In the realm of international student recruiting, “A lot of agents will just send out blanket e-mails to universities saying, ‘Oh, I would like to be your representative,’ ” says Sabine Klahr, director of international programs at Boise State University. “We don’t answer those e-mails typically." “There are no standards at this point,” Klahr explains. “You could work with agents throughout the world who are not" -- she pauses, searching for the right word -- "they are not reputable business people, essentially. How do you know that you can trust them?”

Investigative report by Atlanta newspaper finds incoming academic credentials of football and basketball players badly lag fellow students.