Students will soon have to pay full Georgetown tuition when studying abroad as a result of a new policy aimed at to boost revenue.

Currently, the costs of studying abroad are based on the country and program a student selects, plus an administrative fee. The costs of many of the approved study abroad programs are less than a semester at Georgetown.

The administrative fee had doubled this year as a stepping stone to the new policy. The fee will be dropped entirely once the university moves to the full-tuition policy.

The policy change, accepted by the university’s board of directors in February, will take effect in the fall of 2005.

The move was part of a set of recommendations submitted in the fall by the Main Campus

Planning Committee, an advisory board to the provost. Eric Lashner (COL ’05), a member of the committee, said the motivation for the change was primarily financial.

“The reasoning behind it is not just to make money for a year, but part of a larger effort to reach institutional equilibrium,” Lashner said. “It’s necessary for Georgetown to make sure our books are balanced, and this is one way to help that.”

Director of International Programs Michael Vande Berg assured students that Georgetown will continue to meet full financial need. Students who receive financial aid currently have their aid packages readjusted when they study abroad based on the costs of the program, transportation and fees, and their family’s expected contribution.

Most students who receive aid will pay the same amount per semester abroad as they would for a semester at Georgetown. Financial aid calculation will not change once the full-tuition policy takes effect.

A handful of programs, such as those in London and Japan, are more expensive than Georgetown tuition. According to Vande Berg, students who participate in these programs pay the increased costs under both the old and new policies.

Committee members said the change has been talked about for several years and the policy is not unusual. Other schools, including nearby George Washington University, have similar tuition requirements for study abroad.

Vande Berg said that since the costs of Georgetown tuition factor in the quality of an educational experience, he believed this should be reflected when students attend other institutions that the university has approved for study. “When a student studies anywhere in the world, a quality experience should pay full tuition,” he said.

Ryan Gelinas (SFS ’07), a representative on the SFS Academic Council, said he was concerned about the effect of the new policy on students and rejected the idea that a quality study abroad program merited charging full tuition. “I don’t think that’s a good enough reason. We pride ourselves on sending a lot of people abroad,” he said. “This could impede people who don’t get financial aid but are on the borderline.”

Frank Vargas (SFS ’07) is one of those people. Though he does not qualify for financial aid, Vargas and his family decided that studying abroad would help defray the costs of his education and make going to Georgetown possible without significant sacrifices.

“I can understand that the university goes through periods when it needs more money, but this puts me in a difficult position,” he said.

Gelinas said he hopes the university will formally tell students of the new policy soon. “Once we better understand the information, we can talk to the university to ensure that financially-strapped students can study abroad.”

Lori Citti, associate director of overseas studies, said the Office of International Programs is informing incoming students at GAAP weekends of the new policy and that a special information session for current students will be arranged in the next few weeks.

“We are very grateful that the university has given us some time to prepare for this transition, because we will need to discuss enhancing services abroad and notify our partner institutions, as well as inform the class of 2007,” she said.