Magali Zoghaib | Investigative Director
A decade-old FIU program aimed at supporting international students may be setting them up for failure through the ease of its application process while also making a sizable profit from them.
On Aug. 14, 2014, Florida International University was seeking to “increase its enrollment of qualified international students” according to the Pathway Agreement Services and therefore partnered with Shorelight and its subsidiary Scientia – both Delaware limited liability companies – to establish and operate a “Pathway School” referred to as FIU’s Global First Year Program.
Shorelight offers services through its “International Pathway School” model, which includes an extensive recruitment network and a preparatory program that helps international students develop “language and study skills” while earning course credit from FIU, according to the agreement.
G1Y is a program that offers different admission tracks (Pre-sessional English, G1Y 3-semester, and G1Y 2-semester) based on students’ English proficiency, allowing them to take courses, at FIU as non-degree-seeking students before fully matriculating.
Notably, G1Y’s program admission standards are lower than those set for standard international students and do not require a college entrance exam.
While standard international admission requires at least an 80/120 on the TOEFL, admission for G1Y students only requires 60/120. For those on the pre-sessional English track, it’s 41/120.
Although admission to Global First Year does not require a college entrance exam score, students are still required to take the test during their last semester before matriculation into FIU as a degree-seeking student.
FIU’s testing center at the Green Library (GL 120) offers Global First Year students a non-transferable, shortened ACT On-Campus exam that fulfills state requirements, which they have to pay for out of pocket.
Moreover, G1Y students are instructed that they could get the lowest possible score and still be able to matriculate into FIU as an undergraduate degree-seeking student.
“We were told by Global First Year advisors that the score didn’t matter,” said Diego Tunon, former G1Y student, sophomore and fully matriculated accounting major. “I didn’t study at all.”
“They literally can get a zero on it, all we want is to register that they took the test,” said David Lecon, managing director of Global First Year.
PantherNOW inquired about Lecon’s statement about entrance exam scores to Assistant Vice President of Global Learning Initiatives Hilary Landorf, which Landorf denied.
“That’s not true. If I can get a hold of the contract, it’s in the contract that they have to meet the FIU standards,” said Landorf in an interview with PantherNOW.
According to the Pathway Agreement Services, once matriculated, those students are treated like “other similarly situated international students at FIU” and have completed the same core curriculum classes.
Without reevaluating English proficiency before their matriculation, G1Y students, already admitted with low English test scores, may struggle to keep up academically which can ultimately lead to increased risk of dropping out.
Apart from the difference in the admission criteria, the cost to attend FIU as a Global First Year far outweighs the cost to attend FIU as a standard international student.
In addition to separate semesterly program fees ($1,394), G1Y students are charged significantly more for tuition than what appears on their MyFIU account.
Contrary to Lecon’s claim that G1Y tuition per credit aligns with FIU’s rate for standard international students, PantherNOW found discrepancies in billing statements that dispute this claim.
So why is there almost a $1,600 difference between the students’ G1Y tuition on their statement of fees and their tuition on their MyFIU account?
When confronted about discrepancies, Lecon added that the additional charge on tuition was for the additional services the program offers and couldn’t explain what the extra $1,394 charged separately for student fees was for and mentioned that he would “have to look into it.”
“I was surprised to find out I had to pay separately for the Panther Book Pack during my semesters as a Global First Year student,” Tunon said. “I thought the program fees should already cover that.”
Moreover, a comparison of tuition charges for two each with a different number of credits, showed that they were billed the exact same amount for tuition.
As shown above, Elbahlool took 14 credits for the spring and Patel took 12 credits for the summer however regardless of the difference in tuition they were still charged the same for both semesters by Global First Year as shown below.
To this day, it is still unclear what those extra charges are for if the program costs doesn’t even include book fees.
On top of extra charges posed on tuition, the program also charges an additional $430 monthly for off-campus housing than the original monthly rent charge and $773 more for on-campus housing.
When asked about the extra $430 monthly per student, Lecon claimed that the money is used for resident assistants, a trashcan in the room, a curtain for the bathtub, bedding and plastic utensils.
With the exception of resident assistants, all of these amenities are not recurring costs and are a one-time purchase.
So what about the discrepancies with on-campus housing charges given that FIU already provides residential assistants? Is the additional $773 fee for G1Y on-campus residents solely for non-recurring costs like bedding and trash cans?
G1Y students interviewed by PantherNOW shared concerns after they were charged for adjustments on their housing assignment without prior notice.
“I originally paid for the Lakeview on-campus housing option however, during my first semester they assigned me to Parkview, a different on-campus building unit, without informing me of the change and then made me pay $886 extra when the semester started even though I paid everything that was due before coming to FIU,” said Kian Patel, a former G1Y student currently enrolled at FIU.
So what sets the program apart from regular admission through our International Student Scholar Services office at FIU?
“They are taking the same credits, same prerequisites, and they’ll be on track to graduate like any other student but it’s different because they are admitted as a non-degree-seeking status,” added Lecon.
“I didn’t realize the significant difference in my tuition charge until I got matriculated and had to pay my tuition to FIU directly.”
The Student Services Director of the program said that Global First Year charges more than the university but didn’t have any explanation on what the extra charges are for, Patel said.
According to the addendum, the program operates under the authority of a steering committee comprising three Shorelight representatives and three University representatives overseeing decisions related to academic matters and budget approval.
Even with a steering committee granting FIU, through its representation in the committee, ultimate approval rights in evaluating budget matters, PantherNOW was repeatedly told by Landorf to “ask Shorelight” when inquiring about program fees.
FIU’s Global First Year Program aims to support international students in their transition, yet questions remain about its costs, admissions standards, and value.
Whether it serves as a true pathway to success or poses financial challenges is a question worth further consideration.
“They profit too much and can’t even provide clear reasons behind those extra fees,” said Patel.
CORRECTION: The initial online and printed version of this article claims that Lecon said that all of these amenities are not recurring costs and are a one-time purchase. This is an error. This has been corrected online but is still present in the print edition as the error was determined after printing. We will run a correction in the next edition.
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