This document summarizes a Friday Forum discussion between Cyndy McDonald and Jamie Dickenson on education and entrepreneurship. Cyndy McDonald has experience as a college counselor and educator, and has started two companies, one consulting and one technology. Jamie Dickenson has experience as an educational planner and owns multiple companies, including providing mastermind groups and bootcamps for educational consultants. They discussed their backgrounds and companies. The forum covered admissions updates during COVID-19, plans for reopening colleges in the fall, standardized testing waivers, and pricing structures for educational consulting.

1. Friday Forum
May 1, 2020
Education and Entrepreneurs
Cyndy McDonald | Jamie Dickenson

2. Cyndy McDonald, PPS/MA
• BS in Behavioral Science and MA in Education
• UCLA instructor in College Counseling Certificate Program
• Worked with AVID for 14 years, training over 1000
administrators/educators
• College Counseling Professional for over 30 years: Helped
start Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA).
• Youtube channel with interviews with over 100
professionals
• Female Entrepreneur: started 1 consulting company, 1
technology company
• Starting new company, CyndyMcDonald.com, featuring
Master classes and online training for entrepreneurs &
educators
• www.cyndymcdonald.com

3. Jamie Dickenson, MBA, CEP
• BBA in Accounting and MBA with an emphasis in finance
from Marshall University.
• Certified Educational Planner for 22 years.
• Owner of Jamie Dickenson, LLC; IEC Advisors; & Yoga
Power, LLC in Charleston, West Virginia
• College Counseling Certificate from UCLA Extension
• West Virginia SBA Small Business Person of the Year
• Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist.
• Charleston Main Streets Rookie Business of the Year (Yoga
Power, LLC)
• Offers IEC Bootcamp, Mastermind Groups for IEC’S
• www.iecadvisors.com

4. Contact Us
• Cyndy McDonald
• cyndy@cyndymcdonald.com
• CyndyMcDonald.com
• Online courses
• Master class for business/IEC’s
• Jamie Dickenson
• Jamie@jamiedickenson.com
• IEC Advisors
• Mastermind group
• IEC Bootcamp

5. Welcome to
Friday Forum
Goals
1) Find a bird’s eye view of the week’s news
2) Cut through the clutter of the week’s news
3) Give our personal take on the week’s news
4) Provide a forum for asking questions and
sharing YOUR take on the news of the week
Hope you want to join us each week until we
don’t need it anymore!

6. Friday Forum
Agenda
1. Welcome & Admissions update
2. Pricing discussion/Questions
3. CARES act or any updates
• Last day for Jamie and Krista to be with us!

7. MAY 8:
GUEST
PANELISTS
• Christine Bowman, Dean Admissions &
Enrollment Services
• Chair, Colleges That Change Lives Board
• Southwestern University, TX
• Tony Sarda, Director of Undergraduate &
Graduate Admissions,
• Lamar University, TX

8. Admissions Updates
Cyndy McDonald

9. May 1
• Poll/ Results
• Have you heard from all your
seniors?
• How many got into their first choice
schools?
• How many changed their minds about
the schools for the fall?
• How many are on a waitlist?
• How many have been taken off a
waitlist already?

10. What will the
Fall Bring?

11. John
Barnshaw, VP
Research &
Data Science,
Ad ASTRA
SAFETY OF FACULTY AND
STUDENTS IN MIND
INSTITUTIONS ARE
ADAPTING
THEY ARE DEVELOPING
MULTIPLE CONTINGENCIES
SIMULTANEOUSLY
STRIVING TO BALANCE
RISK AND SUCCESSFUL
SEMESTER

12. Drum Roll Please
90% - no delay in admissions
decisions
Fall Course Delivery?
Going Online- 58% (considered or decided)
Change # of In Person Courses- 62%
Online/Remote courses increased- 73%

13. Drum Roll
continued
94%- considering (or made) changes to Admissions Practices

14. “Harvard will be open for fall 2020”
Brown University :
College Campuses Must
Reopen in the Fall.
Here’s How We Do It.
Harvard: Planning for the
Fall

15. Announcing:
We will be
“On Campus”
• Radford University
• Baylor University
• Wheaton College
• James Madison
• Midwestern State University
• William Jewell College
• Purdue
• George Fox
• Whitworth University
• Haverford College

16. What are
your plans to
open in the
fall?
• Jon Boeckenstedt (Oregon State) “The only plans
are:
• No one knows
• We’re making educated guesses
• We know everything can change in a few
day’s time.
• That’s it. I know it’s not what people want to
hear. Speaking with clarity is impossible and trying to
do so is arrogant.”
• Kelchen said that as far as firm commitments, the
rubber won't meet the road until late June or early July.
• "Don't pay attention to what colleges are saying
now…..Wait to see what they're saying two months
from now."

17. Test Waivers

18. More Jump on the
bandwagon
• USC
• Tests not required, but considered if
submitted
• International students- not required
• Home schooled- submit some kind of
tests
• For 1 year, maybe
• Claremont McKenna College
• Tests requirement waived
• Consider or not? Not specified
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

19. Look Ma- I
got tests!
Claremont McKenna College- Test Optional
• not use at home tests for SAT or
ACT exams
“Although both the College Board and the ACT have
introduced the concept of an at-home version of the
exams, details regarding security, content, scoring, or
validity have not been addressed. Therefore, CMC will
not use scores from these tests as a replacement for
the traditional SAT or ACT exams.”

20. Cornell
expresses
concern
about online
testing
ACT AND THE COLLEGE
BOARD DIDN’T TALK TO
US FIRST.
THIS METHOD OF
TESTING HASN’T BEEN
VALIDATED- EVER.
EQUITY AND ACCESS
CONCERNS ARE
LARGE.
YOU CAN CHOOSE TO
SUBMIT SCORES… OR
NOT….

21. And the answer is?
• With more schools going test
optional how do we help
students build a balanced list
without the testing score as a
data point?
Tina

22. NACAC JOINS
THE FRAY
WACAC joined the fray too.
Any other ACAC’s?

23. College
Accepting AP
Credits- from
Prompt

24. This week’s prizes go to….
NACAC Brown +
Took a stand on standardized tests.
Time to dump them?
Colleges who announced they must
be ON CAMPUS in the fall.

25. 5-1-2020 | Friday Forum | Links Slide
AP Credit
• AP Credits- Accepted? http://pages.prompt.com/colleges-that-accept-2020-ap-credit#change
ACT/SAT Test Waivers
• Cornell ACT/SAT waiver: https://admissions.cornell.edu/news/cornell-university-suspends-actsat-testing-requirement-2021-applicants
• Claremont McKenna College: ACT/SAT waiver: https://www.cmc.edu/news/cmc-adopts-sat-act-test-optional-policy-for-fall-2021-applicants
• USC: Act/SAT waiver: https://pressroom.usc.edu/usc-announces-test-optional-policy-for-2021-2022-academic-year/
• Applerouth Test Waiver List: https://www.applerouth.com/blog/admissions-testing-policy-updates-in-response-to-covid-19/
Articles
• There’s NO Simple Way to Reopen Universities, The Atlantic, Graeme Wood, https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/04/colleges-are-weighing-costs-reopening-fall/610759/
• The New York Times: College Campuses Must Reopen in the Fall. Here’s How We Do It, Christina Paxson, President of Brown University: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/26/opinion/coronavirus-
colleges-universities.html
• Planning for Fall 2020: Harvard: https://www.harvard.edu/coronavirus/updates-community-messages/planning-for-fall-2020?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=hu-twitter-
general&utm_medium=social
• The Evolving Fall Picture: Inside Higher Education, https://insidehighered.com/news/2020/04/29/growing-number-colleges-announce-intent-reopen-fall
• Certainly Uncertain: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/04/30/what-does-intent-reopen-mean
• Americans Cancel Education Plans: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/04/30/millions-cancel-and-change-education-plans-response-pandemic
Organizations
• ACE- American Council on Education: https://www.acenet.edu/Pages/default.aspx
• AARCAO- https://www.aacrao.org/
Surveys
• AACRAO Enrollment Indicators: https://www.aacrao.org/docs/default-source/research-docs/press-snapshot/press-snapshot-aacrao-undergraduate-enrollment-indicators-and-admissions-practices-
impacted-by-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=ba0d35f7_2
• STRADA: Covid-19 Work and Education Study: https://www.stradaeducation.org/publicviewpoint/
• ACE Survey: https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/AACRAO-ACE-Survey-Finds-Uncertainty-About-Current-College-Student-Fall-Enrollment-Plans-Optimism.aspx
• NACAC Opinion: https://www.nacacnet.org/news--publications/newsroom/updates-from-nacacs-president/is-it-time-to-rethink-standardized-testing-in-college-admission/

26. Industry Survey
IECA 2018

30. Poll
• What is your fee structure?
• What do you pay yourself on an hourly
basis?
• Do you give discounts?
• When was the last time you adjusted your
fees?
• How did you adjust them?
• How are your payments of fees structured?

31. Pricing Discussion
Cyndy McDonald | Jamie Dickenson

32. Name Your
Price

33. Let me in
What professional memberships could
you recommend in these times?
Victoria
Document posted at www.cyndymcdonald.com

34. BUSINESS UPDATE
Jamie Dickenson

35. CARE Package
from the Feds
Paycheck
Protection Plan
(PPP)
Economic Industry
Disaster Loan
Tax Rebates
Tax Date Delayed:
April 15 to July 15
Paid Sick Leave: 80
Hours + FMLA = 3
months