this was

a tool that needed to be drafted for the edifice of the admissions counselors and academic college

recruiters.
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References

Bermejo, R., Bowling, K., and Hildebrandt, M. (2017). Recruiting first-generation college

students: Insights from high school counselors.

Chatelain, M. (2018) We must help first-generation students master academe’s ‘hidden

curriculum’.

Hugo, E. (2012) Recruitment practices change, but issues remain the same. The Journal of

College Admission.

Jaschik, S. (2019, April 1). Where do colleges recruit? Wealthy and white high schools. Inside

Higher Edu. Retrieved from

https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/04/01/study-finds-public-

universities-focus-out-state-recruitment-high.

McCuddy, M. K. and Nondorf, J. G. (2009). Ethics in college and university admissions: a

trilogy of concerns and arguments. The International Journal of Educational

Management. 23(7), 537-552.

Mitchall, A. M. and Jaeger, A. J. (2018). Parental influences on low-income, first-generation

students’ motivation on the path to college. The Journal of Higher Education. 84(4), 582-

609.

National Association for College Admission Counseling. (2018). NACAC’s code of ethics and

professional practices. Retrieved March 7, from

https://www.nacacnet.org/globalassets/documents/advocacy-and-ethics/statement-of-

principles-of-good-practice/nacacs-code-of-ethics--professional-practices.pdf.