U of T, Harvard agree on contingency plan that would allow some international students to study in Canada

The Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at UofT says it will welcome returning international grad students from Harvard Kennedy School.

Some of the international students caught in the middle of a legal battle between Harvard University and the Trump administration may be able to complete their program at the University of Toronto as part of a contingency plan announced by the two schools this month.

Second-year international students at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly known as the Harvard Kennedy School, who face barriers re-entering the United States due to visa restrictions will be given an opportunity to take part in a visiting student program at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at U of T.

Last week, a U.S. federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to prevent Harvard from hosting international students but the legal hurdles for the ivy league university are not over.

In a letter to students, the dean of the Harvard Kennedy School, Jeremy Weinstein, said two preliminary injunctions in federal court should allow international students to obtain their visas and come to the U.S. while the litigation continues.

“To be clear, our top priority remains welcoming our new and returning students to campus—and the two preliminary injunctions are an important step toward making that happen,” Weinstein’s letter read. “We are announcing these contingency plans now to alleviate the uncertainty many students feel.”

The visiting student program at the University of Toronto will not officially launch “unless there is sufficient demand” from students who cannot enter the U.S., he added.

Students, the university said, will take a mix of courses taught by Harvard Kennedy School faculty, both online and in-person, as well as instructors from the University of Toronto.

For students who choose not to participate in the visiting student program in Toronto, a second option will allow new and returning students to take a “blended-learning program” that involves online instruction and three “intensive, in-person convenings” in cities around the world.

“During these convenings, students will participate in credit-bearing sessions taught by HKS faculty and engage in co-curricular activities,” the letter read.

Students who attend U of T to complete their studies would be enrolled as full-time, non-degree students and their participation in the program would not reduce the number of spaces available for U of T students in any academic programs or in university housing, the Munk School said in an announcement on its website.

Those who elect to take part in the visiting student program will be required to apply for a Canadian study permit by mid-July and “may wish to do so sooner,” the Harvard Kennedy School said on its website.

“With these contingency plans in place, HKS will be able to continue to provide a world-class public policy education to all of our students, even if they cannot make it to our campus this year,” Weinstein said in a written statement emailed to CP24.com.

“We are deeply grateful for the support of the Munk School and other partners, who are helping to ensure that we can continue to provide all HKS students with the excellent education they deserve.”

The Harvard Kennedy School said it hosts international students from more than 100 countries and over the past five years, international students have made up about 52 per cent of the student population.

“These are exceptional times,” Janice Stein, the founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, said in a written statement.

“If Harvard Kennedy School international students are not able to complete their studies in Cambridge. Mass., the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy looks forward to providing shared academic and co-curricular experiences for students from both our schools.”

With files from The Associated Press