The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its allies recently filed an amended complaint that seeks to convince a presiding judge to vacate and set aside a Trump-era DOL wage rule and DHS lottery rule. The lawsuit attempts to stop two regulations that may represent the most significant parts of the Trump administration’s immigration legacy for companies and universities. The judge’s decision in the case could affect tens of thousands of employers and hundreds of thousands of lives.

 

Many international students have again postponed their plans to study in Canada due to new travel restrictions. The province of Ottawa decided last month to limit entry options to the country to just four airports and require international travelers to pay for a mandatory hotel quarantine. The hotel bill amounting to $2,000 is practically the cost of half of a semester for many students. Because of the stricter quarantine protocols, according to the newest data, the number of international students at Canadian colleges has declined by 20 to 30 percent in the 2020-21 academic year compared to 2019-20.

Hundreds of international students at various UK post-secondary institutions are refusing to pay their tuition fees in protest against poor quality online teaching. Many students are protesting remote learning’s massive impact on the quality of teaching and student experience. A tuition fee strike began in January at the Royal College of Art. Estimates say around £3.4 million is being withheld by 300 students, of which 200 are international, to pressure the university to refund fees for the past academic year. There is also an ongoing petition asking the UK government to compensate international students as many universities cannot afford to refund these students, the signatories are calling on the government to pick up the bill.

In Switzerland, the number of students at its universities has increased by 5% with an above-average rise in foreign student enrollment for the academic year 2020/21. Despite the pandemic-related travel restrictions, foreign students are still coming to Swiss universities in above-average numbers. The exact rise was 6.4%, with a 10% increase at the Master's level alone. Three-quarters of international students came from Europe and, of these, most came from the European Union. Asia was the second most popular continent of origin, followed by America.

 

Brisbane’s multi-billion-dollar student housing sector has reported that thousands of rooms have been left empty under an inflexible planning scheme. Major players shared that most buildings that would normally be full were about 20 percent capacity and they feared a further halving of that figure by the end of the year until their main market, international students, are able to return. Scape Australia, the largest purpose-built student accommodation provider in the country, has 5000 beds across seven buildings in Brisbane. Although the rooms are ready for use, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there was no capacity to let international students return while residents are still trying to get home.

A year after New Zealand’s border closure, some post-study work visa holders are still stuck overseas. These students complain that the government has not communicated any plans yet for post-study work visa holders while the essential and temporary work visa holders have already been allowed back. The Immigration Minister said that the government understands the disappointment and the challenges that border closures have caused, but they cannot yet provide a time for when post-study work visa holders may be able to enter the country.

Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb announced that beginning March 31, 2021, all residents 16 years and older will be eligible to register to receive the coronavirus vaccine. The deputy health officer also said that college students living in Indiana qualify under this new update. F-1 or J-1 visa holders would be eligible for the vaccine if they have a temporary or permanent address in Indiana and have been in residence in the state for at least 6 months. The state will also open additional mass vaccination sites by April.

The Cape Breton Center for Immigration is encouraging international students and their families to make the island their home. The federal government recently awarded $600,000 to the center's international student support and integration program to continue its work to support settlement and retention. Officials say the money from the program will help up to 800 students the first year and will scale-up in years two and three. Nearly 1,200 students have already received free support from the center and have attended various employment workshops and social activities.

 

Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge said that international students may not be able to return to Australia in significant numbers this year. He stated that the return of international students from India will depend on the vaccine rollout in their country. Australia also ruled out the possibility of setting up a travel bubble with India. Acknowledging the void left by Indian students and its cumulative impact on the Australian education sector, he signaled that the government is working on a mechanism to include vaccination status as part of a digital incoming passenger card which could pave the way for the return of foreign students by early next year.

Some medical students in the UK have lost thousands of pounds after being refused refunds for foreign training placements postponed by the coronavirus pandemic. Students had paid to volunteer in hospitals in Asia, Africa, and South America but were unable to go when international travel was halted in 2020. Those unable to rebook said they have been left devastated, losing up to £2,000 in some cases. A UK watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), suggests students should be able to get their money back if contracts cannot go ahead due to lockdown laws.

Russia’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education has issued a statement that citizens of “epidemiologically safe countries” as determined by the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing will be permitted to enter Russia and resume their studies. As of March 20, the list included: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, Greece, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Maldives, Qatar, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and Georgia. In February 2021, Russian universities resumed in-person instruction. International students will be allowed to enter the country provided they could show two negative COVID-19 test results.

Elementary and middle school students have returned to in-person education in Turkey but those in universities still have to suffice with online classes. Turkey's foreign students say that remote learning is extra challenging and have mixed feelings about it. While some say they appreciate the opportunity to spend more time with their families, most students agree that remote education is not as good as in-person learning, especially due to a language barrier and a lack of physical access to textbooks.

Founded in 1927, Edgewood College is a four-year, coeducational, private research college located in Madison, Wisconsin. Currently, it has 1,951 undergraduate students with an additional 707 graduate students. Popular majors include Nursing, Business, and Psychology.

With its scenic location in a beautiful lakefront campus, Edgewood College offers the best small college experience in a big college town. Madison is consistently ranked as one of the best college towns in the United State. The college offers access to great resources such as music, art, theatre, sports, museums, restaurants, and more. Edgewood College integrates values into its distinctive liberal arts curriculum.