Five KU Leuven students currently enrolled at Harvard University remain uncertain if they will be able to continue their studies following the US government’s decision to bar international students from enrolling.
On Thursday, US secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) certification for Harvard University was being withdrawn “with immediate effect”. The move effectively prevents the enrolment of international students.
The decision follows a warning issued last month by the US Department of Education, which threatened to freeze 2.3 billion USD in federal funding unless Harvard complied with certain demands from the White House.
KU Leuven is assessing the potential impact. “In any case, we will contact our students there, and we will assist and guide them if necessary,” a spokesperson said. Over the past two academic years, 13 KU Leuven students have studied at Harvard, most of them in the medical field.
In a letter to Harvard, Noem gave the Ivy League school 72 hours to submit five years of records related to international students’ conduct. She said she would reinstate the SEVIS certification before the new academic year only if these demands were met.
