NewsUpper SchoolStudent LifeFaculty/StaffServiceCollege Guidance
Moss speaks at PAIS workshop
Mar 17, 2005 9:18 AM
By Tannika King - Faculty
Sam Moss, associate headmaster and dean of college guidance, was the keynote speaker for the Palmetto Association of Independent Schools’ (PAIS) annual College Guidance Counselors Workshop Friday, March 11, at the Palmetto Club in Columbia, S.C.
Moss spoke on the theme of this year’s workshop, “The Shifting Landscape of College Admissions.” According to James Rumrill, executive director of PAIS and headmaster emeritus of Christ Church Episcopal School, it was important for the college deans to hear Moss’ remarks in order to better frame their comments and responses in their segments as representatives of their colleges/universities. Rumrill referred to Moss as “the dean of secondary school guidance professionals.”
Moss, a 1963 graduate of Darlington School, holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of the South (Sewanee), a master’s degree in English from Jacksonville (Fla.) University and has participated in additional study at Oxford University in England.
Well-known in the college admissions profession nationwide, Moss has served as president of the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC), on the Executive Board of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and for three years on the National Merit Scholarship Selection Committee. He has also taught on the faculty of summer institutes on college admission, hosted by Emory, Davidson and Agnes Scott to train young college admission officers. Currently, Moss serves on the College Board Southern Regional Council, as chairman of The College Board’s Guidance and Admission Assembly and as chairman of NACAC’s Committee on Governance Structure.
“It is both rewarding and energizing to share with other independent schools ideas which have served Darlington well, and to gain new perspectives myself from colleagues from colleges and from fellow secondary schools,” Moss said.
The workshop was designed to cover topics such as standardized tests, uniform grading, rankings, parent demands and expectations, the commercialization of the process, the question of “best match or best name,” ethical issues in early decision, recalculating averages, the impact of technology, confidentiality, incorporating grades from abroad, athlete candidates for admission and funding professional development for college counselors.
Featured presenters for the workshop included Robert Barkley, dean of admissions for Clemson University; David “Woody” O’Cain, dean of admissions for Furman University; Suzette Stille, dean of admissions for the College of Charleston; and Scott Verzyl, dean of admissions for the University of South Carolina at Columbia.
Moss spoke on the theme of this year’s workshop, “The Shifting Landscape of College Admissions.” According to James Rumrill, executive director of PAIS and headmaster emeritus of Christ Church Episcopal School, it was important for the college deans to hear Moss’ remarks in order to better frame their comments and responses in their segments as representatives of their colleges/universities. Rumrill referred to Moss as “the dean of secondary school guidance professionals.”
Moss, a 1963 graduate of Darlington School, holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of the South (Sewanee), a master’s degree in English from Jacksonville (Fla.) University and has participated in additional study at Oxford University in England.
Well-known in the college admissions profession nationwide, Moss has served as president of the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC), on the Executive Board of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and for three years on the National Merit Scholarship Selection Committee. He has also taught on the faculty of summer institutes on college admission, hosted by Emory, Davidson and Agnes Scott to train young college admission officers. Currently, Moss serves on the College Board Southern Regional Council, as chairman of The College Board’s Guidance and Admission Assembly and as chairman of NACAC’s Committee on Governance Structure.
“It is both rewarding and energizing to share with other independent schools ideas which have served Darlington well, and to gain new perspectives myself from colleagues from colleges and from fellow secondary schools,” Moss said.
The workshop was designed to cover topics such as standardized tests, uniform grading, rankings, parent demands and expectations, the commercialization of the process, the question of “best match or best name,” ethical issues in early decision, recalculating averages, the impact of technology, confidentiality, incorporating grades from abroad, athlete candidates for admission and funding professional development for college counselors.
Featured presenters for the workshop included Robert Barkley, dean of admissions for Clemson University; David “Woody” O’Cain, dean of admissions for Furman University; Suzette Stille, dean of admissions for the College of Charleston; and Scott Verzyl, dean of admissions for the University of South Carolina at Columbia.
