U. refuses to commercialize study abroad program
This summer, officials associated with study abroad programs at several U.S. colleges and universities were revealed to have accepted free trips and other gifts from foreign study providers in exchange for pushing undergraduates toward certain programs.Companies that organize study abroad programs were documented as offering school administrators trips to visit their overseas campuses, providing office services to campus study abroad offices and giving bonuses and commissions on student-paid fees to school officials, according to an article in The New York Times. Some universities charged students full at-home tuition, paid a fraction of the money to an outside provider or overseas university and then pocketed the difference.But Princeton officials say the University does not accept such offers, and it does not conduct itself in the manner described by the Times."Princeton has no exclusive relationships for study abroad with any provider, nor does the office receive money or perks as a reward for sending students to particular programs," Nancy Kanach, associate dean of the college and director of the study abroad program, said in an email.Critics say such exclusive relationships with providers limit student options and drive up costs, asserting that some schools require students to use one of several approved providers or agents.