By Anne Baker

A Northeastern study abroad affiliate, Arcadia University, is one of at least five study abroad providers under investigation by the New York attorney general for using questionable business practices to obtain contracts from several major universities. Arcadia received a subpoena from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in August 2007, along with four other providers. In January, Cuomo expanded the investigation to include 15 universities that approved study abroad contracts, among them Columbia, Northwestern and Harvard.

Northeastern has not been contacted by anybody involved with the investigation, said Renata Nyul, assistant director of communications and public relations. She also confirmed in an e-mail that Northeastern uses numerous outside study abroad providers, including Arcadia.

Cuomo’s investigation targets the relationships universities develop with their international study abroad agencies, and whether some colleges and universities accept perks in exchange for sending their students to a particular international program. Perks could include college rebates, cash bonuses and free travel for university officials, and the exclusive agreements schools sign as a result could severely limit students’ choices.

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Jim Stellar, who helped develop and oversee the study abroad program before its move to the Provost’s Office, said that although the university uses outside agencies, he never witnessed any improprities.

“What I have never heard of is any quid pro quo, any trade offs where people would agree to use certain programs and there would be monetary compensation,” he said. “It was at least never an issue when I was the dean.”

Northeastern primarily relies on outside agencies to be available to students in foreign countries in case of emergencies, Stellar said, suggesting a difference from those universities under investigation, who may have used the agencies to establish whole programs.

“We set up our study abroad programs, and we used these other agencies not to outsource the set-up [of the program] to, but to be our local representatives when we couldn’t be there,” he said.

Stellar said he was taken aback by the reports because he never saw anything similar occur at Northeastern. “I was surprised to read about these abuse operations,” he said.

Northeastern students studying abroad pay for their regular tuition, airfare, evacuation coverage and, in most cases, accommodation, Nyul said in an e-mail. “At Northeastern University, we want to make sure that all our students have the same opportunities as they matriculate through their four or five years of education to their diplomas,” she said. “Therefore, while enrolled at Northeastern, students pay the same tuition, regardless of what available program they take advantage of.”

However, if a student chooses a less expensive university abroad than Northeastern, any extra money is kept within the university, Stellar said.

“I believe that whatever we didn’t spend [from the student’s tuition] stayed in the university and was part of the university’s cost/benefit analysis and was part of the revenue stream,” he said.

But the university does not provide the program as a means to make money, so much as a way to lure students looking for an international perspective to Northeastern, Stellar said.

“To my knowledge, we haven’t made any money off this program,” he said. “What we’ve done is to make our university more attractive to students by having the program.”

Although Northeastern has not been subpoenaed and is not currently under investigation it could be subpoenaed in the future.

“I am worried,” said Dawn Anderson, director of the study abroad program. “Any school could be investigated.”

Anderson said she was not comfortable speaking to The News further without consulting Northeastern’s legal department. However, Stellar is unconcerned at the prospect of a possible subpoena from Cuomo’s office.

“If he did [issue a subpoena], I wouldn’t fear it,” he said. “We’re lucky, maybe. Our case is clean perhaps because of this unique focus we have on experiential education and our desire to therefore do it ourselves.”