The class of 2010 will be the first students required to pay Brown's full tuition while studying abroad, regardless of the host university's fees, boosting costs to students and putting Brown among a growing number of universities charging home-school tuition for study abroad programs.
The University made the switch to the new fee structure to avoid running a deficit, said Kendall Brostuen, director of international programs and an associate dean of the College.
Last year, 572 students studied abroad, with about half participating in University-sponsored programs.
Other private colleges, such as Brandeis University, Haverford College and the University of Pennsylvania, have already instituted similar policies.
Under the previous policy, students studying abroad had to pay the University's higher tuition only if they were attending Brown programs. Now, students attending both Brown programs and approved alternative programs will automatically pay the regular Brown tuition.
The change, which is part of a formal shift in University study-abroad tuition policy made in March 2006, replaces the fee that students paid to Brown in addition to the foreign tuition. For instance, under the old system, students studying in a Brown-approved program in Argentina for the academic year would pay the $1,913 fee to Brown plus $20,400 for the program itself. But under the new policy, students must pay Brown tuition, increasing the cost by about 60 percent based on the current cost of a year at Brown, $35,584.
"If you're going to be receiving Brown credit, you're going to be paying Brown tuition," Brostuen explained. He emphasized that the new policy is fair to students since they will receive Brown credit for programs approved or sponsored by Brown.
"We want to be as clear and as transparent about (the change) as possible," especially in communications with Brown applicants, Brostuen said.
"Before coming to Brown I didn't realize that I would have to pay full tuition when studying in foreign countries," said Dennis Kozee '10.
Though on-site costs for study abroad locations are increasing, most study abroad programs still cost less than Brown's tuition. Brown will reinvest the discrepancy in tuition paid by students and that received by the host school in the University, Brostuen said. He could not name any specific programs that may be costlier than a semester at Brown.
The old system, where students paid a fee in addition to foreign tuition, is "no longer financially viable," Brostuen said, adding that Brown wasn't making up the costs of administering study abroad programs. He attributed the change in part to the weakening value of the dollar and to rising tuitions for international students at foreign universities like Oxford.
Brostuen would not disclose the OIP's budget, but wrote in an e-mail to The Herald, "The budget covers costs associated with the management and administration of all OIP programs."
Students are wary of the policy change. Such a large difference between Brown tuition and the tuition required to attend some foreign institutions participating in study abroad programs is "ridiculous," said Carly Sieff '09. "Now you're basically paying a $30,000 fee."
Brostuen believes the new tuition policy benefits Brown students by allowing students to find programs based on academic fit rather than cost. Because students typically study abroad in their junior year, the new policy has not yet affected many students.
Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, said he thought the new policy was a good thing. For study abroad programs to be successful, there must be "all kinds of back and forth" in terms of transferring credits, "and that costs money," he said.
"You're going as a Brown student," Nassirian said, so there's "nothing particularly stunning" about Brown's new tuition policy.
Home-school tuition "would be problematic if institutions discriminate" against coursework done abroad, by not providing credit, for example, Nassirian said. But according to Brostuen, this won't be an issue.
According to an Aug. 13 article in the New York Times, private universities are increasingly charging at-home tuition for students studying abroad, and some universities compel students to only attend certain programs by "denying financial aid or credit to students taking alternate routes."
Brostuen responded to the article in an e-mail to The Herald. "Students ... always have the option to petition programs that are not on our list, provided they can provide a strong academic rationale why those particular programs are a better academic fit for them," he wrote.
However, only 10 percent of Brown students participate in programs not sponsored or approved by the University.
Financial aid for students studying abroad will function as it did in the past, according to Ana Bonilla, assistant director of financial aid. "Students are basically going to get the same amount of aid they receive at Brown," she said. The "goal is to not put any more financial burden" on the student, she added.
But Brostuen does not expect the Office of Financial Aid to respond to a possible higher cost-of-living abroad. If students aren't receiving aid while at Brown, it's likely they won't receive it during their time abroad either.
