The NYTimesreports today that the latest story on study abroad programs is going to be the new focus on cash incentives to universities by loan companies. They're already looking into a number of programs that offered perks in exchange for promotion of their study abroad programs. The problems with these incentives is that students weren't getting accurate information on study abroad. There could have been great programs where students could have learned a lot, but because these profit-seeking institutions were dominating the game, these students' educations suffered. Hopefully the attorney general will learn information to stop such a system where students pay the price.
First we heard about corruption in financial aid offices where university administrators compromised the interests of students by taking bribes from lenders. Now we learn about similar shenanigans in study abroad offices. An article in yesterday’s NY Times, which quickly shot to the top of the “most e-mailed articles” list, highlighted a number of potential conflicts of interest in the relationships between university officials and third-party study abroad providers, including “free and subsidized travel overseas for officials, back-office services to defray operating expenses, stipends to market the programs to students, unpaid membership on advisory councils and boards, and even cash bonuses and commissions on student-paid fees.”
The next time you consider studying abroad, make sure that you check where your fees are going, especially if you attend a private institution.
Ever wondered why the number of study abroad programs approved by your school is so small? Certain travel organizations give schools exclusive perks per student for their participation in the program. Rather than allow students to deal directly with the foreign institutions (which are sometimes more affordable than domestic tuition) schools instead direct them through third party agencies in an effort to turn a profit.
Please remember that Campus Progress' terms of use do not allow promoting or endorsing any particular political party or candidate for office. Posts or comments that do this will be deleted.
Posts
!
