Contrary to recent reports, many in the higher-education community has to have voiced their support for a computerized network to track international students studying in the United States, despite concerns that it subjects students to extra scrutiny.
David Ward, president of the American Council on Education and former chancellor of UW-Madison, said a Jan. 28 report in The New York Times wrongly portrayed college administrators as unwilling to work for the implementation of the program set to run by Jan. 1, 2003.
The article ran in reference to a letter sent Jan. 24 to the Immigration and Naturalization Service by Ward, on behalf of six higher education associations. The letter was in regards to the networking program, titled the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System.
The New York Times reported that Ward's letter aised a raft of objections"" to the networking system. Ward said this misrepresented the letter, in which he said signers called the program's implementation ""the single most important step the federal government can take to improve the monitoring of international students and exchange visitors.""
Concerns linger, however, about the kind of information being tracked through the system.
Sheila Spear, director of UW-Madison's Office of International Student Services, expressed criticism of the new data university officials are required to report under the post-Sept. 11 USA PATRIOT Act of 2001. Previously, officials released basic information such as name, birth date and birth country. Now they are also required to submit additional facts like class attendance and disciplinary records.
Spear said university officials were fine handing over the generic information previously required, but also said, ""We're trying to hold the line at that point.""
Despite Spear's concerns, UW-Madison officials plan to continue providing the required information about international students. The university ranks fourth in the nation for highest international student population.
""We are willing to provide all the sorts of information that so far has been asked for, and we do provide that,"" said Cynthia Williams, director of external relations in UW-Madison's Office of International Studies and Programs.
Williams is also chair of the Public Policy Committee of the Association of International Education Administrators, a national membership group dedicated to advancing the international dimensions of higher education. She said university administrators nationwide are willing to provide the new information the government asked for by.
Prior to a computer tracking system, this information was kept through paper records. In 1996, congressional legislation required digitilization. Problems with the system's funding, an issue that still exists according to Paul Hassen, the assistant director of public affairs at the American Council on Education, stalled its implementation.
