Third-Party Program Provider

Third-Party Program Providers are generally consortium-based providers, comprised of diverse U.S. university and college members. UP has a minor financial obligation to many Third-Party Program Providers, due to annual consortium membership dues, however along with this comes the ability to participate in the academic oversight of the programs offered; along with additional scholarships available to students, and certain other financial benefits and training opportunities for faculty and staff. UP has had long-standing consortium agreements with IES Abroad, GEO, ILACA, and GE3.  

Third Party providers tend to offer programs that have been explicitly designed for U.S. students, with the ability to meet the expectations and norms of a U.S. university student.  Syllabi tend to be available in advance and students receive a high level of support, similar to what they are accustomed at a U.S. campus. Students enroll in courses offered by the Program Provider (usually at their academic institute overseas, usually with other U.S. students), or in some cases the partner facilitates enrollment at a foreign university for one or all courses. The Provider supports the students by arranging housing, vetting and hiring faculty, securing classroom space, planning excursions and field trips, and managing general student affairs issues.  Third Party Providers also help minimize the administrative support required, as they have staff dedicated to assisting students with visas, course enrollment, and all pre-departure needs. 

Third-Party Program Providers often offer a large number of programs throughout the world. They have the necessary infrastructure both stateside and overseas to offer quality programming and support, and they tend to offer additional scholarships. UP has historically only offered a very small percentage of the programs within the Provider’s full portfolio for UP students.  For example, IES Abroad offers more than 130 programs, however UP only actively promotes three.  (In the 2023-24 Academic Year, however, UP students have chosen to enroll in 13 different IES programs, only 2 of which are ‘promoted’.)  We see that students are ALREADY selecting more IES Abroad programs than we officially promote, including programs taking them to three new continents from where we currently offer programs.  Thus, the demand for more program diversity exists.  

With changes in access to institutional discounts now established, and with new opportunities to offer MORE programs, looking at existing partner programs would be the easiest way to quickly broaden the portfolio of offerings while minimizing the financial risk and commitment of the university.