I hope you all had a nice July 4th holiday weekend and are enjoying the warm summer sun. This time of year, we begin our new fiscal year, round out the second half of summer, and shift into high gear to prepare for the start of the fall semester with multiple contingency plans due to the pandemic. As we continue our excellent educational mission, we are committed to ensuring the health, safety and continued success of the UMD campus community.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Guidance for International Students
Yesterday ICE issued guidance specific to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program that does not allow international students in the U.S. to be enrolled in a fully online curriculum and would require these students to leave the country. We know that there are many questions and concerns about this. Along with the Association of American Universities and the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, we stand with our international students. As we all do our part to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus, universities across the United States are incorporating online education into their course content. International students should not be penalized for the public health measures that the Federal Government, via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and our own Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) are suggesting as measures to control the virus.
In support of our international students, we are:
- Reviewing our fall semester plans for hybrid instruction (both in-person and online), so that we can accommodate in-person classes where required to ensure compliance with this new guidance.
- Working with our International Student Services team to build a coordinated response from the University.
- Identifying resources across our system to help our international students, including those provided by our Immigration Response Team.
- Continueing to help students through the Office of International Student Services.
Sincerely,
Lendley C. Black
Chancellor
