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What Is Known about ICE’s Rule Change for Foreign Students

FILE - Students walk near the Widener Library in Harvard Yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., Aug. 13, 2019.
FILE - Students walk near the Widener Library in Harvard Yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., Aug. 13, 2019.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced this week that international students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities that switch to online-only courses will have to leave the country or risk deportation. Here’s an overview of what is known about the most recent changes to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program during the pandemic.

How many colleges and universities are planning online-only classes?

Nine percent of 1,090 U.S. universities -- or 98 institutions -- are planning for a fall semester exclusively online, according to the Chronicle for Higher Education, which since March has been tracking which colleges and universities will teach online, in person or a hybrid of both.

An additional 24% -- or 262 -- say they are planning a hybrid model (part in class, part online), and 7.2% -- or 78 -- are undecided or undeclared.

Sixty percent – or 654 -- say they are planning for an in-person semester.

New York University, with the largest population of international students at 19,605, is proposing a hybrid model. Columbia University, the fourth-largest international student population with 15,897, says it is considering multiple options but hopes to return to in-person instruction as soon as it is safe to do so.

University of Southern California -- with the second-largest population of international students at 16,340 -- is planning for online instruction for undergraduates. Twenty-three state universities in California, including University of California-Los Angeles with 11,942 international students, also plan to conduct online-only classes.

Northeastern University, with 16,075 international students, is planning a hybrid model, [[ ]] as is Boston University, which has 10,598 foreign scholars.

How many students are affected? What is the deadline for them to decide where to live?

As of the 2018-2019 academic school year, there were 1,095,299 international students at U.S. colleges and universities, according to the Institute for International Education, which issues an annual report on international students in the U.S. International students make up 5.5% of the higher education population in the U.S., according to IIE.

Colleges and universities typically notify applicants of acceptances the first quarter of the year, with most letters going out in early April. Students are expected to commit -- including making a deposit to hold their spot -- by early May. The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed that process.

The states with the largest populations of international students are California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. Some of those states have been among the hardest-hit by COVID-19.

What options do foreign students have if their university goes to online-only? Is there an appeal process?

Because the visa and university application process is long and complicated, students cannot easily pivot to other schools.

ICE, which oversees the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, is referring international students to a “School Reporting and Procedural Requirements” page on the SEVIS website.

Meanwhile, the Association of International Educators (NAFSA) has updated its guidance for the upcoming semester: “Some flexibility will continue for schools that adopt an in-person or hybrid model for Fall 2020, but will not continue for students in the United States studying at schools operating entirely online for Fall 2020.”

The association adds that a deadline is looming: “[A]ll schools must update their operational plans with SEVP: Schools that will be entirely online or will not reopen for Fall 2020 must notify SEVP no later than Wednesday, July 15, 2020. Schools that will offer an in-person or hybrid program for Fall 2020 must notify SEVP of their plans by August 1, 2020.”

What happens to students if colleges hosting in-person classes are later forced to go to online-only?

ICE advises, “Schools should update their information in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) within 10 days of the change if they begin the fall semester with in-person classes but are later required to switch to only online classes, or a nonimmigrant student changes their course selections, and as a result, ends up taking an entirely online course load.”

The ICE website adds: “Nonimmigrant students within the United States are not permitted to take a full course of study through online classes. If students find themselves in this situation, they must leave the country or take alternative steps to maintain their nonimmigrant status such as a reduced course load or appropriate medical leave.”

What are the financial implications of this new policy for universities and colleges?

Universities already weathering big declines in international enrollment and revenues will suffer another financial hit if foreign students are unable to attend. According to the Brookings Institution, international students account for $2.5 billion in tuition and other revenue to American colleges and universities.

But their total contribution to the U.S. economy is far larger. The American Council on Education estimates foreign students have economic impact of $41 billion and support more than 450,000 U.S. jobs.

Colleges and universities that have the largest populations of foreign students are California (161,693), New York (124,277), Texas (81,893), Massachusetts (71,098), Illinois (53,724), Pennsylvania (51,818), Florida (45,957), Ohio (37,314), Michigan (33,236) and Indiana (29,083) in 2018-2019.

What are universities telling international students about this rule change?

Many colleges and universities are expressing dismay and pledging to do what they can to assist foreign students.

"We are deeply concerned that the guidance issued today by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement imposes a blunt, one-size-fits-all approach to a complex problem giving international students, particularly those in online programs, few options beyond leaving the country or transferring schools," Harvard University President Larry Bacow wrote the university community Monday.

“Our focus and efforts right now are on analyzing the DHS guidance to provide Stanford students accurate and timely information,” Shalini Bhutani, executive director of Stanford University’s International Center, wrote in a message to international students on Monday. “Please know that the Stanford community is committed to supporting international students.”

“With today’s update, students with certain visas must enroll in at least one in person course this fall to enter or remain in the U.S. Students who choose to enroll fully online will still be able to matriculate with UCI this fall from outside the U.S.,” wrote Willie L. Banks Jr., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Student Affairs, and Gillian Hayes, Ph.D., vice provost for graduate education in an email to the University of California-Irvine community Monday.

See all News Updates of the Day

Overall college enrollment is up, first-year enrollment down 

FILE - A student delivers packages to the dormitory at DePaul University in Chicago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024.
FILE - A student delivers packages to the dormitory at DePaul University in Chicago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024.

For the second year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, college enrollment has climbed in the United States.

But the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center noticed a substantial drop in the number of freshmen, which could be troubling for future enrollment, according to a report in Forbes. (October 2024)

South African universities embrace AI, seeing it as equalizing tool

South African universities embrace AI, seeing it as equalizing tool
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The rise of AI tools like ChatGPT has sparked debate in higher education, raising questions about ethics and integrity in teaching, learning and knowledge creation. In South Africa, some academic institutions are taking a proactive approach, integrating AI into their curricula. Experts say this step is not only innovative but also helps level the playing field among students. Zaheer Cassim reports from Johannesburg.

International students may be able to get jobs at school 

FILE - Northeastern University graduate student Shabbir Hussain, of Indore, India, left, views a computer screen at the entrance to the Snell Library on the Northeastern University campus in Boston on May 24, 2016.
FILE - Northeastern University graduate student Shabbir Hussain, of Indore, India, left, views a computer screen at the entrance to the Snell Library on the Northeastern University campus in Boston on May 24, 2016.

International students studying in the United States may be able to work on campus.

Jobs can include working in libraries, labs, food service and dormitories – but students will have to research the rules before applying for jobs, according to U.S. News & World Report. (September 2024)

Report says college rankings have the potential to mislead

FILE - Students walk at Main Quadrangle on the University of Chicago campus, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Chicago.
FILE - Students walk at Main Quadrangle on the University of Chicago campus, Monday, May 6, 2024, in Chicago.

Each year, prominent lists of college and university rankings are compiled and released to the public, but a report conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago says those rankings have the potential to mislead.

Writing in Forbes, Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier says changing methodologies can distort results, and profit motives can create doubt. He argues that rankings should be replaced by an objective rating system. (September 2024)

College athletes push for voter turnout while largely avoiding controversy as election nears

FILE - A 5.8-meter Airstream Caravel on loan to the League of Women Voters of Ohio visits the main campus of the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 26, 2024, as the group works to register and engage student voters.
FILE - A 5.8-meter Airstream Caravel on loan to the League of Women Voters of Ohio visits the main campus of the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 26, 2024, as the group works to register and engage student voters.

Lily Meskers faced an unexpected choice in the lead-up to the first major election she can vote in.

The 19-year-old University of Montana sprinter was among college athletes in the state who received an inquiry from Montana Together asking if she was interested in a name, image and likeness deal to support Sen. Jon Tester, a three-term Democrat seeking re-election. The group, which is not affiliated with the Tester campaign, offered from $400 to $2,400 to athletes willing to produce video endorsements.

Meskers, who is from Colorado but registered to vote in Montana, decided against the deal because she disagrees with Tester's votes on legislation involving transgender athletes in sports.

"I was like, OK, I believe that this is a political move to try to gain back some voters that he might have lost," Meskers said. "And me being a female student-athlete myself, I was not going to give my endorsement to someone who I felt didn't have the same support for me."

Professional athletes such as LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick and Stephen Curry have taken high-profile stances on hot-button topics and political campaigns in recent years, but college athletes are far less outspoken — even if money is available, according to experts in the NIL field. Being outwardly political can reflect on their school or endanger potential endorsement deals from brands that don't want controversy. It can certainly establish a public image for an athlete — for better or for worse — or lead to tensions with teammates and coaches who might not feel the same way.

There are examples of political activism by college athletes: A Texas Tech kicker revealed his support for former President Donald Trump on a shirt under his uniform at a game last week and a handful of Nebraska athletes a few days ago teamed up in a campaign ad against an abortion measure on the Tuesday's ballot.

Still, such steps are considered rare.

"It can be viewed as risky and there may be people telling them just don't even take that chance because they haven't made it yet," said Lauren Walsh, who started a sports branding agency 15 years ago. She said there is often too much to lose for themselves, their handlers and in some cases, their families.

"And these individuals still have to figure out what they're going to do with the rest of their lives, even those that do end up getting drafted," she added.

College coaches are not always as reticent. Auburn men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl has used social media to make it clear he does not support Kamala Harris, Trump's Democratic opponent in next week's presidential election. Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy once caused a stir with a star player for wearing a shirt promoting a far-right news outlet.

Blake Lawrence, co-founder of the NIL platform Opendorse, noted that this is the first presidential election in the NIL era, which began in July 2021. He said athletes are flocking to opportunities to help increase voter turnout in the 18-to-24 age demographic, adding that one of his company's partners has had 86 athletes post social media messages encouraging turnout through the first half of the week.

He said athletes are shying away from endorsing specific candidates or causes that are considered partisan.

"Student-athletes are, for the most part, still developing their confidence in endorsing any type of product or service," he said. "So if they are hesitant to put their weight behind supporting a local restaurant or an e-commerce product, then they are certainly going to be hesitant to use their social channels in a political way."

Giving athletes a voice

Many college athletes have opted to focus on drumming up turnout in a non-partisan manner or simply using their platforms to take stands that are not directly political in nature. Some of those efforts can be found in battleground states.

FILE - Phoenix Mercury guard Natasha Cloud (0) celebrates after making a shot while fouled during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Minnesota Lynx, May 31, 2024, in Minneapolis.
FILE - Phoenix Mercury guard Natasha Cloud (0) celebrates after making a shot while fouled during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Minnesota Lynx, May 31, 2024, in Minneapolis.

A progressive group called NextGen America said it had signed players in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Virginia to encourage voting among young people. Another organization, The Team, said it prepped 27 college athletes in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arizona and Michigan to lead volunteer voter participation opportunities for students. The organization also said it got more than 625 coaches to sign a nonpartisan pledge to get their athletes registered to vote.

The Team's executive director is Joe Kennedy, a former coach who coordinated championship visits and other sporting events at the White House during President Barack Obama's administration. In early October, it hosted a Zoom event during which panelists such as NCAA President Charlie Baker and WNBA players Nneka Ogwumike and Natasha Cloud gave college athletes advice about using their platforms on campus.

In its early days, The Team seized upon momentum from the record turnout seen in the 2020 election. The NCAA that year said Division I athletes could have Election Day off from practice and play to vote. Lisa Kay Solomon, founder of the All Vote No Play campaign, said even if the athletes don't immediately take stands on controversial issues, it's important for them to learn how.

"It is a lot to ask our young people to feel capable and confident on skills they've never had a chance to practice," Solomon said. "We have to model what it means to practice taking risks, practice standing up for yourself, practice pausing to think about what are the values that you care about — not what social media is feeding into your brain, but what do you care about and how do you express that? And how do you do it in a way that honors the kind of future that you want to be a part of?"

Shut up and play?

Two years ago, Tennessee-Martin quarterback Dresser Winn said he would support a candidate in a local district attorney general race in what experts said was very likely the first political NIL deal by a college athlete.

There have been very few since.

The public criticism and fallout for athletes who speak out on politics or social issue can be sharp. Kaepernick, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, hasn't played in an NFL game since January 2017, not long after he began kneeling during the national anthem at games.

Meskers, the Montana sprinter, said political endorsements through NIL deals could create problems for athletes and their schools.

"I just think that NIL is going to run into a lot of trouble and a lot of struggles if they continue to let athletes do political endorsements," she said. "I just think it's messy. But I stand by NIL as a whole. I think it's really hard as a student athlete to create a financial income and support yourself."

Walsh said it's easier for wealthy and veteran stars like James and Ogwumike to take stands. James, the Los Angeles Lakers star, started More Than a Vote — an organization with a mission to "educate, energize and protect Black voters" — in 2020. He has passed the leadership to Ogwumike, who just finished her 13th year in the WNBA and also is the president of the Women's National Basketball Players Association. More than a Vote is focused on women's rights and reproductive freedom this year.

"They have very established brands," Walsh said. "They know who they are and they know what their political stance is. They know that they have a really strong following that -- there's always going to be haters, but they're also always going to have that strong following of people who listen to everything that they have to say."

Andra Gillespie, an associate professor at Emory University who teaches African American politics, also said it is rare that a college athlete would make a significant impact with a political stand simply because they tend to have a more regional platform than national. Even celebrities like Taylor Swift and Eminem are better at increasing turnout than championing candidates.

"They are certainly very beneficial in helping to drive up turnout among their fans," Gillespie said. "The data is less conclusive about whether or not they're persuasive – are they the ones who are going to persuade you to vote for a particular candidate?"

Athletes as influencers

Still, campaigns know young voters are critical this election cycle, and athletes offer an effective and familiar voice to reach them.

Political and social topics are not often broached, but this week six Nebraska athletes — five softball players and a volleyball player — appeared in an ad paid for by the group Protect Women and Children involving two initiatives about abortion laws on Tuesday's ballot.

The female athletes backed Initiative 434, which would amend the state constitution to prohibit abortions after the first trimester, with exceptions. Star softball player Jordy Bahl said on social media that the athletes were not paid.

A University of Montana spokesperson said two athletes initially agreed to take part in the NIL deal backing Tester. The school said one withdrew and the other declined to be interviewed.

For Meskers, deciding against the offer boiled down to Tester twice voting against proposals to bar federal funds from going to schools that allow transgender athletes to play women's sports, a prominent GOP campaign topic. Tester's campaign said the proposals were amendments to government spending packages, and he didn't want to play a role in derailing them as government shutdowns loomed.

"As a former public school teacher and school board member, Jon Tester believes these decisions should be made at the local level," a Tester spokesperson said. "He has never voted to allow men to compete against women."

Meskers said she believes using influence as college athletes is good and she is in favor of NIL. She just doesn't think the two should mix specifically for supporting candidates.

"I think especially as student athletes, we do have such a big voice and we do have a platform to use," she said. "So I think if you're encouraging people to do their civic duties and get up and go (vote), I think that's a great thing."

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