A survey of 75 colleges revealed that it is “relatively uncommon” for those institutions to receive incentives from study-abroad providers, according to Brian J. Whalen, president of the Forum on Education Abroad.
The forum conducted the survey in the wake of the public scrutiny over study-abroad business practices, and released the results on Monday to make those practices more transparent and to use them as a basis for developing a code of ethics for colleges and providers.
In recent months, New York State’s attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, has issued subpoenas to a handful of colleges and independent study-abroad companies in an investigation of potentially questionable deals in which colleges receive discounts, free trips, and other benefits in return for directing students to the program providers (The Chronicle, September 7).
The forum’s anonymous survey included questions about how colleges evaluate the study-abroad programs they offer through other colleges and independent providers, their guidelines for transferring financial aid, and any arrangements they make with foreign universities to provide study-abroad programs.
Only 3 percent of the survey’s respondents reported having exclusive agreements with program providers, which would limit the international-education options available to their students. But 67 percent of the respondents said they “always” or “sometimes” allowed program providers to pay some portion of the travel expenses of advisers who visited study-abroad sites.
Mr. Whalen, the forum’s president, said it is difficult to gauge the standards of study-abroad programs because “these relationships are complex.”
“There is a great variety of practices,” he said. “It depends on the missions and goals of the university.”
Only 35 percent of institutions surveyed already had written ethical guidelines. The forum expects to complete its standard code of ethics for all members to follow sometime in the next year.
But some universities have already taken the initiative in changing their practices. Tufts University recently decided to pay the full cost of site visits by its foreign-study adviser, instead of allowing independent vendors to pay for some of those expenses (The Chronicle, September 19).
Among other results, the survey found that only 8 percent of institutions always or sometimes negotiate a fee reduction for the college if a certain number of students are sent to a provider’s programs. A more common approach is to negotiate a “scholarship allowance” for students -- 38 percent of respondents take part in this practice.
It also found that slightly less than half of the institutions surveyed give students the option of pursuing study-abroad programs that are not on their pre-approved list of international-education providers.
The full report is available to members on the Forum on Education Abroad’s Web site.