Harvard Probes Admissions Deans

The University is reconsidering whether three high-ranking admissions officials should continue to work for a private corporation that compiles data about college admissions, Vice President and General Counsel Daniel Steiner '54 said yesterday.

Steiner's statement comes in the wake of published reports questioning the propriety of an arrangement through which Dean of Admissions William R. Fitzsimmons '67, Assistant Dean of Admissions Warren C. Reed and Director of Financial Aid James S. Miller work for Student Aid Services, Inc.

Although the officials have refused to comment, Steiner said they all consulted the Faculty of Arts and Sciences before signing on with the private company, which collects information about the colleges to which students apply and where they attend.

"The relevant officials at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences knew about it, and they knew about the formation of the company when it was done," Steiner said. "They were services that needed to be done," he added.

But Steiner said other University officials have since decided to "take a look at the situation" to be certain that such paid employment in the private sector was not creating a conflict of interest.

Steiner said the University was still investigating, and said he could not be certain how much money the three earned or what information they shared. However, he said they had not hid anything from the University.

"They fully discussed what they were doing," Steiner said.

The possible sharing of information has become a focal point in recent weeks as the Justice Department continues to widen a probe into alleged price-fixing by universities in setting tuitions, student financial aid and faculty salaries.

Steiner said the admissions information was primarily shared among a group of Northeastern colleges that were already exchanging information about admissions and financial aid. He said those institutions--eight Ivy League and several other New England colleges--had publicly participated in two so-called overlap groups.

Steiner said he was not certain when the University would make any decision.