Latest news with #internationalStudents
South China Morning Post
09-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Trump admin threatens Harvard's accreditation, demands foreign student records
US President Donald Trump's administration escalated its feud with Harvard University on Wednesday, declaring that the Ivy League school may no longer meet the standards for accreditation and that it would subpoena it for records about its international students. The move is the latest in a series of actions the administration has taken against Harvard, which sued the federal government after officials terminated billions of dollars in grants awarded to the school and moved to bar it from admitting international students. The administration has said it is trying to force change at Harvard and other top-level universities across the US, contending they have become bastions of leftist 'woke' thought and antisemitism. Trump on June 20 said that talks with Harvard were under way that could soon produce a settlement. But as of Wednesday, when the latest actions by the administration were announced, talks had stalled, and the parties were 'far from an agreement', a person familiar with the matter said. 'Harvard remains unwavering in its efforts to protect its community and its core principles against unfounded retribution by the federal government,' Harvard said in a statement. 04:21 Citing China 'activity', Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling foreign students Citing China 'activity', Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling foreign students The US Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services said on Wednesday that they formally notified Harvard's accreditor, the New England Commission of Higher Education, that Harvard had violated a federal antidiscrimination law by failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students on campus.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration reinstates visas taken from nine Southern University students
Nine Southern University students who had their visas revoked by the Trump administration earlier this year have since had them reinstated, according to the university. Seven of the students are enrolled at Southern University's main campus in Baton Rouge and two are at Southern University at New Orleans. The nine students had their visas revoked in early April without explanation from federal officials, Southern spokeswoman Janene Tate said at the time. She did not disclose the students' names, citing the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. The Southern students are among 16 international students enrolled at Louisiana universities known in April to have lost their visas in the Trump administration's sweeping termination of at least 1,800 students' legal status to study in the United States. Of the seven other students, three were enrolled at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and two each attended the University of New Orleans, Tulane University according to representatives with the schools. Two LSU students have since had their visas revoked, according to LSU spokesman Todd Woodward. The university confirmed that two Iranian-born students were arrested by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement last month. One of the students, Pouria Pourhosseinhendabad, is currently being detained at the ICE facility center in Jena. The agency has not responded to requests for comment about why he is being detained. — The Louisiana Illuminator is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization driven by its mission to cast light on how decisions are made in Baton Rouge and how they affect the lives of everyday Louisianians, particularly those who are poor or otherwise marginalized. This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Trump administration reinstates visas to Southern University students
The Guardian
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘The American system is being destroyed': academics on leaving US for ‘scientific asylum' in France
It was on a US-bound flight in March, as Brian Sandberg stressed about whether he would be stopped at security, that the American historian knew the time had come for him to leave his home country. For months, he had watched Donald Trump's administration unleash a multipronged attack on academia – slashing funding, targeting international students and deeming certain fields and even keywords off limits. As his plane approached the US, it felt as though the battle had hit home, as Sandberg worried that he would face reprisals over comments he had made during his travels to the French media on the future of research in the US. 'It makes you think about what your status is as a researcher and the principle of academic freedom,' he said. 'Things have really changed … The entire system of research and higher education in the United States is really under attack.' Soon after, he became one of the nearly 300 researchers to apply for a French university's groundbreaking offer of 'scientific asylum'. Launched by Aix-Marseille University, the programme was among the first in Europe to offer reprieve to researchers reeling from the US crackdown on academia, promising three years of funding for about 20 researchers. Last week, Sandberg was revealed as one of the 39 researchers shortlisted for the programme. 'The American system is being destroyed at the moment,' he told the 80 reporters who turned up to meet the candidates. 'I think a lot of people in the United States and as well as here in Europe have not understood the level to which all of higher education is being targeted.' As reports began to emerge of funding freezes, cuts and executive orders targeting institutions across the Atlantic, institutions across Europe sprang into action, announcing plans to lure US-based academics. At Aix-Marseille University, hundreds of applications came in from researchers tied to institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, Nasa, Columbia, Yale and Stanford. Three months after they launched their programme – named Safe Place for Science – the university said it had received more than 500 inquiries. It was a glimpse of the 'historic' moment the world was facing, said Éric Berton, the university's president. 'More than 80 years ago, as France was under occupation and repression, America welcomed exiled researchers, offering them a helping hand and allowing them to keep science alive,' he said. 'And now, in a sad reversal of history, some American scientists have arrived in France in search of a space for freedom, thought and research.' Last week, the university opened its doors, allowing reporters to meet a handful of the Americans who were in the final running to join the programme. As high-profile battles play out between universities such as Harvard and the White House, all of them asked that their institutions not be named, citing concerns that their employers could face reprisals. Some declined to speak to the media, while others asked that their full names not be used, offering a hint of how the Trump administration's actions are sowing anxiety among academics. 'The worry is that we've already seen that scientists are being detained at the border. Granted they're not US citizens, but they're even saying now that if you speak out against the government, they will deport you,' said a biological anthropologist who asked to be identified only as Lisa. 'And so I don't need anything against me at the moment until I can officially move here with my family.' Together the researchers painted a picture of a profession that had been plunged into uncertainty as the US government slashes spending on research grants and dismantles the federal institutions that manage and hand out funding. Months into Trump's second presidency, politics is increasingly blurring into academia as the government works to root out anything it deems as 'wokeism' from the post-secondary world. 'There's a lot of censorship now, it's crazy,' said Carol Lee, an evolutionary biologist, pointing to the list of terms now seen as off-limits in research grant applications. 'There are a lot of words that we're not allowed to use. We're not allowed to use the words diversity, women, LGBTQ.' Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion While the swift pace of change had left many nervous about what may lie ahead, many were not taking any chances. 'People are moving, for sure,' said Lee. 'A lot of top people have already moved to China. And China is laying out the red carpet. If people are getting an offer from Canada, people are moving to Canada.' For Lisa, the biological anthropologist, the reality of dismantling her life in the US and moving her husband, a schoolteacher, and their two kids across the Atlantic was starting to sink in. 'It's excitement, but it's nerve-racking,' she said. She knew she had to get out when it became clear that Trump had won a second term. Months later, she has found a potential path to do so, but is still wrapping her head around all that taking part in Aix-Marseille University's programme would entail. 'It is a big pay cut,' she said. 'My kids are super gung-ho. My husband is just worried that he won't find a job. Which is my worry too, because I don't think I'll be able to afford four of us on my salary.' But for her, and several others on the shortlist, the view was that there were few other options. 'It's a very discouraging time to be a scientist,' said James, a climate researcher who asked that his full name not be used. 'I feel America has always had a sort of anti-intellectual strain – it happens to be very ascendant right now. It's a relatively small proportion that doesn't trust scientists, but it's unfortunately a very powerful segment.' His wife had also been shortlisted for the same programme in southern France, leaving the couple on the brink of uprooting the lives and careers they had spent decades building in the US. 'I have very mixed feelings,' he said. 'I'm very grateful that we'll have the opportunity, but really quite sad that I need the opportunity.'
Irish Times
04-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Where will vital student housing come from?
Ireland's housing permacrisis is a wheel with many spokes, one of which is the issue of student accommodation and its provision. It's a question that evokes strong emotions, not least from students, many of whom are on the front lines of the rental market melee or about to join it. Answering it is proving difficult for the Government, and behind the scenes, some of the larger purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) developers are beginning to lose their patience with the Irish market. On the surface, at least, conditions on the ground would appear ripe for investment. READ MORE Third-level enrolments continue to surge year-on-year, driven largely by growth in the international student population. Of the almost 206,400 full-time students enrolled in third-level education in Ireland last year, just 15 per cent were international students, according to the most recent Eurostat statistics. Union of Students in Ireland supporters march through Dublin in 2023 to demand Government use its €65 billion 'rainy day' fund to tackle the student accommodation crisis. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/ The Irish Times Yet, the number of international student enrolments has surged by 33 per cent in the four years to the end of 2024. By comparison, domestic enrolments were up 5 per cent over the same period. So, while they remain at a relatively small percentage of the wider student body, international students are a fast-growing cohort and, to some extent, are driving growth. In fact, the Government is targeting a 10 per cent increase in the number of foreign student enrolments in Ireland by 2030. It begs the question of how exactly it intends to cater for their accommodation needs. [ Significant investment needed for Ireland to pass its student accommodation test Opens in new window ] The answer seems to be a combination of some public and a lot of private investment. On the public side, then-Minister for Further and Higher Education Patrick O'Donovan in April 2024 unveiled plans to invest €100 million in the delivery of some 1,000 student beds. More than half of the beds were to be delivered across two campus-adjacent schemes; 405 in Dublin City University (DCU), and 116 in Maynooth . At the time, the Union of Students in Ireland accused the Government of engaging in 'smoke and mirrors', highlighting the fact that the 405 DCU beds had already been unveiled in March 2023 as part of a €40 million investment. Opposition TDs, meanwhile, accused the Coalition of having launched the same student housing plan on three separate occasions under the minister and his predecessor, Simon Harris . Former higher education minister Patrick O'Donovan unveiled plans to invest €100 million in the delivery of some 1,000 student beds in 2024. Photograph: SAM BOAL/Collins Photos Still, as Deloitte highlighted in its latest Crane Survey report, the development at Buckley Hall beside the Maynooth campus is 'significant' because of the Government's involvement in the funding. If delivered in the 2025/26 academic year as planned, the 115 or so beds will put something of a gloss on the completions figure. On the private side of the funding equation, the maths is getting messy. Some 1,400 PBSA bedspaces were under construction in Galway, Dublin, Limerick and Kildare in the first quarter of 2024, according to Deloitte, a jump from 1,160 last year. Beyond that, however, it's difficult to get a clear picture of the pipeline. Another big four accounting firm, KPMG , conducted its own deep dive into the sector earlier this year. Commissioned by UK-headquartered student housing multinational Global Student Accommodation (GSA), the research is focused on Dublin due to the concentration of universities and other institutions. [ Student accommodation crisis: 'Renting in Dublin is pretty much impossible' Opens in new window ] And it seems the PBSA sector is suffering from an all-too-familiar malaise. In Dublin alone, some 245 developments have received planning permission since 2018, KPMG said, with the capacity to accommodate 8,599 students. Yet, construction was under way on less than a third of these developments by March, according to the report. Planning permissions for some of these developments, including schemes in Drumcondra , Dublin 11 and Goatstown in South Dublin , are set to expire in 2025 or early 2026. A further 15 planning applications for student housing schemes are in the pipeline. Construction costs, which surged in the wake of the pandemic and remain more than 25 per cent above 2021 levels, appear to be an important factor in this slowdown. These and other issues around planning delays have 'hindered project delivery in the planning pipeline', KPMG said, 'resulting in a notable, pronounced supply shortage which may impact the county's growth and development'. In conclusion, the number crunchers said that the shortfall of student beds in Dublin – which was between 25,000 and 30,000 last year, according to separate estimates – could reach 45,000 over the next decade if the student population expands at the expected rate. Minister for Higher Education James Lawless claimed student accommodation would be exempt from new rent rules. Since, however, the housing minister James Browne said there will be no such special exemptions. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw / The Irish Times Against this backdrop, KPMG said accelerating the delivery of PBSA schemes is 'crucial', particularly outside the typical city centre clusters. Despite unveiling a new long-term policy to develop student housing last year, there has been 'limited progress in certain campus projects', the report's authors said, and policies aimed at accelerating delivery are much needed. GSA, which commissioned the KPMG report, has expressed frustration with the Government's approach. Backed by the likes of private equity firm Harrison Street, it operates some 4,000 student beds through its Yugo brand name across prime locations in Dublin and Cork, making it one of the biggest landlords in the country . Despite its heft, the company say it has struggled to get the attention of successive ministers for higher education. Documents, released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act last year, revealed that the global operator had been unable to secure a meeting with Mr O'Donovan, despite several requests during his term in office last year. GSA said this lack of engagement has continued into 2025, and under the new minister, Fianna Fáil TD James Lawless . 'For over a year, we have sought engagement with the Government but have yet to secure a meeting with any minister,' John Jacobs, global head of capital markets at GSA, said. [ Minister wants exemptions to new rent rules to be considered for students sharing houses Opens in new window ] The global PBSA operator is particularly aggrieved, given the substantive changes to the Government's Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ) scheme that were announced last month. GSA is in the dark, more or less, as to whether the changes will affect its business in the Republic or not. In the week that the overhaul – which the Central Bank has said will cause 'pain' for renters – was announced, Minister Lawless claimed student accommodation would be exempt from what Opposition TDs have characterised as a loosening of some of the rules for landlords. However, later in the week, Housing Minister James Browne said there will be no special exemptions for student housing, appearing to contradict his parliamentary party colleague. GSA said it was deeply concerned about the ambiguity. Mr Jacobs said that if student housing was exempt from changes in regulation to RPZs, it would be 'a disastrous regulatory shift and a tipping point for investment and for the future development of much-needed homes for students in Ireland'. Getting to the bottom of the confusion has proved more difficult than predicted. Asked to clarify the minister's understanding of the matter, a spokeswoman for the Department of Higher and Further Education said last week that 'engagement' was happening at an 'official level' between it and the Department of Housing and would 'continue over the coming weeks'. She said private providers have a 'significant role' to play in solving the student housing crisis and that senior departmental officials have met the large operators since the student accommodation unit was established in 2022. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Department of Housing said translating the RPZ changes into legislation was a 'high priority' for the Government. 'Tailored rent control provisions for the student-specific accommodation sector will come into effect on March 1st, 2026.' As to the precise nature of these arrangements, the minister 'will continue to engage' with the higher education minister in the drafting of the legislation. Rent pressure zone limit what you can charge tenants but you will get no allowance from Revenue for the loss compared to market rents. Photograph: iStock GSA is only one player on the PBSA pitch - and its relationship with the Government parties has been a troubled year, the firm had threatened legal action against the Coalition after then-higher education minister O'Donovan enacted legislation to ban private student landlords from forcing students to accept leases longer than the traditional academic year. Those changes were announced by his predecessor, Simon Harris, in response to an outcry from squeezed students and Opposition TDs over Yugo's and Hines-owned Aparto's decision to switch to a 51-week lease model. Still, the RPZ debacle continues 'a pattern of big policy decisions being introduced without meaningful consultation with those actively delivering homes', Mr Jacobs said. Last year, the Department of Higher Education formed an expert advisory group on student accommodation. In response to queries last week, a department spokeswoman said its membership consists of civil servants, nominees from the Higher Education Authority, lobby group Irish Institutional Property (IIP), University College Dublin and the Housing Agency. Apart from Hines, which is a member of IIP, none of the big student landlords are on the panel. [ What the new rent rules mean for landlords and tenants Opens in new window ] Why, exactly, the Coalition appears so ambivalent is unclear, but also, some in the industry believe, it is emblematic of the decision-making paralysis in Government on housing matters. After all, the State is hugely reliant on the private sector to deliver and operate student beds and has been for the past decade, after the universities effectively exited this stage during the austerity years. Of the 48,000 or so private student beds in the Republic last year, according to departmental figures, two-thirds were provided by the private sector, with higher education institutes operating the remainder. However, it is unlikely that PBSA alone will solve the crisis. According to the KPMG report, off-campus student housing schemes are on average 16.5 per cent more expensive than on-campus PBSA and 9.5 per cent more expensive than on-campus accommodation provided by the universities themselves. That means it typically caters to deeper-pocketed international and postgraduate students, who remain a small subsection of the student population, albeit a rapidly expanding one. Opposition parties, particularly Sinn Féin and the Labour Party , want the Government to give third-level institutions more funding and a freer hand to approach developers directly to build student housing. Privately, PBSA operators and investors believe it's unrealistic to expect universities and institutes to deliver at the scale required to solve the crisis. In the middle of all this are the already-squeezed students and their parents, buffeted by rising living costs and staring down the barrel of a €1,000 hike in third-level fees in the 2025/26 academic year. There is little evidence at the moment that the politicians will be able to get their arms around the situation any time soon.
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
University of Bristol jobs at risk amid lower student numbers
University staff who teach language and communication skills to international students say their jobs are at risk under "devastating" new redundancy 45 members of University of Bristol's Centre for Academic Language and Development (Cald) staff are being threatened with compulsory redundancy. A university spokesperson said the cuts were in response to a declining number of students, to which they must "adjust staffing levels and resources accordingly".They added "ongoing talks" were in progress with colleagues at the University and College Union (UCU) to help "mitigate any impact on our students". Staff within the department help both international and home students at the university to develop their academic language, literacy and communication skills. The university runs courses and programmes for students at all levels and from a wide variety of backgrounds, whether or not English is their first language. The UCU argues there is "no sound operational or financial rationale" for the cuts to the added the compulsory redundancy scheme relied on projected, not actual, student numbers for the next academic year. 'Changing demand' A University of Bristol spokesperson said: "We continue to have a pipeline of applicants for this programme, but at lower numbers than several years ago. "This is no reflection on the quality of the education provided by the team but for the International Foundation Programme (IFP) to remain sustainable, we need to respond to changing demand." The union's regional official Nick Varney said: "These job cuts would not only be devastating for the staff involved, but will leave the remaining staff over-stretched and damage students' academic experience."Taking compulsory redundancies off the table, and focusing on viable alternatives, would end this dispute."He called upon Vice-Chancellor Evelyn Welch to reverse the "unfair, ill-thought out and financially unjustifiable plans" or face potential strike open letter against the cuts to university management has gained more than 900 signatures.
