Brandeis is one of 15 schools that received subpoenas last week from New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office for an investigation into a group of study abroad programs the schools approve, administrators said.Director of Study Abroad J. Scott Van Der Meid and Senior Vice President for Communications Lorna Miles both confirmed that Brandeis received the subpoena, but couldn't comment further because the University's lawyers are evaluating the request.

John Milgrim, a spokesman for Cuomo's office, explained in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon that the investigation looks into the relationship between universities and the providers of study abroad programs, including the financial arrangements the two parties make as well as who actually makes the decision about the programs universities approve and what factors are taken into account for those decisions.

Milgrim said that this case is an offshoot of an ongoing investigation started last February by Cuomo's office into conflicts of interest between schools and student lenders, in which loan companies were paying money to colleges and universities in order for them to direct students to those companies' loans.

After The New York Times reported Aug. 13 that officials from private study abroad companies offer university officials money and trips in exchange for exclusively directing students to their programs, Cuomo decided to research various companies' business practices.

"We are trying to make sure that there aren't any undisclosed conflicts of interest that could hurt middle class students and their families who can't afford to pay extra for hidden costs for something that could be a tremendous opportunity for them," Milgrim said.

Milgrim said the investigation doesn't specifically target the study abroad operations of the schools that received subpoenas, but instead described the probe as a process for gathering information on the study abroad providers that were previously subpoenaed and the nature of the relationships they had with universities.

"We are not addressing any specific colleges, universities, or potential issues with any of them," he said. Milgrim added that there is no timeline for how long the investigation will last.

Four of the five programs Cuomo subpoenaed in August are approved by Brandeis, including the Institute for Study Abroad affiliated with Butler University, the Institute for the International Education of Students, the Center for Education Abroad at Arcadia University, and the Danish Institute for Study Abroad at the University of Copenhagen. At the time, Van Der Meid denied ever steering students toward a certain program for the University's gain and said Brandeis has never been offered travel or financial incentives.

"None of the programs have made any type of qualifier in terms of our participation," he told the Justice in September.

Other schools included in the investigation are Northwestern University, American University, Brown University, Fordham University, Alfred State College, Alfred University, Manhattanville College, Hobart College, William Smith College, Pace University, Cornell University, Siena College, and the College of New Rochelle, Benjamin Lawsky, deputy counselor and special assistant to Cuomo, told the Associated Press.

Brandeis sends 35 percent of its junior class abroad, many of whom travel on the four subpoenaed programs, Van Der Meid told the Justice in September. The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee has approved over 230 study programs in 70 countries, according to the University's study-abroad Web site.