Principles of Good Practice on Admission and Financial Aid

While each AISGW school may differ in its size, configuration and philosophy, all members subscribe to standards and principles grounded in ethical conduct. These standards and principles are designed for the protection both of individuals and institutions, and presume that contractual commitments will be honored, that appropriate confidentiality will be maintained, that the rights of students and families will be respected, and that schools will deal with each other in a transparent and forthright manner. In short, integrity must guide all member schools in their dealings with applicants, with their current constituencies, and with one another.

APPLICATION PROCESS

1. Schools recognize the right of students and parents to consider other schools and to hold preliminary discussions regarding admission without notifying the present school.
2. No member of AISGW is permitted to initiate contact with another member school’s students or families for recruitment purposes, nor is any member allowed to impede those who wish to leave of their own volition.
3. Schools should make clear to candidates all dates pertaining to application procedures. AISGW recommends the following timeline for the Admission process:

A. application deadlines – schools set a date independently;

B notification date – decision letters to be sent no sooner than early March;

C. registration/reply date – enrollment contracts for newly admitted students due back to the schools, preferably, the first Friday in April and no earlier than mid-March;

D.tuition binding date – enrollment contracts have a binding date of no earlier than June 1^st.

4. When filing an application for admission to another school, the student’s family should advise the student’s present school that discussions are in progress. Upon receiving an application, an AISGW school assumes that parents have notified the student’s current school of their intent to apply elsewhere.
5. Families bear the responsibility for completing the application process and should consult their child’s school policies regarding release of transcripts and other pertinent data.
6. Upon request, a school will send student records to another school to which a student has applied. However, the school reserves the right to refuse to send such records if the family has not met its financial obligations to the sending school.
7. An AISGW school will take all reasonable and lawful measures to maintain the confidentiality of recommendations, reports, and other pertinent data that is exchanged among schools.
8. An AISGW school will not admit a student without first receiving appropriate records directly from the student’s present school.
9. Parents should notify a school promptly if they do not want their child to receive further consideration for the coming year.
10. The parents of an accepted applicant should be informed of the complete cost of the forthcoming school year before being required to sign an enrollment agreement.

Rev. 7/2004

ENROLLMENT AND WAITING POOLS

1. When a family receives an enrollment contract, either from one or more than one school, the family will notify all schools promptly regarding their decision to attend or not attend. Upon receipt of a signed contract and deposit, it is understood that the newly accepted student’s family has not signed a contract at another school.
2. Waiting pools are established for the academic year for which the family has applied. The waiting pools are considered closed once the school year has begun.
3. If parents of a prospective student accept an offer of admission by returning an enrollment contract and deposit to one school, then receive an offer of admission to a second school which they subsequently choose to accept, they must promptly notify the first school of their change in plans.
4. When a school accepts a student from its waiting pool, the admission office will advise the parents they may have a financial obligation to another school. Parents should consider all obligations of a previously signed contract before signing a contract with another school.

FINANCIAL AID

Need-based financial aid is the primary means to support access to independent schools by students of diverse socio-economic levels. For this reason, AISGW strongly endorses financial aid on the basis of demonstrated financial need.

1. A school will provide students and families with comprehensive information about the total yearly cost, aid opportunities, financing options, policies and procedures.
2. A school will recognize that the primary responsibility for financing a student’s education rests with the student’s family.
3. A school will use a uniform methodology to assess annually, in a consistent and equitable manner, the ability to pay of each family that is applying for financial aid.
4. A school will require adequate documentation of family resources when determining need.
5. A school will use financial aid only as a means to enroll students who match the school’s mission and academic programs.
6. A school will make every effort to meet the demonstrated need of all admitted or enrolled financial aid applicants as resources allow.
7. In granting need-based aid, a school will not exceed in its offer of financial aid the amount needed to meet the difference between the resources determined by the school to be available to the family and the student’s total educational expenses.
8. A school will notify accepted aid applicants of financial aid decisions before expecting a binding reply to the offer of admission.
9. A school will safeguard the confidentiality of all financial information supplied by a family.
10. A school will refrain from and discourage others within the school community from disclosing the names of financial aid recipients and award amounts.
11. A school will have the same standards of behavior and academic performance for financial aid recipients as for all students.
12. A school that offers merit awards will include information about such awards in their admissions materials.