Coronavirus Causes Travel Restrictions for SMC Students

Prior to the start of the Spring semester, the International Education Center (IEC) of Santa Monica College (SMC) received approximately 169 emails from Chinese students whose recent travels to China inhibited them from returning in time for their classes.

President Donald Trump enlisted a 14-day travel restriction to those who have traveled to the People’s Republic of China due to the heightening coronavirus CO-VID19. As of Feb. 20, approximately 30 of these students returned to the United States, but many have yet to come back, let alone give a response.

“The last few weeks have been almost entirely focused on this one issue,” said Pressian Nikolav, Dean of International Education at SMC. “We’ve tried to smooth the administrative bumps that the students will encounter on their way back in.”

The travel restrictions on China went into effect on Feb. 2, two weeks before the start of the Spring semester. Anyone who traveled from the United States to the Hubei province of China within two weeks prior to Feb. 2 is subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Those who traveled to anywhere else in Mainland China are subject to a self-quarantine of 14 days (including monitoring health and limiting interaction, according to the California Department of Public Health), including a health screening at various ports of entry.

The IEC offered alternatives to students who are unable to travel back in time. These options include enrollment in online classes and late registration for 12-week or 8-week courses. The IEC also communicated with professors and counselors, encouraging flexibility for those students who return a few days late into the class schedule. Additionally, they are working on an expedited refunding process in which students are able to receive any tuition or insurance refunds as soon as possible. 

“There was a sizable number [of students] that didn’t respond… potentially they could be here, potentially they could not,” said Nikolav. “Of the known responses, most of them made a selection, they just didn’t tell us.”

According to Catherine Weir, Director of International Development for the IEC, about 40 students decided to stay in China and take online classes, with the intention of returning for the Fall 2020 semester, and around 50 students chose to start the semester late. About 30 students indicated they were attempting to travel back to the United States via another country, in which 27 of them were successful. 

“We’ve been communicating with the core 169 [students], that number has grown a little bit from the initial response but we’re kind of settled at that number,” said Nikolav. “We’re fairly certain that that’s the number that has been impacted, and that everyone else has already come back or was already here.” 

International students with the F-1 visa have a limit of the amount of credits they can earn through online classes. F-1 students must be enrolled as a full-time student and may only take one online class a semester, in which the rest of their classes must be on-ground. If F-1 students are unable to complete their programs by the date indicated on their I-20 form, they must apply for a program extension.

The IEC is working with the Student and Exchange Visitor Education System (SEVIS), the electronic system of maintaining information on international students, for those who cannot remain enrolled full time for the semester. This would require deactivation of their records through termination due to authorized early withdrawal, in which the student would no longer maintain their F-1 status. In the event that the government lifts travel restrictions between China and the United States, the IEC would work with SEVIS to reactivate their records.

“[The students’] academic success is inherently tied to their mental health and physical health… There’s a lot of personal suffering involved with them and their families. When you layer that with immigration issues and missing classes, and many obviously have apartments that they still have to pay for, it’s a big burden on them,” said Nikolav. “It’s our job to ease their return as much as possible.”

“We really want to protect these students,” said Weir. “I’m also Chinese and I speak the language. Other than what we do professionally… we’re looking at how students are being affected as a real human issue, not just taking care of immigration.”

This is a part of an ongoing report on how coronavirus affects international students at SMC. The Corsair did not receive responses in attempts at contacting Chinese international students involved with this issue.