Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science adheres to the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Code of Conduct when admitting students.  The Code is listed below.  Please note that no CCMS employee receives any sort of bonus or other incentive compensation for admission of students or awarding financial aid.

AACRAO is a non-profit, voluntary, professional association working to make higher education more responsive to learners. With a membership of more than 18,000 higher education professionals at approximately 2,300 institutions in more than 40 countries, collectively representing over 16.5 million enrolled learners, the association provides advocacy, research, and policy-based guidance and training to higher education professionals to smooth the path for learners at every stage of their journey. 

In the practice of their professions, AACRAO members carry responsibilities for conduct that balance societal, institutional, individual, and professional interests.

To guide its members, AACRAO has adopted the following principles of professional ethics and practice in academic and enrollment services.

AACRAO members shall:

• Conduct themselves with integrity, fairness, honesty, and respect for others;
• Avoid conflicts between personal interests and professional responsibilities, and resolve perceived conflicts through full disclosure and independent review;
• Dispense complete, accurate, understandable, and truthful information and advice at all times.

In light of these ethical principles, AACRAO has adopted the following standards of professional practice. AACRAO members shall:

• Serve and advance higher education by safeguarding the academic integrity of their institutions;
• Protect the legitimate privacy interests of all individuals and maintain appropriate confidentiality of institutional and student education records;
• Advance institutional interests through the competent practice of the profession;
• Act as stewards and objective enforcers of institutional policies and practices;
• Promote institutional policies and practices that conform with this statement, especially when existing policies or practices are in conflict with it;
• Promote broad and equal access to higher education for qualified students;
• Adhere to principles of nondiscrimination and equality within the framework of institutional mission and prevailing law ;
• Assist students to develop their talents and interests and become responsible citizens;
• Provide to prospective students and their families accurate interpretations of institutional admissions criteria, transfer credit policies, costs, financial aid availability, and educational offerings;
• Recruit distinct student populations (international students, students with learning disabilities, etc.) only when appropriate institutional resources and commitment to serve those populations are in place;
• Avoid practices in the recruitment and enrollment of international students that would not be ethical in the recruitment or enrollment of domestic students (NOTE:   Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science does NOT admit international students);
• Ensure that information management systems protect and maintain the integrity, confidentiality, and security of institutional records;
• Provide accurate interpretations of institutional records;
• Exercise sound management principles, using institutional resources effectively and efficiently;
• Remain knowledgeable of current principles and practices of the profession;
• Contribute to the continuing advancement of the professions;
• Encourage the professional development of individuals at all levels of academic and enrollment services;
• Ensure that contractors and other third-parties involved in the delivery of academic and enrollment services adhere to the principles articulated in this statement;
• Adhere to the principles articulated in this statement.

• Reviewed by the Board of Directors Governance Committee, no changes – Winter 2016
• Adopted by the AACRAO Board of Directors—December 3, 2009
• Amended by the AACRAO Board of Directors—March 31, 2010
• Ratified by AACRAO Members—April 23, 2010
• Reviewed by the Board of Directors, no changes – Fall 2019

Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science adheres to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) Code of Conduct.  The Code is listed below.

The following Code of Conduct was last updated by a vote from NASFAA's Board of Directors in November 2020, and published in January 2021. Subject to enforcement procedures that went into effect July 1, 2015, NASFAA institutional members of NASFAA will ensure that:

1. No action will be taken by financial aid staff that is for their personal benefit or could be perceived to be a conflict of interest.

a.               Employees within the financial aid office will not award aid to themselves or their immediate family members. Staff will reserve this task to an institutionally designated person, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

b.               If a preferred lender list is provided, it will be compiled without prejudice and for the sole benefit of the students attending the institution. The information included about lenders and loan terms will be transparent, complete, and accurate. The complete process through which preferred lenders are selected will be fully and publicly disclosed. Borrowers will not be auto-assigned to any particular lender.

c.               A borrower's choice of a lender will not be denied, impeded, or unnecessarily delayed by the institution, even if that lender is not included on the institution's preferred lender list.

d.               No amount of cash, gift, or benefit in excess of a de minimis amount shall be accepted by a financial aid staff member from any financial aid applicant (or his/her family), or from any entity doing business with or seeking to do business with the institution (including service on advisory committees or boards beyond reimbursement for reasonable expenses directly associated with such service).

2. Information provided by the financial aid office is accurate, unbiased, and does not reflect preference arising from actual or potential personal gain.

3. Institutional financial aid offers and/or other institutionally provided materials shall include the following:

• Breakdown of estimated individual Cost of Attendance components, including which are direct (billed by the institution) costs vs. indirect (not billed by the institution) costs
• Clear identification and proper grouping of each type of aid offered indicating whether the aid is a grant/scholarship, loan, or work program
• Estimated net price 
• Standard terminology and definitions, using NASFAA's glossary of terms
• Renewal requirements for each aid type being offered as well as next steps and financial aid office contact information

4. All required consumer information is displayed in a prominent location on the institutional web site(s) and in any printed materials, easily identified and found, and labeled as "Consumer Information."

5. Financial aid professionals will disclose to their institution any involvement, interest in, or potential conflict of interest with any entity with which the institution has a business relationship.

Refer to NASFAA's Statement of Ethical Principles, Enforcement Procedures, as well as the Ethical Principles, Code of Conduct and Enforcement Procedures Q&A for more information about NASFAA's ethical guidelines and how they are enforced. To report a potential violation of NASFAA's Code of Conduct, refer to the Ethics Complaint Submission Form.

Publication Date: 7/22/2021