Harvard Kennedy School cancels plan to implement online course program for foreign students

The Harvard Kennedy School canceled its plans to implement HKS Global, an online program for international students who cannot travel to the United States, because it did not receive enough student interest. The school will continue with its partnership with the University of Toronto's Munk School for students who wish to return, however, as per a report published by The Harvard Crimson.

 

HKS had gone public with the contingency plan in June, when the Trump administration had also gone public with visa and entry restrictions against international students. The plan involved online study and a visiting student program in Canada. The Toronto option is proceeding for some small number of returning students, but the online study option has been rescinded.

 

The report indicates that in an email to the students on Tuesday, Debra E. Isaacson, senior associate dean for student affairs and degree programs, wrote, "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."

 

The majority of the international students, an HKS spokesman said, will enroll on the Cambridge campus. Only a smaller number will remain to pursue their studies at Toronto, where they will be full-time Munk School students but earn HKS degrees.

 

For incoming international students who are still awaiting visas, the announcement offers fewer alternatives. They can defer, withdraw, or, in the case of mid-career MPA students, switch to Harvard's Public Leadership Credential track. The school delayed the start date for some programs to October 20 to provide visa approvals with more time.

 

The cancellation comes after court fights between Harvard and the US government. Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification was previously withdrawn by the Trump administration and an entry ban was imposed, for which lawsuits and court injunctions were filed. A federal judge had suspended those measures, but the administration appealed and continued with foreign student restrictions.

 

The cancellation comes after court fights between Harvard and the US government.