The task force believes that to support the values statement and to animate the action commitments, professional development is necessary. We believe that such training should be available broadly and to all levels of the profession but especially to the new professionals entering the workforce today. The task force also recommends that monographs or “policy papers” be written, by professionals for professionals, that support the content found in each of the ten training modules noted below and explore best practices associated with the topics. The training module topics contemplated (and monographs in support of them) are:

• Advocacy. At the state and national levels, training will help the community understand how best to advocate for the changes it seeks in school curricula, staffing standards for counselors, financial aid and the like so that students are better prepared by public policy and better served by our schools, colleges, and universities.
• Communications. This module will explore how to improve communication, understood as a three-way intersection involving students and families, as well as schools, colleges and universities. We want to make sure that all students have a clear and accurate picture of the opportunities available to them and understand how to take advantage of those opportunities. The messages parents and students need to hear are: There is a place for everyone. There are resources to support you. We are here to help you find a good fit.
• Complexity. Here the emphasis will be on the complexity of the school-to-college transition and the process of transferring between two- and four-year institutions, and promising ways to simplify this complexity. How can we help anxious students and parents navigate this difficult process?
• Demographics. The wave of demographic change, already evident in K–12 programs, will soon arrive at the doors of the nation's colleges and universities. This module will explore how to respond to and benefit from the diversity the new demographics promise. In particular, we will want to improve how we serve growing numbers of low-income, minority and first-generation students, most of whom have very little information or experience with the process.
• Educating institutional leaders. Speaking truth to power can be a risky business, but the best traditions of our community have always held that student needs trump those of institutions. As a united community, we can remind school principals, superintendents, school boards, provosts, chancellors, presidents and boards of trustees of that important truth.
• Price and aid policy. This is an area of compelling public and legislative interest. All of us must understand the complexities of these issues, the challenges accompanying them, and possible solutions in areas in which, collectively or individually, our institutions can improve their performance. In the end, students and families deserve the assurance that they can afford to pursue their educational dreams.
• Professional standards. This module will cover expectations and professional norms and standards for school counselors, financial aid officers and admissions recruiters and counselors. An implicit aspect of this module will be the expectation that each school counselor and admissions professional will know enough about financial aid to be able to discuss it in a useful way with prospective students and, similarly, each aid officer will understand admissions procedures.
• Rankings and assessments. We commit to a public dialogue that explores the commercial underpinnings of rankings in higher education. Here the task force aims at educating the community about rankings, how they are developed, and what their weaknesses and strengths are. The goal will be to arm the community with the ability to deal with the industry that has grown up around rankings, and to find more meaningful measures of educational quality.
• System alignment. This module will address the imperative to align the system, from pre-kindergarten through college graduation, including pre-school programming in distressed areas, a college-preparatory program as the high school “default” curriculum, and seamless transitions from two- to four-year institutions.
• Testing and its use and abuse. Our community must insist that tests be used during admissions and institutional marketing efforts in a responsible, ethical and professional manner. This module will remind the profession of best practices in this area.