Protecting Students When Life Interrupts the Practice

Here's Your Guide to an IEC Continuity Plan

Every year, I see the IEC community quietly do something remarkable.

When one of our own becomes seriously ill or passes away, colleagues step in.

They take frantic calls from parents left without their advisor. They review essays late at night after spending all day with their own clients. They reassure anxious seniors that qualified colleagues will help them finish what they started.

They do it because this profession, at its best, understands that students are not simply clients. They are young people standing at the edge of major life transitions.

But goodwill alone is not a continuity plan.

Too often, I hear from colleagues willing to help who discover they cannot access anything they need.

The files are locked behind passwords no one knows.

The family has no idea which colleague should be given access to confidential records.

The student list exists only inside an email account protected by two-factor authentication.

Deadlines are approaching, but no one knows who still needs essay follow-up, a major school-list reevaluation, or financial aid appeals — and who cannot wait.

And while the IEC community eventually finds ways to help, precious time is lost in confusion.

For solo practitioners especially, continuity planning is not merely a business issue. It is an ethical responsibility.

Students should not lose support at the exact moment they most need it.