The father of a recent graduate of Wheaton College, in Massachusetts, is suing the college for charging students its regular tuition rate to participate in cheaper independent study-abroad programs, The Boston Globe reported.
In his lawsuit, filed on Friday in a state court, James P. Brady argues that it was “deceptive and unfair” of Wheaton to charge his daughter almost $23,000 for a semester in South Africa in a program that costs around $18,000. “Wheaton provides no services whatever for that program,” the newspaper quoted Mr. Brady, a lawyer who has represented employees in a number of high-profile whistle-blower lawsuits, as saying. “This is the crudest kind of commercial gouging.”
Wheaton defends its pricing policy as standard in higher education, saying that charging students full tuition allows the college to evaluate and oversee study-abroad programs and provide financial aid to needier students. “This puts study-abroad programs within reach for many more of our students,” Michael Graca, assistant vice president for communications at Wheaton, told the Globe.
Mr. Brady is asking the court to find Wheaton’s billing practices illegal under Massachusetts’ consumer-protection law. A ruling in Mr. Brady’s favor could cost Wheaton thousands of dollars in reimbursements to former students and have far-reaching consequences for college study-abroad programs, many of which have policies similar to Wheaton’s.
His lawsuit comes amid an expanding investigation led by New York State’s attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, into colleges’ relationships with companies that provide overseas programs. Although Mr. Cuomo has not made any specific allegations, he is believed to be examining such practices as whether colleges accept free trips to study-abroad locations or get discounted rates for giving companies exclusive access to their students.
Connecticut’s attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, joined the investigation late last month. Together, the two attorneys general are seeking information from at least 25 institutions. —Kelly Field
