2008 Woodie Awards
Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 2/5/08 Section: News
Two roles for Wharton official
MBA admissions officer held positions in multiple outside consulting firms, University said
Priyanka Dev and Helen Yoon
Last week, Judith Hodara, the Senior Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Wharton, and her outside consulting stints raised a few eyebrows - within the Penn administration and the wider admissions community.
Last Wednesday, Inside Higher Ed published an article that linked Hodara - along with two other senior admissions officials from Columbia University and the University of North Carolina - to the advisory board of AGOS Japan, a Tokyo-based consulting company that helps locals get into top United States MBA programs.
By the end of the week, Hodara had resigned from the firm.
According to an additional article published by Inside Higher Ed on Friday, Hodara received calls from a reporter on Thursday regarding her involvement with another consulting operation, IvyStone Educational Consultants.
Hodara owned and operated the firm, which helped high-school students get into the country's top universities.
On Thursday, she removed the firm's Web site from the Internet. That same day, Penn released a statement saying that she had ceased all external consulting services.
Under Penn's Conflict of Interest Policy for Faculty Members, all faculty are required to report most types of "extramural" activities that could potentially detract from job performance. It remains unclear at this time whether Hodara had in fact disclosed this information.
Both of Hodara's above external activities raise a key question: Should senior admissions officials, like Hodara, be allowed to participate in external admissions counseling services?
Although she resigned from AGOS Japan in order to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, Hodara justified her affiliation in an Inside HigherEd article by saying that she was not directly advising AGOS's clients but merely advising its employees.
However, through IvyStone, Hodara directly advised prospective college applicants, though she held a prominent role in Wharton's MBA admissions program.
Last Wednesday, Inside Higher Ed published an article that linked Hodara - along with two other senior admissions officials from Columbia University and the University of North Carolina - to the advisory board of AGOS Japan, a Tokyo-based consulting company that helps locals get into top United States MBA programs.
By the end of the week, Hodara had resigned from the firm.
According to an additional article published by Inside Higher Ed on Friday, Hodara received calls from a reporter on Thursday regarding her involvement with another consulting operation, IvyStone Educational Consultants.
Hodara owned and operated the firm, which helped high-school students get into the country's top universities.
On Thursday, she removed the firm's Web site from the Internet. That same day, Penn released a statement saying that she had ceased all external consulting services.
Under Penn's Conflict of Interest Policy for Faculty Members, all faculty are required to report most types of "extramural" activities that could potentially detract from job performance. It remains unclear at this time whether Hodara had in fact disclosed this information.
Both of Hodara's above external activities raise a key question: Should senior admissions officials, like Hodara, be allowed to participate in external admissions counseling services?
Although she resigned from AGOS Japan in order to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, Hodara justified her affiliation in an Inside HigherEd article by saying that she was not directly advising AGOS's clients but merely advising its employees.
However, through IvyStone, Hodara directly advised prospective college applicants, though she held a prominent role in Wharton's MBA admissions program.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
feudi pandola
posted 2/05/08 @ 8:25 AM EST
As a Penn alum, I have to question the credentialing and monitoring system within the University regarding faculty and adminstrators. In just the past few years, we've seen several Penn profs accused and convicted of horrendous crimes, adminstrators abruptly quitting their jobs with "no comment", and now serious conflicts of interest within the financial aid and admissions offices. (Continued…)
hmmm...
posted 2/05/08 @ 8:57 AM EST
Sounds fishy to me. I have major ethical concerns about an admissions officer accepting compensation for admissions counseling. There's a very fine line between this and bribery, whether it's intentional or perceived. (Continued…)
Sad day for Wharton
posted 2/06/08 @ 12:33 AM EST
Let's get down to brass tacks here. This sort of behavior is somewhat common in parts of Asia where even journalists often get 'tea money' just for showing up at a press conference. (Continued…)
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