As a special exception due to COVID-19, the U.S. government is allowing international continuing students to pursue 100% of their coursework online for the fall 2020 semester. This exception has not been applied to newly admitted international students, who must register for and attend at least one class with an in-person component in order to maintain their legal status in the U.S.
The International Student Scholars Office is advising colleges and academic departments anticipating newly admitted international students, to consider ways to provide flexibility for these students to meet the in-person component requirement as soon after September 7th as possible. They recommend that academic departments consider the following strategies to incorporate an in-person component to a course:
- Independent study, topics or research courses with a limited number of in-person meetings;
- If a faculty member intends to teach a virtual course from an on-campus classroom setting, permitting a limited number of international students to participate in class in an appropriately socially distant manner for one or two sessions;
- Minimal faculty engagement in a laboratory setting.
For additional assistance, contact the staff at ISSO
