Harvard Kennedy School calls off proposal to introduce online study program for foreign students

The Harvard Kennedy School has called off its proposal to introduce HKS Global, an online program for foreign students who are unable to come to the United States, due to insufficient student demand. The school will, however, proceed with its collaboration with the University of Toronto's Munk School for returning students, according to a report by The Harvard Crimson.

 

HKS had made the contingency plan public in June, as the Trump administration had also made visa and entry restrictions on international students at the time. The plan consisted of online studies and a visiting student program in Canada. The Toronto option is going ahead for some small number of return students, but the online study option has been taken back.

 

The report states that in an email to the students on Tuesday, Debra E. Isaacson, senior associate dean for degree programs and student affairs, stated, "At the expected levels of participation, the cohorts would have been too small and the class offerings too limited to provide the world-class HKS experience that you deserve."

 

An HKS official said the majority of international students will now join the Cambridge campus. Fewer will stay on to study at Toronto, where they will be full-time Munk School students but receive HKS degrees.

 

For incoming international students still waiting for visas, the announcement provides fewer options. They can defer, drop out, or, in the case of mid-career MPA students, transfer to Harvard's Public Leadership Credential track. The school pushed back the arrival date for some programs to October 20 to give visa approvals more time.

 

The cancellation follows court battles between Harvard and the US government. The Trump administration previously withdrew Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification and imposed an entry ban, for which there were lawsuits and court injunctions. A federal judge had blocked those actions, but the administration has appealed and pressed on with limits on foreign students.

 

The cancellation follows court battles between Harvard and the US government.