Facing a potential change in U.S. visa policies, Harvard University has announced an emergency cooperation plan: if international students are unable to return to the U.S. for their studies due to visa issues, they can continue their Harvard courses at the University of Toronto in Canada.
Despite a preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge in the U.S., temporarily preventing the White House from revoking Harvard University’s ability to admit international students and scholars, both parties continue to battle it out in court.
This marks the first time that Harvard has announced a contingency plan since its authority to admit international students was revoked.
According to the plan, students from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government who are unable to return to the U.S. can travel to the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy to continue their studies as visiting students.
Harvard University stated that the release of this backup plan is primarily to reassure students and alleviate their anxieties caused by visa or entry restrictions, but the plan will not be implemented immediately. It will only be formally put into effect when the number of students unable to return to the U.S. reaches a certain level.
This contingency plan applies to international students who have completed at least one year of study at Harvard’s Kennedy School.
Harvard students choosing to go to the University of Toronto can take online and in-person courses offered by professors from both the Kennedy School and the Munk School. They will still need to apply for a Canadian student visa and register at the Munk School as non-degree full-time visiting students.
The University of Toronto has stated that the enrollment of Harvard students will not affect the quotas for courses or accommodations at the university.
Jeremy Weinstein, the dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School, wrote to students saying, “Even if students are unable to physically come to campus this year, the school can still provide a world-class education in public policy to all students.”
The Kennedy School’s media office stated that over the past five years, approximately 52% of students at the school have been international students. Currently, there are 739 students from 92 countries studying at the school.
So far, Harvard has obtained two preliminary injunctions, with the university stating that this should allow students to obtain U.S. entry visas while the case is still being processed in court.