Inside: Area colleges react to bribery scandal
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> Area college officials say they’re shocked and disappointed by a widespread admissions scandal at some of the country’s most prestigious schools from Stanford to Yale.
Fifty wealthy people, including Hollywood stars Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, allegedly paid to get their children into elite colleges by having test scores altered and bribing athletic personnel.
The fallout from the “Operation Varsity Blues” has already resulted in the firing or suspension of coaches at several schools including the University of Southern California where an athletic director allegedly took $1.3 million in bribes over several years.
“I’m very surprised,” said Ned Jones, former Siena College admissions director. “When you see a scandal with bold-faced bribery, it’s shocking.”
He is currently first vice president for enrollment and marketing at Siena.
Jones said the Loudonvillebased college only works with highly accredited college search counselors in an attempt to avoid such problems. Families sometimes hire search counselors to help find the right fit for their college-bound son or daughter.
Locally, however, Siena relies heavily on area high school guidance counselors, which eliminates the need for such personnel, he said.
“We don’t see that dominant need for independent search counselors in this market,” he said.
The Albany-based Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities in New York represents the interests of more than 100 private schools across the state.
“Certainly as an association we find it shocking and disturbing,” spokesperson Emily Morgese said of the scandal. “Admissions folks who work on our campuses strive for integrity. To abuse the system in the way they did is so unfortunate.”
“It’s a really important moment for college leaders to take a look at their admissions policies to make sure they aren’t vulnerable,” she said.
Skidmore College spokesperson Diane O’Connor said, “Skidmore has a very thorough admission process and each application is reviewed by multiple admissions staff members. Our admissions officers communicate directly with school guidance counselors regarding a student’s application. Independent educational consultants who work with students are not involved in our admissions decisions. “
“Rensselaer (Polytechnic Institute) has not experienced anything like this,” spokesman Reeve Hamilton said about the scandal. “We regularly review our admissions processes to ensure that best practices are being followed.”
But a passing reference to RPI was made during a Tuesday broadcast of ABC’s Good Morning America in which a parent, responding to the scandal, related their own personal experience with college admissions.
Their son apparently applied to — and was waitlisted — at both Stanford University and RPI, meaning admission was delayed, but not denied.
“Makes me feel good that my son was waitlisted at Stanford and Rensselaer Poly,” the parent Tweeted. “He did it on his own, but probably lost out to one of these kids.”
Wealthy parents who cheat to get their children into elite schools do it at the expense of less privileged students.
The student who applied to RPI ultimately wound up going to the University of Oregon where he’s studying nuclear physics and engineering.
Hamilton said the student and his family are not involved in the national admissions scandal in any way, “but just happens to have had their social media post about it highlighted by Good Morning America.”
The 50 people charged in the Department of Justice prosecution are nine coaches, two SAT and ACT exam administrators, one exam proctor, a college administrator and 33 parents including Loughlin and Huffman.
Jones said it’s critical to safeguard the chain of custody of test results to prevent fraud.
Union College doesn’t require standardized test scores such as SATs during the admissions process, said Matt Malatesta, vice president for admissions, financial aid and enrollment. Students may submit such information, but it’s optional because “it’s not a big predictor of success,” he said.
“The most important piece of the puzzle is the high school transcript,” Malatesta said. “What was their performance? Are they prepared to contribute in the classroom at Union? That’s the best blueprint we have.”
Research indicates that standardized tests are somewhat biased toward wealthy students whose parents went to college and know how to help them prepare for tests. The playing field isn’t level for a first-generation college applicant who doesn’t know anything about SATs, he said.
“Frankly, the thing that surprises me most (about the scandal) is that no one had any hint of it going on,” Malatesta said. “You would have thought there would have been some smoke around this. It’s troubling that parents would lose such sight at what this is all about. That’s what is so mind-boggling to me. The whole thing is perverse, really. It’s sad.”
The investigation involved schools in six states, but none in New York.
“It feels good to have it far away,” Jones said.
The New York State Association for College Admissions sets standards for schools to follows
“As a state we’re very proud of how closely we adhere to those standards,” he said.
The National Association for College Admission Counseling issued a statement urging its members “to redouble their commitment to integrity within the college admission process.”
“This is an unfortunate example of the lengths to which people will go to circumvent and manipulate the college admission process, particularly to gain admission to highly selective colleges,” said Stefanie Niles, association president.