The University is advising graduate students against traveling abroad due to the pandemic and travel restrictions in many foreign countries, said Barbara Stephenson, UNC’s vice provost for global affairs, at a panel on Monday.
Several UNC deans and administrators fielded student questions and offered advice to international graduate students at the International Graduate Education panel. University leaders warned that students who leave the country now could risk not being able to return.
“The bottom line is, we in Global recommend against undertaking international travel at this time,” Stephenson said. “The UNC System has a ban on international travel. It’s in place at this time.”
Stephenson said the timeline of lifting these restrictions will likely depend on the course of the pandemic. Still, there is a waiver process for graduate students who need to travel in order to complete research that is crucial to their degrees.
UNC Study Abroad is looking to provide a waiver process for students who wish to study abroad in the spring semester, but nothing has been finalized yet, Stephenson said.
Director of International Student and Scholar Services Ioana Costant advised international students — especially those employed by the University — against leaving the country due to the possibility that a change in immigration law would prohibit them from re-entering.
Dean of the School of Education Fouad Abd-El-Khalick said that, from experience, people should not leave the U.S. when policies on immigration are changing.
“Back in post-9/11, I was stuck outside the U.S. as a faculty member for eight months because I just went back home to see my family at a time where immigration policies were being changed," Abd-El-Khalick said.
Stephenson said it would also be difficult for these students to keep their jobs due to complications with additional fees and taxes when paying a student living abroad.
