A guide to consulting in higher education designed for consultants and college personnel interested in engaging consultants is provided. It is based on principles distilled from actual consultation experiences in college settings. In 1980, the Association of American Colleges (AAC) began a consulting service for member organizations (Project Lodestar, which led to their Consultation Assistance Service that identifies well-qualified consultants for AAC member institutions). Each of the two sections, designed for institutional personnel contemplating an external consultation and for prospective consultants themselves, contains 10 principles drawn from the Lodestar evaluation studies. In section one, they include asking why a consultant is needed, defining what the consultation is supposed to do, noting the most appropriate consultation format, selecting consultants carefully, and ensuring administrative support. In section two, they include knowing the institutions prior to going on campus, knowing who the client is, clarifying expectations, respecting the institution's statement of the problem, and encouraging broad faculty involvement. The most successful cases followed all of the principles, and the least successful ones followed few or none of them. Institutions have the right to expect the consultants to be objective and sensitive to their character. Consultants have the right to expect institutions to be open about their goals and role expectations. Contains 13 references. (SM)