Colorado College is advising international students on certain visas to return to campus from winter break before the Jan. 20, 2025 inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. That's the same date the semester starts at the small liberal arts college in Colorado Springs.
The communication went to students who are on F-1 and J-1 visas, according to Alexa Gromko, spokesperson for the college.
"Because the U.S. Presidential Inauguration Day aligns with the start of Block 5, we don't anticipate that any of our international students will be impacted should any new policies go into effect," Gromko said via email.
F-1 and M-1 visas are the most common types of visas for international students; the former is for students pursuing academic studies, and the latter for vocational studies. J-1 visas are for international students "who have been approved to take part in work-and-study-based exchange programs," according to USA.gov. It's unclear if Colorado College has students on M-1 visas.
The school runs on a block system, where students typically take one class for three and a half weeks. Block 5, as mentioned by Gromko, is the official start of the traditional spring semester.
"We are also watching closely for any immigration changes impacting F-1 and J-1 students and will continue to work with our campus partners to support the mental health and wellbeing of our international students, ensuring they feel a sense of belonging and inclusion here at CC," Gromko said.
According to Gromko, 4.5 percent of the undergraduate student body, or about 110 students, is from outside the U.S., including China, England, Canada and India. The entire undergraduate student population count is about 2,250.
"As needed, we are meeting with our international students this week one-on-one out of an abundance of caution to prevent travel issues and to reinforce that they are welcome here,” Gromke said. “We want them here, and there are people speaking up for them and advocating for them.”
The move follows similar statements from other schools across the county, including Harvard, Cornell, and the University of Southern California. The concern is that once in office Trump could begin enacting policies affecting immigration and visas.
Elsewhere in Colorado, Colorado State University and CU Denver didn’t send out a special advisory to international students but routinely encourage international students to arrive well ahead of when spring classes begin on January 21.
As standard practice, CU Boulder communicates reminders to international students to return to the U.S. before the beginning of the semester. Spring semester begins on January 13. A routine communication went out to students on December 2.
Here’s a university statement:
"The University of Colorado Boulder’s International Student and Scholar Services has communicated to international students to plan to return to the U.S. in time for the spring 2025 semester, which begins on January 13. This is standard practice for the university ahead of every new semester.
We can't speculate on what changes may occur under the new administration. The University of Colorado Boulder will continue to consult with higher education associations such as AAU, ACE and APLU to understand and begin preparing for any potential policy changes that may take place.
International and noncitizen students and scholars certainly enrich the campus and community, and we will continue to support their employment and enrollment, regardless of who’s in office.
CU Boulder will continue to focus on our public mission: providing top-notch education, access and affordability to students from all walks of life, supporting our faculty in the pursuit of groundbreaking research and creative work that improves lives, and serving the residents of Colorado and the nation."
At Western Colorado University, the international student population is much smaller, and officials are able to communicate with international students individually. It’s created an ad hoc working group across several campus departments to share resources and guidance so students receive consistent information.
“We do have plans to activate that small group should it become necessary,” said university spokesperson Seth Mensing. “Fortunately, our spring semester begins before the transition of leadership, and our students should be back in the country a week before the inauguration.”
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