tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/college-admissions-scandal-68113/articlesCollege admissions scandal – The Conversation2022-05-11T12:05:56Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1801912022-05-11T12:05:56Z2022-05-11T12:05:56ZTop athletes have special advantages entering college, like children of alumni<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/462108/original/file-20220509-17-gw8sgn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C25%2C5559%2C3625&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Top college sports prospects get special advantages in their application and admission processes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/near-capacity-crowd-packed-the-rose-bowl-in-pasadena-on-news-photo/1235062265">Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent years, colleges have <a href="https://hub.jhu.edu/magazine/2020/spring/ending-legacy-admissions/">paid more attention</a> to complaints that their <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/us/amherst-college-legacy-admissions.html">admissions decisions give unfair advantages</a> to children of their alumni. Lawmakers in <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2022/02/07/bill-would-cut-student-aid-colleges-legacy-preferences">Congress</a> and <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2021/06/01/colorado-bars-public-colleges-using-legacy-admissions">state</a> <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2022/03/14/new-york-bill-would-ban-legacy-admissions-and-early-decision">legislatures</a> are deciding whether to address the advantages given to these so-called “legacy” admissions.</p>
<p>But as a <a href="https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/artsci/peaceandjustice/facstaff/biodetail.html?mail=rick.eckstein@villanova.edu&xsl=bio_long">scholar of higher education and intercollegiate athletics</a>, I see another group of college applicants also getting preferential treatment: recruited athletes. Recruited athletes are those who are actively pursued and invited by college coaches to join a team, unlike so-called “walk-ons,” who must try out for teams after arriving at college. </p>
<p>The advantages athletes have in college admissions received national attention in 2019. That year, the U.S. Justice Department’s “Operation Varsity Blues” announced <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/03/13/dozens-indicted-alleged-massive-case-admissions-fraud">dozens of federal criminal charges</a> against parents, coaches and others who allegedly helped college applicants fake sporting prowess. But this alleged fraud would not have been possible without the <a href="https://theconversation.com/college-admission-scandal-grew-out-of-a-system-that-was-ripe-for-corruption-113439">systemic admissions advantages</a> already afforded recruited athletes, who tend to be <a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/special-admission/9781978821200">whiter, wealthier and more suburban</a> than the average college applicant.</p>
<h2>Streamlined admissions</h2>
<p>There are three main ways that college admissions practices significantly advantage recruited athletes over academically superior applicants.</p>
<p>The first is a streamlined, hassle-free application process. In her 2021 book,“<a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/special-admission/9781978821200">Special Admission</a>,” <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=5H0MUckAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Kirsten Hextrum</a>, an education professor at the University of Oklahoma, found that recruited athletes were largely chaperoned through the admissions process by athletics staff. This included staff filling out forms for the recruit, hand-delivering application materials to admissions staff and advocating for increased financial aid. </p>
<p>I had similar findings in my own <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442266285/How-College-Athletics-Are-Hurting-Girls-Sports-The-Pay-to-Play-Pipeline">research on college and youth sports</a>. A recruited soccer player told me she only ever heard from the coaching staff between submitting her application materials – to the coaches – and the first day of practice. This included the notification of her acceptance to the school, which normally comes from the admissions office. College officials told me that this service was common for recruited athletes but rare for nonathletes. </p>
<h2>Overlooking academic shortcomings</h2>
<p>A second advantage is that admissions officers at the most elite schools have historically ignored below-average grades and standardized test scores for athletes, but not for other groups.</p>
<p>A study in the early 2000s <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691096193/the-game-of-life">found that athletes</a> recruited to Ivy League universities tended to have significantly lower SAT scores than their nonathlete classmates.</p>
<p>Talented nonathletes, like musicians and actors, were not given similar leeway in their test scores during admissions decisions. <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691123141/reclaiming-the-game">The data</a> specifically showed that athletes with below-average standardized test scores were twice as likely to be admitted as legacy applicants and four times more likely to be admitted as applicants from traditionally underrepresented groups. </p>
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<span class="caption">Actor Lori Loughlin and her husband, clothing designer Mossimo Giannulli, left, depart a federal court in Boston on April 3, 2019, after a hearing on charges in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/CollegeAdmissionsBribery/1c7c6f91e61441e2a1e203e5882c90f5/photo">AP Photo/Steven Senne</a></span>
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<h2>Athlete recruitment and early decision</h2>
<p>Another admissions advantage offered recruited athletes is almost guaranteed acceptance and roster placement if the applicant uses a school’s early decision process.</p>
<p>Journalist Daniel Golden’s 2005 book, “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/68794/the-price-of-admission-updated-edition-by-daniel-golden/">The Price of Admissions</a>,” was among the first detailed accounts of how this privilege operates in practice. Focusing mostly on rowing programs, Golden exposed the streamlined admissions process afforded to recruited athletes but not to applicants with other nonacademic talents. </p>
<p>In their more recent books, former admissions officer <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/10/magazine/college-admissions-paul-tough.html">Paul Tough</a> and investigative reporter <a href="https://jeffselingo.com/books/who-gets-in-and-why/">Jeffrey Selingo</a> shared firsthand accounts of how athletes were given an added boost during the early admission process. One of the strategies used was to provide early reads of athlete applications that all but guarantee admission so long as the applicant used the school’s early decision process. Nonathletes applying through the early decision process also enjoyed <a href="https://jeffselingo.com/books/who-gets-in-and-why/">higher acceptance rates</a> than students applying in the regular decision process, but not as much as athletes.</p>
<h2>Athletics and institutional survival</h2>
<p>Recruited athletes are not just members of sports teams. They are also increasingly integral to the very survival of many colleges, especially smaller liberal arts colleges.</p>
<p>Newly published research in the <a href="http://csri-jiia.org/the-role-of-athletics-in-the-future-of-small-colleges-an-agency-theory-and-value-responsibility-budgeting-approach/">Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics</a> shows that smaller schools are increasingly relying on expanded sports programs to maintain enrollments and keep from closing. At some schools, <a href="http://csri-jiia.org/the-role-of-athletics-in-the-future-of-small-colleges-an-agency-theory-and-value-responsibility-budgeting-approach/">athletes comprise more than half of the student body</a>. Without athletes, these schools would probably shut down.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/can-these-colleges-be-saved-0">survival strategy</a> means schools are continually competing with each other for athletes by spending more on coaches, sports facilities and recruitment. This requires shifting institutional resources away from nonathletic areas, including academics. It also encourages colleges to give top athletes advantages in the admissions process.</p>
<p>Reflecting this trend, data from the <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/10/10/ncaa-sports-sponsorship-and-participation-rates-database.aspx">NCAA</a> and the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_303.10.asp">National Center for Educational Statistics</a> show that, between 2000 and 2020, the number of intercollegiate athletes increased 45%. During that period, the number of full-time undergraduates increased only 33%. At small liberal arts colleges, the number of varsity athletes increased 55% over that same period. </p>
<h2>The myth of college sports and diversity</h2>
<p>Admitting more varsity athletes does little to improve the diversity of social class or racial or geographical diversity in higher education. Except in football, basketball and track, college varsity athletes are disproportionately <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-college-sports-are-often-out-of-reach-for-students-from-low-income-families-167334">white, wealthy and suburban</a>. Those sports comprise <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/10/10/ncaa-sports-sponsorship-and-participation-rates-database.aspx">less than one-third</a> of all college athletes and only 22% of women athletes.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the same <a href="https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2018/12/13/ncaa-demographics-database.aspx">NCAA data</a> shows that only 4% of women’s varsity soccer players and 2% of field hockey players identify as Black, despite Black women comprising <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cha">14% of full-time undergraduates</a>. Rowing and ice hockey, the two fastest-growing women’s college sports, have, respectively, <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cha">2% and 0% of participants</a> identifying as Black.</p>
<p>Colleges’ increased recruitment of athletes has also spawned an enormous suburban youth sports industry that feeds this increased demand and exacerbates social inequality. My own <a href="https://theconversation.com/until-youth-soccer-is-fixed-us-mens-national-team-is-destined-to-fail-85585">research</a> identifies so-called “showcase” tournaments and meets as the key interface between college athletics recruitment and hyper-commercialized youth sports. </p>
<p>Accessing these events requires a family to invest thousands of dollars annually in club and travel sports for their kids. If colleges choose to recruit at these exclusive and expensive events rather than in high schools, intercollegiate sports – and its admissions advantages – will continue to reinforce existing class, racial and geographic inequalities, likely far more than legacy admissions advantages.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rick Eckstein does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>College admissions advantages for recruited athletes likely perpetuate educational inequality even more than those given to children of alumni.Rick Eckstein, Professor of Sociology, Villanova UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1252002019-12-06T13:05:55Z2019-12-06T13:05:55ZLarge-scale education tests often come with side effects<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305275/original/file-20191204-70133-1v5ixw1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Big education tests come with serious side effects, research shows.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-students-takes-test-class-111588524?src=684cac85-7619-4233-ae46-a058eff1d9ce-2-40">YanLev/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When results come out for big education tests like the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which primarily measures 15-year-old students’ knowledge and skills in reading, mathematics and science, the focus is often on which countries scored the highest. </p>
<p>The education systems of countries that do well on this test are often <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03054985.2015.1028525">portrayed</a> as models for the rest of the world. For example, the United Kingdom has committed $54.2 million to help 8,000 schools adopt the math <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201901/28/WS5c4e5bf2a3106c65c34e6c24.html">teaching methods</a> of PISA’s top performer, Shanghai, by 2020. The United Kingdom has adopted Chinese <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/03/british-schools-hope-to-improve-performance-with-chinese-textbooks/520206/">textbooks</a> as well.</p>
<p>Some educators have found that there are problems with emulating the top PISA scorers. Big education tests – known as large-scale assessments in the education world – come, in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2096531119878964">our and our colleagues’ research</a>, with some serious and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2096531119878964">damaging</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-016-9294-4">side effects</a>. Students in countries that did the best on the PISA – the <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/pisa-2018-results.htm">results</a> of which were released on Dec. 3 – often have lower well-being, as measured by students’ satisfaction with life and school. Six out of the top 10 performing countries for reading have student well-being levels that are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1787/19963777">below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average.</a></p>
<p>This suggests to us the need to take a more critical look at what large-scale assessments like the PISA really show and why countries with high PISA scores also score low in well-being.</p>
<p>Another question is whether these tests should hold as much <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED532562.pdf">power</a> as they do when it comes to shaping educational policy and <a href="https://qz.com/1540222/how-changing-the-pisa-test-could-change-how-kids-learn/">practice</a>, or judging the “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/12/03/expert-how-pisa-created-an-illusion-education-quality-marketed-it-world/">quality</a>” of one country’s education system over another.</p>
<p>Here are a series of problems that have been shown to occur when too much emphasis is placed on the results of big education tests like the PISA. </p>
<h2>Distortions</h2>
<p>Big education tests can distort the definition of quality education. For example, high PISA-scoring educational systems, such as Singapore, Finland, Korea and Shanghai, are <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264266490-en">viewed</a> as high-quality systems. But we think the quality of education is <a href="http://zhaolearning.com/2014/03/23/how-does-pisa-put-the-world-at-risk-part-3-creating-illusory-models-of-excellence/">much more than any education test can assess.</a> </p>
<p>Large-scale education tests can also distort what is actually taught in schools by narrowing it to a limited number of assessed subjects: typically reading, math and, in some cases, science. Meanwhile, other subjects, such as music, art, social studies and languages, are overlooked. </p>
<p>Furthermore, these tests can distort instruction by inducing teachers to teach to the test. For example, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which brought tests as accountability measures to U.S. schools, has led to an <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189X14554449?journalCode=edra">increase</a> in instruction time on tested subjects. However, other essential skills, like creativity, problem-solving and organization of knowledge, have been <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/ROE/current">neglected</a>.</p>
<h2>Leads to corruption and cheating</h2>
<p>Large-scale assessments create incentives and pressure that can lead to corruption and cheating. In 2019, for instance, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/12/a-slew-of-ceos-are-charged-in-alleged-college-entrance-cheating-scam.html">50 Americans were charged</a> in a college admission scandal that involved cheating on college entrance exams as well as bribing their children’s way into college.</p>
<p>The cheating is not limited to the U.S. In China, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=STbxAwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT5&dq=Who%27s+afraid+of+the+big+bad+dragon:+Why+China+has+the+best+(and+worst)+education+system+in+the+world.+San+Francisco,+CA:+Jossey-Bass.&ots=SdC5Itu11T&sig=WBLKM0yS0oSvWSNlMDrac_SwbW8#v=onepage&q=Who's%20afraid%20of%20the%20big%20bad%20dragon%3A%20Why%20China%20has%20the%20best%20(and%20worst)%20education%20system%20in%20the%20world.%20San%20Francisco%2C%20CA%3A%20Jossey-Bass.&f=false">cheating</a> on the National College Entrance Exam and large-scale assessments is a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/2229-0443-1-3-36">frequent</a> <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/498328">occurrence</a>.</p>
<h2>Aggravates inequity</h2>
<p>Large-scale assessments can be <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ezekiel_Dixon-Roman/publication/280232788_Race_Poverty_and_SAT_Scores_Modeling_the_Influences_of_Family_Income_on_Black_and_White_High_School_Students%27_SAT_Performance/links/59e187f3a6fdcc7154d376dc/Race-Poverty-and-SAT-Scores-Modeling-the-Influences-of-Family-Income-on-Black-and-White-High-School-Students-SAT-Performance.pdf">biased</a> against students from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1745-3984.2007.00025.x">favor</a> advantaged students. Take the SAT as an example. The scores have a strong positive correlation with family income, which means students from wealthier families <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ezekiel_Dixon-Roman/publication/280232788_Race_Poverty_and_SAT_Scores_Modeling_the_Influences_of_Family_Income_on_Black_and_White_High_School_Students%27_SAT_Performance/links/59e187f3a6fdcc7154d376dc/Race-Poverty-and-SAT-Scores-Modeling-the-Influences-of-Family-Income-on-Black-and-White-High-School-Students-SAT-Performance.pdf">score higher</a> than those from <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1745-3984.2007.00025.x">lower-income families</a>.</p>
<p>As a result, students from lower-income families are not afforded the same opportunities to attend college or end up attending a less prestigious college. This has <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228377895_Socioeconomic_Status_and_College_How_SES_Affects_College_Experiences_and_Outcomes">long-term socioeconomic impact</a> as graduation from college and pursuing advanced degrees have notable differences in lifelong earning opportunities. The ability to attend top-tier colleges greatly increases the <a href="https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/559296/tcf-carnrose.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">likelihood of graduation and being accepted for advanced degrees</a>. When these opportunities are limited due to biased large-scale assessments and unequal opportunities, it may serve only to aggravate inequality and injustice.</p>
<p>In many countries, large-scale assessments are used as gatekeepers to access higher education. This leads parents, teachers, schools, media, policymakers and students to focus on high scores. Scores are then associated with the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2096531119878964">worthiness of students</a>. When scores become equated with worth, it can <a href="https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-11-19-many-frustrated-teachers-say-it-s-not-burnout-it-s-demoralization">demoralize and cause psychological damage</a> to students as well as teachers and other stakeholders.</p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2010.01181.x">Exam-induced suicide</a> has been reported in places such as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46181240">Korea</a>, <a href="https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/2111822/downsides-singapores-education-system-streaming-stress-and">Singapore</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/02/25/whats-behind-the-student-suicides-sweeping-hong-kong/">Hong Kong</a> and China. These countries also tend to be the high achievers on other large-scale assessments like the PISA. </p>
<h2>Potential overlooked</h2>
<p>Large-scale assessments can provide useful information for education policy, but overreliance on test results may cause problems. When the focus is on students’ scores and countries’ ranking, other important things, such as creativity, entrepreneurial thinking, social-emotional well-being and critical thinking, might be neglected. These treasured educational outcomes are things that large-scale assessments often <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2096531119878963">fail to capture</a>.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yurou Wang works as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama, and Project Manager for ECNU Review of Education</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Trina E. Emler is a research assistant at the University of Kansas and education consultant for YEE Education. </span></em></p>While large-scale education assessments, such as the PISA, are meant to show how education systems are faring around the world, evidence shows these assessments come with a host of problems.Yurou Wang, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of AlabamaTrina E. Emler, University of KansasLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1173632019-05-22T12:04:47Z2019-05-22T12:04:47ZThe SAT’s new ‘adversity score’ is a poor fix for a problematic test<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275785/original/file-20190521-23841-1yfnf7b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students' home and family backgrounds will be factored into their SAT scores.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/anxious-teenage-student-sitting-examination-school-769528084?src=PErbZKUUT8mMPzzNMafvBQ-2-91">Monkey Business Images/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The College Board recently revealed a new <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/sat-to-give-students-adversity-score-to-capture-social-and-economic-background-11557999000">“adversity score”</a> that it plans to use as part of the SAT in order to reflect students’ social and economic background. </p>
<p>The mere fact that the College Board sees a need for an “adversity score” is a tacit admission that the SAT isn’t fair for all students. But will the new score – formally called the Environmental Context Dashboard – truly capture the challenges that students face?</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=QjzQkIQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">education researcher</a> who focuses on matters of equity, I believe the new adversity score will be an inadequate remedy for a test that has been inequitable from the start.</p>
<p>Here’s why.</p>
<h2>1. The ‘adversity score’ is flawed</h2>
<p>There are 15 variables in three different areas: family environment, neighborhood environment and high school environment. </p>
<p>The neighborhood environment includes the crime rate, poverty rate, housing values and vacancy rate. </p>
<p>The family environment includes median income, whether the household is single parent, education level of the parent and whether the family speaks English as a second language. </p>
<p>The high school environment includes curricular rigor, the free lunch rate, how many Advanced Placement courses are available and how frequently students “undermatch,” or go to colleges that are less selective than the ones they are qualified to attend.</p>
<p>These factors won’t necessarily explain why a student in a particular area or household did well or poorly on the SAT.</p>
<p>For example, the vacancy rate doesn’t capture gentrification, a phenomenon in which predominantly black neighborhoods are seeing longtime black residents displaced by white, wealthier young professionals. So a child from an economically struggling family could be in neighborhood with low vacancy and high home values, but the child’s family may be struggling to stay in that area.</p>
<p>The adversity score also considers having a single parent as an adversity. However, a student could be in a two-parent household and still face adversity if one or both of the parents has a serious problem, such as drug or alcohol addiction.</p>
<p>Being able to count one of the adversity factors matters in determining the adversity score. As the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/sat-to-give-students-adversity-score-to-capture-social-and-economic-background-11557999000">reports</a>: “An adversity score of 50 is average. Anything above it designates hardship, below it privilege.”</p>
<h2>2. The SAT is rooted in a racist past</h2>
<p>Adding an adversity score to the SAT does nothing to change the racist origin of the test – a past that reverberates to this day.</p>
<p>When Carl Brigham, a professor of psychology at Princeton University, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/where/three.html">created the Scholastic Aptitude Test</a>, now known as the SAT, he was an active member of the <a href="https://www.nature.com/scitable/forums/genetics-generation/america-s-hidden-history-the-eugenics-movement-123919444">Eugenics Society</a>. This society believed in the supremacy of white people and in using education to work for the purposes of preserving the purity of the race.</p>
<p>Brigham wrote a <a href="https://archive.org/stream/studyofamericani00briguoft/studyofamericani00briguoft_djvu.txt">book</a> about what he saw as the inferiority of immigrants and black people to white people. This belief echoed in his <a href="https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/04/against-the-sat-testing-meritocracy-race-class">testing of intelligence</a> for the United States Army. Brigham concluded that “the army mental tests had proven beyond any scientific doubt that, like the American Negroes, the Italians and Jews were genetically ineducable.” He later adapted that test into the SAT.</p>
<p>Although Brigham later <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-racist-origins-of-the-sat">recanted</a> his racist positions, the <a href="https://archive.org/stream/studyofamericani00briguoft/studyofamericani00briguoft_djvu.txt">foundational purpose and theory</a> had been cast.</p>
<p>This practice weighting questions to favor whites has been studied and <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2003-03383-001">verified in 2003</a> by Roy Freedle and again verified in <a href="https://bearcenter.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Wilson%20%2322.pdf">2010</a> by education researchers Veronica Santelices and Mark Wilson.</p>
<p>The SAT’s racist origins continue to echo in today’s formation of test items and how they are ranked. For example, in 2002, education researchers found that items on which black students scored higher than white students were <a href="https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1285&amp=&context=lawreview&amp=&sei-redir=1&referer=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252Furl%253Fq%253Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fdigitalcommons.law.scu.edu%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%25253D1285%252526context%25253Dlawreview%2526sa%253DD%2526ust%253D1538140607175000%2526usg%253DAFQjCNE7hKd6k-dofEZjqSgp_DPh9JynxQ#search=%22https%3A%2F%2Fdigitalcommons.law.scu.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1285%26context%3Dlawreview%22">discarded</a> from the SAT. </p>
<p>A 2010 study confirmed that the test was continually shaped in a <a href="https://bearcenter.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/Wilson%20%2322.pdf">racially discriminatory way</a>.</p>
<p>Newer versions of the SAT have also been found to <a href="https://www.compassprep.com/disadvantaging-female-testers-on-sat-reproof/">disadvantage girls</a>. Newer versions have also contained stereotypes and gender bias.</p>
<p>For instance, a 2015 version of the test asked students to analyze an argument that <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2016/07/01/is-the-college-board-making-the-sat-more-difficult-for-women/#799acfed5f3">a woman’s place is in the home</a>. A different problem on the same test had more boys than girls in a math class.</p>
<p>In short, the adversity score represents a flawed attempt to fix a flawed test.</p>
<h2>3. Test measures wealth</h2>
<p>As has shown by the recent <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/college-admissions-scandal">college admissions scandal</a>, there are several ways that more affluent people game the test. For instance, if students can afford the expensive test preparation programs, they, at minimum, are more familiar with the test format and sample items.</p>
<p>The advantage of money cannot be ignored. High SAT scores are highly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/03/05/these-four-charts-show-how-the-sat-favors-the-rich-educated-families/?utm_term=.0b4016d0aa64">correlated with higher family incomes</a>. This undermines any claims that the SAT is objective. </p>
<p>On a more sinister level, several individuals in the college admission scandal have <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2019/03/16/college-admissions-scandal-how-disabled-students-sat-act-test-accommodations/3164324002/">paid for disability designations</a> so that their children have more time to take the test. </p>
<p>In short, the SAT has never been neutral about race, class or gender.</p>
<h2>Moving away from the SAT</h2>
<p>So, what to do with these facts? The SAT has been proven, time and time again, to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/02/21/a-telling-study-about-act-sat-scores/?utm_term=.3e38cec39d3a">fail as an indicator</a> of achievement in college. It also is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/prestoncooper2/2018/06/11/what-predicts-college-completion-high-school-gpa-beats-sat-score/#6f0d400e4b09">less predictive</a> than high school GPA averages and family income levels.</p>
<p>Based on these disparities, colleges and universities can choose to stop using the test. An <a href="https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-complete-guide-to-sat-optional-colleges">increasing number</a> of institutions of higher education have decided to go test-optional.</p>
<p>If more colleges and students opt out of the SAT, it could break the SAT’s almost centurylong hold as a biased gatekeeper to college. </p>
<p>Short of not using the SAT, admissions officers and colleges could give more consideration to other things, such as essays or recommendation letters.</p>
<p>Admissions officers can also learn to see students’ “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1361332052000341006">community cultural wealth</a>” – as race and education scholar Tara Yosso terms it – rather than seeing high achieving students as the meritorious individuals who have risen above their adverse conditions.</p>
<p>Students of color with the least advantage in terms of wealth don’t need saviors – they need a more just society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117363/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leigh Patel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The College Board is adding a new ‘adversity score’ to the SAT to take students’ socioeconomic backgrounds into account. Will the move correct long-standing disparities in the college entrance exam?Leigh Patel, Associate Dean for Equity and Justice, University of PittsburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1155022019-05-13T21:33:08Z2019-05-13T21:33:08ZU.S. college admissions scandal means more skepticism of genuine invisible disabilities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271210/original/file-20190426-194620-1f5bxcx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C0%2C1994%2C901&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">William "Rick" Singer, front, is alleged to have
helped some families secure fake learning disability diagnoses. Here he exits U.S. federal court in Boston after he pleaded guilty to charges in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal, March 12, 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Steven Senne)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many have been shocked or disgusted to see <a href="https://theconversation.com/subsidized-privilege-the-real-scandal-of-american-universities-113792">a parade of privileged U.S. parents face charges</a> after an alleged <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47585336">$20 million in bribes was paid between 2011 and 2018 by people seeking to cheat the normal college admissions process</a>. </p>
<p>Admissions consultant <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/us/william-rick-singer-admissions-scandal.html">William Singer</a> is alleged to have helped his clients game the admissions system, including advising parents <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/hollywood-actors-ceos-charged-nationwide-college-admissions-cheating/story?id=61627873">to get medical documentation stating their child had a learning disability</a>, which can <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/us/college-admissions-scandal-questions.html">give students more time on tests or allow test-taking without regular supervision</a>.</p>
<p>Abuses of disability diagnoses like these cheat students with genuine disabilities who may now be more likely to face skepticism about their diagnoses <a href="https://www.vox.com/first-person/2019/3/14/18265874/college-admissions-fraud-fbi-disability-accommodations">or be forced to revisit struggles they faced regarding accommodations</a>. They also spotlight larger questions of fairness regarding accommodations for invisible disabilities in post-secondary education. </p>
<p>Since at least the mid-1990s, after groundbreaking <a href="https://adata.org/learn-about-ada">anti-discrimination laws were introduced in the U.S.</a>, both <a href="http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/9603127756/learning-disability-scam">journalistic investigation</a> and <a href="https://www.educationnext.org/unflaggedsats/">academic research</a> has examined signs that some people exploit accommodations designed for invisible disability diagnoses (such as learning disabilities or ADHD) to gain advantage. </p>
<p>Studies warned how easily students could feign <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18636398">learning disabilities</a> or <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20528060">Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD)</a>. </p>
<p>As a researcher, I’ve studied <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0829573513508527?journalCode=cjsa">clinician bias</a> and issues that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26794674">interfere with accurate diagnosis of ADHD</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18636398">learning disabilities</a>. </p>
<p>I also work as a <a href="https://www.queensu.ca/rarc/about/rarc-staff">clinician</a> at an assessment centre that <a href="http://www.ldao.ca/introduction-to-ldsadhd/articles/about-assessment/how-can-students-with-learn/">helps students with learning disabilities transition to and succeed in post-secondary education</a>. </p>
<h2>Financial privilege and diagnoses</h2>
<p>In 2000, the California state auditor reported that rates of learning-disability-related accommodations provided on college entrance exams were <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-01-mn-59734-story.html">heavily skewed towards rich, white students throughout the state</a>: by contrast, the number of learning disability accommodations provided to students in inner-city Los Angeles schools <a href="https://www.educationnext.org/unflaggedsats/">was zero</a>. </p>
<p>This pattern is repeated throughout the U.S.: <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002221949703000603?journalCode=ldxa">high parental income correlates with high rates of learning disability diagnosis and associated academic accommodations</a>. These discrepancies don’t prove fraudulent diagnoses, but they do raise questions regarding why higher rates of learning disability diagnoses are associated with financial privilege whereas <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002221949703000603?journalCode=ldxa">rates of physical disabilities show no such association</a>. </p>
<p>According to a <em>The New York Times</em> report, Singer allegedly told one client that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/us/college-admissions-probe.html">for $4,000 or $5,000 he could get a psychologist to write a report</a> stating the client’s daughter “had disabilities and required special accommodations.” </p>
<p>This suggests psychologists were available who could either produce diagnoses on demand or who could be duped. </p>
<p>Honest psychologists can be fooled. Clinicians are generally inclined to regard their clients as honest. Some research suggests that someone who <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0196903">reads slowly or with difficulty, or seems to have problems processing information will often capture a disability diagnosis</a> and get awarded the extra test-taking time that goes with it.</p>
<h2>When is a fair accommodation fair?</h2>
<p>Accommodations at the post-secondary level are supposed to ensure that those with disabilities <a href="https://brocku.ca/human-rights/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/Academic-Accommodations-for-Students-with-Disabilities-Policy.pdf">have an equal opportunity to participate</a>; they ensure access, not success. </p>
<p>In the case of physical disabilities, the principle of equal opportunity is easier to grasp. For example, having an exam provided in braille means a student who is blind can read the questions. Such an accommodation would confer no advantage to those who can see: if a person pretended to be blind and accessed a braille exam, there’s no benefit. </p>
<p>Advocates of learning disability accommodations <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/08/us/fictitious-learning-disabled-student-is-at-center-of-lawsuit-against-college.html">have asserted</a> that accommodations don’t provide an unfair advantage. </p>
<p>But, in fact, research has suggested giving more than 25 per cent extra time <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0734282912462693?journalCode=jpaa">provides a competitive advantage to reading disabled students relative to their university peers</a>, and extra time in general <a href="https://www.queensu.ca/rarc/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.rarcwww/files/files/HIDC%20Presentations/Lewandowski%2C%20Larry%20breakout.pdf">helps all students</a> including those with <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23590977">ADHD</a>. </p>
<p>Singer allegedly told a client <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/03/college-admissions-scandal-9-revealing-moments/584803/">“wealthy families…figured out that if I get my kid tested and they get extended time, they can do better on the test. So most of these kids don’t even have issues, but they’re getting time.”</a> For those feigning a disability, any amount of extra time gives a leg up on peers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272900/original/file-20190506-103078-15t5ozm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272900/original/file-20190506-103078-15t5ozm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272900/original/file-20190506-103078-15t5ozm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272900/original/file-20190506-103078-15t5ozm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272900/original/file-20190506-103078-15t5ozm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272900/original/file-20190506-103078-15t5ozm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272900/original/file-20190506-103078-15t5ozm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some research suggests more time on tests helps all students including those with ADHD.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Feigning in Canada</h2>
<p>To my knowledge, no comprehensive research exists about the prevalence of gaming disability accommodations in Canadian universities.</p>
<p>But suggesting <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/college-admissions-scheme-canada-scandal-1.5056529">there is less opportunity to game the Canadian system</a> misses something: the possibility of students with no learning issues using disabilities accommodations to gain extra test time in courses before applying to highly competitive undergraduate or graduate programs, or before writing standardized tests like the <a href="https://www.lsac.org/lsat">Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)</a>.</p>
<p>In one study of 144 cases of post-secondary students undergoing testing for learning disabilities or ADHD, my colleagues and I found <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09084281003715642">definitive evidence that 15 per cent were feigning or exaggerating</a>. That percentage is a bit higher than the estimated range suggested in a survey of disability services personnel at 122 Canadian post-secondary institutions: the majority (90 per cent) reported they suspected fewer than 10 per cent of students to be feigning disabilities; however, a sizeable minority <a href="http://www.ijdcr.ca/VOL11_01/articles/harrison.shtml">(10 per cent) of respondents suspected that between 10 – 25 per cent of students receiving accommodations were not genuine</a>. </p>
<p>Respondents felt learning disabilities and ADHD were the most vulnerable to feigning, followed by psychiatric disorders. A sizeable number also believed parents were diagnosis shopping to get the diagnosis they wanted for their child.</p>
<p>Certainly, it’s understandable that in the face of unexpected learning struggles students (or their parents) would search for answers. But why might students or parents intentionally exploit a diagnosis? The rewards at the post-secondary level include not only more time on tests, but also <a href="https://wellness.uoguelph.ca/accessibility/what-we-do/accommodations/memory-aids">memory aids for exams</a>, <a href="https://osap.gov.on.ca/prodconsumption/groups/forms/documents/forms/prdr018606.htm">a government bursary to purchase a new laptop</a> or financial supports and <a href="https://www.osap.gov.on.ca/OSAPPortal/en/A-ZListofAid/PRDR019233.html">government-funded disability bursaries</a>.</p>
<p>Even when students are being honest, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00222194020350040601">many studies</a> show that clinicians have a diagnostic bias: for example, a survey of 119 clinicians who authored learning disability or ADHD-specific documentation submitted by students seeking academic accommodations at Canadian universities found 55 per cent of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0829573513508527?journalCode=cjsa">clinicians already believe that the purpose of an evaluation is to help secure accommodations for their clients</a>. This same study found that <a href="https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fjournals.sagepub.com%2Fdoi%2Fabs%2F10.1177%2F0829573513508527%3FjournalCode%3Dcjsa&data=02%7C01%7Charrisna%40queensu.ca%7C6c39e29f6fcd49665b6908d6bf6e1193%7Cd61ecb3b38b142d582c4efb2838b925c%7C1%7C0%7C636906876790222440&sdata=xmmZHUa7nlJE5BdTpeWlQDlqIWEWDpHI8l1ttTr%2Fm40%3D&reserved=0">14 per cent of psychologists admitted</a> that they would lie (or at least bend the rules) in order to obtain accommodations for their clients. </p>
<h2>What should change?</h2>
<p>We need to find a way to ensure equal access for students with genuine disabilities while de-incentivizing false disability diagnoses among post-secondary students. This means rethinking how we evaluate students. </p>
<p>Let’s start by getting rid of time as a test-taking variable. Let’s also give all students use of word processors when writing essay-type tests. </p>
<p>The U.S. College admissions scandal has shown that accommodations for invisible disabilities are set up in a way that could allow non-disabled people to exploit such diagnoses for a perceived benefit. This is not what disability accommodation was supposed to do.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115502/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Allyson G. Harrison receives funding from the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. She has acted as an external documentation reviewer for many post-secondary institutions in Canada, and multiple testing organizations in Canada and the United States, reviewing documentation submitted on behalf of applicants requesting accommodation. </span></em></p>Abuses of disability diagnoses cheat students with disabilities who are now more likely to face skepticism about their diagnoses.Allyson G. Harrison, Associate Professor of Psychology and Clinical Director, Regional Assessment & Resource Centre, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1136162019-04-03T10:49:03Z2019-04-03T10:49:03ZWhat causes greed and how can we deal with it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266865/original/file-20190401-177190-1tvepqr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Human beings want more even if it comes at the expense of others.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-hands-counting-100-dollar-bills-1061140922">svershinsky/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent news stories have highlighted unethical and even lawless actions taken by people and corporations that were motivated primarily by greed. </p>
<p>Federal prosecutors, for example, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/feds-uncover-massive-college-entrance-exam-cheating-plot-n982136">charged 33 wealthy parents, some of whom were celebrities,</a> with paying bribes to get their children into top colleges. In another case, lawyer Michael Avenatti <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/michael-avenatti-stormy-daniels-lawyer-arrested-on-fraud-charges">was accused of trying to extort millions</a> from Nike, the sports company. </p>
<p>Allegations of greed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/lawsuit-claims-sackler-family-disregarded-safety-opioid-addiction-in-purdue-push-to-profit-from-oxycontin/2019/02/01/5d29e072-2660-11e9-90cd-dedb0c92dc17_story.html?utm_term=.2d695cdc0d66">are listed in the lawsuit filed against members of Sackler family</a>, the owners of Purdue Pharma, accused of pushing powerful painkillers as well as the treatment for addiction. </p>
<p>In all of these cases, individuals or companies seemingly had wealth and status to spare, yet they allegedly took actions to gain even further advantage. Why would such successful people or corporations allegedly commit crimes to get more? </p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-arts-and-sciences/religion/about-us/directory/laura-alexander.php">scholar</a> of <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Meaning_of_My_Neighbor_s_Faith.html?id=ThqNuwEACAAJ">comparative religious ethics</a>, I frequently teach basic principles of moral thought in diverse religious traditions. </p>
<p>Religious thought can help us understand human nature and provide ethical guidance, including in cases of greed like the ones mentioned here.</p>
<h2>Anxiety and injustice</h2>
<p>The work of the 20th-century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr on human anxiety offers one possible explanation for what might drive people to seek more than they already have or need. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266867/original/file-20190401-177193-xmxiac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reinhold Niebuhr.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Associated-Press-Domestic-News-United-States-DR-/bf0246aa60e5da11af9f0014c2589dfb/2/0">AP Photo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Niebuhr was arguably the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/11/a-man-for-all-reasons/306337/">most famous</a> theologian of his time. He was a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1971/06/02/archives/reinhold-niebuhr-is-dead-protestant-theologian-78-reinhold-niebuhr.html">mentor to several public figures</a>. These included <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/washington/01schlesinger.html">Arthur Schlesinger Jr.</a>, a historian who served in the Kennedy White House, and <a href="https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/short-history/kennan">George F. Kennan</a>, a diplomat and an adviser on Soviet affairs. Niebuhr also came to have a deep influence on former President <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/26/opinion/26brooks.html">Barack Obama</a>.</p>
<p>Niebuhr said the human tendency to perpetuate injustice is the result of a deep sense of existential anxiety, which is part of the human condition. In his work <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Nature_and_Destiny_of_Man.html?id=6leCJZJYXm8C">“The Nature and Destiny of Man,”</a> Niebuhr described human beings as creatures of both “spirit” and “nature.” </p>
<p>As “spirit,” human beings have consciousness, which allows them to rise above the sensory experiences they have in any given moment. </p>
<p>Yet, at the same time, he said, human beings do have physical bodies, senses and instincts, like any other animal. They are part of the natural world and are subject to the risks and vulnerabilities of mortality, including death.</p>
<p>Together, these traits mean that human beings are not just mortal, but also conscious of that mortality. This juxtaposition leads to a deeply felt anxiety, which, according to Niebuhr, is the <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Nature_and_Destiny_of_Man.html?id=6leCJZJYXm8C">“inevitable spiritual state of man.”</a></p>
<p>To deal with the anxiety of knowing they will die, Niebuhr says, human beings are tempted to – and often do – grasp at whatever means of security seem within their reach, such as knowledge, material goods or prestige.</p>
<p>In other words, people seek certainty in things that are inherently uncertain. </p>
<h2>Hurting others</h2>
<p>This is a fruitless task by definition, but the bigger problem is that the quest for certainty in one’s own life almost always harms others. As <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Nature_and_Destiny_of_Man.html?id=6leCJZJYXm8C">Niebuhr writes</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Man is, like the animals, involved in the necessities and contingencies of nature; but unlike the animals he sees this situation and anticipates its perils. He seeks to protect himself against nature’s contingencies; but he cannot do so without transgressing the limits which have been set for his life. Therefore all human life is involved in the sin of seeking security at the expense of other life.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The case of parents who may have <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/feds-uncover-massive-college-entrance-exam-cheating-plot-n982136">committed fraud</a> to gain coveted spots for their children at prestigious colleges offers an example of trying to find some of this certainty. That comes at the expense of others, who cannot gain admission to a college because another child has gotten in via illegitimate means. </p>
<p>As other research has shown, such anxiety may be more acute in those with higher social status. The fear of loss, among other things, could well <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-rich-parents-are-more-likely-to-be-unethical-113605">drive such actions</a>.</p>
<h2>What we can learn from the Buddha</h2>
<p>While Niebuhr’s analysis can help many of us understand the motivations behind greed, other religious traditions might offer further suggestions on how to deal with it.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266869/original/file-20190401-177187-kc1ub5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Head of the Buddha from Hadda, Central Asia, Gandhara art, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buddha_Victoria_%26_Albert.jpg">Michel wal</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Several centuries ago, the Buddha said that human beings have a tendency to attach themselves to “things” – sometimes material objects, sometimes “possessions” like prestige or reputation.</p>
<p>Scholar <a href="https://www.gold.ac.uk/history/staff/d-keown/">Damien Keown</a> explains in his book on <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Buddhist_Ethics_A_Very_Short_Introductio.html?id=WXtYad4PTLcC">Buddhist ethics</a> that in Buddhist thought, the whole universe is interconnected and ever-changing. People perceive material things as stable and permanent, and we desire and try to hold onto them.</p>
<p>But since loss is inevitable, our desire for things causes us to suffer. Our response to that suffering is often to <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-indian-buddhism/">grasp at things</a> more and more tightly. But we end up harming others in our quest to make ourselves feel better.</p>
<p>Taken together, these thinkers provide insight into acts of greed committed by those who already have so much. At the same time, the teachings of the Buddha suggest that our most strenuous efforts to keep things for ourselves cannot overcome their impermanence. In the end, we will always lose what we are trying to grasp.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113616/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura E. Alexander does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some parents were recently charged with paying bribes for their children’s admission to top colleges. Religious thought can help us understand what drives such greed and also provide ethical guidance.Laura E. Alexander, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Goldstein Family Community Chair in Human Rights, University of Nebraska OmahaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1138762019-03-27T10:32:29Z2019-03-27T10:32:29ZHow higher ed can earn the public’s trust after the admissions scandal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265384/original/file-20190322-36256-ku6cdu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Carol Folt, the next president of the University of Southern California.
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/USC-President/64b0097a56d346049a8366d53c3a963d/11/0">AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/12/us/college-admission-cheating-scheme/index.html">college admissions scandal</a> is exposing <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/us/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-massimo-giannulli.html">illegal</a> and <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/03/18/admissions-scandal-focuses-attention-legal-donations-parents">unethical</a> conduct by dozens of people who paid or took bribes to get students into the University of Southern California and other elite universities. Concerns about <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2019/03/14/the-college-admissions-scandal-proves-that-we-need-affirmative-action/">social justice</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-meritocracy-is-a-myth-in-college-admissions-113620">meritocracy</a>, <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/03/huffman-loughlin-college-admission-tactics.html">parental overreach</a>, <a href="https://www.jkcf.org/research/true-merit-ensuring-our-brightest-students-have-access-to-our-best-colleges-and-universities/">privileges tied to wealth</a> and <a href="https://www.philanthropy.com/article/College-Admissions-Scandal/245888">philanthropy</a> are rampant. </p>
<p>It’s also pointing to another widespread concern that troubles us as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004389632_008">scholars who study</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jRXwFcMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">higher education and the public good</a>.</p>
<p>Americans have traditionally viewed higher education as an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2018.1449578">essential public good</a> because it fosters a strong workforce and effective citizens. We believe that the admissions scandal is undercutting the <a href="https://agb.org/reports-and-statements/public-confidence-in-higher-education/">public’s faith in its value</a>.</p>
<h2>Questions about accountability</h2>
<p>Faith in higher education serving the needs of all Americans is the rationale for the annual investment of <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2015/06/federal-and-state-funding-of-higher-education">an estimated US$158 billion</a> of public funds in public and private schools. Now, perhaps more than ever, Americans are questioning whether we’re getting our money’s worth. </p>
<p>Are we?</p>
<p>It’s hard to know, because it’s unclear who is supposed to hold institutions <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2016/10/20/higher-education-should-be-a-public-good-not-a-private-commodity/">accountable on behalf of taxpayers</a>. Yet all of us pay for federal, state and local <a href="https://www.aau.edu/key-issues/tax-exempt-status-universities-and-colleges">tax breaks</a> and research funding. </p>
<p>The admissions fiasco is hardly the first controversy to make higher ed look bad. </p>
<p>Most recently, athletic debacles have rocked <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/Penn-States-Culture-of/132853">Pennsylvania State University</a>, <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/12/11/fund-raising-times-crisis-tough-balancing-act">the University of Maryland</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/04ef5fca19f942ca8b45870fc014bdb5">Michigan State University</a>. Legacies of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/03/19/admission-system-is-worse-than-broken-its-fixed/?utm_source=eblast&utm_term=.b696684ef7fa">racial</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2012/05/02/poor-students-are-the-real-victims-of-college-discrimination/#38b1a9db610e">class</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/10/15/harvard-admissions-goes-trial-university-faces-claim-bias-against-asian-americans">ethnic</a>, <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2018/11/06/antireligious-bias-academy">religious</a> and <a href="https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2018-11-02/how-gender-influences-college-admissions">gender</a> bias remain at many institutions.</p>
<p>Sloppy financial management has afflicted <a href="https://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/20190316/house-panel-ucf-misused-85m-for-building-projects">the University of Central Florida</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2018/03/29/howard-university-students-occupy-administration-building-amid-financial-aid-scandal/">Howard University</a>. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/health/baselga-cancer-conflict-disclosure.html">Conflicts of interest</a> have plagued <a href="https://blogs.bcm.edu/2018/11/02/the-perils-of-partnering-for-profit/">Baylor</a>, the <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/U-of-Illinois-at-Chicago/245931?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&cid=at">University of Illinois-Chicago</a> and <a href="https://blogs.bcm.edu/2018/11/02/the-perils-of-partnering-for-profit/">many others</a>. Questions have arisen about whether schools are bowing too much to the whims of their donors at <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/Here-s-Why-Politically/243389">George Mason University</a> and the <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/03/19/unusual-donor-agreement-unlv-raises-questions-about-fund-raising-and-governance">University of Nevada, Las Vegas</a>. </p>
<p>Each infraction and scandal chips away at the public’s trust. </p>
<h2>Long-term investment</h2>
<p>From the earliest days of the new republic, America’s leaders understood that a society freed from aristocratic and despotic dominance requires an educated populace to participate in its governance. </p>
<p>“Nothing is of more importance for the public weal, than to form and train up youth in wisdom and virtue,” proclaimed <a href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-04-02-0009">Ben Franklin</a>.</p>
<p>In the intervening centuries, this nation has not only believed in this admonition but put its money where Franklin’s words were, as <a href="https://agb.org/resources/trusteeshipmagazine/">we documented</a> in <a href="https://www.tiaainstitute.org/publication/public-good-productivity-and-purpose">two research papers</a>. Universities create <a href="https://compact.org/resource-posts/stepping-forward-as-stewards-of-place-a-guide-for-leading-public-engagement-at-state-colleges-and-universities/">life-improving</a>, and <a href="https://www.aau.edu/basic-research-led-life-saving-medical-advances">even life-saving</a>, knowledge. They <a href="https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/crucible/Crucible_508F.pdf">contribute to society in important ways</a>, ranging from the creation of the internet to advances in immunotherapies and vaccines.</p>
<p>Virtually every college and university takes advantage of public funds in the form of federal and state tuition <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-postsecondary/reports/2018/06/20/451899/beyond-tuition/">subsidies</a> and direct investments, federal and state research funding, and tax benefits for donors and charitable entities. In addition to the <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2015/06/federal-and-state-funding-of-higher-education">$158 billion in annual government funding</a>, there’s <a href="https://www.case.org/About_CASE/Newsroom/Press_Release_Archive/2018_VSE_Survey_Finds_Charitable_Giving_to_US_Colleges_and_Universities_Continuing_Upward_Trend.html">$46 billion in donations</a> from individuals, corporations and foundations – often eligible for tax breaks. This money is spent directly and indirectly on about <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372">20 million currently enrolled students</a>.</p>
<p>There is also the matter of the <a href="https://studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt-statistics/">$1.56 trillion debt</a> the federal government guarantees for student loans.</p>
<h2>Declining confidence</h2>
<p>Even before the admissions scandal broke, a <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/10/09/gallup-survey-finds-falling-confidence-higher-education">Gallup poll</a> indicated that less than half of American adults have faith in higher education. A <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/07/26/most-americans-say-higher-ed-is-heading-in-wrong-direction-but-partisans-disagree-on-why/">Pew poll</a> found that the public is worried about the direction higher education is taking.</p>
<p>Perhaps reflecting those sentiments, some <a href="https://hechingerreport.org/americans-think-state-funding-for-higher-ed-has-held-steady-or-risen-survey-finds/">state funding for higher ed has been redirected</a> to other priorities. Parents and prospective students are asking themselves if <a href="https://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/average-published-undergraduate-charges-sector-2018-19">college is worth its rising tab</a>, including the mountain of debt former students owe in exchange for making their own <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-proposes-overhaul-gainful-employment-regulations">gainful employment</a> more likely.</p>
<p>Political parties are <a href="http://www.people-press.org/2017/07/10/sharp-partisan-divisions-in-views-of-national-institutions/">sharply divided</a> on the value of higher education and whether <a href="https://www.apmresearchlab.org/stories/2019/02/25/colleges-funding-university-loans-students-free-tuition-government-aid-research-survey">public funding</a> has kept up with need. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265705/original/file-20190325-36283-mwrqpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265705/original/file-20190325-36283-mwrqpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265705/original/file-20190325-36283-mwrqpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265705/original/file-20190325-36283-mwrqpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265705/original/file-20190325-36283-mwrqpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265705/original/file-20190325-36283-mwrqpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265705/original/file-20190325-36283-mwrqpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265705/original/file-20190325-36283-mwrqpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A former soccer coach at Yale has pleaded guilty and helped build the case against other suspects in the college admissions scandal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/College-Admissions-Bribery/8771beb3e9894be3b1af32623c87c1a8/249/0">AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Accountability</h2>
<p>A nongovernmental <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED544355">voluntary system of accreditation</a> through which all higher ed institutions submit to scrutiny regarding self-defined financial, operational and academic standards and criteria has been in place for nearly 100 years.</p>
<p>The federal government, through the Education Department, has <a href="https://www.chea.org/about-accreditation">delegated authority</a> to the seven regional and two national accreditation agencies. Meeting their standards on such matters as academic achievement and financial viability is mandatory to be eligible for receiving federal funds, especially student aid. States rely on this system as a proxy for financial and operational integrity too.</p>
<p>In our view, these scandals suggest that this approach to oversight is falling short, largely because the observations are kept confidential. If accreditors were to make all aspects of their review and findings public, their work would accomplish much more.</p>
<p>To be sure, some approaches to professional self-regulation, including the systems that doctors and lawyers use, do a reasonable job of earning the public’s trust. But clearer and higher standards of professional conduct are needed in the academic profession if the public’s trust is to be maintained. <a href="https://www.hlrcjournal.com/index.php/HLRC/article/view/332">We and</a> <a href="https://www.tcpress.com/faculty-work-and-the-public-good-9780807756171">other colleagues</a> argue that the academy needs to reaffirm its commitment to the public good as individual faculty members by ensuring that their own teaching and <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/Duke-to-Pay-1125-Million-to/245970?cid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en&cid=pm">research advances the common good</a> and is conducted ethically.</p>
<p>Among other things, all faculty and administrators must disclose conflicts of interest such as medical researchers <a href="https://www.thebalance.com/who-funds-biomedical-research-2663193">funded by pharmaceutical companies</a> who may potentially put patients at risk if they rel on inconclusive results. These rules demand rigorous enforcement.</p>
<p>Most of the voluntary institutional associations that encompass all of higher education running the gamut from <a href="https://www.aacc.nche.edu/about-us/mission-statement/">community colleges</a> to <a href="https://www.aau.edu/key-issues/accreditation-accountability">elite research universities</a> attest to their members’ integrity and accountability. Yet they have few mechanisms in place to scrutinize members’ conduct other than relying on promises to adhere to the organizations’ principles and values. They should, and soon. </p>
<p>Other voluntary higher ed associations, such as the <a href="https://www.aacu.org/">American Association of Colleges and Universities</a> and the <a href="https://www.nacubo.org/who-we-are/about-nacubo">National Association of University and College Business Officers</a>, highlight the importance of self-regulation to maintain the public trust. Such groups need to prove that they mean it by at least requiring an annual personal reaffirmation of adherence to standards by the president on behalf of the institution, along with paying dues. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.sheeo.org/node/1136">State coordinating bodies</a> for higher education, the <a href="http://www.ncaa.org/about/what-we-do/fairness-and-integrity">NCAA</a> and the <a href="http://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml">NAIA</a>, governmental agencies like the federal <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/enforcement_litigation.cfm">Equal Employment Opportunity Commission</a>, and the <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/policy/landing.jhtml?src=ft">Department of Education</a> are also supposed to hold colleges and universities accountable. Most are overwhelmed by numbers of members and alleged infractions with limited capacity to enforce well-meaning rules, but each of these bodies can do more.</p>
<h2>Trustees</h2>
<p>What’s more, higher ed trustees are supposed to be holding the institutions they oversee accountable. Boards of <a href="https://agb.org/reports-and-statements/agb-statement-on-board-accountability/">trustees or governors</a> have the ultimate responsibility for institutional performance and integrity, as promulgated by the <a href="https://agb.org/about-us/">Association of Governing Boards</a> and <a href="https://www.goacta.org/about/mission">others</a>. As variously prescribed by the <a href="http://www.fldoe.org/schools/higher-ed/fl-college-system/trustees/role-responsibility-of-a-trustee.stml">states</a>, trustees are legally <a href="https://www.boardeffect.com/blog/roles-responsibilities-board-directors-college-university/">responsible</a> for their institutions.</p>
<p>Trustees <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-the-College-Degree-Is-a/245923">own the consequences</a> of the actions of the people they oversee and the moral climate they inculcate. Individually, each trustee has a personal responsibility to know <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/01/29/trustees-face-pressure-resign-michigan-state-its-hard-force-out-boards">what “trust” means</a>, even if only the collective actions of a board have formal authority. We argue that trustees should discuss annually the institution’s contribution to the public good and include this aspect of institutional accountability in their assessment of CEO performance.</p>
<p>Trustees have a fiduciary duty, but <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/03/18/feel-like-college-application-process-is-out-control-heres-how-keep-it-ethical/">others must step up too</a>, including the parents of aspiring students, college officials, coaches and all faculty members. For there can be no institutional accountability without individual responsibility.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113876/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Genevieve Shaker receives funding from the TIAA Institute.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Plater is an unpaid trustee of Antioch University. He served as a WASC Senior Commission of Universities and Colleges commissioner from 2007 to 2011. It is a regional accrediting agency serving public and private higher education institutions throughout California, Hawaii, and the Pacific, as well as some outside the U.S.</span></em></p>New systems with stricter rules would make it easier to hold colleges and universities accountable on behalf of the taxpayers who support them.Genevieve Shaker, Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, IUPUIWilliam Plater, Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of Public Affairs, Philanthropy, and English; Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculties Emeritus, IUPUILicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1137582019-03-24T17:49:28Z2019-03-24T17:49:28ZAussie parents are under pressure to buy their kids academic advantage too<p>Allegations of parents <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/hollywood-actors-ceos-charged-nationwide-college-admissions-cheating/story?id=61627873">cheating and bribing</a> top-tier universities in the US to secure their children’s admission have caused a media storm in recent weeks. Those indicted included members of the Hollywood elite. </p>
<p>The US attorney said “there can be no separate college admissions system for the wealthy”. The parents’ actions were denounced, in a system that claims it does not, and will not, allow parents to purchase academic success. </p>
<p>But the reality is that the education system feeds into the “choice” parents make.
In Australia, and elsewhere, the system doesn’t favour academic merit, but parental wealth. Instead of meritocracy, we see a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10780-015-9261-7">parentocracy</a> – the actions and wealth of parents act as key determinants of a child’s academic success.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/college-admission-scandal-grew-out-of-a-system-that-was-ripe-for-corruption-113439">College admission scandal grew out of a system that was ripe for corruption</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Parentocracy not meritocracy</h2>
<p>Caregivers using privilege to buy their children’s way into, and through, education is not a Hollywood anomaly, nor the domain of elites.</p>
<p>Governments and education officials may claim education systems are pillars of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-your-parents-level-of-education-affects-your-chances-44506">meritocracy</a>, with effort and ability key to success. But the middle class have long being recognised for their ability to <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-poor-kids-continue-to-do-poorly-in-the-education-game-23500">use their economic and cultural resources</a> to negotiate education systems on behalf of their children. </p>
<p>For example, research demonstrates Australian parents use economic resources to:</p>
<ul>
<li>enrol children in academic tutoring specifically to <a href="https://theconversation.com/selective-schools-increasingly-cater-to-the-most-advantaged-students-74151">prepare them for selective schools tests</a></li>
<li>have children <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17508487.2013.877051?scroll=top&needAccess=true&journalCode=rcse20">attend NAPLAN skills days and camps</a> after school and in school holidays</li>
<li><a href="https://tasa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Bousfield.pdf">buy practice test books</a> and additional resources to prepare children for standardised examinations including NAPLAN and HSC (and similar senior school certificates)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01596306.2015.1061976?journalCode=cdis20">engage academically able children</a> in private tutoring to ensure an “academic edge”</li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/school-choice-no-great-love-for-the-private-path-but-parents-follow-the-money-40376">participate in school choice markets</a> including enrolling children in private schools with extra resources and state-of-the-art facilities</li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/location-matters-most-to-parents-when-choosing-a-public-school-41090">buy real estate in catchment areas</a> enabling enrolment in preferred public schools.</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/location-matters-most-to-parents-when-choosing-a-public-school-41090">Location matters most to parents when choosing a public school</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Education policy and parenting</h2>
<p>It’s too simplistic, however, to write off the actions and spending of parents as a personal choice made only to seek educational advantage for their children. The way we parent reflects more than an individual’s choice. Parenting practice echoes the society we parent in and the institutions (including schools) we interact with.</p>
<p>If we are to talk about parents’ interactions with schools, we must also reflect on government policy. </p>
<p>Let’s consider NAPLAN and the My School website. The introduction of NAPLAN in 2008 and My School in 2010 was a significant change for Australian parents. For the first time, they received student reports that measured not only their child’s individual achievement but their achievement against other students in their school and against a national average. My School allowed comparison of whole school results with other schools nationwide. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-poor-kids-continue-to-do-poorly-in-the-education-game-23500">Why poor kids continue to do poorly in the education game</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Government touted both policies as means to individualism – providing freedom and opportunity for parents to enhance their “informed choice” in decisions involving their child’s education. But, for some parents, new information resulted in new pressures and new obligations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265233/original/file-20190322-93051-1b0sog6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265233/original/file-20190322-93051-1b0sog6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265233/original/file-20190322-93051-1b0sog6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265233/original/file-20190322-93051-1b0sog6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265233/original/file-20190322-93051-1b0sog6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265233/original/file-20190322-93051-1b0sog6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265233/original/file-20190322-93051-1b0sog6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265233/original/file-20190322-93051-1b0sog6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Parents want the best for their child.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a case in point, research tells us NAPLAN has resulted in anxiety for some parents, and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17508487.2013.877051?scroll=top&needAccess=true&journalCode=rcse20">many are concerned</a> about how NAPLAN results are used. In one study, parents said they were worried about requests from secondary schools to bring NAPLAN reports along to interviews prior to enrolment. </p>
<p>For many this means NAPLAN is not just a source of information. Poor results could pose an educational risk. And parents are trying to negate that risk.</p>
<p>To alleviate perceived risk, parents have participated in an ever-growing NAPLAN market. <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/education/brands-cash-in-on-naplan-test-fear-20130510-2jdma.html">The sale of NAPLAN practice test books</a>, for example, almost doubled from 2011 to 2012. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01596306.2015.1061976?journalCode=cdis20">Private tutoring and coaching colleges</a> offering targeted NAPLAN services have seen exponential growth. An estimated <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-28/high-school-students-paying-thousands-for-tutoring/8994644">one in seven</a> Australian school children attend tutoring outside of school. </p>
<p>Under these conditions, parents using their economic resources is about more than educational advantage. Arguably, it is also about an obligation to act to guard against educational risk. </p>
<h2>Parents don’t act alone</h2>
<p>German sociologists Beck and Beck-Gernsheim argue parenting and parenting actions must be understood in the context of policy, institutions and how this translates to parents. They call this <a href="https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/individualization/book207792">“individualisation”</a>. In these conditions:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/579854">it</a> is no longer enough to accept the child just as it is […] the child becomes the focus of parental effort […] there is a whole new market with enticing offers to increase your child’s competence, and soon enough options begin to look like new obligations […]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The key word here is obligation.</p>
<p>Individualisation is not individualism. Individualism assumes parents have a choice. Individualism provides parents with freedom and opportunity to act. Individualisation is the obligation to act – an obligation to protect against real or perceived educational risk.</p>
<p>If we are to critique parents’ practice, we must also critique the system they parent in. With this in mind, the reasons behind parents’ intervening in their children’s education may be more complicated than we think.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-your-parents-level-of-education-affects-your-chances-44506">How your parents' level of education affects your chances</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113758/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kellie Bousfield does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Caregivers using privilege to buy their children’s way into, and through, education is not a Hollywood anomaly, nor the domain of elites. The middle class have been doing it in Australia for decades.Kellie Bousfield, Associate Head of School, School of Education, Charles Sturt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1137922019-03-21T20:55:24Z2019-03-21T20:55:24ZSubsidized privilege: The real scandal of American universities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265112/original/file-20190321-93024-1gsfjot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=98%2C60%2C2942%2C1746&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, were charged with fraud and conspiracy along with dozens of others in a scheme that according to federal prosecutors saw wealthy parents pay bribes to get their children into some of the nation's top colleges. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>U.S. federal prosecutors have charged 50 people — 38 of them are parents — for allegedly being involved in fraud schemes to secure spots at Yale, Stanford and other big-name schools. Prosecutors accused some parents of paying millions of dollars in bribes to get their children into these prestigious schools. </p>
<p>The scandal has thrust the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/us/college-admissions-scandal-questions.html?module=inline">troubling inequality of higher education in the U.S. into the spotlight.</a> News media have highlighted how big money donations, sports scholarships, SAT tests and admission consultants can help people game the elite admission system in both legal and illegal ways.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265188/original/file-20190321-93048-xbl7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265188/original/file-20190321-93048-xbl7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265188/original/file-20190321-93048-xbl7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265188/original/file-20190321-93048-xbl7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265188/original/file-20190321-93048-xbl7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265188/original/file-20190321-93048-xbl7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265188/original/file-20190321-93048-xbl7aw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Actress Felicity Huffman was charged with fraud and conspiracy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the central driver of college inequality in the U.S. is not celebrities or bribes. Instead, the biggest college scandal in American history is the institutional and legal basis for the continuing class and racial inequality in a deeply polarized society. </p>
<h2>A brutal battle to get into elite schools</h2>
<p>As a Canadian professor who received an undergraduate education in the United States on a soccer scholarship, and who specializes in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1755-618X.2011.01268.x">the sociology of intellectuals</a> and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4146156?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">higher education</a>, I appreciate the strengths of American higher education. But my comparative research on Canadian sociology, intellectuals and universities suggests there is a fundamental problem with the U.S. system.</p>
<p>The education received at Ivy League research institutions such Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Stanford, as well as at the elite liberal arts teaching colleges such as Reed, Oberlin, Smith and Wesleyan, is world class. </p>
<p>Most of the time, competition to get into these types of institutions is legal, though it hardly seems equitable. </p>
<p>Wealthy and upper middle-class parents work to keep their neighbourhood schools isolated from poorer, often racialized, neighbours. They pay a fortune for SAT test taking instruction and private tutoring. And they invest heavily in helicopter parenting. All of this helps <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-college-admissions-game-is-rigged-arresting-cheaters-wont-change-that/2019/03/14/2127b340-4606-11e9-90f0-0ccfeec87a61_story.html?utm_term=.7f66fae10224">to turn their pre-existing class advantage into admission at elite college educations.</a> </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265191/original/file-20190321-93044-645f1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265191/original/file-20190321-93044-645f1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265191/original/file-20190321-93044-645f1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265191/original/file-20190321-93044-645f1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265191/original/file-20190321-93044-645f1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265191/original/file-20190321-93044-645f1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265191/original/file-20190321-93044-645f1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canadian parents are also concerned about getting their children into university: but the stakes are not as high.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Canadian parents, of course, are also concerned about getting their children into university, but the difference between going to McGill or University of Toronto versus going to the University of Alberta, Guelph, Memorial, Concordia, UQAM, University of Victoria or Mount Allison <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00221546.2005.11772276?journalCode=uhej20">does not compare to the stakes in the U.S. admissions contests.</a> </p>
<p>The brutal battle with college applications for the upper middle class that seem like a life or death matter in the U.S. <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5065171/us-college-admissions-scandal-canadian-schools-process/">does not occur within the Canadian system.</a> </p>
<h2>Dollars over education</h2>
<p>The dirty little secret of American higher education is that there is a major injustice rooted in tax codes that have allowed these private institutions to accumulate such obscene levels of wealth.</p>
<p>If we look at the endowments of American vs. Canadian universities we get a sense of the scale of the financial advantage U.S. schools hold over their northern counterparts.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265189/original/file-20190321-93036-9afdmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265189/original/file-20190321-93036-9afdmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265189/original/file-20190321-93036-9afdmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265189/original/file-20190321-93036-9afdmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265189/original/file-20190321-93036-9afdmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265189/original/file-20190321-93036-9afdmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265189/original/file-20190321-93036-9afdmg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students walk on the Stanford University campus in Santa Clara, Calif. Stanford has a $24 billion endowment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Ben Margot)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Harvard has a $36 billion endowment while Yale’s is $27 billion and Stanford’s is $24 billion. The most elite Canadian universities such as McGill, University of Toronto and University of British Columbia have endowments worth between $1 to $2 billion.</p>
<p>The University of Toronto, with 88,000 students, is at the approximate endowment level of Pomona College, a small but prestigious liberal arts school in California with 1,600 students: in other words, Canada’s high-elite endowment level is on par with that of a high quality, but tiny, U.S. school.</p>
<p>American private colleges and universities are non-profits that do not pay taxes on the investment earnings of their massive endowments. <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=NR0wWFkLxf8C&oi=fnd&pg=PR29&dq=the+legal+and+tax+status+of+American+private+universities&ots=gmvMdItSrx&sig=1ht_L-idKR9swEmbN44eMWtucaY#v=onepage&q=the%20legal%20and%20tax%20status%20of%20American%20private%20universities&f=false">They own large amounts of real estate in their cities and towns and they don’t pay property taxes or sale taxes.</a></p>
<p>In other words, the American taxpayer, including working and middle-class people and families, as well as small local businesses, massively subsidize American private colleges. They pour billions of dollars into federal research money and federal student loans, essentially <a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/academic-capitalism">creating a massive public subsidy accessible mostly to an elite and privileged group.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/661904">Some upward mobility does occur.</a> But at its core the private sector of American higher education system reinforces inequality. </p>
<p>The system creates incentives for cheating and gaming of the admission process. It distorts the values and helps inflate the prices of all public universities and colleges. </p>
<p>All American universities, not just the private ones, try to compete for dollars and status by either turning themselves into mini-copies of Harvard and Yale. As a result, we see alumni-driven sports teams and funding campaigns as opposed to a focus on core educational missions.</p>
<h2>A more egalitarian system</h2>
<p>Illegal admissions scandals should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, but that is side issue and now a media circus. </p>
<p>The real scandal in American higher education is that it’s the most expensive system in the world and this elite private sector is being subsidized by working and middle class students who increasingly can’t afford public colleges.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265192/original/file-20190321-93044-60865e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265192/original/file-20190321-93044-60865e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265192/original/file-20190321-93044-60865e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265192/original/file-20190321-93044-60865e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265192/original/file-20190321-93044-60865e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265192/original/file-20190321-93044-60865e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265192/original/file-20190321-93044-60865e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An equal school system would do more to create upper mobility and equality in the U.S. than any other policy proposal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nathan Dumlao/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Because of the enormous advantages one receives from elite education, the competition for seats has given rise to acrimony, including lawsuits and Supreme Court battles and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/us/harvard-affirmative-action-asian-americans.html">deep polarization around affirmative action, something U.S. President Donald Trump exploits.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED425686">The argument for affirmative action for African-Americans is compelling.</a> But the creation and support of a more egalitarian education system through the elimination of tax subsidies for a disproportionately white elite would help take down the heat in a polarized society. A less stratified system would make racialized hostilities less bitter.</p>
<p>Bernie Sanders’s <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/download/collegeforallsummary/?inline=file">“free college plan”</a> argues that hedge fund and corporate taxes should help pay for free public college and university tuition. But Sanders doesn’t mention the obvious way to help pay for it would be taking away tax subsidies to wealthy private schools. </p>
<h2>Impact on Canada</h2>
<p>The culture of the American system is transforming higher education in Canada as universities attempt to compete in global rankings. </p>
<p>It is difficult to compete with American privates as they receive $50,000 to $70,000 in tuition per student a year. Even the tuition received from American elite public universities is far higher than in Canada, Berkeley coming in around $13,000. Compare that to most Canadian universities at $6,000 to $8,000 a year (Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador fees are lower.) </p>
<p>Canadian schools trying to keep up with university rankings increasingly focus on fundraising; they rely on inflated international student tuition and deregulated professional programs. In this way, <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=eeKCMCYqEjkC&oi=fnd&pg=PP14&dq=Canadian+higher+education&ots=rxmPQaikaN&sig=tu3y5vjEBL7yT4Ejs4sxo4C188c#v=onepage&q=Canadian%20higher%20education&f=false">Canada moves further away from the North European model of free public higher education</a>. </p>
<p>Canadians should resist these trends. For all its faults, the Canadian model provides a decent education for far less money; it helps lay the foundation for more cross-class alliances. Canadians should prioritize keeping our university system public alongside our national health care, as two pillars of a decent, egalitarian and democratic society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113792/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil McLaughlin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The real scandal in U.S. higher education is that it’s the most expensive system in the world, being subsidized by the working and middle class who increasingly can’t afford public colleges.Neil McLaughlin, Professor of Sociology, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1139032019-03-20T23:14:54Z2019-03-20T23:14:54ZFrom playground risks to college admissions: Failure helps build kids’ resilience<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264935/original/file-20190320-93024-n1pnjp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C7%2C4794%2C3075&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bubble-wrapping children doesn't work. They need to experience mild adversity, to know how to overcome it when they inevitably face it in life.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With recent news of the college cheating scandal in which parents allegedly paid for their children to gain entrance to the most <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/12/us/college-admissions-scheme-how-it-worked/index.html?no-st=1552446186">prestigious post-secondary institutions in the United States</a>, increased attention has been placed on the extreme and even illegal measures parents will take to ensure their children are successful.</p>
<p>Parenting trends that protect children from negative experiences and failure are far from new. The concept of “helicopter parenting” emerged in the 1980s to describe overly anxious parents who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02732173.2011.574038">hover over their children</a> to keep them safe.</p>
<p>A second parenting trend called <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137304612_2">“intensive parenting”</a> was later coined to describe overly invested parents who spend unprecedented amounts of time and money on their children’s activities and well-being — to ensure they have the best start in life.</p>
<p>More recently, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/16/style/snowplow-parenting-scandal.html">“snowplow” or “bulldozer”</a> parenting describes parents who are hyper-focused on their child’s future and will do anything to eliminate barriers to their children’s success, much like the allegations against parents in the U.S. college entrance scandal.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the goal of these parenting styles is to reduce a child’s exposure to hurt, distress, failure or a difficult life experience. But in the end, does this help or hinder kids? If they don’t experience adversity, how will they ever know how to overcome it when they inevitably face it in life?</p>
<h2>Bubble-wrapping kids doesn’t work</h2>
<p>Research has shown that helicopter or bulldozer style parenting is associated with poor outcomes in children and adolescents, including <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-016-0466-x">mental health difficulties</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-013-9716-3">low life satisfaction</a>.</p>
<p>Children of helicopter and bulldozer parents have also been shown to be less resilient. For example, they do not seem to develop some of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2013.32.6.569">coping skills required to solve problems independently</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264733/original/file-20190319-60986-11vvdmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264733/original/file-20190319-60986-11vvdmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264733/original/file-20190319-60986-11vvdmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264733/original/file-20190319-60986-11vvdmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264733/original/file-20190319-60986-11vvdmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264733/original/file-20190319-60986-11vvdmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264733/original/file-20190319-60986-11vvdmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">UC Berkeley is one of two University of California campuses implicated in the U.S. college admissions scandal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>College students who described their parents as helicopter parents show <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-016-0466-x">decreased confidence in their ability to succeed</a>. </p>
<p>In contrast, parents who support their child’s autonomy by valuing their perspective and promoting independent problem-solving do <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-015-9329-z">better academically and have better mental health</a> and well-being.</p>
<h2>When kids fail, it builds confidence</h2>
<p>Resilience has been defined as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00164">ability to bounce back from life challenges</a> or difficulties and is a characteristic that is learned and fostered over time. By definition, then, a child needs to experience adversity to learn to overcome it.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-kids-need-risk-fear-and-excitement-in-play-81450">Why kids need risk, fear and excitement in play</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Children rely on supportive relationships and experiences within their families, schools and communities to help them develop the necessary skills to successfully navigate minor challenges and problems. When these are present, overcoming challenges or “bouncing back” is easier to do.</p>
<p>The types of adversity children can experience <a href="https://www.albertafamilywellness.org/what-we-know/stress">vary from mild to severe</a>. For children, mild forms of adversity can include going to a new school or camp or meeting new people. Moderate stress can include more serious events, such as natural disasters or losing a loved one. Severe stress or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMseNYpOQvE">toxic stress</a> includes abuse and neglect.</p>
<p>Of course, we want to shelter and protect children from moderate and severe stresses as much as possible. Research is clear that experiencing high levels of adversity like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470939406.ch20">abuse and neglect in childhood</a> are associated with <a href="https://youtu.be/rVwFkcOZHJw">poor health and development</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264735/original/file-20190319-60953-meipkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264735/original/file-20190319-60953-meipkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264735/original/file-20190319-60953-meipkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264735/original/file-20190319-60953-meipkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264735/original/file-20190319-60953-meipkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264735/original/file-20190319-60953-meipkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264735/original/file-20190319-60953-meipkj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">From playground structures to college entrance exams – kids need to try things for themselves, take risks and and learn to fail sometimes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>But what about small, everyday difficulties like losing a game, failing at an activity, doing poorly on a test or struggling to learn something new? These are the types of stresses that we need to allow our children to experience, and with our help, learn to overcome. Research shows this <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.904.6769&rep=rep1&type=pdf">builds up their ability to be resilient</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-compassion-can-triumph-over-toxic-childhood-trauma-90756">How compassion can triumph over toxic childhood trauma</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Tips for promoting resilience in children</h2>
<ol>
<li><p>Foster a loving and positive relationship with your child, one where they feel safe to reach out to you when they need help rather than trying to tackle a problem alone.</p></li>
<li><p>Help your child develop other relationships in their families and communities that are supportive and caring. Healthy relationships with extended family, neighbours, coaches, teachers and friends can help buffer the child from mild, moderate and <a href="https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/resilience/">severe forms of adversity</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>Model and support problem-solving. Our first instinct is often to jump in to resolve or fix our child’s problem. Instead, try to step back, focus on the process and help your child find a few solutions to their problem. Get them to pick what they think is the best solution, and then once they implement it, ask them how they think it went and what they might do differently next time.</p></li>
<li><p>Encourage children to participate in extra-curricular activities that take them out of their comfort zone, or involve the development of a new skill. This is mildly stressful for children but gives them an opportunity to try something new and learn from the experience, while being supported in the process.</p></li>
<li><p>Help your child to develop confidence by praising them honestly for hard work and persistence. Reward the process, not the outcome.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The <a href="https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/resilience">American Psychological Association Resilience Guide for Parents and Teachers</a> provides further background and tips.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113903/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Racine receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Alberta Innovates. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sheri Madigan receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canada Research Chairs program and the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation.</span></em></p>Paying to get your kids into prestigious universities is an example of a ‘bulldozer parenting’ trend, which reduces exposure to failure and can lead to mental health difficulties.Nicole Racine, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of CalgarySheri Madigan, Assistant Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1136032019-03-15T10:43:24Z2019-03-15T10:43:24ZWhy a college admissions racket would funnel bribes through a fake charity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263982/original/file-20190314-28502-tm2q7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many people aided by the campus admissions scheme wanted to attend the University of Southern California.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/College-Admissions-Bribery/5efa4f20c897430cafa584d43d3df007/2/0">AP Photo/Reed Saxon</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Federal authorities are prosecuting dozens of suspects in the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/college-admissions-cheating-felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin/index.html">biggest college admissions scandal</a> ever exposed. The <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/arrests-made-nationwide-college-admissions-scam-alleged-exam-cheating-athletic">joint FBI and IRS investigation</a>, dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues,” uncovered millions of dollars in bribe money wealthy parents are accused of paying to sneak unqualified children into Stanford, Yale and other elite universities on the pretext that they were <a href="http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/26240641/college-admissions-scandal-fake-athletes-alleged-bribes-aunt-becky">star athletes</a> with <a href="https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/felicity-huffman-accused-of-paying-15k-to-doctor-her-older-daughters-sat-scores/">high standardized test scores</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2019/03/12/college-scam-rick-singer-william-singer-felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin/3142687002/">William “Rick” Singer</a> has pled guilty to committing fraud as the head of a college counseling and preparation business and a <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tasneemnashrulla/william-rick-singer-depaul-donation-college-scam">sham charity</a>, acting as the ringmaster of the entire web of wrongdoing. He is cooperating with the authorities. Among the many interesting details to emerge have to do with how Singer’s company allegedly <a href="https://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Parents-Got-Tax-Write-Off-Amidst-Alleged-College-Admission-Scandal-507055931.html">funneled much of the US$25 million</a> his clients paid in unusually high fees for guidance counselor services through the nonprofit Key Worldwide Foundation, possibly to deflect attention.</p>
<p>We are accounting <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TLUVvS8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">scholars who</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_works&hl=en&user=AZdAnBcAAAAJ">research nonprofit fraud</a>. Our data indicate that outright fake charities like this one seem to be less commonly detected than other <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764014555987">kinds of nonprofit fraud</a>, such as when real charities get swindled through embezzlement schemes by <a href="http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/feb/14/meals-on-wheels-former-bookkeeper-faces-wire-fraud/">rogue bookkeepers</a> and the like. Our research also sheds light on why <a href="https://apnews.com/d1ff183590374f08a80487a423cfb289">Singer and his dozens of accomplices</a> allegedly got away with their scheme for years.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264000/original/file-20190314-28468-1ac6f7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264000/original/file-20190314-28468-1ac6f7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264000/original/file-20190314-28468-1ac6f7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264000/original/file-20190314-28468-1ac6f7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264000/original/file-20190314-28468-1ac6f7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264000/original/file-20190314-28468-1ac6f7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264000/original/file-20190314-28468-1ac6f7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264000/original/file-20190314-28468-1ac6f7g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rick Singer has pleaded guilty to charges in the college admissions bribery scandal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-College-Admissions-Bribery/dec92fd3033f400fb18fb1237d01b9b7/8/0">AP Photo/Steven Senne</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sources of scrutiny</h2>
<p>There are federal and state authorities whose job it is to catch and prosecute fraudulent charities and fake donations. The Internal Revenue Service’s <a href="https://www.irs.gov/government-entities/tax-exempt-government-entities-division-at-a-glance">Tax Exempt Government Entities</a> division is in charge of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-real-irs-scandal-has-more-to-do-with-budget-cuts-than-bias-95026">granting nonprofit status</a> through reviews of tax exempt status applications. This division also monitors compliance with tax filings requirements and audits of nonprofits. </p>
<p>But as nonprofit scholars like <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=A8NDlp4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra">Dennis Neely</a> have noted, state attorneys general are at the forefront of monitoring nonprofit activities. However, state budgets for nonprofit oversight and enforcement are too low to effectively monitor all charities within their jurisdictions.</p>
<p>Most states have fewer than <a href="http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/2000925-State-Regulation-and-Enforcement-in-the-Charitable-Sector.pdf">three full-time employees working on charitable oversight</a>. This leaves only a few hundred people in the country to oversee some <a href="https://theconversation.com/america-has-1-5-million-nonprofits-and-room-for-more-97528">1.5 million nonprofits</a>, despite the fact that these organizations make up <a href="https://www.bls.gov/bdm/nonprofits/nonprofits.htm">10 percent of our nation’s workforce</a>.</p>
<p>In addition, these systems are set up to catch tax cheats and bring in missing tax revenues. We see a lack of resources dedicated to monitoring the revenue flowing into and out of nonprofits, possibly because the fact that they don’t owe any income tax makes them a lower priority.</p>
<p>Another factor is the presumption that do-good organizations are not going to get swept up in criminal activity like bribery and money laundering. Likewise, regulators may presume that accountants will heed their professional duties if they suspect their clients are breaking laws. However, accountants are more likely to quit to avoid signing off on fraudulent paperwork than blow the whistle.</p>
<h2>Red flags</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/14/us/college-cheating-scam-how-authorities-found-out/index.html">This scandal</a> makes us wonder whether the authorities are reading all the paperwork most tax-exempt groups are required by law to file with the IRS, known as 990 forms. Key Worldwide Foundation’s <a href="https://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/461/461603030/461603030_201612_990.pdf">mission statement</a>, which appears in these tax filings, itself is suspect.</p>
<p>Despite an allusion to providing “education that would normally be unattainable to underprivileged students,” it does not say that the students it helps face economic hardship. Instead, the organization emphasizes how Key Worldwide’s “contributions to major athletic university programs may help to provide placement to students that may not have access under normal channels.”</p>
<p>Even so, what’s the rationale for a charitable foundation to contribute to major athletic programs to enable students regardless of their means to pay for school to enter college if they are eligible for sports scholarships?</p>
<p>IRS documents indicate that supposed donations to Singer’s foundation grew eight-fold from less than half a million dollars in 2013 to nearly <a href="https://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Parents-Got-Tax-Write-Off-Amidst-Alleged-College-Admission-Scandal-507055931.html">$4 million in 2016</a> as Singer’s alleged scheme used money parents pretended to be donating to the charity to pay off coaches, testing proctors and other people.</p>
<p>Key Worldwide’s tax filings also suggest that none of the foundation’s top staff earned money for their work, which is unusual for a charity that big. Gordon Ernst, the only compensated individual listed in its publicly available tax forms is one of the suspects <a href="https://media.wpri.com/nxs-wpritv-media-us-east-1/document_dev/2019/03/12/ernest%20indictment_1552409175484_76971110_ver1.0.pdf">charged with racketeering</a> for allegedly receiving $2.7 million in bribes labeled as consulting fees while coaching the Georgetown University tennis team. </p>
<p>The foundation’s <a href="http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/461/461603030/461603030_201612_990.pdf#page=29">tax filings state that it has no records</a> proving that it gave away the grants listed in its paperwork. Nor did the charity say whether it tried to prove that it had determined its grantees’ eligibility by checking a box on its forms. Purported grantees, such as the Bay Area nonprofit <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/College-Admissions-Scam-Follow-the-Money-Behind-the-Key-Worldwide-Foundation-507070751.html">Friends of Cambodia</a>, are coming forward to deny they got any money.</p>
<p>However, we can’t rule out that some grants could have been real and intended to throw off suspicions.</p>
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<h2>Following up</h2>
<p>It remains to be seen how this scandal will change oversight and regulations at the federal and state level as well as at every step in the college admissions process.</p>
<p>Any clients who were eligible to take advantage of the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/charitable-contribution-deductions">charitable deduction</a> could have defrayed some of the fees they paid Singer to bribe coaches and testing personnel through a tax break subsidized by the federal government. While it is clear that the foundation broke the law if it used donations for personal gain and not for a charitable purpose, we do not yet know whether the government will treat <a href="https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/parents-in-college-admissions-scandal-could-see-steep-tax-fines">all donations</a> to the foundation as tax evasion or not or what penalties are in store. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264003/original/file-20190314-28479-112luk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264003/original/file-20190314-28479-112luk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264003/original/file-20190314-28479-112luk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264003/original/file-20190314-28479-112luk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264003/original/file-20190314-28479-112luk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264003/original/file-20190314-28479-112luk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264003/original/file-20190314-28479-112luk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/264003/original/file-20190314-28479-112luk7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The NCAA penalized the University of Louisville men’s basketball program over a sex scandal involving exotic dancers paid to strip and have sex with recruits and players that cost coach Rick Pitino his job.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Louisville-Pitino-Basketball-/dd58f6afa1d04ac4b3c93b08fef7007e/18/0">AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The National Collegiate Athletic Association, a nonprofit that regulates college sports, monitors athletic programs carefully. The NCAA constantly looks out for bribery, performance-enhancing drug abuse and ineligible athletes, among other violations. </p>
<p>It has already <a href="https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2019/03/14/poor-overseers-or-victims-ncaa-opens-probe-into-colleges-in-admissions-cheating-scandal-389-61915/">opened investigations</a> into the coaches charged in this scandal. In our view, the NCAA should go further by reviewing its own systems and safeguards to ensure that nothing like this is happening elsewhere and never happens again.</p>
<p>Some universities are beginning to take action too. The <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/03/14/six-usc-student-applicants-linked-college-admissions-bribery-scheme-denied-acceptance/8yVrSYe1sxh2VGy1LGMbzM/story.html">University of Southern California</a>, for example, has revoked its acceptance of all future students it suspects benefited from Singer’s services. Universities should also be carefully reviewing their own liability and identifying ways to monitor and prevent admissions fraud rather than just declaring that they are the <a href="https://news.yale.edu/2019/03/12/university-statement-federal-investigation-admissions-bribery-scheme">victims of a crime</a>.</p>
<p>One first step is to closely evaluate any grants they may have received from Key Worldwide, the fake charity. According to tax returns it filed with the IRS, the foundation said it gave the University of Southern California water polo team $100,000 in 2014 and Chapman University $150,000 in 2016, among other major grants. Many if not most of these outlays could be as fake as the charity itself allegedly was.</p>
<p>But we believe that universities would be wise to proactively scour their records to find out if they have this money in their coffers before any new pay-to-play charges are lodged against them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113603/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There is no system in place to detect charitable fraud on the scale allegedly committed by a counseling company and its sham nonprofit.Sarah Webber, Associate Professor of Accounting, University of DaytonDeborah Archambeault, Associate Professor of Accounting, University of DaytonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1136202019-03-15T10:42:04Z2019-03-15T10:42:04ZWhy meritocracy is a myth in college admissions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/264018/original/file-20190314-28505-1e78gep.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Clockwise from top left, Georgetown University, Stanford University, Yale University, and University of California, Los Angeles. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/College-Bribery-Privilege/21b44912b7fe419898b90cc31dbbd601/1/0">AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The most damaging myth in American higher education is that college admissions is about merit, and that merit is about striving for – and earning – academic excellence. This myth is often used as a weapon against policies like affirmative action that offer minor admissions advantages to low-income students and racial and ethnic minorities.</p>
<p>From our standpoint as <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SWYJJ_YAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">education researchers</a> who <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=qfauBAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA147&dq=Jerome+Lucido&ots=NuxecEUUs6&sig=BPgG_bTw2S2gyEk0jXmxTL--rsQ#v=onepage&q=Jerome%20Lucido&f=false">specialize</a> in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tqi-SAkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">college admissions</a>, what counts in practice as “merit” is more complicated than the public thinks. For universities, building a student body is not only about identifying the most academically accomplished students. Universities also rely on offices of admissions to protect their financial bottom lines and to project a certain image.</p>
<p>The deck is <a href="https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/559296">stacked</a> in favor of affluent parents who <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/03/31/a-college-admissions-edge-for-the-wealthy-early-decision/?utm_term=.8b3437dee728">use their privilege and exploit</a> these institutional needs to find their children a way into elite colleges.</p>
<p>The outrage at the <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/03/13/dozens-indicted-alleged-massive-case-admissions-fraud">admissions scandal</a> that came to light this month in which affluent parents allegedly used fraudulent means to get their children accepted to high-profile universities, including our own school, is well justified. But in our view, there should be just as much outrage over the many ways that already “disadvantaged” students are further disadvantaged when wealthy families do things to protect their competitive advantage in the college admissions process.</p>
<h2>A range of practices worth questioning</h2>
<p>At one end of the continuum are the kind of parenting practices that are ethically sound, like enrichment activities for children, which <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2332858416644180">affluent parents are spending more for</a> as of late.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, spending on lower-income kids has <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2332858416644180">barely budged</a>. This practice by middle-upper class parents gives their children <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/02/explaining-annette-lareau-or-why-parenting-style-ensures-inequality/253156/">tangible advantages</a>, such as stronger resumes. It also gives them <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/02/explaining-annette-lareau-or-why-parenting-style-ensures-inequality/253156/">unseen advantages</a>, such as self-confidence and comfort in dealing with authority figures like coaches, doctors and professors.</p>
<p>Research by sociologist Annette Lareau shows that children of working-class parents often are <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520271425/unequal-childhoods">not raised to unlock these kinds of hidden advantages</a>.</p>
<h2>Test prep</h2>
<p>The next step on the continuum is more ethically suspect. It demonstrates the fine line between gaming the system and good parenting. Affluent parents <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/03/05/these-four-charts-show-how-the-sat-favors-the-rich-educated-families/">spend big on test preparation for SAT/ACT exams</a>, coaching on admissions essays and sessions with high-priced college admissions consultants. No one blames parents for seeking advantages for their children, but these kinds of behaviors amount to a smokescreen because they make applicants appear stronger without actually improving their skills and abilities.</p>
<h2>Backdoors</h2>
<p>One step further are backdoor admissions processes that are legal and common, but which only the well-connected know about, often because of the close relationships between selective college admissions offices and the elite high schools where these students enroll. One example is early decision programs, which often offer substantial increases in the likelihood of admission. But people have to know about and understand the advantages that come from the early decision programs to take advantage of them, as well as have the money to commit to the school. Less affluent families, who need to compare financial offers, can <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2017/12/11/despite-concerns-many-early-admissions-programs-continue-see-growing">rarely make such early commitments</a>, because they would have to accept whatever financial aid offer was made by their accepting institution.</p>
<h2>Spring admits</h2>
<p>Another example is the so-called spring admit, which <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-college-rankings-0828-story.html">colleges use to game U.S. News rankings</a>. In this scheme, colleges admit students with weaker qualifications – often affluent students and athletes – on the condition that they defer their admission to the spring after they graduate high school, rather than enrolling immediately in the fall. The spring admission enables colleges not to count weaker students in their admitted class for ranking purposes.</p>
<h2>Donations</h2>
<p>Even the notorious “wealthy donor” route – imagine a <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/jared-kushner-harvard-admission-college-cheating-scandal">prospective student’s family giving a large donation</a> – falls into the category of legal but ethically questionable. All of these kinds of advantages are perfectly legal, but they only serve to offer a leg up to people already standing on the top of the pile.</p>
<h2>Breaking laws</h2>
<p>And finally, there are the outright scandals, such as the one that the Department of Justice announced on March 12. It involves <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/03/12/702539140/u-s-accuses-actresses-others-of-fraud-in-wide-college-admissions-scandal">fabrication of test scores</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/us/college-admissions-cheating-scandal.html">bribes of athletic coaches</a> and more. To be sure, these alleged actions were morally and legally wrong. However, the fact that other practices – such as working with elite college counselors to encourage affluent students to apply in early decision or as a spring admit – are not seen as over the line raises questions about where the line should be drawn.</p>
<p>The plaintiffs in a federal court case against Harvard claim the problem is not with mechanisms that protect pathways of access for the wealthy, but rather with <a href="https://www.aei.org/publication/supreme-court-hears-arguments-today-on-race-based-preferencesprofiling-in-college-admissions/">affirmative action based on race</a>.</p>
<p>This despite the fact that affirmative action in college admission is a policy of being <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/570/11-345/#tab-opinion-1970744">race-aware, not race-based</a> – it is just one factor among many that is used to make holistic decisions. Admission officers are prohibited from considering race as a deciding factor in their decisions.</p>
<h2>What the public wants</h2>
<p>The truth is that voters support affirmative preferences for disadvantaged students, though results are <a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/243965/harvard-affirmative-action-case-public-opinion.aspx">often sensitive to how questions are asked</a>. A poll we conducted recently of California registered voters found that <a href="https://edpolicyinca.org/publications/pace-and-usc-rossier-polls-2019">most people support admissions advantages</a> for low-income students and racial or ethnic minorities. This result matches polls from <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/04/22/public-strongly-backs-affirmative-action-programs-on-campus/">Pew</a> and <a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/243965/harvard-affirmative-action-case-public-opinion.aspx">Gallup</a>, which find that majorities support “affirmative action for racial minorities.” </p>
<p>In contrast, voters in our poll were more opposed to advantages for athletes and for children of donors. Voters’ intuitions may not be far off. In highly selective institutions, once the legacy students, student-athletes and other applicants with highly desirable qualities are admitted, there are fewer spots remaining for which to compete. </p>
<p>The college admissions scandal should be a wake-up call to remake selective college admissions so that wealth doesn’t have so much influence. Since <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/12/does-it-matter-where-you-go-college/577816/">many believe</a> that where a person goes to college matters when it comes to getting a good-paying job, it’s important – at least from an equity standpoint – for selective colleges to be transparent about how they admit students.</p>
<p>If the scandal reveals anything, it is that some affluent parents will stop at nothing to make sure their children win in the high-stakes game of college admissions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113620/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Morgan Polikoff receives funding from the Institute of Education Sciences and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jerome A Lucido is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and is the executive director of the USC Center for Enrollment Research, Policy and Practice.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Renee Posselt receives funding from the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>Even if wealthy parents don’t resort to the kind of illegal tactics in the recent college cheating scandal revealed by the FBI, the college admission process still favors the rich, scholars argue.Morgan Polikoff, Associate Professor of Education, University of Southern CaliforniaJerome A Lucido, Professor of the Practice, Executive Director, Center for Enrollment Research, Policy and Practice, University of Southern CaliforniaJulie Renee Posselt, Assistant Professor of Higher Education, University of Southern CaliforniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1135062019-03-13T18:45:57Z2019-03-13T18:45:57ZCollege cheating scandal shows why elite colleges should use a lottery to admit students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263682/original/file-20190313-123522-138ma03.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">U.S. Attorney for District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling announces indictments in a sweeping college admissions bribery scandal March 12.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/College-Admissions-Bribery/6db34a7917914f4a9e2a4d540387f3b7/35/0">Steven Senne/AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many Americans are outraged by the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/us/college-admissions-cheating-scandal.html">college admission scandal</a> revealed by the FBI earlier this year. The scandal involves celebrities and wealthy investors who allegedly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/sports/college-sports-cheating-scandal.html">bought their children’s way onto college sports teams</a> and cheated to <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2019/03/college-cheating-scandal-court-docs-felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin.html">improve their children’s SAT and ACT scores</a>. Of course, the regular college admissions system also <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/27736092">favors the children of wealthy families</a> when it comes to elite colleges.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo24550619.html">expert on college admissions</a>, I’d like to suggest a simple solution that would make the process more fair: an admissions lottery.</p>
<p>The lottery I envision would involve applicants who meet a certain academic threshold and help universities admit students in a more equitable way. An admissions lottery would accomplish two important goals.</p>
<h2>1. Acknowledge the advantage for the wealthy</h2>
<p>The most fair thing elite colleges can do is to acknowledge that selection inevitably favors those with resources. Indeed, the more selective colleges are, <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/27736092">the more privileged the students admitted are</a>. </p>
<p>An admission lottery would send a clear message that admission is significantly based on chance, not just merit. Even the extensive analyses by top economists both for and against Harvard in an affirmative action lawsuit against the school <a href="https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/diverse-education/files/expert_report_as_filed_d._mass._14-cv-14176_dckt_000419_033_filed_2018-06-15.pdf">could not predict</a> the admissions outcomes of one in four applicants. </p>
<p>In other words, even when you build a statistical model that includes everything from an applicant’s grades and SAT scores to their parents’ professions, what state they live in and many other factors, it’s hard to understand admission decisions. This suggests more chance is involved than most people think.</p>
<p>The current admissions process suggests to students who get into Harvard, Yale, the University of Southern California or other desirable schools that they deserved their spot exclusively on their own merits – that is, despite their parents’ wealth, whether their parents attended the school and any advantages stemming from the high schools they attended coming into play.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263722/original/file-20190313-123541-iv1kb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263722/original/file-20190313-123541-iv1kb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263722/original/file-20190313-123541-iv1kb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263722/original/file-20190313-123541-iv1kb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263722/original/file-20190313-123541-iv1kb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263722/original/file-20190313-123541-iv1kb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263722/original/file-20190313-123541-iv1kb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263722/original/file-20190313-123541-iv1kb0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Actress Lori Loughlin, left, and actress Felicity Huffman are among dozens indicted in a sweeping college admissions bribery scandal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/College-Admissions-Bribery/f3a69dfd0690406dbe66a93643b39de9/56/0">AP</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>But that is simply not the case. It is well established that those who get into elite schools come from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/18/upshot/some-colleges-have-more-students-from-the-top-1-percent-than-the-bottom-60.html">wealthier, better-educated</a> families than teens in the U.S. overall. They also tend to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/24/us/affirmative-action.html">more frequently be white or Asian</a>. So unless society believes that merit is not evenly distributed across the population, pretending that admissions is meritocratic makes it seem like elite students are more worthy than those who are disadvantaged, when the reality is they just had more advantages.</p>
<h2>2. Save time and money</h2>
<p>An admissions lottery would save universities incredible resources. For instance, at Harvard, a <a href="https://admissionscase.harvard.edu/key-points">40-person committee of full-time, paid admissions officers</a> votes together on each of the tens of thousands of applicants to Harvard College.</p>
<p>If qualified students were entered into a lottery, the university could simply pick names out of an electronic “hat,” so to speak, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in hours of work. There could be similar savings for other universities as well.</p>
<p>A lottery would also save parents and teens countless hours of time and money and eliminate a lot of stress as they try to navigate an increasingly competitive admissions system. College admissions has led many high school students to <a href="http://chicago.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.7208/chicago/9780226135083.001.0001/upso-9780226134895">strive toward ever-tougher standards</a> of excellence in academics as well as extracurriculars. This leads to <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/development-and-psychopathology/article/i-can-therefore-i-must-fragility-in-the-uppermiddle-classes/E5A58728D6132FC3F5F74794F896415F">unhealthy levels of stress and anxiety</a> for increasing numbers of teens.</p>
<p>I’m not suggesting that the application process be scrapped altogether. Instead, universities should carefully reflect on what qualities they seek in students. One reasonable quality would be a basic level of academic achievement, such that a student – with the supports available on campus – will be able to handle the academic expectations of the university.</p>
<p>In order to ensure all young people have a shot, these expectations and supports should accommodate top students from high schools around the country, including the neediest communities with the fewest resources. Selective colleges could commit to meeting the educational needs to top students from all high schools, regardless of those students’ SAT scores or other measures that compare them to peers from other, more resource-rich schools.</p>
<h2>The first steps</h2>
<p>Some colleges might be reluctant to be the first to adopt an admissions lottery. Those colleges should consider how colleges like <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/07/27/bombed-the-sat-or-the-act-here-are-colleges-that-are-test-optional/?utm_term=.30bfa47f2c7e">Bates and Bowdoin</a> became the first to go test-optional when it comes to the SAT, long before hundreds of other colleges did. Even so, these schools achieved <a href="https://www.nacacnet.org/globalassets/documents/publications/research/defining-access-report-2018.pdf">greater diversity</a> and kept their graduation rates <a href="https://www.nacacnet.org/globalassets/documents/publications/research/defining-access-report-2018.pdf">about the same</a>.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if lots of colleges were to switch to an admissions lottery, they together might develop a <a href="http://www.nrmp.org/the-match-process-video/">“match” system</a>, similar to the system that places medical school students in their residency programs. Students would first be sorted into their first-choice colleges, and then the pool of those students who reach the eligibility bar would be entered into a lottery to select students. After the first choices are made, lotteries for second choices would happen, and so on. This system would also alleviate the cost to families associated with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/nyregion/applications-by-the-dozen-as-anxious-students-hedge-college-bets.html">students applying to increasing numbers</a> of colleges, which also drives up the cost of evaluating the applicants.</p>
<p>The struggle over college admissions has led to increasing costs, anxiety among American teens, and unfair perceptions of merit being the exclusive domain of elites. And, as the cheating scandal shows, it has led to corruption. These situations can be avoided if colleges take bold steps toward an admissions lottery.</p>
<p><em>Editor’s Note: This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-elite-colleges-should-use-a-lottery-to-admit-students-108799">article</a> originally published on Jan. 8, 2019.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natasha Warikoo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The college admission cheating scandal recently announced by the Department of Justice shows why colleges should admit students via lottery, argues an expert on college admissions.Natasha Warikoo, Associate Professor of Education, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1134392019-03-13T10:39:30Z2019-03-13T10:39:30ZCollege admission scandal grew out of a system that was ripe for corruption<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263517/original/file-20190313-86696-2gnvbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Recruited athletes often get a leg up in the admissions process.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/lacrosse-team-sports-themed-photo-437537404">Catwalk Photos/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As part of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/us/college-admissions-cheating-scandal.html">“Operation Varsity Blues” case</a> that federal prosecutors announced March 12, dozens of people – including Hollywood actresses and wealthy businessmen – stand accused of having bought their children’s way into elite colleges and universities.</p>
<p>As a researcher who has studied how young athletes get admitted to college, I don’t see a major difference between this admission fraud case and how many wealthy families can buy their children’s way into elite colleges through <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/Justice-Dept-Charges-Dozens/245865?cid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=7200d16c44ee4221b06770bbd65ad1ad&elq=83266aa0a5144d1298f7367b045b335d&elqaid=22486&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=11094">“back” and “side” doors</a>.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442266285/How-College-Athletics-Are-Hurting-Girls'-Sports-The-Pay-to-Play-Pipeline">my research</a>, I show how most intercollegiate sports are fed by wildly expensive “pay to play” youth sports pipelines. These pipelines systematically exclude lower income families. It takes money to attend so-called “showcase tournaments” to get in front of recruiters.</p>
<p>In many ways, then, those ensnared in the current criminal case – which alleges that they <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/us/college-admissions-cheating-scandal.html">paid for their children to get spots on the sports teams</a> of big name schools – couldn’t have succeeded if the college admissions process wasn’t already biased toward wealthier families.</p>
<h2>Bypassing the front door</h2>
<p>Even if college sports is taken out of the equation, the college admissions process already favors wealthy families in a variety of ways.</p>
<p>It has long been known that higher family income usually correlates with higher standardized <a href="https://theconversation.com/students-test-scores-tell-us-more-about-the-community-they-live-in-than-what-they-know-77934">test scores</a>. There are many test prep companies, including some that <a href="https://www.kaptest.com/hsg">guarantee higher scores</a> for approximately US$1,000. Taking advantage of test prep may not be “fraud.” But it certainly provides advantages to the wealthy that have little to do with academic merit. </p>
<p>In his book “<a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-12572-000">The Price of Admission</a>,” Daniel Golden highlights a number of other ways wealthy families can buy their way into elite universities. These include large donations, financing new buildings, creating endowments and playing on parents’ celebrity status. These also have little to do with an applicant’s academic merit, but would never be considered criminal. </p>
<p>Sociologist David Karen has <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226655821_Achievement_and_Ascription_in_Admission_to_an_Elite_College_A_Political-Organizational_Analysis">documented</a> how attendance at expensive boarding schools gives wealthy students an admissions advantage to Ivy League universities. That may not be fraudulent, but it certainly seems unfair.</p>
<h2>Athletics and admission advantages</h2>
<p>So how do the wealthy get an advantage when it comes to college athletics? Research has shown that recruited athletes receive the <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/%7Etje/files/files/webAdmission%20Preferences%20Espenshade%20Chung%20Walling%20Dec%202004.pdf">largest admissions advantages</a> independent of academic merit.</p>
<p>The advantage varies by sport and athletic division, but is almost universal within higher education. Many sports – particularly squash, lacrosse, fencing and rowing – are pricey to play, so rich kids get opportunities that are out of reach for the poor. Even non-elite sports such as soccer and softball are subject to class-based restrictions. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263519/original/file-20190313-86696-1how2p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263519/original/file-20190313-86696-1how2p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263519/original/file-20190313-86696-1how2p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263519/original/file-20190313-86696-1how2p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263519/original/file-20190313-86696-1how2p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=662&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263519/original/file-20190313-86696-1how2p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=662&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263519/original/file-20190313-86696-1how2p8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=662&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Many sports are out of reach for children from families of lesser means.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/491389582?size=huge_jpg">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p>The Mellon Foundation’s report <a href="https://mellon.org/grants/grants-database/grants/national-opinion-research-center/19600698/">“College and Beyond”</a> found that recruited athletes with lower academic credentials get admitted at four times the rate of non-athletes with similar credentials.</p>
<h2>Athlete screening</h2>
<p>In the Varsity Blues case, some students’ parents essentially bought their children’s spot on a team. For instance, Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer is <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Stanford-sailing-team-implicated-in-college-13682141.php">charged with accepting contributions</a> to the sailing program in exchange for recommending two prospective students. He <a href="https://abc7news.com/stanford-coach-pleads-guilty-in-college-admissions-scam/5186275/please%20update">pleaded guilty</a> March 12.</p>
<p>How could a coach pull off this sleight of hand without drawing attention? </p>
<p>The answer, I believe, lies in the growing role of intercollegiate sports in adding some predictability to the very unpredictable enrollment process. Schools want to lock prospective students in as quickly <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/11/the-new-college-chaos/302815">as possible</a>. College athletes are generally admitted through a school’s early decision process. As the proportion of admitted athletes increases, so does the proportion of locked-in applicants.</p>
<p>Colleges also benefit by admitting more students early since those people are not part of acceptance rate calculations. The result is a lower acceptance rate, which inflates the school’s perceived selectivity. This in turn spurs an increase in future applications, which further lowers the acceptance rate – and again increases perceived selectivity – without any objective changes in the actual quality of teaching and research. </p>
<p>College sports teams are an increasingly attractive venue for locking in these early admissions. It is not unusual to have 30 or 40 players on a college soccer or lacrosse team. Most will never play. <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Billion_Dollar_Ball.html?id=n8FJBgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false">Women’s crew teams</a> often have more than 100 rowers. Most will never get into a boat. Many will quit the team after one season but remain students.</p>
<p>Of course, because a family can afford to have their child play a sport doesn’t mean the student is a good athlete. The pipeline system is far better at identifying the <a href="https://theconversation.com/until-youth-soccer-is-fixed-us-mens-national-team-is-destined-to-fail-85585">best payers rather than the best players</a>. Since scholarships are quite rare, it costs colleges almost nothing to have some bad players on the roster. And there are benefits.</p>
<p>I’m certainly not defending the families and entrepreneurs at the heart of the Varsity Blues scandal for breaking the law to take advantage of a system already fraught with inequalities. The prosecutors in this case have insisted that “<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-college-coaches-admissions-bribery-case-20190312-story.html">there can be no separate admissions system for the wealthy</a>.” For that to be true, current practices that favor deep-pocketed families would have to be abandoned. That will require much more than prosecuting a few people who use their wealth to take advantage of an admissions process that already favors the rich.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113439/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rick Eckstein does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The college admission scandal that involved big bribes, coaches and Hollywood actors grew out of a system that favors rich parents and gives coaches too much leeway in admissions, a scholar argues.Rick Eckstein, Professor of Sociology, Villanova UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.