The New York Attorney General’s office is currently investigating study-abroad programs at 15 universities, including Harvard and Columbia. But Stanford’s study-abroad program has not yet been targeted for investigation and, according to the University, has no reason to be targeted.

New York investigators have identified “questionable practices” in more than a dozen companies worldwide that arranged for students to study abroad. According to The New York Times, some programs offer colleges undisclosed benefits, including marketing stipends, seats on advisory boards and rebates. Although the probe is based in New York, the Attorney General’s office says it has jurisdiction to protect its students and their families wherever students attend a college or university.

Irene Kennedy, executive director of the Bing Overseas Program, said that since the investigation is related to the activities of private providers, Stanford is not implicated in the probe’s charges.

“Because our office only manages Stanford programs, our abroad programs have none of these problems,” Kennedy said. “We don’t recommend non-Stanford programs to Stanford students, so the need for commercial providers is a non-issue.”

According to Kennedy, the University’s decision to avoid commercial providers is rooted in a sense of academic responsibility.

“The Bing Overseas Program is over 50 years old,” she said. “We feel safe vouching for the academic integrity offered overseas, and we can’t do that for other programs.”

Students must stop out if they choose to participate in a non-Stanford program. Kennedy added that most students choose a Stanford program because of its many advantages.

“The overseas fee is similar to their tuition at Stanford,” she said. “And courses at any one of our programs have been validated ahead of time so that students know what they need to take to fulfill their requirements, graduate, etc.”

Kennedy was relieved that Stanford’s study abroad programs were exempt from this investigation, though she empathized with the difficulties faced by other universities.

“In defense of other schools, it’s a catch-22 for them,” Kennedy said. “They want to make a good recommendation to students, and in order to do that they have to review or visit of a lot of these programs. But that being said, I am very glad we are not among these 15 schools.”