American University is one of 15 schools that have been subpoenaed by New York’s attorney general for possible kickbacks in its popular study-abroad program.
John Milgram, spokesman for New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, said Tuesday that the D.C. institution is being investigated with 10 universities and colleges in New York as well as Harvard, Northwestern, Brandeis and Brown universities.
Because the probes have just begun, he wouldn’t elaborate on what led Cuomo to suspect the schools of wrongdoing. But Milgram indicated that the attorney general is alleging that conflicts of interest exist between the private companies providing study abroad to students and the universities from which the students are coming.
“What we’re finding is that there are arrangements between the schools and the companies … where the companies give perks to the schools for using them over other groups,” Milgram told The Examiner.
During the summer, Cuomo’s office subpoenaed numerous agencies that provide programs for study abroad.
According to Milgram, investigators are trying to determine how study-abroad companies are selected and paid at each of the 15 campuses. Investigators don’t know how long it will take to conclude the inquiries, he added. Representatives from American did not return repeated requests for comment on the investigation.
Sara Dumont, the university’s study abroad director, told The Examiner in November that nearly 60 percent of the private institution’s student body now takes part in study abroad. That proportion helped place American ninth on a list of universities and colleges across the country with the highest percentage of students learning in foreign lands.
Five years ago, participation in study abroad at the D.C. university was half of what it is now, Dumont added.
She attributed the increase largely to American charging students home tuition even if they are taking classes across the globe.
