I'm sure this will be super unpopular, but I think universities are on the wrong side here.
First: If the classes are online anyway, then there's no reason students need to be on U.S. soil to take them. If the schools have policies requiring the students to be on U.S. soil, the schools should waive those policies.
Second: It's subjective whether COVID is still an "emergency". We've been locked down for many months now, there is nothing "emergent" about the situation any more. When your car crashes, that's an emergency. Three months later when you're having trouble getting to work because of your car being wrecked, that is no longer an emergency. It still sucks, but it isn't an emergency any more at that point.
Granted, though, it would have been better if ICE had given the schools more advance notice.
One big issue here is that F-1 students must maintain residency in order to be eligible for OPT.
This is secondary to the fact that if you're a PhD student on an F-1, you literally live in the US; you aren't just popping over for a few weeks now and then. The current situation basically forces people who have lived in the US for nearly 10 years to suddenly leave the country.
Thanks for pointing out Optional Practical Training (OPT), that's a good point. That might be a good thing for the feds to waive (once things go back to normal).
On the second point, usually PhD students with that much seniority aren't taking a lot of regular classes anyway; by 10 years, you should definitely be post-candidacy. By that point you should be working on your dissertation and "classes" should mostly consist of 1-on-1s with your advisor.
> by 10 years, you should definitely be post-candidacy.
Yes sure, 10 years was perhaps a stretch. But anyone who has lived in the US pretty much continuously for 5 or 6 years (undergrad plus the first couple of years of grad school, or possibly at the end of an MIT MEng, which is often 4+2) is likely as integrated as they're ever going to be at that point.
5 years or 10 years doesn't really make that much of a difference: it's still going to have a huge impact on students who consider the US their home.
These students should not be considering the college their longterm home anyway. They aren't supposed to be putting down roots. They are students. It's supposed to be a temporary thing where you earn the degree and then move on to the next chapter of your life.
> First: If the classes are online anyway, then there's no reason students need to be on U.S. soil to take them. If the schools have policies requiring the students to be on U.S. soil, the schools should waive those policies.
What about students midway through their programs?
And why do you think international students will pay full tuition to study from a different timezone and not even have a chance to be on campus?
> Second: It's subjective whether COVID is still an "emergency". We've been locked down for many months now, there is nothing "emergent" about the situation any more. When your car crashes, that's an emergency. Three months later when you're having trouble getting to work because of your car being wrecked, that is no longer an emergency. It still sucks, but it isn't an emergency any more at that point.
The second part of your comment isn't really necessary to justify your premise.
The entire point of the student visa is that the student's presence is required in order to realize the educational benefits the University provides. Going online only eliminates that necessity.
I don't make any claims about the motives of ICE or the Trump Administration. I also recognize this will be very inconvenient for both the students and the Universities that depend on them. But the reasoning used to justify the regulations is defensible.
I agree, timezone disparities are hard. These are hard times, people make sacrifices. Maybe the schools could run some night classes: sounds drastic, but maybe that would finally justify how the schools continue to charge full tuition.
First: If the classes are online anyway, then there's no reason students need to be on U.S. soil to take them. If the schools have policies requiring the students to be on U.S. soil, the schools should waive those policies.
Second: It's subjective whether COVID is still an "emergency". We've been locked down for many months now, there is nothing "emergent" about the situation any more. When your car crashes, that's an emergency. Three months later when you're having trouble getting to work because of your car being wrecked, that is no longer an emergency. It still sucks, but it isn't an emergency any more at that point.
Granted, though, it would have been better if ICE had given the schools more advance notice.