For many Carleton students, Off-Campus Studies (OCS) is a life-changing academic opportunity, where students have the chance to take courses or participate in research abroad while immersing themselves in new cultures and experiences. Around 70 percent of Carleton students participate in some form of OCS during their time at the college, according to Carleton’s OCS website.
Charles Hughes ’29, a prospective history major, plans to attend Carleton’s Rome OCS program during Spring Term 2027 because it offers a unique experience for hands-on learning that you just can’t get at Carleton.
“I want to be a history major, so I chose to go on the OCS to Rome, and this is really the only chance I’ll get while I’m at Carleton for this level of research experience,” continued Hughes.
Some students, however, may find their interests better satisfied through other opportunities outside of Carleton, and thus choose to travel abroad with non-Carleton affiliated programs or direct enrollment in universities in other countries.
Previously, Carleton’s OCS office charged students participating in non-Carleton OCS programs $500 in administrative fees. Beginning in the 2026-27 academic year, however, students participating in non-Carleton OCS programs will be charged a total of $3,500 in administrative fees, a sevenfold increase. This will be in addition to the tuition for the term according to their financial aid package, as well as travel to and from their program. Fees for Carleton-run programs will remain unchanged.
According to Eric Runestad, Carleton’s Vice President and Treasurer, the increase was driven by “the rising costs for study abroad and the time-intensity and complexity of managing study abroad programs,” as well as increasing financial pressures.
Helena Kaufman, director of Off-Campus Studies, echoed Runestad’s sentiments and noted, “There’s more processing involved in administering non-Carleton programs.”
Kaufman added that the distinction between Carleton and non-Carleton programs played a major role in the development of the fee structure. Kaufman noted that Carleton-run programs have never carried the same administrative fee because they are directly operated by Carleton faculty and staff. The fee for non-Carleton programs was first introduced in 2010 under the college’s former president, Robert A. Oden.
For students who qualify, financial aid can be applied proportionally to the program cost, including the fee increase. “If a student receives financial aid at Carleton, that becomes part of their cost of attendance for OCS, and it’s covered,” Kaufman said.
For Hughes, the ability to apply for financial aid to participate in an OCS program was central to his decision to attend Carleton in the first place.
“Carleton fully funding OCS programs was one of the reasons I chose to go here,” Hughes said. “If it wasn’t for the financial aid, I wouldn’t be able to go abroad, much less go abroad on a program like this one.”
Some students expressed concern that the increase may discourage participation, especially among those who do not receive full financial aid, for whom the higher fee may be a greater burden.
Johnny Cheng ’27, a mathematics major planning to attend Budapest Semesters in Mathematics in the fall of 2026, a non-Carleton OCS program, said he understood the financial pressure facing college students but was surprised by the scale of the increase.
“I applied to my OCS because I believe this OCS is a great opportunity for me to explore some subfields of math that are not usually discussed at Carleton and experience a different kind of math education, as well as a different culture. Though I can understand the financial pressures our school is facing, I still feel this increase is crazy,” said Cheng.
Despite the increase, Cheng noted that the fee would not change his plans. “My plan will not be changed. Although the administrative fee increases incredibly, the total cost for my one-term OCS is still lower than the cost for one term in Carleton,” said Cheng.
Other students questioned whether the fee aligns with the college’s commitment to educational opportunity.
“I wanted to study abroad because I have not had the chance to travel much in my life… I applied to Spain, was waitlisted, and later accepted, but by then, I realized I did not want to go because the classes were not what I was interested in. [I] liked the idea of Costa Rica: its culture, as well as the environment, nature, and [I] really wanted to get out of Northfield for a term,” said Violet Pody ’28, a psychology major planning to study in Costa Rica in the fall of 2026 through CEA CAPA, a non-Carleton abroad program provider.
Pody, too, criticized the fee increase. “While the fee increase may be rationalized as being practical for Carleton’s administrative functioning, I feel like $3,500 is an absurd cost to pay when you are likely not going to be using the vast majority of the services Carleton offers,” said Pody.
Pody also worried that the increase could make non-Carleton programs less accessible and encourage students to apply for Carleton-run options instead. “It will definitely work to make studying abroad less accessible for many students. Even $500 felt like too much, so $3,500 just seems ridiculous and excessive to me,” said Pody.
Kaufman acknowledged that students may be surprised by the significant increase.She noted, however, that the OCS office has not yet seen evidence of a decline in participation.
“If you look at our fall 2026 numbers, they’re very high,” said Kaufman. “Actually, the numbers are higher than last year and higher than 2018, pre-pandemic.”
“The way we conceive of our program portfolio is first and foremost to make sure that students find the program that best fits with their academic and experiential goals,” said Kaufman.
Runestad stated that despite the fee increase, Carleton does not want to limit opportunities. “We believe strongly in the power of off-campus studies, and these changes were made in the spirit of ensuring that rich, varied OCS experiences remain available to Carleton students,” said Runestad.
David Liben-Nowell, Associate Provost and Professor of Computer Science, echoed that statement: “I’m an OCS faculty director myself, having designed, implemented and led a program on the History of Computing in England. I do that because I believe in the value of studying in a new and different place.”