The Oberlin-in-London program will most likely be returning for the 2006-07 school year after a one-year suspension and a substantial redesign. The suspension of the program combined with the recent decision to charge students fees for study away have led to intense scrutiny of Oberlin’s commitment to study abroad.

“They said it was a combination of it being too aggressive and some difficulty in moving to its new premises,” said the program’s coordinator and politics professor Marc Blecher. “We were negotiating for new premises, that we needed, and at the last minute it collapsed and we were homeless.”

This was a source of irritation at the administration for many.

“There were problems,” Blecher said. “What would have...enabled us to keep the program happening continuously was a little bit of time and consultation during which we would have tried, and I think succeeded, in reducing on costs and how we think about the cost.”

Both Blecher and Ellen Sayles, the international student advisor, made sure to separate the management of the London program from the study away program. The London program’s new incarnation is being planned by the Off-Campus Study Committee and not the Study Away office.

However, the Study Away office has been making some controversial changes as well, specifically, the $1,000 study away fee.

“Various committees have looked at the cost of study away,” said Sayles. But it does incur expense for the school with about 300 students abroad a year and cuts were going to be made.

“My bottom line was that I didn’t want this to cut back on the ability of students to go away,” she said.

Lots of models were considered, charging home tuition being the most extreme. The fee, it was thought, “would leave the least impact. Most programs are less expensive than Oberlin home tuition.”

“It helps us continue to make financial aid affordable to students,” said Dye. “One thing we do more than other colleges is let financial aid travel. It is hard, particularly at this point. We would like to preserve the ability to say that students can go abroad when and if they want to but we can’t afford to lose that revenue. That’s part of the situation.”

And financial aid will continue to follow students to their abroad programs, provided the programs are affiliated. The Grinnell and Lawrence London programs have been added to the affiliated list. The packages will be adjusted to include the fee.

The study away fee won’t be charged for consortium programs, mostly because these programs already charge Oberlin home tuition, room and board. There is a new addition to this list; the Program for Mexican Culture and Society in Puebla at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. The consortium includes Oberlin, Smith, Wellesley and Wheaton.

“It is a very intensive and advanced language program. It allows for students to enroll directly in the University,” Sales said.

“The other piece of this that I think is important to know is that...we grant credit for programs with which we’re not affiliated which is something some schools don’t do,” she added. “I understand how the fee could be interpreted as a penalty, but...my hope is that it won’t be a deterrent. And, quite honestly, I think if we find that it is, the Off-Campus Study Committee will take notice of that and try to find another way to manage the program.”

The general study away information session is on March 3.