Catheryn Cotten is a nationally respected authority on foreign student visa issues. The director of Duke's International Office, she has played - even before 9/11 -- a prominent role in how higher education has administered student visas. In a recent interview with Dialogue, Cotten discusses how universities have had to change their visa administration.
Q. After 9/11, there was some concern that the numbers of international students, fellows and visiting professors would fall off at American universities. To what degree have these concerns come true?
Cotten: Reports from the Duke admissions offices published earlier this year in the Dialogue showed increases in international applications. Duke has an overall increase in international students that we have normally seen from one year to the next over the last few years. Reports from schools around the country indicate similar maintenance levels or increases in applications and attendance. For Duke statistics on students and scholars for the immediate prior year (2001-2002) go to our web site. Please note, however, that we have not yet compiled all of the numbers for 2002-2003.
Nationwide, some schools with large middle eastern student populations have seen declines in that population. Numbers of students at Duke and elsewhere have been delayed in getting visas because of new, lengthy security clearance procedures in operation at all U.S. consular posts abroad. In a few cases the delays have been so long that students could not arrive in time to register for classes this semester. For information on the new security clearance forms and procedures, go to our web site.
Q. How have the responsibilities for colleges and universities changed for enrolling and tracking international students and scholars?
Cotten: For the past 50 years schools that enrolled international students on the F-1 visa have been required to make periodic reports to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) regarding the attendance and academic activities of those students. Schools must make similar reports to the Department of State (DOS) regarding professors and researchers on J-1 Exchange Visitor visas. All of that reporting has been done in a paper process either through the mail or by hand delivery of documents to INS and DOS.
Since the events of Sept. 11, both INS and DOS have moved quickly to implement an electronic reporting process that will require schools to make those reports online. That new online process is called SEVIS -- Student and Exchange Visitor Information System. The recently enacted USA PATRIOT Act and Border Security Act require schools to affirmatively report the attendance of international students each semester or term and to report current addresses on those students. In addition, INS must notify the schools when students enter the U.S. so that schools will know to expect the student on campus. Schools must notify INS if students fail to arrive at school and begin their programs of study.
For information on the kind of recordkeeping and reporting schools must do, go to our web site.
Q. Duke was involved in the pilot project for SEVIS. How did that work?
Cotten: Duke was one of the 21 schools INS invited to help develop and build the online reporting system. We began that work in 1997-1998 and continue to work with INS to refine and upgrade the SEVIS software. As a result of Duke's involvement, many of our students and scholars have received faster, more efficient service. As Duke has been using this electronic system for about four years, most of our students and scholars see this level of service as normal. But people transferring here from other schools have commented on the differences.
SEVIS has created some difficulties as well. Some of our students and scholars experienced questions and delays from consular and immigration officers who were unfamiliar with the new bar-coded visa documents. As with any new software package, we have seen glitches and surprises, but our working relationship with INS has helped us work through those.
Duke wanted to be part of the SEVIS development group because we believed that the special needs of a complex institution like Duke needed to be accommodated in the system. That has proven to be a good decision. Members of the Duke community tend to be active and creative people with interesting and complicated personal and professional lives. Using real life examples, we have been able educate INS on the realities of the academic environment and to help develop SEVIS so that it can permit and reflect the variety of activities essential to a Duke academic career.
Q. How well is Duke positioned to meet the new expectations for universities on visas?
Cotten: In July 2002 Duke became the first school in the nation to use the new national SEVIS system. The 21 schools in the original development project, which includes Duke, have moved all of their F visa and J visa student and scholar data into SEVIS. That puts us nearly a year ahead of other similar institutions in converting from the paper to the electronic process.
In the coming months the Office of the Registrar, the PeopleSoft organization, and the International Office will be working with the various Information Technology groups on campus to make data entry and transfer as efficient as possible and to minimize duplicative work and extra keying that some offices have to do. We have also developed web interfaces that streamline data exchanges among the departments, our international students and scholars, and the International Office.
Much work still lies ahead, but we have a good start and we have two strong advantages:
-- an international student and scholar population that is comfortable with technology and is willing to help us identify and meet their needs, and
-- an administration that encourages international activities at Duke and that understands the need to use technology to support our learning, teaching, research, and patient care goals.
