We are alarmed and saddened by the recent ICE announcement regarding in-person course delivery and the visa status of international students studying in the U.S. To echo Chancellor Diermeier and Provost Wente’s statement from Tuesday – we are strongly opposed to these actions and the potentially devastating consequences for international scholars and higher education in this country.
The members of our International Student Care Team and International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) staff are working to stay abreast of developments. We will keep our community informed as more details become available. We are here to support all members of our community that are affected by this policy.
The ICE announcement changes nothing for Owen’s or Vanderbilt’s plans for the fall. We can’t predict the future, but at Owen, we remain focused on delivering in-person classes to the greatest extent possible. As we originally stated in our return to campus announcement on June 16, all classes will be available remotely to accommodate students who can’t come to class. In addition, courses taught by faculty with health issues that prohibit in-person teaching will be conducted on-line. For these reasons, classes will operate on a spectrum (ranging from fully on-line to fully in-person), with the goal of having all classes include in-person components. This has been our strategy from the beginning.
To our international students – please know that each of you are an important part of the Owen community. I care about you and your wellbeing. Decisions made by the federal government are beyond our control, but I can assure you that you will always be valued and welcome at Owen. Our student programs office is available to offer support and answer questions to the best of our ability. You can contact them at owenAcademicPrograms@vanderbilt.edu.