Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 5, 2023
Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling
Erin Hoover, Executive Director
ehoover@iacac.org
(847) 577-2953

The Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC) is disappointed in the Supreme Court’s ruling to prohibit the use of race-conscious college admission. The decision reflects a misunderstanding of both the practice of college admission and the state of racial inequity in the United States today. This decision is out of step with American values and harms our democracy by limiting avenues to diverse perspectives and onramps to civic participation.

While this decision conflicts with our mission to provide access to all Illinois students, it will only strengthen IACAC’s resolve to work towards more equitable opportunities and outcomes for Illinois students.

“We remain committed to serve our students, especially those harmed by historic and systemic racism and discrimination,” said IACAC President Paul Welsh.

“IACAC will work with colleagues across the country to identify best practices that build a diverse class of incoming students while abiding by the Court’s decision. We will educate our members on how to follow this ruling while strengthening our commitment to diversity in American higher education. We will not be deterred,” Welsh concluded.

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, July 19 at 3 p.m. ET (NACAC member login required to register). The webinar will provide admissions professionals with a streamlined, practical analysis of the court’s opinion and clarity on the implications for institutional enrollment policy and practice. The webinar will include recommended strategies and actions steps to consider.
IACAC’s Government Relations Committee (GRC) is working closely with NACAC’s Policy & Advocacy team to help us guide ways to inform our membership on best practices to counsel and guide Illinois students.

About IACAC: The Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling is an organization of counseling professionals dedicated to serving students as they explore options and make choices about pursuing postsecondary education. IACAC members are counselors, admission or financial aid officers, active retirees, or students who are concerned about the future of education in the State of Illinois and in the nation. IACAC is committed to maintaining high standards which foster ethical and social responsibility among those involved in the transition process.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AUGUST 26, 2022
Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling
Erin Hoover, Executive Director
ehoover@iacac.org
(847) 577-2953

The Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC) is pleased to announce the hiring of Erin Hoover as its first-ever Executive Director. Erin’s hiring will help the Association move forward in bold and innovative new ways while maintaining consistency as our volunteer elected leadership changes. The full Executive Director’s job description can be found here.

IACAC President Brian Hodges said that Erin’s outstanding work portfolio in the organization, overall experience with IACAC, as well as higher education industry knowledge made her the right fit for the new position.

“Erin has been a constant presence in IACAC since her first admissions job in 2005. She has co-chaired numerous committees including Media Communications, Summer Institute and multiple Annual Conference committees,” Hodges said. “In addition, Erin has served on our professional salaried staff as Manager of Digital Services since 2018 and most recently added Interim Manager of Operations to her duties this past January. Her work ethic and dedication to IACAC helped carry our organization through the global pandemic in innovative ways. As an organization that relies heavily on the work of volunteers, the pandemic shed light on the need for a strong, creative, and consistent leader to keep the work of the organization moving forward.”

“Following two long-time staff departures, IACAC convened an ad-hoc committee to conduct an analysis of all of our staff positions and job descriptions,” Past President, Tony Minestra explained. “Earlier this Spring, the Finance Committee hired Minard Planners to assist IACAC with the event planning of the Annual Conference. From there we researched industry standards, compared ourselves to other ACAC affiliates, and leaned on the advice of the Past President group. Once the Executive Board created the Executive Director position, Erin was the obvious choice, and the transition has been seamless.”

Erin’s hiring became official at the June Executive Board meeting. All Executive Board meeting minutes can be found here and members are encouraged to review them. She will report to and serve at the discretion of the Executive Board for the duration of a one year contract. Since this role is new to IACAC, the Executive Board also directed Erin to contract with Chicago Association Management (CAM), a management firm with a portfolio of other professional associations. CAM will serve as a resource to ensure we operate according to industry best practices.

“In my 17 years of higher education work, there has been one constant: IACAC. The organization, its mission, and, most importantly, its members, have become my life’s work. I am grateful to the Executive Board for expanding my role in the organization and empowering me to lead IACAC,” says Erin. “Through these important hiring decisions, the Executive Board continues to position IACAC as a leader among state affiliates by moving us to Be the Change We Want to See,” Hodges concluded by tying in the 2022 Annual Conference.

Erin can be reached at ehoover@iacac.org

About IACAC: The Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling is an organization of counseling professionals dedicated to serving students as they explore options and make choices about pursuing postsecondary education. IACAC members are counselors, admission or financial aid officers, active retirees, or students who are concerned about the future of education in the State of Illinois and in the nation. IACAC is committed to maintaining high standards which foster ethical and social responsibility among those involved in the transition process.

Dr. Vince Walsh-Rock, Executive Director, Illinois School Counselor Association

I submit this written testimony on behalf of both the Illinois School Counselor Association (ISCA) and the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC). Together, these two associations represent more than 2,600 school counselors, college admission counselors and other professionals dedicated to serving the needs of Illinois students. 

We request that the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) waive the requirement that the class of 2021 take the SAT with Essay as a graduation requirement and reallocate those funds to better support students.

ISBE guidance dated July 31, 2020 requires Illinois public schools to host the SAT on either September 23 or October 14, but also cancels other tests in the SAT suite of assessments. This requirement unnecessarily places students, faculty, and communities at risk while new cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Illinois, and it undermines local school districts’ decisions to move to remote learning to protect community health. We continue to urge ISBE to reconsider this requirement for the class of 2021 and to waive it for the class of 2022.

As experts in the field of college admission and school counseling, we recognize the role that the SAT plays in postsecondary access. Since the beginning of this pandemic, colleges in Illinois and around the country have extended test-optional pathways, and created other ways to admit and enroll students. The National Association of College Admission Counseling has asked colleges and universities to pledge their commitment to making test-optional college admission a reality. To date, 555 institutions have made this pledge, including all Illinois public universities. Fairtest, a national standardized testing watchdog has actually identified 1,600 post-secondary institutions nationwide who have announced test-optional or test-blind policies this year. This national trend recognizes that no exam is worth jeopardizing the health or safety of students and communities. 

In addition to safety concerns that may or may not be resolved in time for the spring 2021 test administration, we have serious reservations about how standardized admission testing  continues to negatively impact Illinois’s students of color. It is well-documented that communities of color are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic at higher rates than White families. They have suffered increased job loss, economic hardships, rates of infection and death. It is no surprise that families of Color choose remote learning at higher rates than White families. Requiring all students to attend testing in person places an undue and threatening burden on these families. Imposing this graduation requirement is an equity issue that further exacerbates the chasm of fair and equitable access for students of Color. 

Additionally, many students that elect to take the required test have not been in a school for six months. Such a testing environment may have deleterious effects on students thereby jeopardizing student performance even further. Taking the SAT never had the intention of causing undue harm. 

Finally, if ISBE continues to require the SAT as a graduation requirement and allows districts to exempt individual students, we are placing an unmanageable clerical burden on school staff. When a family declines to participate in the state-mandated SAT, school staff must file a waiver for each student. This clerical task, which unfortunately is too often relegated to school counselors, takes much needed time away from supporting our most vulnerable students during a time when students are experiencing increased levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. 

In conclusion, on behalf of both ISCA and IACAC, we again urge ISBE to exercise their influence to minimize this risk by waiving the SAT graduation requirement and to reallocate these funds to better support students.

About IACAC: The Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling (www.iacac.org) is a membership organization dedicated to serving students as they explore options and make choices about pursuing postsecondary education. It is composed of over 1,800 professionals working in high school counseling and college admissions offices, as well as community based organizations, independent education consultants, graduate programs, and retirees. IACAC is a regional affiliate of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (www.nacacnet.org).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 21, 2020
Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling
Linda Haffner, Manager of Operations
lhaffner@iacac.org
(800) 829-0176

IACAC urges ISBE to reconsider SAT graduation requirement

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) should extend a one-year waiver of the high school diploma requirement that requires the class of 2021 take the SAT, according to the Illinois Association of College Admission Counseling (IACAC).

“We greatly respect the work of ISBE’s Transition Advisory Workgroup to create a return to school plan that protects our communities,” says IACAC President Megan O’Rourke. “Waiving the SAT as a graduation requirement for the class of 2021 is consistent with the safety goals in the plan and we strongly encourage ISBE to reconsider this decision.”

ISBE guidance dated July 31, 2020 requires Illinois public schools to host the SAT on either September 23 or October 14, but also cancels other tests in the SAT suite of assessments for the fall cycle. The SAT was originally slated to be taken in April, but was postponed because of the move to remote learning due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Work conducted by ISBE to offer guidance to Illinois school districts has allowed them numerous ways of delivering education to Illinois K-12 students both online and face-to-face.

“Public school districts around the State of Illinois have been allowed to make decisions related to the COVID-19 pandemic based on what makes sense for them. Mandating an in-person exam at a time when many districts have opted for remote learning unnecessarily places students, faculty, and communities at risk,” O’Rourke says.

In recent weeks the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC) reports that more than 1,450 post-secondary institutions have adopted test optional policies. Furthermore, NACAC has challenged colleges and universities to pledge their commitment to affirm that their test-optional policies will not penalize students for the absence of a score. To date, 544 institutions have made this pledge, including many Illinois public and private universities. This national trend recognizes that no exam is worth jeopardizing the health or safety of students and communities.

“As experts in the field of college admission and school counseling, we recognize the role that the SAT plays in postsecondary access,” says O’Rourke. “Since the beginning of this pandemic, our member colleges in Illinois and around the country have extended test-optional pathways and created other ways to admit and enroll students.”

IACAC calls on ISBE to immediately waive the diploma requirement to protect Illinois high school students and their communities.

About IACAC: The Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling (www.iacac.org) is a membership organization dedicated to serving students as they explore options and make choices about pursuing postsecondary education. It is composed of over 1,800 professionals working in high school counseling and college admissions offices, as well as community based organizations, independent education consultants, graduate programs, and retirees. IACAC is a regional affiliate of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (www.nacacnet.org).

Mount Prospect, IL: The Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC) recently announced the Virtual College Exploration program for all Illinois students September 15-October 22. The six-week program consists of hundreds of opportunities for students to learn about the college search process and about many different colleges through panel presentations and information sessions. Students will gain a wealth of college knowledge, get exposure to a variety of colleges, and have the opportunity to ask questions of admission counselors, all in a safe, flexible, online environment. All high school students, parents, and counselors throughout Illinois are all welcome to attend. Participation is free. Students should participate live so they can ask questions and interact with the college admission counselors. If students are unable to attend live, we still encourage them to register for the sessions they are interested in and recordings will be available on the IACAC website later.