Andrews Response to SEVP Guidelines

At Andrews University one out of four students each year comes to us from outside of the United States. As a result, the students, faculty and staff of our University consistently benefit from learning together in one of the most ethnically and internationally diverse national universities in our country, according to U.S. News Best Colleges rankings. Our international students enrich our campus and our local community with their talents and commitment to the goal of this University: to make World Changers.

Over the past few months, our international students have faced particular challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic.

This has included lost income through less availability of student jobs, with the resulting financial pressures; incapacity to travel easily and/or connect with family and friends from their homeland; and no access to the support funding that has been available to U.S. students. As a University we have been concerned for these students, and with the wonderful support of friends of the University, we have been able to give some limited relief to those still in the Berrien Springs area.

It is within this context that Andrews University is deeply concerned about the new government guidelines, policies and restrictions introduced by the Student Exchange and Visitor Program (SEVP) for international students studying in the United States. From our perspective, these regulations ignore the realities and benefits of international students, limiting the true potential of a global student body as an essential way to help each one of us as individuals truly understand and meaningfully impact the world. The regulations also add a layer of unnecessary pressure and fear to a community already hit hard by the challenges of living in another country in the midst of a pandemic and global economic crisis.

Andrews University wants our international students to know that we remain fully committed to each one, both personally and academically, even as international students at Andrews University and across the United States seek to understand and respond to the new guidelines and restrictions issued last week by SEVP.

Our plan for the fall semester currently assumes face-to-face and/or hybrid learning for the majority of our students. This falls within the new SEVP regulations. However, if our situation unexpectedly changes, or that of a particular student requires personal attention, our Center for  On-Campus International Student Services will be there to work with and on behalf of each one of our international students. These students continue to be a critical and transforming part of our entire Andrews University family.

Ultimately, our faculty and staff, our students and our graduates are committed to be World Changers for a changing world—especially now for a world that so desperately needs global citizens dedicated to achieving positive and effective change.

Christian Stuart
Executive Director
Center for On-Campus International Student Services
Andrews University