After months of relative silence about its investigation into potential sweetheart deals between colleges and study-abroad providers, the office of Andrew M. Cuomo, New York State’s attorney general, has begun identifying institutions it wants more information from and the type of information it is seeking.
The probe began last August, with subpoenas to companies that provide overseas programs, but little more was heard of the investigation until The Chronicle learned late last week that at least one institution, Alfred University, had been subpoenaed by Mr. Cuomo’s office. A lawyer in the office told The New York Times in an article published this morning that 14 other institutions, including Brown, Columbia, and Harvard Universities, had also received subpoenas and requests for documents. The article named 11 of the 15 institutions.
Later today, the Associated Press identified all 15, based on information from Benjamin Lawsky, deputy counselor and special assistant to Mr. Cuomo. Besides Alfred, Brown, Columbia, and Harvard, he said, those institutions are American, Brandeis, Cornell, Fordham, Northwestern, and Pace Universities; the College of New Rochelle; Hobart and William Smith Colleges; Manhattanville College; Siena College; and the State University of New York College of Technology at Alfred.
Mr. Lawsky told the AP that investigators wanted to know how the institutions chose their study-abroad programs and whether the colleges or individual administrators had received any perks from the program providers. The office is also interested in colleges that use only one study-abroad company to arrange trips, Mr. Lawsky said. In those cases, investigators want to know if there is only one provider “because they’re the best, the cheapest, the most cost-effective,” he said to the AP, “or because there’s a cozy financial relationship with the school and those who work at the school.”
“At the end of the day,” Mr. Lawsky said, “the people who get harmed the most by conflicts of interest on campus are middle-class students and their families who really can’t afford to pay extra for these services while the schools reap the benefits.”
Officials of several of the colleges and universities contacted by the attorney general told The Chronicle that they would cooperate with Mr. Cuomo’s request. Mr. Cuomo’s office was closed for the holiday.
In a written statement on the Web site of Alfred University, Charles M. Edmondson, that institution’s president, acknowledged that Alfred had received a subpoena requiring it to submit “the bulk of its records on international educational programs for 2005 and 2006.” He emphasized, however, that there had been no allegations of “any illegal actions involving international programs by Alfred employees” and that “the subpoena identified no individuals, no practices or acts, and no specific programs that might be under scrutiny.” —Charles Huckabee
