The study abroad business has traditionally been a cottage industry with a hodgepodge of domestic and foreign universities, for-profit and non-profit independent organizations providing thousands of programs in more than 100 countries.
[2] Outside providers like IES and The College of Global Studies at Arcadia University act as intermediaries by assisting program participants with logistics like course registration and housing arrangements.
While models differ, academic and social guidance is generally included throughout the duration of a program, such as orientation, support services, field trips and cultural activities.
An influential article that appeared in The New York Times in 2007 highlighted that this can include free and subsidized travel overseas for officials, back-office services to defray operating expenses, stipends to market the programs to students, unpaid membership on advisory councils and boards, and even cash bonuses and commissions on student-paid fees.
[3] Critics say that these and similar arrangements, which are seldom disclosed, typically limit student options and drive up prices for gaining international credentials compared with the most economical alternative — enrolling directly in a foreign university, paying generally lower tuition to that institution and having the credits transferred.