Harvard Kennedy School offers international students backup online and distance learning options

The Harvard Kennedy School this week announced backup plans for its international students in case the federal government prevents them from returning to Harvard or entering the U.S.

All international students can complete coursework online while returning students also have the option to finish their studies at University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, the Kennedy School announced Tuesday.

The public policy school, where 52% of enrolled students are international, is the first Harvard school to reveal such a contingency plan in the wake of the Trump administration’s sustained efforts to bar international students from enrolling at the university.

The announcement comes less than a week after a federal judge issued back to back preliminary injunctions —  one which blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke Harvard’s certification to enroll international students and another which blocked a proclamation banning entry of incoming students into the country.

But until that litigation is resolved, Harvard is on the move to offer alternatives to learning on campus. A letter from University President Alan Garber earlier this month indicated that all Harvard schools are developing contingencies as U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs, an Obama appointee, considers the cases.

Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein said in a Tuesday letter that the goal remains to bring international students back to Cambridge.

“To our students: we hope to see you on campus in the fall, but if that is not possible, we will bring HKS to you,” Weinstein wrote.

His letter added that the court’s recent injunctions are “an important step” to bring students back, but that he hopes the backup plan can “alleviate the uncertainty many students feel.”

The Kennedy School, which confers masters degrees in public policy, public administration and international development, hosts a large population of international students, who come from more than 100 countries.

Under the plan announced this week, Kennedy School’s international students will have two options for completing their degrees off campus. Both mix in-person and online instruction.

The first — dubbed HKS Global — is open to new and returning international students, who would primarily take coursework online but meet in person three times a year at “cities around the world.” These gatherings will include “intensive” sessions taught by Kennedy school faculty and co-curricular activities.

Another option, open to returning students only, would allow them to finish their degrees as visiting students at the Munk School at the University of Toronto. Courses would be taught by professors from both the Kennedy and Munk schools.

The satellite program needs approval from the New England Commission of Higher Education in order to launch, according to an information page on the Kennedy School website.

Participants of either program would receive their master’s degree from Harvard.

“These are exceptional times,” Munk School Director Janice Stein said in a 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.”

The programs would only launch if there is “sufficient demand” from impacted students, according to the Kennedy School. It is encouraging international students to indicate their interest in either option — and to "declare their intentions by mid-July."

Kennedy School Professor Archon Fung said it’s a shame the school has to take this step given the Trump administration’s crackdown against international students. But he added that he’s impressed with the faculty’s creativity.

“I think it's one example of one of the many many ways in which students and faculty and administrators and staff are coming together and figuring out how to move forward in this difficult time,” he said.

The Trump administration has accused Harvard of withholding information about disciplinary records of foreign students while Harvard says the Trump administration is retaliating against the university for not agreeing to a set of lengthy demands and handing over more control of its admissions and curricula to the government.

Despite the recent preliminary injunctions, international students across Harvard remain worried and uncertain. Some students put off traveling home for the summer. Those who left the country fear they may not be able to re-enter.

Harvard junior Alfred Williamson, a rising sophomore from the United Kingdom, spoke to some of those concerns.

“There's still not 100% certainty for either myself or the rest of the international community,” he said. “All I have to hope is that Harvard keeps fighting.”