Prices increase for some study abroad students

By Rachel Schwartz

Santa Clara recently implemented a new system that changes how students pay for studying abroad, leaving some frustrated with increased fees.

Students previously paid individual program fees to Santa Clara that were determined by the affiliate programs that students study abroad with, including IES, Arcadia and CIEE. Santa Clara then passed the money along to the affiliate program. Under the new rules, the university developed a three-tier system in which students pay fees based on the type and location of program.

About 500 Santa Clara students study abroad each year.

"The new system will be more streamlined than it's been in recent years," Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Don Dodson said. "We really wanted to simplify the structure so that the university didn't have to handle the dozens of different rates with dozens of different programs."

Under the new system, students will pay $14,548 to travel to Africa, China, India and Latin America; and $15,900 for the Arcadia, CIEE, DIS, IES, Loyola and SFS programs located in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan; and $19,500 for the Syracuse and Gonzaga programs in those locations.

Although students in the Syracuse program and most students traveling to developing countries will be saving money, those who had planned trips through CIEE and IES may end up paying anywhere between several hundred and several thousand dollars more under the new system.

The money from students paying more than the cost of their programs will go to help cover the cost of students that will now pay less than the actual cost of their programs.

The new system was put into place in late March, weeks after students planning to study abroad this summer and fall were required to submit their applications.

As soon as the new price structure was finalized, an e-mail outlining the changes was sent out to all students on the study abroad list.

Sophomore Kyle Baeder was surprised by the changes. After researching several programs, Baeder had decided to spend the fall in Amsterdam through an IES program.

"When I made my decision as to where I was going, the price was a factor," Baeder said.

Based on his research, Baeder thought he would be paying $13,500 for the semester, but under the new system, his program falls under the $15,900 bracket.

The International Programs Web site noted that prices were subject to change, but did not adequately warn of how much the change would end up costing, Baeder said.

"This has been under review for three or four years, and we've always told anybody that the prices may change," said Barbara Colyar, director of study abroad.

"We haven't been hiding that," she said.

Baeder met with both Colyar and Dodson about the fee changes and had hoped that the board would consider waiting to implement the changes until next year.

"The price is pertinent to a student making a decision, and changing the price after students have already decided is an inconsiderate move," Baeder said.

Changing the enactment date to next year is not a feasible option because the new structure has already been put into place, Dodson said.

Still, even with the changes, Colyar emphasized the benefits of study abroad.

All of the affiliated programs except for Gonzaga are run on a semester schedule, and under the new system, students in these programs will only be charged program fees for fall and winter quarter and will be given a leave of absence for the spring, making tuition for a year abroad cheaper than a year at Santa Clara.

Also, because of the semester schedule, students abroad usually earn more credits through the affiliated programs than they would during the same time at Santa Clara.

"A lot of students end up graduating early because of study abroad," Colyar said. "They actually end up with more units, so the school is also losing money because students are not finishing four years of education."

Regardless of the change in the fee structure, Colyar hopes that students continue to choose their programs based on where they want to study and which program best suits them.

"I think there's a real positive sense that study abroad should be available to all students, that it should not be an exclusive right for the more wealthy students," Colyar said.

Although some students will be paying more for their time abroad, and all fees will now be paid directly to Santa Clara, the university will not make any profit under the new system, according to Colyar.

"Santa Clara loses millions and millions of dollars every year on study abroad," Colyar said. "Every dollar that comes through here that's affiliated (with another program) goes out."

Contact Rachel Schwartz at (408) 554-4546 or rschwartz@scu.edu.