Recruitment Code of Conduct

Overview:

Maryville University adopts this Recruitment Code of Conduct in accordance with federal laws and regulations, accreditation criteria, and professional and ethical standards.

2. Purpose and Objective

This Code of Conduct requires all Maryville University employees, third-party representatives, and agents, involved with student recruitment activities, to act ethically and responsibly when recruiting students (including all undergraduate, graduate, international, and military students) for admission and attendance at the University.

3. Scope

This policy applies to all Maryville University employees in Enrollment Management, including Undergraduate Admissions, the School of Adult and Online, Operational Excellence, and Student Success, other Maryville University employees who have a direct or indirect role in recruiting and admitting University students, as well as third-party representatives or agents working on behalf of Maryville University actively recruiting or marketing to prospective students concerning any of its academic programs (collectively, “Maryville representatives”).

4. Definitions:

• Recruitment Activities—Interacting with prospective students for the purposes of recruiting or securing enrollment. This includes but is not limited to: providing prospective students with information or marketing material regarding educational programs, application/document requirements, deadlines, etc.; recruiting solicitations; contacting prospective students; assisting with completing the application and enrollment process; financial aid warding activities, and, academic advising services.

• Prospective Student—Any individual who has contacted Maryville University or any Maryville representatives for the purpose of requesting information about enrolling at the institution, or who has been contacted directly by a Maryville representative, or indirectly through advertising/marketing efforts about enrolling at the institution.

• Misrepresentation—Any false, erroneous, or misleading statement or omission of facts.

• High-Pressure Recruitment Tactics—Recruitment activities that incite a sense of urgency to engage in same-day recruitment and registration.  Also, the practice of multiple unsolicited contacts (three or more) by phone, email, or in-person.

5. Policy

University representatives must abide by the following when conducting recruitment activities:

1. Provide accurate, current, and publicly posted information to prospective students, families, high school counselors, and other influencers, including information related to consumer protection policies and practices, without any requirement that such prospective student provide their contact information;

2. Refrain from any misrepresentations to prospective or current students;

3. Ensure that prospective students have ample time to review the following information prior to enrolling:

   1. University’s policies and procedures;
   2. Financial aid awards, including the amount of federal, state, and institutional aid they are eligible for;
   3. How many credits, if any, will transfer;
   4. Whether any transfer credits will be applied to requirements of the major or general education; and
   5. The process and timeline for evaluating those credits.

4. Refrain from using any high-pressure tactics to influence a prospective student to enroll;

5. Refrain from applying pressure to prospective students to enroll or register with the promise of cash, goods, and/or services outside of the regular process of scholarship monies, institutional discounting, fee waivers, financial aid, or other assistance that has been pre-approved by the University and is offered strictly in accordance with University procedures;

6. Ensure that employment, licensure, or certification is not directly or indirectly offered and provide no guarantees of employment, licensure, or certification related to the education;

7. Cite sources for career outcomes statistics;

8. Provide complete and accurate information about the estimated cost of attendance and financing options at the University prior to enrolling;

9. Refrain from basing admissions decisions solely on the results of standardized test scores;

10. Follow application and commitment deadlines. The University will ensure that prospective students have sufficient time to make an educated decision about their continued education prior to requesting or requiring an application submission or enrollment commitment;

11. Ensure University representatives are qualified for their role, meet the minimum position requirements, and receive regular training for their position as it relates to this policy. Trained and qualified University employees must oversee any third-party representatives or agents performing recruitment activities, who are held to the same standards;

12. Ensure no commission, bonus, or other incentive payments are made to any person/entity engaged in student recruiting activities based directly or indirectly on success in securing student enrollments or financial aid.

13. Student information is maintained and protected as outlined in the University’s privacy policies, and University representatives only access and share prospective student and current student information for legitimate University purposes;

14. Comply with requests from prospective students who wish to remove themselves and their personal information from contact lists, including information obtained through the admissions, recruiting, or lead generation procedures;

15. Comply with the University’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies;

16. Provide guidance on completing admissions and financial aid applications without completing the applications on behalf of a prospective or current student;

17. Communicate the University’s Refund and Withdrawal Policy and relevant dates with prospective and current students; and

18. Refrain from automatically registering a current student in the next term, without obtaining consent or providing the student the opportunity to cancel registration before the assessment of tuition or fees for that term.

19. Communication/Implementation/Training:

Once adopted, the Director of Institutional Compliance will distribute this policy to the University units responsible for enforcement of the policy to communicate to all relevant University representatives.  The Director of Institutional Compliance will hold meetings with all relevant units to discuss and answer questions and develop a virtual training for University representatives to complete as evidence that they have been trained on and understand the policy.

This policy and/or virtual training will also be part of new hire onboarding, as appropriate for each position.

7. Accountability

Any failure to follow this policy by any University representative will result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment or contractual arrangement.

8. References

• 34 C.F.R. §§668.71-668.75, 668.14, and 668.16.
• Department of Defense Memorandum of Understanding.
• Federal Student Aid Program Participation Agreement.
• Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Policy on Recruiting, Admissions and Related Institutional Practice.
• National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) Guide to Ethical Practice in College Admissions.