Brown has been subpoenaed by New York's attorney general in connection with an investigation into college study abroad programs, the University confirmed in a statement Tuesday.
Andrew Cuomo, the New York attorney general, has expanded his investigation of colleges' study abroad practices to include 15 schools, the New York Times reported Monday. Cuomo began his investigation in August after a Times article revealed practices at some schools in which university representatives steered students toward "preferred" programs in exchange for cash, travel perks or seats on program advisory boards from the providers of those programs.
Kendall Brostuen, associate dean of the College and director of international programs, told The Herald in November that Brown had no such agreements with study abroad providers and that he would condemn such practices as unethical.
"We've been very transparent," he said then, adding he did not expect "any contact whatsoever" from the attorney general's office.
Brostuen did not immediately respond to a request for comment left Tuesday afternoon.
Michael Chapman, vice president for public affairs and University relations, said in the statement that the University "has received" a subpoena and that it is "currently reviewing (it) and will be responding to the attorney general's office." A spokeswoman for the University did not return a message seeking additional comment.
Other schools included in the investigation are Harvard, Columbia, Northwestern, Cornell, American, Brandeis, Fordham, Alfred and Pace, along with Alfred State, Manhattanville, Siena and Hobart and William Smith colleges and the College of New Rochelle, Benjamin Lawsky, a spokesman for the attorney general, told the Associated Press. It was not yet clear why Brown was among those schools subpoenaed for the investigation. A spokesman at the attorney general's Albany, N.Y., office did not return a message left Tuesday.
Four of the five study abroad providers that were initially subpoenaed at the beginning of Cuomo's investigation currently offer their services at Brown's Office of International Programs, The Herald reported Nov. 29.
The Center for Education Abroad at Arcadia University, the Danish Institute for Study Abroad, the Institute for the International Education of Students and the Institute for Study Abroad at Butler University were all among those subpoenaed by Cuomo in August.
Brostuen sits on the advisory boards of IFSA Butler's Latin American Advisory Committee and the National Advisory Council for CEA Arcadia, but he told The Herald in November that his positions were unpaid, "as they should be," and that his positions did not imply "any sort of exclusivity with Brown."
On its Web site, the OIP has added information about its practices in selecting and approving study abroad programs.
"Brown has never received discounts or commissions from, nor has it ever entered into exclusivity contracts with approved program providers," according to the Web site, and "has never participated in, supported or promoted the practice of offering special pricing or incentives to increase enrollments with program providers."
The OIP lets students choose a study abroad program from among Brown-sponsored programs, select from approved third-party programs or petition for the approval of any other program.
In March 2006, the University instituted a policy requiring students graduating in 2010 or later to pay full Brown tuition for any semester abroad program, regardless of whether it is sponsored by the University, in order to avoid running deficits, The Herald reported Sept. 24. Previously, students could avoid paying Brown's generally higher tuition by choosing programs that were not sponsored by the University.
