Students find value in schools abroad

Author: Andrew Fuller

As the number of U.S. college students seeking to study abroad continues to increase, so does the number of programs designed to accommodate that interest. But legislators and educators have been debating lately just how expensive those programs - now big business for many - should be. As a world-renowned leader in international studies, the College has found itself increasingly involved in the debate.

As explained on the College Web site, more than 400 Middlebury students will study abroad in more than 40 countries at more than 90 different programs and universities during the 2007-2008 academic year. Today, around 6,000 programs exist in the United States to send college students to study overseas. The number of students studying abroad has doubled since eight years ago, to about six percent of the student population.

As studying abroad becomes more popular, colleges have had to adjust their financial aid policies to meet the rising demand. Many private institutions like Syracuse University and Vassar College employ home tuition policies that charge students studying abroad the same amount as the institution's full tuition. Proponents of full tuition policies argue that charging students the institutional tuition discourages them from picking study abroad programs because of cost. Students are encouraged to choose programs that interest them, supporters claim, and they avoid cheaper programs that might be less educational.

Unlike some institutions, the College does not charge students studying abroad regular tuition prices. Rather, students are charged with fees specific to the school abroad at which they are studying. At Middlebury, this system is generally less costly to students. Students who choose to study abroad in China and Russia pay a comprehensive fee, while students attending other C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad pay a tuition and a study abroad fee.

Students on financial aid usually do not encounter problems in gaining funding for a semester abroad if they desire to enroll in one of the Middlebury programs.

"For the most part, we don't fund non-Middlebury programs," said Associate Director of Financial Services Michael McLaughlin, adding that students who wish to attend non-Middlebury programs can still secure federal aid. It is not more difficult for [students on financial aid] to study abroad at Middlebury programs than to stay at Middlebury, but when students go to programs that we do not fund institutionally, it can be financially more difficult to go abroad."

According to Michael Geisler, vice president of the Middlebury Language Schools and Schools Abroad, one reason why students are not charged the Middlebury tuition abroad is because Middlebury can better attract students from other schools to its programs if it charges a more reasonable fee. Students do not receive similar services abroad as they do at Middlebury, which allows Middlebury to generally charge a lower fee to students studying abroad.

"We make sure that students are safe, but we don't provide the same services as the College does here," said Geisler. "We pass the savings on to the students."