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The rationale of LIVIS is to determine living cost differences amongst all universities of the network and its main purpose is to make such information easily available to prospective exchange students, thus empowering them to objectively consider and plan their stay abroad. Studies abroad are commonly perceived as an expensive option and this persistent popular belief deters many from seriously considering such possibilities. In fact costs can vary greatly, sometimes within the same country, and such variations can be put to use to the students advantage to enhance the financial situation of mobile students.

The 2008 incarnation of LIVIS not only aims to shed light on such complicated matters as it features an improved graphic user interface which will allow for more layers of information to be added overtime (i.e., with regards rent there are often considerable differences in the average costs of university residences and private accommodation). The 2009 edition is already being prepared and will bring about a significant change in the source of information: from 2005 to 2008 LIVIS has been compiled and updated based upon feedback from student representatives, while from 2009 onwards exchange students themselves will be the main sources of information for the reason that, being newcomers, they experience living costs in a way differently from their native colleagues. The cost perception of their stay abroad will be monitored in order to understand how it evolves throughout the first months upon arrival.

From a methodological viewpoint the main difficulty that LIVIS is confronted with is to reduce the bias produced by respondents with different social/economic backgrounds. Students from a socio economically higher income bracket will produce cost indicators that can easily be misleading for others. In order to assuage this problem respondents are asked to provide information on living costs from a relatively modest perspective. These students from all social backgrounds should be able to retrieve useful information from LIVIS, knowing that the indicatory budgets provided will indeed allow for their stay abroad. It goes without saying that a larger budget will provide higher levels of comfort by student standards and open up wider possibilities travel or entertainment wise. LIVIS is available online here.