A lawsuit recently filed against Wheaton College for its study abroad tuition policies by a Wheaton parent might, if successful, have ramifications for Brown and other universities with similar policies.
Wheaton's study abroad tuition policy is similar to the one that Brown implemented this fall. The policy requires students to pay full university tuition regardless of the cost of the overseas program.
In an e-mail sent to the Wheaton faculty, staff and students, Wheaton's president, Ronald Crutcher, wrote that the college "strongly disagrees" with the parent, James Brady, over his claims that its policies are unfair and unclear.
"It is important to remember that the expenses of the college's study abroad programs encompass more than the cost of tuition, room and board at an approved institution overseas," Crutcher wrote. He added that the counseling service provided by Wheaton's Center for Global Education is an example of such an expense.
Crutcher also wrote that Wheaton's tuition policy allows financial aid recipients to apply their grants to the study abroad programs. "This policy puts study abroad opportunities in reach for many more of our students," he wrote.
The lawsuit directly challenges these claims, with Brady calling the college's billing practices "illegal, unfair and deceptive."
Brady's daughter, now a recent Wheaton alumna, traveled to South Africa in 2006 on a program that cost approximately $4,000 less than what Wheaton charged. But Brady said he only discovered this discrepancy after independently researching the program.
"Wheaton never discloses to parents what the real cost of overseas studies is," Brady said.
Brady said he wrote to Wheaton in November 2006 asking the college to explain how it utilized this "windfall," but never received a response. After waiting 13 months, he filed suit.
Brady said Wheaton does not provide adequate services for studybroad programs.
"There's no genuine Wheaton involvement in the overseas programs," he said.
Brady also said he thinks Wheaton's claim that it uses the extra money to support financial aid for students studying abroad is "entirely false."
"There's nothing to show that they put this money back into financial aid," he said.
Brady said he hopes the court will rule that Wheaton's practices are unfair and will require the college to "be honest" with parents and students and to be "barred from profiting." If the court rules against Wheaton, he said, Wheaton students who have traveled abroad and been billed for the past six years will be able to cite this as grounds for reimbursement from the college.
The lawsuit is being filed as prosecutors in New York and Connecticut are investigating potential conflicts of interest between colleges and organizations that provide study-abroad programs.
Investigators behind the probes have subpoenaed 15 colleges and universities, including Brown. Officials at Brown's Office of International Programs and the Office of Public Affairs and University Relations declined to comment on Brady's lawsuit.
Some Brown sophomores who are planning to go abroad are questioning the implications of Brown's new study abroad tuition policies, particularly in light of the pending lawsuit against Wheaton.
"I sort of question where all that money is going," said Katherine Stoeffel '10, who hopes to study in Paris next spring. "Considering the fact that Brown's not paying for my housing or food or anything there, I'm wondering what Brown is paying for."
Stoeffel also said she has heard of other students who would rather take time off and go abroad than study abroad through Brown because of the cost. She added that her parents have expressed concern that studying abroad will be "stressful and expensive."
