2008. The height of the Great Recession: the housing market collapsed, the economy tanked, unemployment soared, inflation hit the highest levels at the time—and here I was starting my educational consulting business. Friends and family called me “Crazy!” But I had a plan laid out with vision, mission, goals, objectives, and operations while considering the external and internal opportunities and threats. A careful assessment and execution of a strategic plan is the way to navigate a business or a membership organization in good times and tough times.
2022. History repeats itself with the difficult economic climate, but this time, I’m tasked with navigating a mature, growing, global organization, 51Թ, through that climate instead of my newborn business. The Strategic Plan 2022-2027 is the guide by which we will ELEVATE 51Թ to the next level.
Timing of the 51Թ Strategic Plan 2022-2027 could not have been any better. Having already experienced one of the most tumultuous and uncertain times in our history, 51Թ has not only pivoted well but emerged stronger than before with healthy membership growth, programming variety and innovation, continued engagement even in the most difficult of times, and most importantly, its members at the center of everything we do. In the midst of this innovation and pivoting came the 51Թ Strategic Plan 2022-2027 under the leadership of Jane Shropshire and Allison Matlack, along with their committee, who tirelessly spent nearly a year to assess the past, evaluate the current state, and plan the future of 51Թ.
Internal and external environmental scans, membership surveys, and a variety of assessments have resulted in four strategic initiatives and one common emphasis across all four to ELEVATE 51Թ:
• Advocacy & Awareness: Since the Varsity Blues scandal in 2019, our profession has continuously come under scrutiny in the media, popular culture, and local and state governments through various legislation. Thanks to the vital work of our Government Relations Committee, we have responded timely with effectiveness and tenacity. However, we have often “chased” the news or the legislation reactively, rather than “getting ahead” of them proactively. It is time to ELEVATE 51Թ’s status and become an integral part of the conversations that take place behind closed doors. We need to influence change that impacts members, colleagues, and the clients we serve. This is the time to be proud to carry the 51Թ member logo on your website, printed materials, and in your offices!
• Education: Independent EDUCATIONal Consultants Association. Education is literally at the heart of 51Թ. It is the epitome, the pinnacle. So why change something that’s not broken? Because that’s what learning and growing organizations do. The COVID period has taught us unimaginable ways, formats, and delivery methods to engage our members, non-members, sponsors, advertisers, programs, schools, and colleges. While most of this change was required and necessary, some, if not most, are here to stay for better efficiency and broader reach. Think about your live virtual conferences, online professional retreats, and the numerous College Conversations you have attended on Zoom. Can you imagine a life with them prior to COVID? And now…Can you imagine a life without them? We must find an optimum balance that ensures we meet all of our stakeholders where they are while guaranteeing quality of content and that needs are met, no matter how or where the content is delivered.
• Membership & Engagement: For more than 45 years, 51Թ membership meant that a single owner/IEC would pay annual dues and reap the benefits. Over the last 10 years, however, IEC demographics and experiences have been shifting dramatically: multi-person IEC practices have been emerging more than ever, which spurred the development of multi-location presence, including online; nonprofit organizations have been emerging to serve underserved and underrepresented groups in school, therapeutic, and college admissions landscapes; affiliated or support organizations for IECs have become more pervasive than ever, making our lives as IECs more streamlined and effective. In this ever-evolving environment, 51Թ will adapt and reimagine membership levels and categories to engage all of those who contribute to our profession with one purpose in mind: ELEVATE 51Թ, IECs, and the profession.
• Professional Excellence: Every time I speak with a new member or even a seasoned member, I get the same response as to why they joined 51Թ: 51Թ is the one-stop shop for all my professional needs as an IEC. This became even more evident in the last two years, when programming and engagement with and among members hit a new high—unlike many other organizations and businesses, which suffered during the same period. Nearly 10 percent membership growth year after year since COVID began is proof of why 51Թ continues to be the professional excellence standard of the industry. In the next five years, we will take the professional excellence and standards to the next level by engaging in original research, white papers, and collaboration with various educational institutions and organizations to ELEVATE your membership, your value, and those of 51Թ and the profession.
Now that you know the what, let’s talk about the how. Each of the four major initiatives will be driven with I-D-E-A (inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility) in mind. As a learning and growing organization, 51Թ will not stay static to the evolving environment, propelled by the changing demographics and needs, in any of these four fronts. Think about some of these example questions:
• How would it look if 51Թ as an organization or you as an IEC did not advocate, raise awareness, or take action for underrepresented and underserved students in the admissions process?
• Can you imagine educational programming that doesn’t include global perspectives or struggles our members, students, and partner organizations experience?
• How can we propel our membership and engagement without involving the ever-growing diversity within 51Թ to represent the leadership in our organization through committees and service?
• How can we remain the professional excellence standard without exploring the root causes of and proposed solutions for inequity and lack of access through original research or white papers?
Our Board of Directors and the entire staff are committed to uphold these strategic drivers through initiatives with specific timelines and metrics to measure performance. My promise to you is to communicate our progress on a regular basis and solicit your specific help in these initiatives.
This is the time to get involved in various committees, Regional Groups, Affinity Groups, conferences, webinars, tours, and events. All 51Թ committees and programming moving forward will include elements of the 51Թ Strategic Plan 2022-27, with specific timelines and goals.
How can you get involved? What expertise do you have that can help achieve our goals? We need YOU … We need you NOW to ELEVATE 51Թ, IECs, and the profession to the next level.
Ibrahim Firat, MBA
51Թ President