Times of uncertainty and unity: how changes to federal law affected 332 students at Lake Forest College.

Leonor Valente ‘29
deoliveiraleit@lakeforest.edu
Staff Writer

The world of higher education institutions was shaken up when the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) released a broadcast message banning international students from internships on Aug. 24.

Declared a clarification of federal law, the current administration is keeping a close eye on institutions that do not follow the guidelines related to Curricular Practical Training (CPT). This forces schools to place a hold on the program dedicated to international students seeking internships in the U.S. during the completion of their academic program.

These changes put the academic lives of 332 international students at Lake Forest College into perspective, requiring adaptation to how they had envisioned their future, especially the 40 students who had, or were in the process of starting a CPT-approved internship. For a college with such a large number of international students, the impacts of these changes seep from the student body into different departments supporting it. So, what changed?

Nothing has changed in writing, except SEVP clarified that internships must be integral to completion of majors. At the College, the only majors requiring internships are communications and new media art and design. 

The structuring of this rule was previously ambiguous as to what major completion meant. Lake Forest College, among other institutions, interpreted the guidelines as a means for students to complete their experiential and practical learning requirements, a requirement for graduation as part of the Forester Fundamental Curriculum, under the Experiential Learning (EL) tag.

The clarification comes as a reminder that the administration offers the Pre-Optional Practical Training (Pre-OPT) program for F1 visa students. However, this program comes with bureaucratic and logistical struggles. While CPT approval had an estimated waiting time of five to eight business days, Pre-OPT and OPT waiting times are expected to last 90 to 120 days, if not more. Applications for these are overseen by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), while CPT was approved by the Center for Career Advancement (CAC) and International Student Services (ISS), which have a considerably smaller number of applications to review in contrast to a nationwide service. Fulfilling a Pre-OPT internship also reduces time from the one-yearOPT period F-1 international students used to reserve for post-graduation internships. This program comes with additional financial costs and a system hard to navigate. Director of International Student Support Sandra Ortiz says that “for now we have OPT and Pre-OPT, which is not perfect, [but] the College is always thinking outside the box to offer students with [EL] opportunities.”

To help students better understand this process, ISS stepped in, together with CAC, and utilized what was previously a CPT information session as a Pre-OPT workshop. These sessions will continue to be developed throughout the academic year, being open to F-1 students of all years. 

Before these sessions, however, on Aug. 31, more tailored support was offered to the students directly impacted over the course of a two-day event at the CARE Center where members of the space host, ISS, CAC, Academic Affairs and Center for Academic Success (CAS) were present.

 “It was almost like a triage,” Executive Director for the Gorter Family Career Advancement Center Marie Josephitis said.

The event provided students a space to be heard and explore possible next steps. Dean of Students and Interim Vice President Tony Tyler considers it a successful event, with 15 students showing up on the first day and five on the second. 

“International students are part of the fabric that makes up this institution. […] We are committed to developing the whole individual,” Tyler said. “All the skill sets, all the opportunities for future growth, and we don’t want the tools taken away from that development.”

The college’s efforts did not stop at informational sessions. Members of CAC worked with students to accommodate this change to their needs as best as possible. This included allocating students to classes that fulfilled the requirements originally meant by the designated internship, or fulfilling missing credits. 

Vice President for Career Advancement and Community Engagement Jackie Slaats recalls the CAC having to manage how to inform students and employers. Slaats said, “In a way that is efficient, but thoughtful, and makes sure we can still have care around. This was devastating news. These are some of our best and brightest students. They worked really hard for these opportunities, and to have to either take them out of these [opportunities] they already started, or tell them they can’t start these things they are excited about, that was a really hard, painful message we would have to deliver to them.”

Making sure students are well taken care of and that their efforts have not been in vain is a major concern within different college organizations. Assistant Vice President for Academic Success Mary Ellen Carroll describes the steps after the clarification was released. 

“The first thing we did was set up open hours for those students to come up and meet individually with myself or a colleague from the center to [assess] what’s the impact of not doing this on your degree plan,” Slaats said. “How will this impact your ability to be full-time? To make progress and stay on track for your degree?” Slaats highlighted the direct work of the CAC with students to find an alternative that matched their individual needs, and how everyone affected by the change was attended to.

Slaats looked at every record of who was in the pipeline or had conversed with CAC about an internship for fall or spring, and reached out individually to each one. This provided students with guidance as to who to reach out to for support in case they were not available during the open hours, or needed more time to process the changes. 

“The college is simultaneously making good use of its tight-knit community to find internships with alumni overseas, as CPT and OPT only apply to internships within the U.S.,” Josephitis said. “There are jobs out there students don’t even know exist. Even though a goal before might have been an internship in the states, we are just redirecting that goal.”

In less than a month, the CAC, in collaboration with different departments, developed a program offering students recently affected by the CPT rule clarification on-campus internships and research opportunities. These are aligned to provide the internship feel and structure while being in line with the students’ area of studies. Carroll mentioned how some students have been able to work with faculty on research opportunities that are more commonly available in graduate school. Lake Forest College provides these opportunities regularly for students. A large number of students pursue research in STEM and an increase in students looking for research opportunities in the humanities and social sciences may result from limited CPT options. 

In the last two years, 17 different majors offered research and other experiential learning courses beyond internships.

The CAC continues to find alternatives and new ways to support international students by reshaping their plans while sticking to their main goals with their already-in-use tools, new ones, as well as through students sharing amongst themselves and with CAC opportunities and tools they know of. 

“We want students to continue to network and meet other people,” Josephitis said.

Should more curricula require internships? As curriculum revisions become a conversation, it is important to remember the structural changes it implies and how the changes might affect seniors if followed through. Tyler and the CAC agree that internships are not suitable for all majors, and it is better to look for opportunities adequate to the field of study. 

“Administratively, all those things are being looked at as potential options down the road,” Tyler said. “Of course, when approached thoughtfully and carefully, we don’t want to react too quickly in such a way that would cause more turmoil and more instability.”

One might raise the question as to how these countrywide changes will keep on affecting the college. More specifically, the number of international students enrolling in the next few years. While the future cannot be predicted, between the fall of 2024 and the fall of 2025, there was a drop from 124 international students enrolled to 77; fall 2026 holds the 2025 number. 

To Admissions Officer Chris Ellertson, the ability to hold the number is admirable considering travel bans, complications with obtaining visas and students having to refer to Spring. However, there are two ways the consistent number might be maintained. First, out of the 77 students enrolled this Fall, 40 are Davis Scholars, which is a benefit that makes college in the U.S. financially appealing regardless of administrative changes. 

Second, the college has, throughout the years, built a reputation for community, involvement, diversity and acceptance, which prospective students learn about from alumni of their high schools, incentivizing them to commit to the College. That being said, and taking into consideration the changes that influence obtaining a visa, the Admissions Office aims to enroll around 65 international students in the upcoming fall class, as prospective students do not yet show concerns regarding CPT and OPT.

A period of uncertainty looms over the college and other higher education institutions, as the current administration keeps a close eye on international students. Amidst visa processing changes, duration of status instability, country bans and other changes that keep on reshaping how international students have planned their future, Lake Forest College is committed to supporting its international community. As Tony Tyler said, “As tension increases and goes up, you want to come closer together. You want to see people’s face; you want to sit with them, read the body language, be in space and community with people who are both competent and compassionate, and that’s what the goal was.”