International Accessibility

Since 2001, the number of Harvard undergraduates studying abroad has increased by a tremendous 300 percent. Harvard’s Office of International Programs (OIP) aids young travelers in reaching their literal and figurative destinations—both in organizing study abroad opportunities and recommending third-party study abroad companies to Harvard students. It is important, however, for the OIP to inform students of all factors that might be influencing their recommendations—especially kickbacks from these very third-party agencies.

Harvard is just one university currently under investigation for receiving kickbacks and other forms of extra compensation as part of partnerships with study abroad programs. New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo—who is spearheading the investigation—charges that these deals often raise the prices for students who participate. At this point, however, it is not the legality of the kickbacks that is our primary concern, but rather, the wellbeing of students. Our chief request is that the OIP make its transactions and dealings with study abroad companies obvious and transparent to students who utilize the office’s services.

When forming their study abroad plans, students should be confident that the OIP’s primary concern is the quality of students’ experiences, and not financial relationships with certain study abroad companies. In order to guarantee this, students must be made fully aware of any financial ties the OIP has to these third parties.

Sometimes, the study abroad programs that the OIP recommends are far more expensive than those that students individually plan with foreign universities. While it may require additional planning by the student, studying abroad independently may be more enriching and cost effective than using an intermediary company—as long as it involves comparable academic programs. Therefore, it is crucial that when students are deciding whether or not to use a Harvard-recommended program, they know all of the factors at play in the partnership. If it is the case that Harvard is receiving extra benefits or kickbacks from the programs it recommends, this information should be open to Harvard students.

By no means are all of the programs that the OIP offers poor. On the contrary, many of their partnerships are extremely helpful to students, especially when traveling to foreign countries that speak a language other than English. But Harvard students should not be required to take part in the Harvard program that is already established if there are other options available.

We envision an OIP that models itself after Progressive Insurance, a car insurance company that not only offers its own insurance rates, but displays those of competing companies’ rates. Although many of the OIP programs are satisfactory to students who choose them, the OIP’s goal should be accessibility of information and a high quality of student experience. Once informed of all the programs—including whether or not they have given Harvard kickbacks—students themselves can work to make informed decisions, and reach destinations on their own.