The Not-So-Perfect Resume
(MAY 03, 2007)

How does a premier East Coast university overcome a credibility problem?

On April 26, the MIT Dean of Admissions Marilee Jones resigned after exaggerating her academic credentials. The problem? There are no records of her graduating from any of the three New York universities listed on her resume - Albany Medical College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Union College.

"I misrepresented my academic degrees when I first applied to MIT 28 years ago and did not have the courage to correct my resume when I applied for my current job or at any time since," says Jones in a statement on the MIT website.

MIT officials looked at her qualifications after Daniel E. Hastings, dean for undergraduate education at MIT, received a call from an individual questioning her credentials, according to Boston.com.

The irony of it all: Jones co-authored the 2006 book, "Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond," which encouraged parents to lighten up on their kids and avoid going nuts over the college-admissions process (i.e., don't get hung up on trying to get into the Ivies).

Having just gone through the labor-intensive college application process with our high school senior, I know firsthand about the stresses.

Can a top-five ranked national university with an admittance rate of only 14 percent regain the trust of prospective and current students?

"This is a sad and unfortunate event," says Hastings on the MIT website. "But the integrity of the Institute is our highest priority, and we cannot tolerate this kind of behavior."

All I can think about are the thousands of high school seniors who spent hours writing the college essay and meticulously filling out the application form - and receiving from MIT the dreaded thin envelope. Their credentials weren't good enough, but they most likely were accurate and honest.

With Jones' resignation, MIT is on the right track for fixing its credibility problem, but they need to re-examine their hiring policies so it won't happen again.

-Vicky Lekovis