US: DOJ sues, settles with NACAC

The Justice Department filed a proposed settlement in federal court Thursday, December 12, that would require significant changes to how colleges recruit students. 

The agreement with the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) will be detailed in a consent decree that resolves a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit against the group, the people said.

The proposed consent decree with the National Association for College Admission Counseling would resolve a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit, also filed Thursday, that alleges the admissions-industry trade group enacted and enforced illegal restraints on competition for students. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, the complaint is related to adjustments NACAC made to its ethics code in 2017. Those changes tried to ensure that college-admissions officers weren’t undermining one another by poaching students who had agreed to go elsewhere, or by promising special perks like prime housing assignments for prospects who committed early in the admission cycle.

The Justice Department opened an investigation into NACAC shortly after it adopted the new ethics code, expressing concern the group had cut down on competition and limited students’ opportunities to get the best price on a college education.

The probe led NACAC, which represents roughly 1,700 colleges and universities, 2,400 secondary schools, and 1,700 independent college counselors, to essentially undo the 2017 changes in a September 2019 vote, to head off further legal action.