TOPLINE
Some of America’s top-ranked universities on Tuesday condemned the announcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that international students will have to leave the country or transfer if their colleges opt to have only online classes in the fall, and many outlined steps they would take to protect students as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on higher education.
CAMBRIDGE, MA – APRIL 16: An aerial view of Harvard Hall in Harvard Yard in Cambridge, MA on April … [+] 16, 2020. (Photo by Blake Nissen for The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Boston Globe via Getty Images
KEY FACTS
Schools including Harvard, Columbia, Brown, Stanford, NYU and the University of Pennsylvania sought to reassure international students following the announcement, with Harvard and Upenn both saying they would work with other institutions to chart a path forward to ensure students “can continue their studies without fear of being forced to leave the country mid-way through the year,” in the words of Harvard President Lawrence S. Bacow.
The ICE guidelines, labeled by the Association of American Universities as “deeply misguided,” were announced Monday, with President Trump saying Tuesday he plans to pressure state governors and schools to hold in-person classes this fall while criticizing schools that have decided to hold all classes online as “ridiculous” and taking the “easy way out.”
NYU, which has the highest number of international students in the U.S., and Brown announced Tuesday that their fall plans—following a hybrid model that mixes in-person and online classes—would accommodate vulnerable international students, while Stanford, which was otherwise planning to hold many or mostly online classes in the fall, said it will support all of its students in completing their degrees while urging the administration to rethink its decision.
Columbia University told its student body Tuesday that it would organize hybrid classes with in-person and remote learning opportunities that “alleviate the negative effect of these new regulations,” in addition to offering pop-up learning centers for students who can’t return to Columbia and vigorously opposing “damaging” immigration policies.
Meanwhile, Princeton, MIT, Duke and Dartmouth all told Forbes they are reviewing the potential impacts of the policy and highlighted the importance of their international students.
The Association of American Universities, an organization composed of 65 top research universities, released a statement Tuesday in which AAU President Mary Sue Coleman strongly urged the administration to rescind the “immensely misguided” guidance and provide temporary flexibility allowing international students “to participate in the range of in-person, online, and hybrid instruction that institutions are implementing in light of the pandemic and their local conditions.”
Chief Critic
“This policy change would also have negative economic impacts, because international students spend millions of dollars in our communities every year,” reads the AAU statement. “It is also likely to do further damage to our nation’s universities, which are already struggling with unprecedented uncertainty, massive logistical complications, and significant financial losses due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
Big Number: $41 Billion
The amount of money the over one million international students in the U.S. contributed to the economy in the 2018-2019 academic year, according to CNBC.
Key Background
ICE’s new policy states that international students on nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 visas may not remain in the U.S. or legally enter the U.S. if their classes are online, with the recommendation that students in online-only schools should “[transfer] to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status.” At schools offering a hybrid of online and in-person classes, students can stay in the country if it is certified they are “not taking an entirely online course load this semester.” Violations of these policies will result in “immigration consequences,” including the “initiation of removal proceedings.” Many universities have been hesitant to announce a return to campus for fall because of the worsening coronavirus pandemic. The majority of plans announced so far opt for a hybrid model which would send around half of students back to campus and rely heavily on online classes.
Further Reading
“ICE Says Foreign Students Can’t Attend Online-Only College This Fall, Despite Pandemic” (Forbes)
