The study abroad programs of several elite colleges and universities, including Harvard and Yale, are currently being investigated for potentially improper practices that could result in universities seeking financial gain at the expense of students' budgets and educational opportunities.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo subpoenaed study abroad offices at 15 schools, also including Cornell, Columbia, Brown and Northwestern, in regards to their motives for contracting with certain third-party study abroad providers. According to Rebecca Brown, International Studies Office director at the University of Virginia, no public universities have been subpoenaed at this time.
According to Brown, the study abroad program model called into question by this investigation works through third-party providers, which are generally non-profit and which develop study abroad opportunities for students. Universities contract with these third-party providers, allowing their students to study abroad through programs other than those they provide.
There are several practices that universities may engage in that have been called into question by Cuomo's office, Brown said, noting that "some universities, due to financial incentives, restrict students' options" involving study abroad.
Some third-party providers return a percentage of students' study abroad fees to universities with which they have contracted, she noted, adding that some universities will promote these programs above others or even restrict their students to these programs so the university can collect the most money from the third-party provider. This practice can dramatically increase the amount of money a student pays to study abroad because the university is not necessarily choosing the best or least expensive program, but rather the one that returns the greatest dividends to the university itself, according to Brown.
Because studying abroad through a third-party provider is often less expensive than a semester at a private university, Brown said some private universities have policies allowing them to collect students' tuition up front, pay the third-party provider from the tuition fees and then retain the difference.
Simeon Moss, Public Relations Office director at Cornell University, one of the subpoenaed universities, said Cornell does not know of any problems with its study abroad programs.
"We're continuing to review the subpoena we've received and we're considering our response," Moss said. "We will of course comply with our legal obligations, but as far as we know there are no problems with our [study abroad] programs."
According to Brown, the University contracts with a third-party provider for certain study abroad programs.
"We have one third-party provider that does provide us a percentage of the fees they collect from students," Brown said, "but [the University of Virginia] does not promote any program over another, except those run by U.Va. The fees provided to us by the third-party provider go into a scholarship account for U.Va. students studying abroad."
She emphasized that the University provides its students with many different study abroad options. If students want to participate in a study abroad program that the University does not currently endorse, they can submit applications to have their preferred programs approved. Brown noted that applications to study abroad through other programs been denied in very few cases.
The University has "tons of students" studying abroad through third-party providers, Brown said, but the third-party providers "are not thought to have done anything improper. The investigation is more on the relationship between the universities and the providers"
Read More
PBS NewsHour correspondent speaks on bringing humanity to international conflict
By Grace Little | YesterdaySchifrin's work exploring Putin’s Russia, his coverage of COVID-19 and his reporting in Afghanistan and Ukraine have earned him various accolades.
Spring meal swipe drive aims to tackle food insecurity at the University
By Nicolas Biernacki | YesterdayU.Va. Dine facilitated the drive by converting each meal swipe donated by a student into one pound of food that is then donated to the CFP.
Winsome Earle-Sears talks higher education in first U.Va. event of the campaign
By Ford McCracken | 3 days agoA Jamaican immigrant and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Earle-Sears is the first female lieutenant governor of Virginia,
