The New York Attorney General's office sent subpoenas and document requests to AU regarding the university's study-abroad programs.
The investigation seeks to determine whether the university receives kickbacks from abroad program providers, according to The Washington Examiner.
Arrangements between providers and universities are often undisclosed and could limit student options and increase prices, according to The New York Times. The kickbacks could include rebates, free and subsidized travel, unpaid seats on advisory boards, help with back-office services, marketing stipends and other benefits.
"What we're finding is that there are arrangements between the schools and the companies ... where the companies give perks to the schools for using them over other groups," John Milgram, spokesman for New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, told The Examiner.
Maralee Csellar, acting director of AU's Office of Media Relations, said she hadn't seen the specific subpoenas and document requests but knew they were investigating AU Abroad's relationship with providers.
"We're spending this week compiling the information that [Cuomo] asked for," Csellar said.
The Office of the General Counsel and the Office of the Provost are working together to compile the documents, Csellar said.
AU Abroad Director Sara Dumont declined to comment on the subpoenas and document requests.
Investigators have also subpoenaed 15 other colleges and universities, including Harvard, Brown and Columbia, according to The New York Times.
A lawyer from the attorney general's office told The New York Times the universities are under investigation because Cuomo's office suspects that some have "affiliation agreements" with abroad-program providers.
The subpoenas are part of a broad request for documents to help the attorney general's office understand the processes and procedures of study-abroad programs at AU. The university has not received any explanation of why it was chosen, Csellar said.
Last spring, Cuomo's office's investigation of the arrangements between universities and student loan companies led Cuomo's office to develop a code of conduct for university-lender relationships. The attorney general's ultimate goal is to develop a similar code of conduct for study-abroad offices, according to The New York Times.
