Dean Frazier's Statement on ICE Restrictions on International Students
To our Columbia Nursing community,
Columbia Nursing joins Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, and the leadership of many other educational institutions, in expressing deep dismay regarding new federal rules just announced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) concerning international student visas.
The new rules severely limit the options open to international students with F visas. Under these rules, such students will lose their visas if they enroll in online-only programs, or even in hybrid programs (that is, with a mix of online and in-person classes) unless they take the minimum number of online classes. We believe these new rules are misguided and jeopardize the health and safety of our students. We appreciate the understandable anxiety this announcement has created among our international students.
Many institutions are urging the government to rethink these new rules, and we join the call for a reversion to the rules in place since the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, Columbia University is about to file a friend-of-the-court brief, joining other leading colleges and universities in challenging these new rules.
In the meantime, the Columbia Nursing faculty has made considerable progress toward working out the particulars of our reopening this fall. All the details have not yet been set. However, we want to assure our international students that we have every expectation of being able to offer either in-person or qualifying hybrid options, or both, for all of our programs. Details will be forthcoming soon.
And of course, at any time, international students with specific concerns are welcome to contact the International Students & Scholars Office (ISSO) for guidance, or the Office of Student Services (OSSnursing@cumc.columbia.edu).
Lorraine Frazier, RN, PhD, FAAN
Dean, Columbia University School of Nursing
Mary O’Neil Mundinger Professor of Nursing
Senior Vice President, Columbia University Irving Medical Center