The Common Application Announces Leadership Transition

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — The Common Application announced today that Rob Killion has stepped down as its Executive Director. The Board of Directors, made up of chief admission officers and school counselors, and The Common Application senior staff will provide stable leadership as the organization conducts a search for its next Executive Director.

The Common Application is a not-for-profit membership organization that, since its founding over 35 years ago, has been committed to providing reliable services that promote equity, access, and integrity in the college application process.

"The Board of Directors is grateful for the vision and contributions Rob Killion has provided The Common Application," said Thyra Briggs, President of The Common Application Board.  "He has been a driving force behind the organization, and its commitment to holistic application review. Rob's commitment to expanding access to higher education has resulted in growth in the organization's membership from 255 institutions to 517. He also oversaw the implementation of the online school forms system which has allowed tens of thousands of counselors and teachers to submit electronic documents on behalf of students."

"I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish over the past decade," says Rob Killion. "Organizations need to grow and look toward the future and I think it's time for an organizational transition."

The newest version of The Common Application (CA4), released in August 2013, was designed to be a more robust system to handle the expected growth of student applications and related forms. While over 3 million applications were successfully submitted to 517 Common Application member institutions, there were significant technical issues that accompanied the launch of the new system. These issues led the Board of Directors to retain the services of the Censeo Consulting Group, a strategy and operations consulting firm focused on mission-driven entities, to conduct a comprehensive review of The Common Application technology and organizational structure. During the coming months, the Board will draw on additional resources to determine the appropriate leadership, staff and board structure.

"As we approach our fourth decade of service, we are even more committed to ensuring a more efficient application process, fulfilling our mission of promoting college access through a holistic selection process," said Scott Anderson, Senior Director for Policy for The Common Application.

"We look forward to building on the foundation Rob has helped establish," says Briggs.

For more information about the leadership transition, please contact Kate Connors at 202-449-9804.

About The Common Application:

The Common Application is a not-for-profit membership organization that, since its founding over 35 years ago, has been committed to providing reliable services that promote equity, access, and integrity in the college application process. We serve students, member institutions, and secondary schools by providing applications that students and school officials may submit to any of our over 500 members. Membership is open to colleges and universities that promote access by evaluating students using a holistic selection process.