Ethical Principles

Statement of Ethical Principles

IES Abroad represents a consortium of more than 235 U.S. colleges and universities. As a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization, IES Abroad has an all-volunteer Board of Directors and an extensive academic governance system that includes 5 committees featuring democratic representation from the IES Abroad consortium. Additionally, IES Abroad is overseen by 14+ extra-governmental organizations in specific countries where IES Abroad programs exist. Since its founding in 1950, over 100,000 students have participated in IES Abroad international study abroad programs. IES Abroad operates 140+ programs in more than 85 locations in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, Australia, the United States and New Zealand. With 9,000+ students enrolled in IES Abroad programs each year, IES Abroad is among the largest study abroad providers in the United States, and an innovative leader in the study abroad field.

IES Abroad is committed to placing the interests of our students first, to the delivery of superior academic programs and to providing excellent service to our students and educational partners around the world. These are our highest priorities. IES Abroad believes transparency, best practices and maintaining the integrity of our business principles are in the best interests of our students, our global academic partners and our organization. The governance structure of IES Abroad features a system of oversight characterized by consortium member and third party driven checks and balances.

Our Principles

1. IES Abroad is committed to making study abroad affordable. IES Abroad tuition prices are the same for every college and university partner and have always been publicized. They can be viewed on our website and in our “Program Fees and Estimated Costs Book” which is disseminated regularly to colleges and universities. IES Abroad does not offer colleges or universities special pricing or discounts based upon enrollment in its term programs.
2. IES Abroad does not want to limit student choice and is committed to making study abroad accessible to all students. IES Abroad does not enter into “exclusive” agreements or arrangements with its university partners.
3. IES Abroad is committed to avoiding even the appearance of impropriety. IES Abroad does not offer its university partners any kind of “back-office” support or “kickbacks” for increasing enrollments or marketing IES Abroad study abroad programs to students.
4. IES Abroad staff and board members are expected to act with integrity in all situations in which they represent the organization. Any gifts IES Abroad employees receive from third parties as a result of or in connection with their employment with IES Abroad that have a value of $100 or more, must be disclosed to the employee-recipient’s supervisor and may not be accepted as personal gifts without the supervisor’s prior written permission. Otherwise, such gifts shall become the property of IES Abroad.
5. IES Abroad is committed to avoiding conflicts of interest. For this reason, IES Abroad employees and Board Members are required to complete and submit annual conflict of interest disclosure forms, to disclose any potential conflicts of interest, and to recuse themselves in the event of a conflict. All IES Abroad employees and Board Members are prohibited from engaging in activities that compromise their primary responsibilities to IES Abroad, its students or its academic partners.
6. IES Abroad has a strong commitment to academic freedom and to the diversity of thought and opinion in academic life.
7. IES Abroad is committed to an environment for staff, faculty and students that is founded on open communication, nurtures mutual respect and personal growth, and supports an atmosphere free of harassment and unlawful discrimination.
8. IES Abroad is committed to making study abroad more accessible. For this reason, IES Abroad is committed to enrolling a diverse student body. In addition, although IES Abroad is not involved in determining or disseminating the financial aid provided by its college or university partners, IES Abroad does have a long history of providing its own scholarships to our students. Across the academic years, IES Abroad has awarded tens of millions of dollars in IES Abroad financial aid to students. We are proud of our commitment to making study abroad programming more accessible and affordable to all students.
9. IES Abroad offers faculty led and customized programs to help individual colleges and universities serve their students in specific areas of study. The college or university sponsoring the program designs the program to fit their specific academic and curricular needs. Prices for customized programs are based upon the actual cost plus overhead of each program.
10. IES Abroad embraces rigorous assessment of its programs through its exhaustive internal evaluation system and through external third party reviews. The IES Abroad consortium and governance system is designed to ensure that IES Abroad programs meet the needs and standards of member colleges and universities. IES Abroad offers familiarization trips and conducts rigorous program reviews designed to help faculty and study abroad advisors evaluate and learn more about IES Abroad programs. The costs of familiarization trips and program reviews are shared between IES Abroad and the colleges and universities whose faculty and study abroad advisors participate in them. However, IES Abroad does not expect anything in return for its partial reimbursement of these travel expenses and would welcome payment by participating universities of the entire cost of their participation. Familiarization trips and program reviews involve, among other things, interviewing IES Abroad faculty and students, reviewing course materials, visiting student housing, observing internship, field study, and service learning sites, as well as inspecting IES Abroad facilities. Familiarization trips involve on-site examination of programs so that study abroad advisors and faculty can make informed decisions about the suitability of IES Abroad programs to their students’ learning needs.
11. In the case of periodic program reviews, review committees are comprised of a representative from the elected IES Abroad Academic Council, faculty members from IES Abroad member institutions and the IES Abroad Center being reviewed, an IES Abroad Board member, and students attending the program. The costs of these program reviews are incurred fully by IES Abroad as a part of our decades-old,  comprehensive program evaluation system. The  results  of  these  reviews  are rigorously implemented  and enforced in order to  further improve programming for IES Abroad students.
12. IES Abroad believes in enhancing its academic quality through investing in faculty development programming for IES Abroad and Consortium faculty members. IES Abroad offers faculty seminars and other faculty development programming. These seminars are attended by U.S. and IES Abroad Center faculty. The costs of faculty seminars are shared by IES Abroad and the colleges and universities whose faculty participate in them. We collaborate with our college and university partners to help further internationalize their faculty through offering seminars on pedagogical and academic research themes.
13. IES Abroad stands behind the integrity of its business and financial practices. If ever there is even the slightest hint of impropriety, IES Abroad pledges to take swift, appropriate action to address it. For this reason, IES Abroad has created the Whistleblower Protection Policy, which establishes a procedure for IES Abroad employees, students, member schools and vendors to report illegal or dishonest activity or other misconduct involving IES Abroad financial or business affairs.
14. Certain IES Abroad policies with respect to admission, academic policy, and ethical business and financial practices are published and made available to the public by IES Abroad.
15. IES Abroad is committed to adherence to applicable law and respect for the culture and practices of the countries where it operates.