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Introduction

For educators, the challenge of ensuring a future workforce that is ready to compete in a global economy persists. Although
the graduation rate rose by nearly a percentage point from 2015 to 2016, from 83.2 percent to 84.1 percent, the United States
still suffers from a high school “drop out problem” and an overall achievement gap based on students’ ethnic and income
backgrounds (US Department of Education, 2018). Essentially, the achievement and/or opportunity gaps in the United States
have resulted in college enrollment gaps—low income students, and students of color (primarily African American, Native
American, and Latino/Hispanic students) attend and graduate from college disproportionately compared to their white, Asian,
and affluent peers (Baum & Payea, 2005; US Department of Education, 2018). This is a critical problem, given that many of the
fastest-growing jobs in the United States require some form of postsecondary education (US Department of Commerce,
2017). As such, a key factor in our nation’s ability to compete in an increasingly global economy is the rate in which we can
prepare students for entry into postsecondary institutions.

For educators, the challenge of ensuring a future workforce that is

ready to compete in a global economy persists.

In response to labor market needs, there has been an unparalleled development of college and career readiness initiatives
across the United States. A major component in these initiatives is the deployment of college counseling. The literature
contains a plethora of articles, books, and studies indicating the positive influence of counseling (if accessible) when
promoting college-going, college access, particularly for first-generation college students and students of color (Nikischer,
Weis, & Dominguez, 2016; Gandara & Bial, 2001; Woods & Domina, 2014). According to a study conducted by Velez (2016)
and published by the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), 12th graders who talked to a school
counselor about their future plans were 6.8 times more likely to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA);
3.2 times more likely to attend college and 2 times more likely to attend a bachelor’s degree program.
However, the empirical examination of college counseling in K–12 settings is relatively new. Major questions that arise when
discussing counseling to enhance K–12 students’ college and career readiness have to do with the accessibility of counseling,
who conducts the counseling, to whom counseling will be available, and the impact of counseling on actual student behavior
and progress (e.g., rate of college going, college retention). Additionally, with the increasingly diverse student population in
today’s K–12 schools, the notion what constitutes effective or good college counseling with diverse populations of students
and families is a critical question that must be answered in order to ensure equitable access to college for all (Holcomb-
McCoy, 2007; Savitz-Romer, 2012).
Given the urgency to address the aforementioned issues, a variety of contextual factors influence the efficacy of counseling,
particularly college counseling conducted in schools. The remainder of this chapter will provide a historical overview of
counseling, followed by a discussion of contextual factors that possibly impede effective college counseling. Trends and future
directions will also be discussed. As a note, most private schools and some public high schools have designated “college
counselors.” The “typical public high school” has a guidance department, consisting of school counselors who all perform
college counseling tasks in addition to other counseling-related duties (e.g., scheduling, crisis counseling, drop-out prevention
programming). There are also community-based “college counselors” and college preparation organizations that provide
college counseling and/or coaching. For the sake of clarity, in this chapter, college counseling refers to all of these scenarios.

Historical Overview of Counseling

Professional counseling continues to evolve in response to social, educational, political, and economic trends. In October
2010, the American Counseling Association (ACA) Governing Council approved the following definition of counseling:

Counseling is a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental
health, wellness, education, and career goals (American Counseling Association, 2019).

Several researchers have cited the evolution of vocational guidance and psychology to transformative school counseling
(Cobia & Henderson, 2003; Coy, 1999; Education Trust, 1997; House, & Martin, 1998; Schmidt, 2003). However, college
counseling as it relates to school counseling has a less defined path. The most notable and frequently cited influence that
initially heightened postsecondary awareness was the passing of the National Defense Education Act (NDEA) in 1958. The
NDEA enacted by the federal government, provided funding to improve secondary school counseling, with emphases on high
school counselor preparation to subsidize training programs and professional institutes for guidance personnel. It was also in
the 1950s that the American Psychological Association and the American Personnel and Guidance Association (APGA)
introduced distinct standards and requirements for pupil personnel workers (e.g., psychologists, guidance counselors, and
social workers).
In the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, focus turned to education initiatives, such as the High Schools That Work and The
School Development Program, which were student-centered and developed to increase academic achievement and
postsecondary student preparedness (Board, 1999a). The High Schools That Work (Board, 1999a, 1999b) research visibly
placed school counselor roles in the practice of vocational guidance. Evidence based research on The School Development
Program demonstrated consistent and continuous student improvement, especially in urban settings; however, direct linkage
to school counseling services is vague (Smylie, Wenzel, & Fendt, 2003). During the concurrent era, state Department of
Education personnel and counselor educators began to evaluate the impact or absence of school counseling interventions on
education reform models, instructional environments, and college counseling. Inharmonious discussions centered on the role
of the school counselor and postsecondary advisement. Also, during this time, graduate counselor education programs were

7
grounded in clinical and community mental health models that viewed college counseling and academic advisement as
conflicting role identities for school counselors (McDonough, 2004). As a result, school counselors were being trained to be
highly skilled mental health counselors without an educational framework or perspective of which to guide their practice
(Kaplan, 1995).
Also, during this time (i.e., 1990s), the presence of community agency partnerships and federally funded opportunity
programs were downsized and some educators began to question if college counseling services were necessary to inform
and empower students to the path of college. McDonough (2004) acknowledges that prior to the 1990s, a significant segment
of college counseling was absorbed through self-help modalities as a guiding principle. That same focus continued during the
early 1990s as widening achievement gaps, astounding dropout rates, and declining test scores gave rise to the rethinking
and evaluation of school counselor roles and responsibilities in educational settings. Social challenges such as violence, teen
pregnancy, peer pressure, poverty, hunger, and homelessness suggested a need for school counselors to use systemic
approaches as an integral part of their counseling services (Capuzzi & Gross, 2000; Hossler, Schmidt, & Vesper, 1999).
The literature suggests that the aforementioned history led to the DeWitt Wallace-Education Trust’s national initiative to
transform school counseling (Education Trust, 1997). Both organizations were convinced that school counselors were not
prepared to contribute to equitable learning and college access for all students. Yet, they postulated that professional school
counselors were in the best position to identify barriers that impede academic success for all students. ASCA supported the
Education Trust’s initiative and principles (e.g., leadership, advocacy, and collaboration) and consequently, introduced the
ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs (ASCA, 2003), as a guide for school counselors’
development of data-driven comprehensive school counseling programs. Currently, the Education Trust’s New Vision for
School Counseling promotes school counseling in which “school counselors advocate for educational equity, access to a
rigorous college and career-readiness curriculum, and academic success for all students” (Education Trust, 2009). The
Education Trust’s website lists 23 Transforming School Counselor Preparation programs. These programs are committed to
training school counselors in skills that are needed to remove barriers that impede student achievement (e.g., collaboration,
use of data). The number of practicing school counselors who ascribe to the principles of the Education Trust’s New Vision is
unknown.
More recently, the Reach Higher Initiative, launched by former First Lady Michelle Obama during her time at the White
House, worked to inspire every student in the United States to take charge of their future by completing their education past
high school. The former First Lady said that if we are to reach the former President Obama’s Northstar goal (to have the
highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020), schools and states must empower school counselors. That’s
why school counselors are a part of her Reach Higher Initiative, she told attendees at the American School Counselor
Association (ASCA) conference in June 2014.

Factors Influencing College Counseling in Schools

There are multiple indicators that suggest a need for a shift in the foundational principles and practices of school counseling.
First and foremost, there are stark disparities in college enrollments across groups of students. Low-income students, students
whose parents have never attended college, and students of color (i.e., African American, Latino/Hispanic) are less likely to
attend college when compared to their more affluent, white, and Asian peers (Baum & Payea, 2005; Perna et al., 2008).
Although college enrollments have increased across all groups, there is still a persistent enrollment gap (US Department of
Commerce, 2017). Also, when students from underrepresented groups do enroll in college, they tend to enroll in public two-
year colleges and less selective and less-resourced four-year colleges and universities (National Center for Education
Statistics, NCES, 2010).
The lack of college counseling in high schools has been noted as an explanation for these disparities in college access and
choice; and consequently, school counselors have been blamed for their lack of engagement and gate-keeping practices
related to college advising (Murphy, 2016; Rosenbaum, Miller, & Krei, 1996). Obviously, school counselors are a logical source
of assistance for students who are likely to be dependent on school-based resources for college planning (Perna, 2004; Horn,
Chen, & Chapman, 2003; Radford, Ifill, & Lew, 2016).
Recent studies on the efficacy and long-term effects of school counseling services, have highlighted contextual factors that
can ultimately shape the extent of college counseling offered in schools. Not only do these factors affect the nature of college
counseling services offered to students and parents, they also affect college choice, preparation for college, transition to
college, and adjustment to the college environment.

Professional Commitment to College Counseling

Counseling organizations have always embraced career and academic development as dimensions of the counselor’s role
and in recent years, professional organizations have increasingly become more overt in their recognition of college counseling
as a significant role for counselors. However, prior to 2014, professional associations very rarely collaborated on efforts to
improve college counseling and advising strategies (McDonough, 2004). Instead, each organization has traditionally produced
their own professional and ethical standards, developed policies and practices for their role groups, provided resources,
sponsored annual conferences, and designed professional development programs for their members. The national focus to
increase equitable postsecondary opportunities for all students has renewed attention to align the professional organizations
and educational systems engaged in college access and completion work. Below are short descriptions of some of the
college counseling initiatives and associations that focus on college/career readiness.
During her tenure in the White House, former First Lady Michelle Obama launched the Reach Higher Initiative to increase
the number of American citizens who earn a postsecondary credential. The Reach Higher Initiative aimed to encourage all
students to graduate from high school and plan for their future by preparing to complete their education beyond high school,
whether at a four-year or two-year university or through a professional training program. Obama recognized that school
counselors and college advisers were instrumental partners in providing postsecondary support to students, especially those
who were first in their family to go to college (Reach Higher, n.d.). In conjunction with this initiative, Obama spoke at the 2014
ASCA Annual Conference in Orlando.

8
 Today, the Reach Higher Initiative is a part of the Better Make Room/Civic Nation Foundation. Reach Higher seeks to help
every student navigate the college going progress by (1) reaching students where they are at and celebrating their success on
social media and through flagship events like College Signing Day; (2) raising awareness about helpful college access tools
like FAFSA and Up Next and resources; and (3) enhancing student support systems by supporting school counselors and
college advisers. In 2015–2017, the School Counselor of the Year ceremony took place at the White House and was hosted by
former First Lady Michelle Obama. Her support continues as a co-host for the School Counselor of the Year Award ceremony
with the American School Counselor Association.
The Council of National School Counseling and College Access Organizations formed to create one unified body of college
access organizations. The Council members include representation from the American Counseling Association (ACA); ACT;
Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE); American School Counselor Association (ASCA); College Advising
Corps (CAC); The College Board; Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP);
National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC); National College Access Network (NCAN); and The
Southern Regional Education Board’s Go Alliance (SREB). The council members are committed to providing a comprehensive
multi-organizational, multi-institutional asset map of competencies, knowledge/skillset requirements, and resources for
advising students for postsecondary access and success.
The National Consortium for School Counseling and Post-Secondary Success (NCSCPS) was formed in response to
Obama’s call for improvements to school counseling and school-based college and career counseling systems and included
members with varied expertise in school counseling and college counseling. Dedicated to the goals of the Reach Higher
initiative, NCSCPS organized and implemented large-scale convenings focused on college and career counseling and
advising. In addition, the Consortium supported state teams in the creation of action plans, policies and legislation. In 2015,
the members of the NCSCPS conducted a study to examine the landscape of school counseling research and development.
Funded by the Kresge Foundation, the study included reviews of literature, school counselor and counselor educator surveys,
and practitioner and researcher focus groups. The study’s findings entitled, The State of School Counseling: Revisiting the
Path Forward, indicated that research on school counseling and college readiness counseling was emerging, but still lacked
the robust scholarship necessary to guide effective practice (Brown, Hatch, Holcomb-McCoy, Martin, Mcleod, Owen, & Savitz-
Romer, 2016). Based on their research, members of NCSCPS offered recommendations for the field of college counseling,
particularly school-based counseling [see Table 1].

In response to the Path Forward recommendations (Brown et al., 2016), the National Center for Postsecondary Readiness
and Success (CPRS) was launched at the American University in January 2018. The Center is specifically devoted to the study
of systems and processes (e.g., counseling, advising, financial aid practices) that influence college and career readiness in K–
12 settings as well as college persistence and completion. The center aims to document multi-disciplinary practices that
improve equitable student postsecondary opportunity—with implications for policy development (Center for Postsecondary
Readiness and Success, n.d.).

While ASCA’s focus is on the counselor as educator, the Association for Counselor Education and
Supervision (ACES), along with other counseling organizations, call for a unified professional
counselor identity.

The center will focus on research that addresses current gaps and identifies root causes of educational inequities, as well as
why some students succeed, and others do not. Research will not only represent a national perspective, but also clarify what

9
works from one region and district, and from one student to the next.
The American School Counselor Association (ASCA), the only school counseling professional organization, provides
national standards and a framework for the practice of school counseling. Inclusive of comprehensive counseling programs,
the ASCA standards address accountability in counseling, particularly in relation to achievement and attainment gaps among
students (ASCA, 2017). Additionally, ASCA created a position statement on equity that states the following: “school counselors
are mindful of school and community perceptions of the treatment of underrepresented groups and understand the
importance of collaborating with school and community groups to help all students succeed” (2018b, p. 32).
In 2014, ASCA instituted ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success: K–12 College- and Career-Readiness for Every
Student, which describe the knowledge, skills and attitudes students need to achieve academic success, college and career
readiness, and social/emotional development. The mindsets are based on a survey of research and best practices in student
achievement from a wide array of educational standards and efforts. Organized in three broad domains: academic, career and
social/emotional development, the mindsets and behaviors enhance the learning process and create a culture of college, and
career readiness for all students. The six ASCA (2014) Mindset Standards include the following:
• Belief in development of whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being
• Self-confidence in ability to succeed
• Sense of belonging in the school environment
• Understanding that postsecondary education and life-long learning are necessary for long-term career success
• Belief in using abilities to their fullest to achieve high-quality results and outcomes
• Positive attitude toward work and learning
The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), a professional association including members from
schools, communities, and organizations, compiles a by-state report highlighting student-to-counselor ratios and conducts
yearly surveys of issues relevant to school counselors. NACAC supports reducing student-to-counselor ratios to 250:1 and
increasing ESEA funding allocations for programs such as the Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) grant
program (also known as Title IV, Part A), which is designed to ensure that high needs districts have access to programs that
foster safe and healthy students, provide students with a well-rounded education, and increase the effective use of technology
in our nation’s schools. The program provides block grants to states, which in turn can use the funding to hire more
counselors and/or provide professional development for counselors. NACAC recently developed a series of professional
development activities for school-based counselors and other college counselors.
In 1992, the College Board published the book, From Gatekeeper to Advocate, which challenged the role of school
counselors within the context of school reform and restructuring. More recently, the College Board’s National Office of School
Counselor Advocacy (NOSCA) provided leadership, as well as college counseling training, for school-based counselors.
NOSCA’s overall mission was to advance equitable educational access and rigorous academic preparation necessary for
college readiness for all students. In 2011, NOSCA published findings from its National Survey of School Counselors. The
findings highlighted counselors’ concerns within the profession and in the context of preparing students for college and other
postsecondary opportunities (Balfanz, Bridgeland, Bruce, & Fox, 2012). Based on the findings, the following actions were
suggested for schools and communities:
1. Align the mission of counselors with the needs of students
2. Focus counselors’ work on activities that accelerate student success
3. Target professional development dollars
4. Schools should pilot test measures of accountability
5. Coordinate initiatives with community-based organizations
Although College Board disbanded the National Office of School Counselor Advocacy (NOSCA) in 2015, they continue to
provide electronic copies of many of the publications that were developed by NOSCA. The College Board also provides fall
workshops, a Summer Online Institute for school counselors, and downloadable resources to help prepare students for
college. The College Board shares some of their resources on the National Council website.
In 2009, the New Vision for School Counseling (2009), the National Center for Transforming School Counseling (NCTSC)
advocated for educational equity, access to a rigorous college and career-readiness curriculum, and academic success for all
students. The NCTSC, established by the Education Trust and MetLife, provided professional development, program reviews,
and state department collaborative activities that promoted school counselor involvement in school reform initiatives. Although
the NCTSC is no longer an entity or division of Education Trust, Education Trust supports the profession of school counseling
and advocates for high quality school counselors for every student (Education Trust, 2018).
Another supportive organization, ACT, launched a new center in 2016, the ACT Center for Equity in Learning. The new
Center has recently convened a working group of national organizations to support four national campaigns designed to
support high school students as they navigate their college path. The campaigns include: (1) American College Application
Campaign, (2) High School to College Transition, (3) Form Your Future and (4) College Signing Day. Steps2College is
designed to be a one-stop website for everything high school counselors, students, and family members need to support
students through the college-going process. The partnership is composed of ACT Center for Equity in Learning, American
College Application Campaign from the American Council on Education (ACE), American University School of Education’s
CPRS, Better Make Room, and the National College Access Network (NCAN). Steps2College tools allow counselors, students
and their families to learn about key milestones students will face during their final year of high school as they transition to
postsecondary institutions (ACT Center for Equity and Learning, 2017).
The aforementioned initiatives and professional associations have demonstrated a commitment to college counseling and
collaboration. Future efforts to increase counselors’ knowledge and skills in college counseling will be dependent upon how
well these organizations move forward and agree to work together to provide professional development and training for pre-
service and existing college counselors.

Current Education Reform Initiatives

10
Prior to the College Opportunity Agenda and the Reach Higher Campaign, very few education reform initiatives mentioned or
recognized school counseling or college counseling as critical components in reform initiatives designed to provide
postsecondary support to first generation and low-income students. Although former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
voiced commitment to school counselors and college counseling in high schools, school counseling was not included in
President Obama’s Blueprint for Reform or the Race to the Top proposal guidelines. The Race to the Top and Blueprint for
Reform both focused on four core areas that guided the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act:
1. Enhance and reward principal and teacher effectiveness
2. Build data systems that inform parents and educators about student achievement and guide instruction
3. Develop college- and career-ready standards and assessments aligned to those standards
4. Implement effective interventions and support that will improve academic achievement in the lowest-performing schools
In particular, the Blueprint for Reform emphasized the importance of meeting the needs of students with the highest learning
needs, (i.e., culturally diverse learners, diverse English learners, children with disabilities, students of migrant families and
workers, homeless students, underprivileged children in rural and highest-need districts). The omission of counselors from
this reform initiative was concerning, and counseling associations responded. For instance, the ACA developed a School
Counseling Task Force to specifically address the unique needs of school counselors and to develop ways in which ACA
could partner and collaborate with school-reform organizations.
Some argue that school counselors are not primed for college access work, while others advocate for school counseling as
a means to close postsecondary opportunity gaps. Although schools have been advocating for lower ratios for decades, most
school counselors are burdened with huge caseloads and extra duties (Balfanz et al., 2012). The American School Counselor
Association recommends a school counselor to student ratio of 1 to 250, yet the average ratio is 1 to 482. To address this
concern, a number of state and philanthropic initiatives have arisen. In 2014, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Heckscher
Foundation partnered with the College Advising Corps, College Possible, Strive for College and The Jack Kent Cooke
Foundation to increase the number of high-achieving, low- and moderate-income students who apply to and graduate from
top colleges and universities. They used video chat, email, telephone, and text to create a virtual student support network for
students. In June 2018, Bloomberg committed $375 million to improve education by investing in cities and states, supporting
advocacy work and electoral campaigns and focusing on preparing students for high wage careers that do not require a four-
year degree.
The Lily Foundation awarded more than $49 million in grants to support a Comprehensive School Counseling Initiative for
Indiana K–12 Students. This multi-year program launched in 2016 and “seeks to significantly increase the number of Indiana
students who are emotionally healthy, realize academic success, graduate from high school, obtain valuable postsecondary
credentials necessary for meaningful employment, and are prepared to compete and prosper in the global society in which
they will live and work” (Comprehensive Counseling Initiative, n.d.). The grants have been awarded to Indiana public schools,
charter schools, and universities to strengthen school counseling programs and to better prepare the next generation of
school counselors and principals.
Since 2010, the Colorado School Counseling Corps Grant Program has provided $16 million to improve outcomes in low-
income high schools. The funding has supported the placement of an additional 220 school counselors in Colorado schools,
reducing the student to counselor ratio from 363:1 to 216:1. They saw a 3.5 percentage point reduction in the dropout rate
and a boost in Advanced Placement participation by 75 percent. They also found that for every $1 they invested in counseling,
the state saved $20 in costs related to students who may have otherwise dropped out of school (Colorado Department of
Education, 2016).
Analyzing data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, Belasco (2013) found that school-based counseling made
distinct and substantial contributions to the college enrollment and destinations of low socioeconomic students (SES).
Engberg and Gilbert (2013), examining the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, found that both school counselor norms
(average caseload and hours spent on college counseling) and resources (college fairs, college course offerings, and
financial aid) were important predictors of a school’s four-year college going rates. They also found that the number of hours
school counselors spend on college counseling is a strong predictor of four-year college going rates for that school. Hurwitz
and Howell (2014) found the addition of one extra high school counselor increased four-year college enrollment rates by 10
percentage points.
Again, although the aforementioned initiatives and professional associations have a commitment to college counseling,
they have historically worked separately with little collaboration. Future efforts to increase counselors’ knowledge and skills in
college counseling will be dependent on how well these organizations work together to provide professional development and
training for pre-service and existing college counselors.

Pre-Service Training of School Counselors

School counselor educators and practicum/internship supervisors play a critical role in the preparation of school counselors
and college advisers/counselors in secondary schools. In fact, finding a consistent description of school counselor
responsibilities differs by school and by district, making it even more difficult to determine the best preparation content and
practices for training or preparation programs. Having fully equipped and prepared school counselors has been seen as
essential for all involved. Trolley (2011) found that “very little research exists that pertains to the adequacy of school counselor
preparation, given the current demands of the job” (p. 21).
According to ASCA, there are hundreds of school counselor preparation programs (graduate-level) across the United States
(2019b). For many years, the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) was
the only accrediting body of pre-service graduate counselor training programs. However, in 2018, ASCA announced that their
School Counselor Preparation Program Standards, a unified set of principles guiding school counselor preparation programs,
would be in effect for programs seeking accreditation. The ASCA School Counselor Preparation Program Standards will
establish ASCA as a Specialized Professional Association (SPA) under the Council for the Accreditation of Educator
Preparation (CAEP) (2019a). School counseling graduate programs are also designed to comply with state and/or national
counselor certification and licensure requirements. Below are short descriptions of CACREP and ASCA preparation standards.

11
 The 2016 CACREP Standards are organized into six sections. Section 1, The Learning Environment, includes standards
pertaining to the institution, the academic unit, and program faculty and staff. Section 2, Professional Counseling Identity,
includes foundational standards and the counseling curriculum, comprising the eight required core content areas. Section 3,
Professional Practice, refers to standards required for entry-level practice, practicum, internship, supervisor qualifications, and
practicum and internship course loads. Section 4, Evaluation in the Program, provides standards relevant to evaluation of the
program, assessment of students, and evaluation of faculty and site supervisors. Section 5, Entry-Level Specialty Areas,
provides standards relevant to specialty areas offered by the program. These include addictions; career; clinical mental health;
clinical rehabilitation; college counseling and student affairs; marriage, couple, and family; school counseling; and
rehabilitation counseling. For each specialty area, standards pertaining to foundations, contextual dimensions and practice are
provided. Section 6 contains the Doctoral Standards for Counselor Education and Supervision, including learning
environment, professional identity, and doctoral-level practicum and internship requirements.
Programs accredited by CACREP include course work in the following eight areas: professional orientation and ethical
practice, social and cultural diversity, human growth and development, career development, helping relationships, group work,
assessment, and research and program evaluation. School counseling programs accredited by CACREP also must align their
program to meet standards that specifically address school-based issues and client populations. The 2016 CACREP School
Counseling standards require programs to equip graduates with postsecondary preparation knowledge and skills. For
example, graduates are expected to be able to implement “strategies to promote equity in student achievement and college
access” (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, 2015, p. 34).
Revised in 2018, the ASCA School Counselor Preparation Standards consist of seven standards: Foundational Knowledge;
Core Theories and Concepts; Instructional and School Counseling Interventions; Student Learning Outcomes; Designing,
Implementing and Evaluating Comprehensive School Counseling Programs; Professional Practice; and Ethical Practice.
College and career readiness, as a topic, is included under Standard 3—Instructional and School Counseling Interventions
(ASCA, 2018a). Standard 3.2 states, “Identify individual counseling, group counseling, and classroom instruction techniques to
ensure equitable access to resources promoting academic achievement, college/career readiness, and social/emotional
development for every student” (ASCA, 2018a, p. 1).

School Counselor Identity

There continues to be role ambiguity in professional school counseling, which ultimately influences the extent to which college
counseling occurs in secondary schools. According to Lambie and Williamson (2004), there is incongruence between what is
learned in pre-service training and the actual duties most professional school counselors perform. In addition, the literature is
replete with illustrations of how school counselors are perceived as ancillary professionals in school districts and remain on
the “outside” of important decision-making and policy development.
For many years, counselors have advocated for a stronger identity and a desire for others to understand their role and
capabilities (Johnson, 2000). Administrators, parents, community members, teachers, and other stakeholders consistently
view the role of school counselors differently. While ASCA’s focus is on the counselor as educator, the Association for
Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) along with other counseling organizations, call for a unified professional
counselor identity.
Astramovich, Hoskins, Gutierrez, and Bartlett (2013) suggest that the school counseling profession suffers from role
diffusion in addition to role ambiguity. Role diffusion is defined by the authors as the process of assuming or being appointed
to roles and duties that individuals from other fields or specialties are equally qualified to perform. For instance, role diffusion
occurs when a school counselor is assigned by an administrator to be responsible for school-wide achievement testing—
something that teachers, teacher specialists, or even school registrars may be equally competent to organize.

Counselor to Student Ratios

According to recent data, school counselors across the country managed caseloads of about 455 students each during the
2016-2017 school year (ASCA, 2019c). The report highlights a disparity that exists across America. Arizona had the highest
ratio with 905 students for every one school counselor, and Vermont had the lowest ratio, 202 students to each school
counselor (ASCA, 2019c).
Although there is no simple solution to increasing college and career readiness, numerous case studies indicate that school
counselors can play an instrumental role in increasing college enrollment rates, if given the time to work with students. Sink
and Stroh (2003) have even found a linkage between comprehensive school counseling programs and academic
performance. And, Lapan, Gysbers, and Sun (1997) found that schools with more fully implemented guidance programs had
positive effects on high school students’ self-reporting of grades, preparation for the future, career and college resources, and
perceptions of school climate. And, Carrell and Carrell (2006), using data provided by Florida’s Alachua County School
District, found that lower school counselor to student ratios decrease both the recurrence of student disciplinary problems and
the share of students involved in a disciplinary incident. Given these studies, albeit limited, the American School Counselor
Association recommends that there be no more than 250 students to each school counselor (ASCA, 2017). However, as
evidenced above, a majority of school districts do not adhere to this recommendation.

Further Considerations

The recent surge of attention and focus on the importance of college and school counseling has resulted in an abundance of
initiatives and new organizations, centers, and councils. Although there’s evidence illustrating that school counselors, when
accessible and able to provide direct college counseling to students and their families can be highly influential in the college
admission process, there’s still less clarity regarding best practices and the structural constraints in schools (e.g., counselor-
student ratios) still impede the availability of high school counselors (Holland, 2015; McDonough, 2004). Counselors are few in
number, often have large student caseloads and are limited in the amount of time they have to implement college counseling.
According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, in 2008, public school counselors spent 23 percent

12
of their time on postsecondary counseling, while their private school counterparts spent 54 percent of their time on college
counseling. This inequitable focus on college counseling in schools is directly linked to inequitable achievement gains and
overall economic and wealth attainment.
Over the past decade, higher education researchers and professionals have recognized the influence of a strong college-
going culture in schools on students’ college-going rates (Govan, 2011; MacDonald & Dorr, 2006; McDonough, 2012).
College-going culture theory is a developing theory introduced by McClafferty, McDonough, and Nunez (2002). The idea of a
school with a “college-going culture” evolved from partnerships between UCLA and a group of urban schools that wanted to
create a college-culture in their schools. Since 2002, the principles, conditions and assessment of college-going culture has
grown, and the College Board has endorsed it, giving it credibility in the field. McClafferty et al. (2002) suggest that there are
nine principles of a college-going culture: college talk, clear expectations, information and resources, comprehensive
counseling model, testing and curriculum, faculty involvement, family involvement, college partnerships, and articulation.
Despite the inclusion of a “comprehensive counseling model” as one of the principles, counselors, for the most part, have not
fully embraced a role in developing college-going cultures in schools. This is evident by the lack of counseling literature on
college-going culture theory, practice and/or assessment.
Another future consideration in college counseling is undermatching. Undermatching refers to the phenomenon in which
well-qualified students, often from less affluent households, are not matched with competitive colleges. Undermatched
students attend less-demanding colleges such as two-year colleges or don’t attend college at all. Hoxby and Avery (2012)
found that more than half of the most talented potential applicants from low-income families never apply to a competitive
college. In a more recent study, Kang and Garcia Torres (2018) found that undermatching is still prevalent and students who
are under-matched—many of them minority students—are less likely to graduate on time than are those who attend colleges
that match their abilities.
There’s no doubt that undermatching occurs, but solutions to the problem are far less clear. College leaders and
foundations have vowed to fight undermatching and to take steps to make sure that more of these talented students found
their way to elite institutions. Nevertheless, their efforts have not made a significant impact on college going trends. Future
research on college counseling and undermatching is clearly warranted to decrease college opportunity gaps.

Summary

Despite the many contributions of counselors, there may be dire consequences for counselors if they do not show their
contributions to helping students with postsecondary planning and college counseling. With the increased need for a new,
more educated workforce, initiatives such as Reach Higher and organizations such as ASCA and NACAC become even more
important for the building of a strong pipeline of effective and well-trained school and college counselors for today’s most
vulnerable youth. Yet, school counselors and college counselors are tasked with illustrating their attention to college and
career readiness for all students especially those with the highest learning needs. If not, school counselors and school
counseling programs risk being obsolete and forgotten in the world of education reform. For instance, in many districts,
counselors have been replaced with other models of student support (e.g., a deans model). Clearly the need for counselors to
be advocates for their profession is needed and the College Board has coined the term “Own the Turf” to illustrate a national
campaign to mobilize counselors to own the knowledge and skills related to college and career counseling and to take the
lead in establishing a college-going culture in their schools, districts, and communities.
The arena of college counseling represents one of the most dynamic areas of contemporary education reform and policy. In
this chapter, a series of topical, conceptual, and analytical issues pertaining to counseling have been raised in order to
introduce counseling to the reader but also to spark dialogue and discourse about the future of counseling in light of the
needs of the US economy, and current trends in education reform. All in all, there is no better time than now for counselors to
engage and become major players in our country’s future economic and education planning.

About the Authors

Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, PhD, joined American University in 2016 as the Dean of the School of Education. In concert with
her colleagues in the College of Arts and Sciences, she concentrates her efforts on recruiting and supporting a more research-
active and diverse faculty, developing outstanding new curricula in education, and building bridges to school districts and
education industries around the globe.
Previous to this role, Dr. Holcomb-McCoy served as the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Vice Dean of Academic Affairs
and Chair in the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. She has held appointments as Associate Professor of
Counselor Education at the University of Maryland, College Park and Assistant Professor and Director of the School
Counseling Program at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.

Laura Owen, PhD, is the Director, Center for Postsecondary Readiness and Success and Research Associate Professor at
American University. She focuses on evaluating the impact of interventions and programs designed to address the persistent
equity and access issues that so many students across the country face.

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Chapter 2: The Dynamic Ecosystem of Higher Education: Implications for College
Admission Counseling
James Dean Ward and William G. Tierney, PhD

16
A quarter of a century ago, no one predicted the challenges that higher education would face today. Throughout much of the
last generation, there have been periods of optimism and periods of decline. State legislatures have, on occasion, provided
less public monies than an institution’s leaders and faculty may have liked, for example, but until recently, tomorrow was not
that different from yesterday. Although the last quarter of a century has not seen the emergence of numerous new brick and
mortar institutions, which occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, very few traditional colleges or universities that existed in 1990
have died. In many respects, the majority of postsecondary institutions function much like they did a quarter of a century ago.
In this light, the ecosystem of higher education, the various types of postsecondary institutions and how they interact with
one another and the larger environment, has not changed very much. There also was not much anticipation that the
ecosystem would undergo significant changes. Consider, for example, that 40 years ago the vast majority of students in the
United States attended public institutions. A small, but significant number of liberal arts colleges catered to a specific clientele
that had been developed over time. Elite private and public universities were the best in the world; they received fiscal support
not only from tuition, state public subsidies for the publics, and largesse from donors for the privates, but also from significant
federal funding of research. The for-profit sector was a tiny organism in the postsecondary ecosystem, a minor irritant for
some, but ignored by most. The clientele for postsecondary education were still thought to be traditionally aged, full-time
students, although by 1990, the demographic was beginning to become what it has become today—increasingly older and
largely part-time. The lion’s share of energy, effort and research, however, focused on the 18–21-year-old clientele. Additional
efforts were focused on increasing the participation and completion rates of underrepresented students in all sectors of higher
education.
Thus, in 1990, there was little assumption that the postsecondary sector would shift from full-time teenagers to part-time
adults or that the representation of students of color would still remain at alarming levels both in attendance and completion.
Few predicted that some, if not many, liberal arts colleges might become an endangered species or that for-profit institutions
would grow so rapidly and engender so much antipathy.

State legislatures have, on occasion, provided less public monies than an institution’s leaders and
faculty may have liked, for example, but until recently, tomorrow was not that different from
yesterday.

What also had not been anticipated is the disruption to how one thought about a college education. Students came to a
campus. They took classes defined by “seat-time.” When students had accumulated a certain number of credits, then they
were ready to graduate. Full-time, tenure-track faculty were the arbiter of student quality, defined by the grade provided to the
student. When students graduated from college, it was incumbent upon them to find employment; the link between curricula
and jobs was indirect, at best. College completion was not a topic of conversation. Remediation was a concern, but not a
crisis. Transfer between two- and four-year institutions was a nuisance, but not worthy of much effort on the state level or in
policy sectors. The relationship between the secondary and postsecondary sectors was largely nonexistent.
In the larger environment, there was a general agreed-upon lament about the weaknesses of public education in the United
States. The largest amount of hand-wringing and reform, however, was aimed at improving K–12 education by creating
options—vouchers, charter schools, and the like. Higher education received occasional commentary, but by and large, the
public viewed a college education as valuable and postsecondary institutions as providing a quality product. Whereas
governors, legislatures, newspapers, and think tanks had a great deal to say about schools, when it came to higher education,
the same groups largely exhibited a hands-off attitude, deferring to college and university presidents and the faculty.
If one had gone to sleep in 1990 and awakened today, there would certainly be a great deal of surprise about the changes
that have occurred and the tenor of discussions about the academic environment. The media offers a daily drumbeat about
the weakness of the postsecondary sector and the costs of college for students and families. The cumulative amount of
student loans is now roughly $1.5 trillion—something that could not have been imagined a quarter of a century ago. Liberal
arts colleges as a specific species within the general ecosystem now seem at risk for survival. The federal government is
considering reducing support for basic research. After significant growth during the early years of the 21st century, for-profit
institutions now enroll nearly 10 percent of students (Ginder, Kelly-Reid, & Mann, 2017), and have garnered a great deal of
criticism for their often-questionable recruiting practices and frequently dismal placement rates. Of consequence, all of higher
education is now being assessed for the utility and quality of learning.
Public community colleges continue to fail to graduate or transfer sizeable numbers of students (Shapiro et al., 2016); for
example, fewer than 40 percent of the students beginning community college in 2010 earned a degree or certificate at their
initial or a transfer institution. Rather than a nuisance, such issues are now of central concern. Policies aimed at increasing
college completion and reducing remediation across all sectors are now discussed in most states and in multiple think tanks
and foundations. This may be most exemplified by the resurgence and strengthening of performance-based funding. More
than half the states are now funding postsecondary institutions based on outcomes metrics, such as degree production and
credits earned, rather than the number of students enrolled. The underlying theory of action for the policies is that basing
funding on outcomes will incentivize institutions to improve their educational services and better serve students. Although
seemingly logical, performance-based funding has been largely ineffective at meeting its intended goals (Dougherty et al.,
2016).
The majority, 70 percent of American adults (Jones, 2016), think a postsecondary education is very important, but many
Americans are questioning the value of a degree. Given increasing tuition prices and the perceived disconnect between
college curricula and workplace skills, 47 percent of Americans do not think college is worth the investment (Hart Research
Associates, 2017). It is not unsurprising the hands-off attitude that society had shown has been replaced by a demand for
significant changes—although what those changes are, or should be, is entirely unclear. Large changes in regulation,
accountability, and financial aid are being proposed across the political spectrum to address the growing insecurity in
American higher education.

17
 Perhaps trying to chart the future is a fool’s errand. And yet, systems, like organisms in an ecosystem, always evolve. At
times such as these, change occurs more dramatically than during times of stability. One ought not to look to the future as if
every step is certain, but based on the history of higher education and the recent trajectory of the system, there are reasonable
conjectures one might make about how to think about higher education in general and college admission in particular.
Accordingly, our purpose here is neither to suggest that the challenges higher education faces are amenable to quick fixes
nor to lament that they are unsolvable. However, there are four key issues that need to be dealt with over the next decade that
will not only inform how to think about college admission specifically, but also higher education in general. We point out that
these issues will force and enable us to think of new ways of delivering and evaluating teaching and learning and how to
define postsecondary organizations in the 21st century. We conclude with what these issues might portend for college
admission.

Understanding the Value of a College Education

Historically, the value of education has rarely been disputed in the United States. Since the time of Horace Mann in the early
19th century, the citizens of the United States have assumed that education enhances the economic and social prospects of
the individual and improves the larger democratic public sphere. The importance of education has been so critical to the
country’s well-being that elementary and secondary education has been a free public good, and postsecondary education has
been heavily subsidized through grants to public institutions and to students.
The overwhelming evidence remains that the more education one has, the greater prospects there are for better-paying
jobs. Earnings over a lifetime of a college graduate are nearly double that of a high school graduate, and the gap is increasing
over time. Predictions are that close to 60 percent of the workforce will have to have some form of postsecondary degree—a
certificate, AA or BA degree (Lumina Foundation, 2012). Numerous studies conclude that more access to higher education is
imperative for the well-being of the nation. The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, the Public Policy Institute
of California, the Lumina Foundation, and the Gates Foundation all have suggested that college-going and graduation rates
need to be increased (Carnevale, Jayasundera, & Gulish, 2016). The United States once ranked at the top of OECD (The
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) rankings for college attainment, but today, the country has been
ousted from the top 10 countries.
Some, but not many, have argued that the status quo is sufficient (Schalin, 2010; Vedder, Denhart, Denhart, Matgouranis, &
Robe, 2010). The underpinning of the argument is that employers hire individuals with college degrees, but the job only
requires a high school degree. In effect, college graduates deliver pizza because there are not enough college-degree-related
jobs (Vedder et al., 2010). The assumption is that credentialing helps the higher education industry but not the economy. The
problem of such an analysis is that, for example, by 2030 nearly 70 percent of the jobs in California are expected to require
what one learns in college (Johnson, Mejia, & Bohn, 2015). California will fall short by more than one million students based
on current estimates. Such a shortfall has dire consequences for the well-being of the state. The problem is that students are
not learning the right sorts of skills in college in order to be ready for the job market upon graduation. In fact, less than half of
employers think students are prepared in key workforce skills including working in groups and written and oral
communication.
A related critique is that too many students graduate from high school and are not college-ready, and then they graduate
from college and are not career-ready. The evidence seems to bear out the claims. An estimated 80 percent of community
college students enter the system underprepared for college-level coursework (Rodriguez, Mejia, & Johnson, 2016). For years,
just under half of California State University’s entering students need to take at least one remedial class. However, in 2017
Chancellor Timothy White dropped remediation requirements in order to help students move through degree programs faster.
It remains to be seen whether this policy will be effective in graduating more students, and if these students will develop key
workforce skills employers seek.
The challenges that the higher education sector faces are multiple. If more students need to participate in higher education,
where will they go? What will they study? What sorts of relationships need to be forged between secondary and
postsecondary institutions so that high school graduates are better prepared for going to, and graduating from, college? If the
country accepts the status quo, then the United States will have become an island of mediocrity encumbered with an
uneducated workforce.

Examining the State’s Role in Higher Education

Based on the commitment to education by the citizenry, a state’s role in higher education has been relatively straightforward
until recently; the states had different kinds of public institutions for different kinds of students. The primary job of these
institutions has been to educate individuals, and that has been defined by the attainment of a degree. The idea of education as
a socializing agent, or as a way to instill civic values in individuals, has largely been downplayed for a generation.
Community colleges have always offered certificates for working-class jobs (e.g., plumbing), but they also have been
frequently criticized because of their high drop-out and non-completion rates, as well as their low transfer rates to four-year
institutions. Second-tier state universities also have offered master’s degrees and research universities have focused on
graduate education. Most states also have had a medical complex devoted to the training of physicians; a teaching hospital
and medical complex also have contributed to the health and economic welfare of a state. Research, as an economic engine
for a state, has played a significant role in some states, such as California, and much less in other states, such as Mississippi.
Although variations have occurred across states, the general principle throughout most of the 20th century was that the
state-funded public institutions, and a relatively small portion of a postsecondary institution’s budget was dependent upon
tuition or other revenue. Trends also existed by sector; virtually all of a community college’s and state university’s budget
derived from state support, whereas the elite public research universities have a history of attracting federal research dollars,
primarily for science, and foundation support for a variety of research areas.
Over the last generation, public institutions also have become involved in capital campaigns, similar to those at private
universities, in order to generate revenue from alumni and wealthy philanthropists. The assumption has been, however, that if
public research universities are to maintain their status as world-class institutions, then they must raise revenue from private

18
sources insofar as the state will no longer provide enough support. Such an assumption is widespread today, whereas a
generation ago, most states funded most public institutions.
Although state funding has decreased as an absolute percentage of overall revenue, state regulatory control has increased.
Until recently, the state had been relatively uninvolved in the regulation of postsecondary institutions. Regulation had been
ceded to accrediting bodies—both institutional and professional. What a college or university offered and how quality was
defined had been granted to the institution, in general, and the faculty, in particular. Regional accreditation, although critically
important, simply demonstrated minimal levels of institutional competence. Without accreditation, an institution’s degree was
relatively worthless, although many institutions, especially for-profit institutions, have existed without it. The lack of
accreditation, however, meant that the students could not receive federal or state loans and grants, and that if they wished to
transfer to another institution, their degree and institutional credits would not be accepted.
Although state legislatures always have taken on hot-button curricular issues from time to time, in general, the state has
stayed away from regulatory control. Presidents created budget requests, and the legislature approved all or some portion of
it. Line-item vetoes or oversight on a particular course offering was generally not done. To be sure, at times, special requests
occurred. The state may have decided that a particular focus was important, or a legislator simply wanted some particular
center or institute at the postsecondary institution in his or her political district, but the overarching assumption was that the
postsecondary institutions knew best how to lead their institutions.
Over the last generation, that assumption has gradually changed. Accreditation has come under attack as being too weak
and too slow, and technological changes have challenged geographically based accrediting agencies. If a public, private or
for-profit institution is based in Nebraska, but has an online master’s degree that students in New York are taking, from which
region of the country should the degree be given accreditation? If someone wants to be a veterinarian, is it more important for
the institution to have accreditation from a state agency or one with broader reach, possibly beyond national borders? As
Duderstadt and Womack (2003) have pointed out, “Higher education is breaking loose from the moorings of physical
campuses, even as its credentialing monopoly begins to erode” (p. 76). The result is that, on the one hand, we are seeing the
market replace regulatory control, while, on the other, the state is asking for greater oversight of those diminishing public
dollars that they provide.
Higher education, then, is evolving like other deregulated industries, such as healthcare, where we see public and profit-
making hospitals; we also experience all the strengths and weaknesses of the market and deregulation, such as we have
recently experienced in the banking and housing industries. The general winner of deregulation is for-profit companies who
have viewed accrediting bodies as exclusionary gatekeepers. While the for-profit sector contracted under the Obama
Administration’s crackdown on gainful employment and student loan defaults, President Trump and Secretary DeVos have
begun rolling back these regulations and vowed to limit federal government oversight. Critics charge, however, that the state is
adding regulatory burdens to public institutions precisely at the time they are weakening their oversight capacity of other
institutions. As a result, the consumer is put at risk.
The shift away from the creation, sustenance and support of a public good reflects shifts with other goods and services for
the state such that the state no longer sees itself as a purveyor of public goods. A consistent and radical line of thinking is that
the state and federal government’s regulatory role should also be negligible. The subprime mortgage loans that contributed to
the housing crisis in the United States reflect a philosophy that says markets need to be unregulated for capitalism to flourish.
For-profit colleges and universities (FPCUs) have made the same sort of argument and have largely succeeded. They have
persistently argued, as most proponents of such arguments reason, that there is still too much regulation. They charge that if
problems exist, market demands will fix the problems, and they do not need regulation to hamper their efforts. The consumer
(the student) only buys “good” products, so it is in the organization’s interest to police the quality of the product. Although
there is some admitted truth to such an assertion, it also does not take into account a history of malfeasance by companies
that have shown little regard or concern for the customer. Under the Obama Administration, the federal government worked to
curb these abuses. Similarly, state attorneys general have played a large role in regulatory enforcement but have primarily only
taken action against the most egregious violators (Ward & Tierney, 2017). With Trump’s commitment to deregulation, the onus
to protect consumers will fall increasingly on state governments. Despite the uptick in state-level enforcement, FPCUs have
still largely flown under the radar because they are not beholden to the state for funding.
Ironically, public institutions have faced a twofold problem. They have been criticized as the opposite of consumer-friendly.
Because they presumably receive a steady stream of revenue that is impervious to consumer demands, the argument has
been made that they are out of touch and exist to support the faculty, rather than the students. Because of this perception,
steps have been made to regulate them and to make demands with regard to admission, retention, graduation, time-to-
degree, and a host of other issues.

Assessing Privatization in the Ecosystem

The shift from the idea that an organization should be the provider of a public good has opened the door to a significant
increase in private providers and the privatization of public institutions.
For-profit colleges grew immensely in the early 21st century but have experienced decreasing enrollment over the last few
years. Although FPCUs have existed for more than a century in the United States, until recently they were relatively small
companies that offered one specific skill or trade, such as cosmetology or welding. However, for-profit institutions, such as the
University of Phoenix, now rank among the largest in the United States. This new iteration of FPCUs all have a similar funding
model. They outsource the vast majority of their services and standardize their curricula, teaching and learning across
campuses. Courses are offered in areas that are convenient to students, such as shopping malls, and at convenient times for
the working adult—evenings and weekends. Faculty are part-time; in general, they do not receive health or retirement benefits,
and they will be dismissed if there is a drop in enrollment in the classes that they teach or if their teaching evaluations are not
excellent. While many of these behemoth institutions have survived the contraction of the market, although they have still
experienced dips in enrollment, others, such as ITT Tech and Corinthian Colleges, have shuttered due to charges of fraud and
abuse.
One key aspect of FPCUs is that they rely on their ability to fill out paperwork for a student to apply for grants and loans from
the federal and state governments. Their admission staff can be quite large, and rather than have students wait several months

19
from the time they apply until they are admitted and start their program, a for-profit institution may admit and enroll a student in
a matter of days. The result is that more than 90 percent of the institution’s income is generated from fee-paying students, and
the students’ fees derive from the government (Klor de Alva & Rosen, 2012). Ironically, then, the most private of our institutions
thrive, and most likely could not survive, without public funding. One significant difference between FPCUs and traditional
providers is that these private, for-profit companies pay taxes to the government and generate revenue for the owners or
corporate boards. Students graduate with greater debt loads than at comparable public and private nonprofit institutions, the
retention and graduation rates tend to be lower than at comparable institutions, and default rates on loans have been a
significant issue.
The argument for for-profits has been made succinctly by Weisbrod, Ballou and Asch (2008): “Services that can be sold
profitably do not need public subsidies” (p. 4). From this perspective, education, as defined as preparation for the job market,
is a good that can be sold, and a for-profit college can do it as well as, or better than, a publicly subsidized institution. The
alternative argument, of course, is that education is more than vocational training and that the purpose of a public university is
more than simply the selling of a service. Moreover, as an experience good, the quality and value of an educational program
are difficult to assess prior to purchasing it. Consumers are particularly vulnerable to fraud and misinformation when obtaining
such a product, the effects of which are compounded by the high price and singular purchase of postsecondary education. If
we believe providing a quality education requires monetary resources, the profit motive of proprietary institutions may be in
direct contrast to the expensive enterprise of providing postsecondary training.
The result is that the public landscape is significantly different in the second decade of the 21st century than it was a quarter
of a century ago. Privatization also has had an impact on the working conditions of the institutions. The United States now
hires more non-tenure-track faculty than tenure-track; part-time faculty are more common in many institutions than full-time
(tenure-track or non-tenure-track) faculty. Because public institutions still relied on a part of their revenue from the state when
the economic crisis of 2008–2009 erupted, public institutions had more significant problems than private, nonprofit institutions
and especially for-profit colleges and universities. Many faculty at public institutions were furloughed, as were public
employees, which resulted in a loss in many states of about 10 percent of a professor’s salary (Turner, 2014). The result is that
private nonprofit research institutions seem to be eclipsing public research universities.
Public institutions, becoming decreasingly reliant upon public funds, are becoming more private in their operations. The
need to reduce costs to account for losses in state revenue has resulted in increased outsourcing of tasks previously done
internally. Basic aspects of operations, such as janitorial or food service operations, are now completed by contracting with
external companies. Some institutions are going as far as outsourcing academic advising to private companies in order to
reduce administrative costs. The increased privatization of operations puts the mission and purpose of an institution at risk. In
extreme cases, whole colleges have forgone public funding and completely privatized, including the Anderson School of
Management at UCLA. By cutting financial ties with the state, individual colleges are seeking to usurp power from legislatures,
but run the risk of undermining the public mission under which these schools were chartered.
Certainly, private institutions faced economic problems during the Great Recession; however, because their losses were
largely restricted to endowment income, they did not face a crisis with regard to their operating revenue. In the years since the
downturn, college costs continued rising, but Americans’ salaries have not kept pace with rising tuition. The high tuition prices
at many private nonprofit colleges have kept students from enrolling. Institutions have responded by severely discounting their
prices through institutional aid (National Association of College and University Business Officers, 2017). Moreover, institutional
debt has risen as a result of increased expansion and decreased revenues. Small colleges unable to meet these debt
obligations have continued to dig a deeper financial hole, causing some to close and leaving many more on the precipice of
closure (Ward, 2016). Small private colleges are under financial strain similar to public institutions, although the causes are
quite different.
Because for-profit institutions have a low set cost for personnel, they were not greatly impacted during the recession. Very
few of the institutions faced a decrease in applicants; the result was that those institutions that relied on tuition revenue—for-
profit and private nonprofits—did better than those institutions that still existed in part through public funding. More recently, as
we shall discuss, small liberal arts colleges, as well as some public institutions, have faced enrollment declines, but that has
less to do with a downturn in the economy and more to do with the changing needs and preferences of the consumer.
A consequence of privatization is greater managerial power and decision-making authority. Although private universities also
function under the academic model of shared governance, it is fair to say that the diminution of the “public” nature of an
institution increases the voice of administrators and decreases that of the faculty. As Douglass (2009) has observed, the
consequences of globalization are “broader authority for university presidents, including greater authority in budget
management and administrative authority” (p. 9). Democratic principles of decision-making are not so much eschewed or
repudiated, but simply overlooked in the rush to make decisions so that the organization is more efficient.

Interpreting the Rise in Disruptive Conditions Within the Ecosystem

Traditional organizations, whether they are profit-making companies or nonprofit institutions, such as colleges and universities,
generally try to adapt to the times and meet the needs of their customers. They do so by calling upon what Clayton
Christensen has defined as “sustainable technology” (Christensen et al., 2011). A sustainable technology improves upon the
current technology that exists in a traditional organization. The clearest example of a sustainable technology is when
typewriter companies moved from manual to electric typewriters. Anyone who can remember the days of manual typewriters
will remember the excitement of the adoption of the electric typewriter. What we were doing suddenly got easier and faster.
The movement from a push lawnmower to an electric lawnmower and going from black and white television to color are
additional examples of sustainable technologies that improve upon a product.
A sustainable technology improves performance for the existing market and conceivably brings in additional customers who
may desire the current product. The customer has a variety of companies to choose from, and if the product does not stay up-
to-date, then the company will find itself in trouble or out of business. Obviously, companies that only sold manual typewriters,
black and white television sets, and push lawnmowers a decade after its competitors had introduced electric typewriters, color
televisions, and electric lawnmowers would find themselves in trouble.

20
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
 he was from dethe to lyfe and gave the lyghte of lyfe to all
them that weren quenchud....
“The strokys that ye prestes geveth on the boke
betokynneth the clappus of thunder yt Christ brake helle
gattys wyth when he com thedur and spoylud helle.”
Maundy, or Sheer Thursday.—On Thursday in Holy Week was
commemorated the Institution of the Blessed Eucharist by our Lord
in His last Supper. The Liber Festivalis makes the following
explanation of the feast, for the benefit of those who ask for the
reason of such things—
“First if men aske why Schere Thursday is so called, say yt
in holy churche it is called Our Lord’s Soper day. For that
day he soupud with hys disciple oponly.... Hit is also in
English tong ‘Schere Thursday,’ for in owr elde fadur days
men wold on yt day makon scheron hem honest, and dode
here hedes ond clypon here berdes and poll here hedes,
ond so makon hem honest agen Estur day; for on ye moro
(Good Friday) yei woldon done here bodies non ease, but
suffur penaunce, in mynde of Hym yt suffrud so harte for
hem. On Saturday they myghte mote whyle, whate for
longe service, what for other occupacion that they haddon
for the wake comynge and after mote was no tyme for
haly daye.... Therefore as John Belette telluth and techuth,
on ‘Schere Thursday’ a man shall dodun his heres and
clypponde his berde, and a prest schal schave his crowne
so that there schall no thynge bene betwene God Almythy
and hym.”
The Maundy.—On this day in all cathedral churches, in the greater
parish churches, and even in some of the smaller ones, the feet of
thirteen poor people were washed with great solemnity, and they
were fed and served at their meal by the dignitaries of the place, in
memory of our Lord’s act of humility in washing the feet of His
disciples. This “Maundy” was kept also in England by kings and
nobles, and even by private individuals, who on this day entertained
Christ’s poor in their houses.
The Absolution.—Thursday in Holy Week was also known to our
forefathers as “absolution day,” because, after tenebræ, in the
evening, in larger churches, the people knelt before the penitentiary
in acknowledgment of their repentance of sin, and received from him
a token of God’s acceptance by a rod being placed on their heads.
Sometimes this voluntary humiliation and discipline was performed
on Good Friday, and the rods touched the hands of the penitent. It
was to this rite Sir Thomas More refers in his book against Tyndall,
where he says—
“Tyndale is as lothe, good, tender pernell, to take a lyttle
penaunce of the prieste, as the lady was to come any
more to dyspelying that wept even for tender heart twoo
dayes after when she talked of it, that the priest had on
Good Friday with the dyspelyng rodde beaten her hard on
her lylye white hands.”
The church accounts sometimes refer to the purchase of rods for this
purpose by the wardens.
The Sepulchre.—The service of Maundy Thursday morning included
the consecration of two hosts, besides that which the celebrant
received at the Communion of the Mass. At the conclusion of the
service these two hosts were carried to some becoming place till the
following day, when one was used in the Mass of the Presanctified,
and the other was placed in a pyx and put along with the cross,
which had just been kissed and venerated, into what was known as
the “Easter Sepulchre.” On the afternoon of Good Friday it was
customary for people in the towns to make visits to the various
churches to pray at these sepulchres. There is no expense more
constantly recorded in all the parochial accounts than that for the
erection and taking down of the Easter Sepulchre. Generally, no
doubt, it was a more or less elaborate, although temporary, erection
of wood, hung over with the most precious curtains and hangings
which the church possessed, some of which were even frequently
left for this special purpose. Here in this “chapel of repose” the
Blessed Sacrament was placed at the conclusion of the Mass of the
Presanctified, and here the priest and people watched and prayed
before it till early in the morning of Easter day.
There are, however, in England some interesting instances of
permanent “tombs” being erected to serve as the Easter Sepulchre.
Some people in their wills left money to have a structure for the “altar
of repose,” worthy of its purpose, built over the spot on which they
themselves desired to be buried.
After the morning service of Maundy Thursday, the high altar, and
then all the altars in the church, were stripped of their ornaments and
cloths and were left bare, in memory of the way our Blessed Lord
was stripped of His garments before His crucifixion. In the evening of
the same day all the altars were washed with wine and blessed
water, the minister saying at each the prayer of the Saint to whom
the altar was dedicated; then he and all the clerks, having devoutly
kissed the stone slab, retired in silence.
Good Friday.—The chief feature in the morning service of Good
Friday was undoubtedly the “adoration of the Cross” and the
ceremonial kissing of it, better known in England as the “Creeping to
the Cross.” The meaning of this act of worship is set out in Dives and
Pauper so clearly that there can be no doubt as to what our
forefathers intended by it.
“Pauper.—In the same manner lewd men should do their
worship before the thing, making his prayer before the
thing and not to the thing.
“Dives.—On the other hand, on Good Friday above all in
holy Church men creep to the church and worship the
cross.
“Pauper.—That is so, but not as thou meanest: the cross
that we creep to and worship so highly that time is Christ
himself that died on the cross that day for our sins and our
sake. For the shape of man is a cross, and as He hung
upon the rood He was a very cross. He is that cross, as all
doctors say, to whom we pray and say, Ave crux, spes
unica—‘Hail be thou Cross, our only hope,’ etc. And as
Bede saith; for as much as Christ was most despised of
mankind on Good Fryday, therefore Holy Church hath
ordeyned that on the Good Fryday men should do Him
tha
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 EASTER SEPULCHRE, ARNOLD, NOTTS die
d
for us all that day upon the crosse.”
Archbishop Simon Mepham (1327-1333) issued a special
Constitution as to the way in which this solemn day was to be kept
throughout England.
“We order and ordain,” he says, “that this holy day of
Good Friday, on which our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ
after many stripes laid down His precious life on the Cross
for the salvation of men, according to the custom of the
Church should be passed in reading, silence, prayer and
fasting with tearful sorrow.”
For which reason this Synod forbade all servile work on this great
day; the archbishop adding, however, that this did not apply to the
poor, and that the rich might show their charity to the poor by aiding
them in work upon their land. The canonist Lyndwood points out, in
commenting on this provision, that by “silence” the archbishop
probably intends to prohibit all shouting or noise, all loud talking or
disputes, which might interfere with the solemnity of this
commemoration.
Holy Saturday.—The service of this day probably began at a late
hour, as, according to primitive custom, it was the Office of a Vigil.
The first act in the long Office was the blessing of the new fire, which
had previously been struck by a steel out of flint. After a candle had
been lit at the new fire, the procession passed from outside the
western door, where this first portion of the ceremony had been held,
into the church for the blessing of the Paschal Candle. The
preparation of this symbol of “the risen Lord,” with the five glorified
grains of incense, to remind all of His five sacred wounds, was one
of the yearly parochial works. The charges for it are to be found in
every book of church accounts: money was collected for the
purpose, people gave presents towards it, and in some places—at
St. Dunstan’s, Canterbury, for instance—goods in kind were placed
in the hands of the wardens, in order that the hiring-out of them
might pay for the annual “paschal.” To this practice of having their
annual “paschal,” the people clung somewhat tenaciously on the
change of religion; and as late as 1586, at Great Yarmouth, charges
were made by the churchwardens for taking down and putting up
“the Paschal.”
The Paschal, apparently, was commonly a lofty construction: a tall
thick piece of wood painted to represent a candle, and ornamented,
rested in the socket of the candlestick, and on the top of this, at a
great height, was the real candle. For some reason not known, the
wooden part was called by our English ancestors the “Judas of the
Paschal.” On this day also, in every parish church, the font was
hallowed with impressive and symbolic ceremonies.
Easter Day.—“On this day,” says an English fourteenth-century
sermon book—“on this day all the people receive the Holy
Communion.” This was apparently the universal custom; and
although in preparation for this Easter duty the parishioners were
advised to go to their parish priest at the beginning of Lent, there are
indications that during the last days of Holy Week there was
sometimes a press of penitents. At St. Mary’s, Dover, for example, in
1538 and 1539, the churchwardens enter in their expenses, “Item—
paid to two priests at Easter to help shrive—2s.” And in 1540 the
entry runs, “Item—paid to three priests to help shrive and to minister
on Maunday Thursday, Easter even, and Easter day, 2s. 4d.”
Early in the morning of Easter, at the first streak of dawn, the people
hastened to the church to be present when the Blessed Sacrament
was brought by the priests from the sepulchre to the usual place
where it hung over the altar. Sometimes the image of our Lord, which
had been placed with it in the figurative tomb of the Easter
sepulchre, was made movable, and on Easter day was placed on the
altar in a standing position. This probably was the case at St. Mary’s,
Cambridge, where in 1537 the churchwardens paid “for mending of
the Vice for the Resurrection.” Generally, however, the crucifix was
brought out of the place of repose and taken to some side altar, and
there once more, as on Good Friday, all clergy and people knelt to
honour it and kiss it. This was the practice in many large churches,
and a description of the “Resurrection figure” is given in the Rites of
Durham.
“There was in the Abbye church of Duresme,” says the
writer, “a very solemn service uppon Easter day, between
three and four of the cloche in the morninge in honour of
the Resurrection, where two of the oldest monkes came to
the sepulchre, being sett upp upon Good Friday after the
Passion, all covered with red velvett and embrodered with
gold, and then did sence it, either monke with a pair of
silver sencers sitting on their knees before the Sepulchre.
Then they both rising came to the sepulchre, out of the
which, with great devotion and reverence, they tooke a
marvelous beautiful image of our Saviour, representing the
Resurrection, with a cross in his hand, in the breast
whereof was enclosed in bright christall the Holy
Sacrament of the Altar, through the which christall the
Blessed Host was conspicuous to the beholders. Then,
after the elevation of the said picture, carryed by the said
two monkes uppon a faire velvett cushion all embrodered,
singinge the anthem of Christus resurgens, they brought it
to the high altar, settinge that on the midst thereof,
whereon it stood, the two monkes kneelinge on their
knees before the altar and senceing it, all the time that the
rest of the whole quire was in singinge the aforesaid
anthem of Christus resurgens. The which anthem being
ended, the two monkes took up the cushions and the
picture from the altar, supportinge it betwixt them,
proceeding in procession from the high altar to the South
quire door, where there was four antient gentlemen
belonginge to the prior, appointed to attend their cominge,
holding up a moste rich canopye of purple velvett, tacked
round about with redd silk and gold fringe; and at every
corner did stand one of these gentlemen to beare it over
the said image, with the Holy Sacrament carried by two
monkes round about the church, the whole quire waiting
uppon it with goodly torches and great store of other lights
till they came to the high altar againe, whereon they did
place the said image, there to remaine untill the Ascension
day.”
An English Easter custom is referred to in more than one book of
sermons.
“Fryndys,” says one preacher, “you schall understonde
that hyt ys a custome in plasys of worschyp, and in many
other dyvers plasys, that at thys solempe fest of Estern,
the whyche ys ye day and fest of the glorious Resurexcion
of our Lorde Ihesu, now to put owghte and remove ye fire
owghte of ye hall wt ye blakke wynture brondys defyllyd
and made blakke wt vyle smoke, and instede of ye seyde
fyre and blakke wynter brondys to strewe ye hall wythe
green rushys and other swete flewres.”
And another preacher adds the moral—
“Shewing example to all men and women that they should
in like wise clense the house of their soules.”
Langland gives us a slight sketch of an Easter morning in England
as he knew it in the fourteenth century.

“Men rang to ye resurrection and with that ich awakede

and kallyd Kytte my wyf, and Kalote my daughter,
A-ryse and go reverence, Godes resurrection,
and creep on knees to he cryos and cusse hit, for
And ryghtfullokest a relyk. Non riccher juwel on erthe
for Godes blesside body hit bar for oure bote
And hit afereth ye feonde for such is ye myghte
may no grysliche gost glyde ther hit shadeweth.”

Rogation Days.—During the entire week of Easter all work not

actually necessary was ordered to be laid aside, that the people
might have time for spiritual rejoicing. During this time also, in most
of the larger churches, after Evensong, a procession with all the
ministers vested in albs was formed to the newly hallowed font,
which, wreathed with flowers and evergreens, was censed by the
parish priest, and a “station” for prayer was held at that spot.
On the three days before the feast of our Lord’s Ascension, the
ancient practice of going in procession singing the litany of the
Saints was kept up in every church, unless it was one of the
churches in a cathedral city, for in that case the various parishes had
to attend at the Mother church and join together in one procession.
These “rogations,” as they were called, passed out of the church
precincts, and wound their way about streets or country roads of the
parish, unless bad weather confined them to the church itself.
“Gode men,” says the Liber Festivalis, “theis thre dayes
suying, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, ye schall
faston and com to chyrche, husbond and wyfe and
servaunde, for alle we be syners and neduth to have
mercy of God.... So holy Chyrch ordaineth yt none schall
excuson hym from theise processions yt may godely ben
there.”
The celebrated Richard FitzRalph, Archbishop of Armagh, in 1346,
when Dean of Lichfield, preached to the people at St. Nicholas’
Chapel on the meaning and obligation of these days of intercession,
or rogation, and explained why men prayed to the Saints, and why
they sang their Miserere to God. He also told the people why the
cross went at the head of the procession, and why the image of a
dragon with its tail out was carried the two first days before the
procession and the third day without its tail after the procession. It is
to those standards that the Sarum processional refers in regard to
these litanies, and to the same are to be referred the items to be
found in church accounts, such as those of Salisbury, where in 1462
boys are paid “to carry the poles and standards on Rogation days.”
The rest of the Christian year, with its round of feasts, does not here
require to be specially noted. The celebration of one differed from
that of another merely in the degree of splendour with which the
people decked their churches and brought forth their precious
vestments. At Whitsuntide and Corpus Christi day; on Assumption
and on All Hallows, as well as on its own dedication day, each
church endeavoured to outdo its neighbour by the splendour of its
services. In the processions of Corpus Christi day, not unfrequently
several churches united their forces together, and made a brave
show in honour of the most Blessed Sacrament with their various
processional crosses and banners, torches and thuribles, not to
speak of the amalgamated choirs and the throng of devout
worshippers who accompanied the Sacred Host in a triumphant
progress through the streets of our English cities, or along the roads
and lanes of rural England.
 CHAPTER IX
THE SACRAMENTS
This account of parochial life in pre-Reformation England requires
some brief description of the Sacramental system, which had its
effect on every soul in the district. From the time of his baptism as a
child of the Church, till his body was laid to rest in its tomb, each
parishioner was the constant recipient of some one of those
mysterious rites, by which, as he was taught by the Church and as
he believed, God’s grace was received into his soul to enable him to
lead the life of a good Christian. In the administration of these
Sacraments, nothing is more clear in the teaching of the Church of
the Middle Ages than that there was to be no question of money.
They—the Sacraments—were spiritual things, and to sell them for
fees would be plain simony, which was prohibited by every law of
God and man. If the administrator was permitted to take an offering,
it was only with the plain understanding that the payment was made
in regard to the service rendered, for which the recipient desired to
make some return; and that the Sacrament should be given without
the fee. In the case of such a Sacrament as Penance, for example,
where the acceptance of a fee or offering might lead to a
misunderstanding of the judicial character of the rite, and so bring it
into contempt, the reception of money was altogether prohibited by
the ecclesiastical authorities, and any such abuse was sternly
repressed. Thus, to take an example, in the acts of the Synod of Ely
in 1364, the bishop, Simon Langham, says, “We have heard, and
greatly grieve to have done so, that some priests exact money from
the laity for the administration of penance or other Sacraments, and
that some, for the sake of filthy lucre, impose penances” which bring
in money to them. “These we altogether prohibit.”
The Sacraments, according to the teaching of the Church, which
every one who pretended to be a practical Christian was bound to
receive, were Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Holy Eucharist,
Extreme Unction, and in the case of those desiring to marry,
Matrimony. Something may, therefore, usefully be said about each of
these.
Baptism.—“To those coming into the mare magnum of this world,”
says the legate Othobono, “Baptism must be regarded as the first
plank of safety in this sea of many shipwrecks to support us to the
port of salvation.” It is, he continues, the gate through which all have
to enter to enjoy the grace of the other Sacraments, and for this
reason “any error in regard to it is most dangerous,” and the
possibility of any child dying without receiving the saving waters is to
be zealously guarded against. Because of the priceless efficacy of
the Sacrament, every parish priest was warned to teach his people
in the vernacular the form of properly administering it, in case of
need when a priest could not be had. On this matter also the
Archdeacon in the time of his visitation of a parish was to inquire
diligently whether these instructions had been given, and whether
the parishioners generally knew how to baptize in case of need.
The importance which the Church attached to this Sacrament is well
illustrated by a Constitution of St. Edmund of Canterbury, which
orders that when the expectation of childbirth becomes imminent, all
parents should be warned to prepare a vessel and water to be ready
at hand, in case some sudden need should require the
administration of baptism.
Ordinarily speaking, there can be no doubt that the old English
practice was that every child should, if possible, be baptized in the
parish church on the day of birth. In the ancient “proofs of age,” this
practice is evident; one example will be sufficient. In 1360 it was
requisite to prove the age of John, son and heir of Adam de Welle,
and the first witness who was called, said that “he knew that he was
born on the eve of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, because he was
with his master who stood god-parent to the child on that day, which
was Sunday 21 years ago.” Another witness adds, that it was in the
evening that the baptism took place; and another that it was
performed by John de Scrubby, the chaplain.
There was, however, an exception. There were two days for public
baptism in the church, namely, Holy Saturday and the Saturday
before Pentecost, on which days the font in every parish church was
solemnly blessed. Apparently among English mothers in the
thirteenth century, this day was regarded as unlucky, and was
avoided by them as far as possible for the baptism of their children, a
superstition that the two legates Otho and Othobono endeavoured to
eradicate. It became consequently in England the practice, if children
were born within eight days of either of these two vigils of Easter or
Pentecost, that their baptism should be administered after the
blessing of the font, if there were no danger in the delay. In the case
of the baptism being held over, however, halfway between the day of
birth and the day of baptism, the child was to have all the
accompanying rites administered except only the actual baptism.
One of the demands of the Devon “rebels” in the time of the religious
changes in Edward VI.’s reign had reference to this question of
baptism. “We will,” it ran, “that our curates shall minister the
Sacrament of Baptism at all times, as well as in the week-day as on
the holy-day.” To this Cranmer, in his reply, says, “Every Easter and
Whitsuneven, until this time, the fonts were hallowed in every church
and many collects and other prayers were read for them that were
baptized. But alas! in vain, and as it were a mocking with God; for at
those times, except it were by chance, none were baptized, but all
were baptized before.”
The offering for the administration of baptism was strictly voluntary.
Whenever any difficulty arose between the parson and his people on
this matter, the bishop always took the opportunity of laying down as
the common law of the Church that nothing could be exacted. Bishop
Grandisson, for instance, in 1355, in a case at Moreton Hampstead,
declared “that no priest could deny, or presume to deny, any
Sacrament to his parishioners by demanding money, but that he
might afterwards take what the people chose to offer him.”
 SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
The reverence with which our forefathers regarded whatever had
been used for any sacred purpose is illustrated in a matter
connected with this Sacrament. Bishop Quevil, in the Synod of
Exeter in 1287, states that when in case of necessity a child had
been baptized in its own home, the vessel that had been used
should either be destroyed by fire or given to the church to be used
for ecclesiastical purposes; and that the water should either be
thrown on the fire or taken to the church and poured down the
“sacrarium.” Myrc, in his Instructions, gives this same order—

“Another way thou might to yet

In a vessel to cryston hyt,
And when scho hath do ryght so
Watere and vessel brenne hem bo,
Other brynge hyt to the chyrche anon
And cast hyt to the font ston.”

Bishop Quevil, in the same Synod, also states the law of the Church
as to god-parents. For a boy, two men and one woman were
permissible; and similarly for a girl, two women and one man. All
others could only be regarded as witnesses, and did not incur the
bond of spiritual relationship as true god-parents and their god-
children did.
Before passing on, a few words must be said as to the Font.
According to the Constitutions of the English Church, it was to be
made of stone, and to be covered. It was on no account to be used
for any other purpose, even ecclesiastical. For this reason, like the
Holy Oils, it was to be kept under lock and key. It was the privilege of
a parochial church alone to have a font, and the construction of one,
even in a Chapel of Ease, required the leave not only of the bishop,
but also of the rector of the parish. Thus, to take an instance, about
the middle of the fourteenth century Lord Beauchamp desired to
have a font in his chapel at Beauchamp. The bishop gave his
consent, but on condition that the approval of the rector was first
obtained.
Churching of Women.—Immediately connected with the question
of baptism is that old Catholic practice of the churching of women.
The rite was probably suggested by the prescriptions of the law in
Leviticus, and it was used in the Greek as well as in the Latin
Church. The priest leads the woman into the church, saying, “Come
into the temple of God. Adore the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
who has given thee fruitfulness in childbearing.” For churchings, as
for marriages and burials, the general fee was supposed to be 1d.;
but most people who could afford it made a larger offering. The fee
for churching is specially named by Bishop Grandisson amongst
those which a parson should not demand, but which all who could,
ought to give willingly. Amongst the goods of St. Mary the Great,
Cambridge, in the churchwardens’ accounts is one: “Item. A clothe of
tappestry werk for chirching of wifes, lyned with canvas, in ecclesia.”
This, no doubt, would be a carpet upon which the woman knelt
before the altar.
Confirmation was, as Myrc says, “in lewde mennes menynge is i-
called the bys(h)opynge,” because it is and can be given only by
bishops. Strong pressure was brought to bear upon the clergy to see
that all were rightly confirmed, and Archbishop Peckham, in 1280,
forbade “any one to be admitted to the Sacrament of our Lord’s body
and blood unless he had been confirmed, except when in danger of
death.”
Bishop Woodlock of Winchester, in 1308, has a special Instruction
on the need of this Sacrament. Because he says, “our adversary the
devil, wishing to have us as companions in his perdition, attacks with
all his powers those who are baptized; our watchful Mother the
Church has added the Sacrament of Confirmation, that by the
strength received in it every Christian may resist with greater force
our hostile enemy.” Parents are consequently to be warned to have
their children confirmed as soon as possible. If they are not
confirmed before they are three years old, unless there has been no
opportunity, the parents are to be made to fast one day on bread and
water in punishment of their negligence. Moreover, since the
Sacrament may not be given twice, parents are to be bound to
acquaint their children, when they grow up, of the fact of their
Confirmation. Priests are also to instruct their people as to the law
that through Confirmation there arises a spiritual relationship, as in
Baptism, between the god-parents and the children and their
parents.
 SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION
The Synod of Oxford laid it down as the law, that any adult, when
about to be confirmed, must first go to receive the Sacrament of
Penance from his own parish priest and fast on the day of his
Confirmation till after its reception. Priests were required, also, to
instruct their people frequently on the need of getting their children
confirmed as soon as possible after they were baptized. This the
canonist Lyndwood considers would mean within six months or so.
The Synod likewise warned parents not to wait for the bishop to
come to their own parish, but to take their children to any
neighbouring place, where they might have heard that the bishop
was to be found. And any parish within seven miles was for this
purpose to be considered “a neighbouring place.” In Bishop
Grandisson’s Register there is an example of his giving confirmation,
at St. Buryan’s, in 1336, to “children almost without number (quasi
innumerabiles) from the parish and the district round about.”
The honour and respect shown to the Chrism, which was used by
the bishop at Confirmation, is manifested by the “old silk cloth” and
“a clothe of syndale” used to carry the Chrismatory at St. Mary the
Great, Cambridge. The Chrism was also bound to be renewed every
year, the old being burnt and a new stock procured from what was
consecrated on Maundy Thursday, in every cathedral church.
Moreover, when presenting a child for Confirmation, the parents had
to bring with them a linen band, or napkin, to bind round its head
after Confirmation, and cover the place where it had been anointed.
This band, called Fascia, or “Chrism cloth,” was, according to
various directions, to be left on the head of the child three, seven, or
eight days, when the lately confirmed child was to be taken to the
church by its parents, and there have its forehead washed by the
priest over the font. The fasciæ ligaturæ, or “Chrism cloths,” were
then to be either burnt or left to the use of the church. Myrc, in his
Instructions, thus gives the usage—

“Whenne the chyldre confermed ben

Bondes a-bowte here neckes be lafte
That from hem schule not be rafte
 Tyl at chyrche the eghthe day
The preste hymself take hem a-way
Thenne schale he wyth hys owne hondes
Brenne that ylke same bondes,
And wassche the chylde over the font
There he was anoynted in the front.”

Finally, the greatest care was taken not only to see that all Christians
should receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, but that there should
be no doubt as to its valid reception. An instance of this is to be
found in Bishop Brantyngham’s Register. In 1382, some unknown
person, calling himself a bishop, went about the diocese of Exeter
giving the tonsure, and confirming children, and in other ways, as the
bishop says, “putting his sickle into other men’s harvest.” Under
these circumstances, the parents of all children presented for
confirmation to this unknown person were to be warned from every
parish pulpit to come and give evidence, in order that it might be
determined what should be done.
Penance.—The Sacrament of Penance, or, in other words,
“Confession,” was obligatory on all at least once a year. The
obligation, however, was obviously not considered the full measure
of duty for those who desired to lead good Christian lives. Bishop
Brunton, of Rochester, in a sermon preached about the year 1388 on
the first Sunday of Lent, whilst laying down the law of Confession at
the beginning of Lent, strongly urges upon his audience the utility of
frequently approaching that Sacrament, but reminds them that a
mere formal Confession without a firm purpose of amendment is
worse than useless.
In the Synod of Exeter, in 1287, parish priests are charged “to warn
their parishioners, and frequently to exhort them in their sermons, to
come to Confession to their own priest thrice in the year—at
Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, or at the very least at the
beginning of Lent.” The same synodal instruction warns the parish
priests, moreover, to grant permission generously and freely to any
one wishing to confess to some other priest, and it adds, “that if any
one shall not have confessed himself and communicated once in the