Practice Resource
Contents
1. definition of instructional site e All instructional sites within a school group that meet the Department of Education definition of a branch campus or at which an international student can either complete their degree requirements for a program of study or complete more than 51 of their requirements for a program of study must be listed on the petitioning school s Form 17 and e The 2008 broadcast message also stated that a school must Ensure that all campuses i e instructional locations where a student can receive 51 or more of an approved degree or certification are listed on the Form l 17 Addition of a new campus requires a fee of 655 In its Recertification Primer PowerPoint presentations starting in autumn 2008 SEVP added the following two elements to the idea of instructional sites e Locations that meet most but not all of the branch campus requirements e g All records are centrally stored should also be added to a school s Form l 17 and that e These additional locations must have A school official who can physically verify the presence of international students and assist them when necessary SEVP s position continued to evolve over time moving from the campus focused guidance of the October 2 2008 broadcast message towards a much broader concept of instructional site In its Spring 2010 Recertification Primer and its Recertification presentation at the NAFSA 2011 annual conference SEV2. example in this resource a Which body has accredited your school b Which State authority licenses your school c Visit the Web sites of those authorities Learn all you can about their policies and procedures d Who at your school manages the relationship with those authorities e Whoat your school can help document your school s accreditation licensure and organizational structure f Consider developing protocols for dealing with the fact that all locations listed on a school s Form I 20 will be assigned a school code and appear in lists associated with the school transfer process and creating SEVIS records Adding Non Campus Instructional Sites to Form l 17 NAFSA 2011 NAFSA Practice Resources and Advisories do not constitute legal advice 4 Learn all you can about these issues a b c Consult the source documents referenced in this practice resource Visit the NAFSA Web site and SEVP Web site frequently to check for updates Check with NAFSA colleagues who have gone through the I 17 update and school recertification processes Contact the SEVP School Certification branch or the SEVIS Recertification Hotline with fully developed and well considered questions 5 Get started early Keep the 180 day recertification window in mind when timing your I 17 updates six months passes very quickly and there are no extensions a Review your Form l 17 on a regular basis and update when necessary Don t wait for
3. extension to the main campus code e Campuses and non campus instructional sites will be listed together in the SEVIS Listing of Schools and Campus Information screens e Non campus instructional sites and campuses will also appear in the same lists as campuses since the current iteration of SEVIS does not distinguish between them This may be confusing especially in the following contexts o Schools that wish to transfer students to your school will see these locations and school codes in the School Campus Search Results screen used in the Transfer Out process o These locations will appear in the Listing of Schools screen that displays when you log into SEVIS Adding Non Campus Instructional Sites to Form l 17 NAFSA 2011 NAFSA Practice Resources and Advisories do not constitute legal advice e Since non campus instructional sites are treated by SEVIS as full campuses SEVIS requires at least a PDSO to be assigned to the location The PDSO who added the instructional site does this by clicking the Officials link on the Campus Information screen and following the normal steps to assign roles The PDSO may assign him or herself as PDSO at the instructional site Site visits and site visit fees A very practical question Does a school that adds a non campus instructional site to its Form l 17 have to pay a 655 site visit fee and arrange for a site visit to that site Let s take a look at the regulatory language regarding site visits and
4. fees 8 CFR 214 3 h 1 ii establishes that SEVP will conduct a site visit for each petitioning school and its additional schools or campuses 8 CR 103 7 b 1 sets l 17 related fees with the following language Form I 17 For filing a petition for school certification 1 700 plus a site visit fee of 655 for each location listed on the form Despite the fact that the regulations link site visits and site visit fees to additional schools or campuses SEVP s 2011 conference presentation slideshows state that the 655 site visit fee will be levied when an instructional site is added after filing for recertification e The Recertification slideshow presented at the NAFSA 2011 annual conference states Instructional site s No Fee if addition made prior to Recertification After Recertification each instructional site will cost 655 e The Fall 2011 conference presentation Recertification Easy as Review Sign and Submit states Instructional Site s 655 fee if added after filing for Recertification Since the site visit provision at 8 CFR 214 3 h 1 ii refers to additional schools or campuses but the SEVP PowerPoint slide refers to instructional sites it is unclear when a site visit will be required and when a site visit fee must be paid when a school adds a non campus instructional site to its Form I 17 Schools with questions about this should contact the SEVP School Certif
5. 20s would be issued from the main campus e Would it ever be necessary to transfer a student record from a campus to a non campus instructional site within the same school DSOs and instructional site staffing questions Since SEVIS does not distinguish between campuses and non campus instructional sites SEVIS requires at least a PDSO to be assigned to each location The PDSO who added the instructional site does this by clicking the Officials link on the Campus Information screen and following the normal steps to assign roles The PDSO of the main campus may assign him or herself as PDSO at the instructional site SEVP has not yet given written guidance on office physical presence requirements for DSO coverage of instructional sites Accreditation and licensure questions In addition to the sparse and ambiguous guidance that can be gleaned from SEVP s public written statements on instructional sites some schools undergoing school recertification have reported that SEVP is also asking schools to submit evidence that the non campus instructional sites they have been told to add to their Form l 17 have also been authorized by the school s accrediting body Accrediting bodies following Department of Education DoEd regulations usually treat addition of campuses and other locations as substantive changes requiring an update to the school s accreditation only under defined circumstances related to how substantial the additional loca
6. NAFSA Practice Resource a Adding Non Campus Instructional Sites to Form l 17 Association of International Educators Version November 30 2011 SEVP has been instructing schools to update their Forms l 17 with all instructional sites even if those sites do not constitute campuses This NAFSA practice resource is meant to assist schools in managing their Form l 17 given this SEVP policy Contents Brief DaCkKBrOUNG sssseev szcxsecehccce ches taeves rona Eaa a ER EE AR EE EE Eer EER AEE 2 What is the basis of SEVP s position that a school must include non campus instructional sites on its Formi l I 2 einnnin ecco hi eee Ree en eae ae ee 2 SEVP S EVOIVING POSITION cccccccccceseesenseseceeeceseeseaaeseceeecesseseuaeseceeeceseesaaaeseeeeecusscsaeaeseeeeesesseaaaeeeeeseessees 2 Some practical implications of SEVP s non campus instructional Site POLICY ccccsssccesseessseeesseeeeeeees 5 Use of the Add New Campus function in SEVIS ccssccssscecssscesssecseneeceseeesseeesaeeseseeseeeessaeesssaeeseneeees 5 Site Visits ahd Site Visit FEOS 2 cccosee vasics nsss sotedecd cht cutee ceescede yaad caeeascdeed ebtnetdhcausee co sbbeedieeadice edestecbe canta ee 7 20 ISSUANCE ANG trans TETS iiieoo caaccedeu sens aae aaea aa eaa aa EA aeaa E aaeoa aai 7 DSOs and instructional site staffing QUESTIONS ccscceessecssscesssecesnsecseeeecsueeesaueeseseeseaeeesaeeussaeeseneeees 8 Accreditation and licensure QUESTION
7. P s slideshows referenced only instructional sites and no longer contained the more detailed language included in prior presentations Verbally at that point SEVP also started saying that even non campus instructional sites had to be added to Form I 17 In 2011 SEVP added several more factors to consider when determining whether a location constitutes an instructional site for purposes of being included on a school s Form I 17 e Inthe slides accompanying a Recertification webinar that SEVP made available on October 11 2011 SEVP added the notion of ownership and control to the factors to consider Adding Non Campus Instructional Sites to Form l 17 NAFSA 2011 NAFSA Practice Resources and Advisories do not constitute legal advice Instructional Sites e Locations where the petitioning institution is in control Control is demonstrated by paying rent or owning instructional site providing faculty overall management of instructional site e Instructional sites must fall under the control and ownership of the petitioning institution e An instructional site owned and controlled by a different entity cannot be on the same Form I 17 e Inits Fall 2011 conference presentation Recertification Easy as Review Sign and Submit SEVP added the idea of shared bona fides without explaining what they meant by that Instructional Site e Where non immigrant students attend and where the petitioning ins
8. S siccccecsicccsessicccecssececdeasicossccaecocceaaveccsctavcocscaavcosaccdvcocseadcencscaaecedts 8 RECOMIMEN GALOIS esiseina Ea EREE a E D e e A E E 9 1 Adding Non Campus Instructional Sites to Form l 17 NAFSA 2011 NAFSA Practice Resources and Advisories do not constitute legal advice Brief background It has always been clear that a school must include on its Form l 17 all branch campuses where its F 1 students will be studying unless those campuses obtain separate SEVIS certification For some time now however SEVP has been advising schools that they should also update their Forms l 17 with all instructional sites even if those sites do not constitute campuses Schools often first become aware of this during the recertification process which can cause great consternation especially if the school had delayed filing its application for recertification until towards the end of its 180 day recertification filing window This NAFSA practice resource will review SEVP s position on adding instructional sites to Form l 17 and discuss several key practical implications What is the basis of SEVP s position that a school must include non campus instructional sites on its Form I 17 SEVP s position that campus as well as non campus instructional sites must be included on Form I 17 is based on 8 CFR 214 3 a 1 which states that an I 17 petition for initial certification or recertification must identify by name and addres
9. e included in the request a Don t be surprised by unwritten policies and successive requests that build upon prior requests for example a request regarding an instructional site can lead to a request about accreditation and licensure etc b Be prepared for the limits of SEVIS which was not designed to collect the granular information SEVP is now requesting for example the I 17 field for listing accrediting agencies is limited to 100 characters SEVIS does not distinguish between campuses and non campus instructional sites etc c Don t be surprised by conflicting information on SEVP s Web site and elsewhere for example does a site visit have to be arranged and a fee have to be paid when a new instructional site is added d Call the SEVIS Recertification Hotline with fully developed and well considered questions 10 Adding Non Campus Instructional Sites to Form l 17 NAFSA 2011 NAFSA Practice Resources and Advisories do not constitute legal advice
10. ell as the immigration status of students who find themselves taking classes at instructional sites not listed on the school s Form l 17 That being the case schools may wish to do the following 1 Identify all campuses centers and other sites where an F 1 student currently takes a class or may take a class through the school a Start with a review of your school s Web site and your school s IPEDS report to the Department of Education SEVP will also be examining how your institution describes itself and will expect your Form I 17 to be consistent with those descriptions b Learn how your school manages its instructional locations For example some schools may have an office of space planning that might have helpful information 2 Thisis a group effort Don t go it alone a Consult with all key individuals within your reporting structure b Incorporate key stakeholders outside your reporting structure c Establish consensus on how your institution describes its instructional sites 3 Learn all you can about your school s structure governance licensure and accreditation and academic offerings Prepare in advance for an SEVP request to provide documentation that shows the instructional site and the academic programs offered there are covered under your school s current accreditation and licensure what portion of a course of study a student can complete at the location or other questions similar to the ones that appear in the RFE
11. ication branch I 20 issuance and transfers Non campus instructional sites and campuses appear as campuses in the current version of SEVIS This may be confusing in the context of issuing Form I 20 both initially and for transfers Consider the following e Schools that wish to transfer students to your school will see these locations and school codes in the School Campus Search Results screen used in the Transfer Out process 1 SEVP s opinion on whether a site visit fee must be paid when instructional sites are added also seems to be in flux Compare the fee requirements slide in the 2011 presentation which links site visit fee requirements to whether the I 17 update was done before or after recertification to the version of the same slide in SEVP s Spring 2010 Recertification Primer slideshow which stated Instructional site s No Fee Adding Non Campus Instructional Sites to Form l 17 NAFSA 2011 NAFSA Practice Resources and Advisories do not constitute legal advice e Since a student might study at any or all of the locations listed on Form I 17 which location all are labeled campus in SEVIS should issue Form l 20 The SEVIS RTI User Manual for Form l 20 states that to create a new SEVIS record you must click the New Student link to the right of the name of the campus where the student is registering In SEVP s October 2011 Recertification webinar however the SEVP representative states that l
12. n SEVIS Currently all SEVIS functionality and labeling comes from a campus based point of reference SEVP has instructed schools on an individual basis to use the Add New Campus functionality to add non campus instructional sites to their Forms l 17 since no other functionality currently exists in SEVIS to add such locations The Add New Campus link appears on the PDSO s Campus Information Screen of the school s SEVIS Form I 17 page 5 of 5 Adding Non Campus Instructional Sites to Form l 17 NAFSA 2011 NAFSA Practice Resources and Advisories do not constitute legal advice Campus Information Page 5 of 5 oa re sn Doaa onsen ta offical akan ascinn a beter Sst he When the PDSO clicks the Add New Campus link the Add Campus screen appears Required fields are marked with an asterisk o n ewes J Addes f Adressa 2 City sa a Zpcode Fax Number Telephone Number ext Note Addition of a new campus will require adjudication by SEVP When a non campus instructional site is added using the Add New Campus function SEVIS will treat that location just like a campus because SEVIS was programmed to do only one thing add a campus This has the following practical implications in SEVIS e A separate school code will be assigned to the non campus instructional site as if it were a campus i e it will be given a SEVIS school code that consists of an
13. recertification to do this Be aware that changes in ownership or school location will automatically trigger a site visit If you get your 180 day notice while your l 17 update is pending fax an update pending statement to the SEVP recertification branch This alerts SEVP that the I 17 update must be prioritized If you receive your notice of eligibility to apply for recertification before you have submitted your l 17 update submit the update within 5 days of receiving your 180 day notice then fax an update pending statement to the SEVP recertification branch Your 180 day clock continues to run and will not be extended You must update your l 17 have the update approved and file your recertification application no later than 11 59 pm the day before your Certification Expiration Date or your school certification will be automatically withdrawn If you have already submitted your recertification application and you receive a request for evidence RFE from SEVP respond to the RFE quickly and thoroughly within the time frame listed on the RFE notice usually SEVP gives 15 days but do not delay If your recertification application has been approved but SEVP has flagged your recertification scorecard and instructed you to add locations to your I 17 do so within the time frame given on the recertification approval notice 6 Always respond quickly and thoroughly to SEVP requests for evidence or documentation before the deadlin
14. rently studying at any of these locations or whether you may expect nonimmigrant students to possibly do so in the near future This encompasses even one student taking one class at such a location Please specify individual locations 3 Indicate whether or not a full course of study could be completed exclusively at each of these locations or if a student must also take courses at another location to meet his or her degree requirements 4 Indicate whether or not these locations are wholly owned and operated by your school or whether they may be rented space in a different school community center or other facility After the school submitted the requested information pursuant to the above RFE SEVP sent another RFE stating Thank you for your response to the previous request for evidence The following request for evidence is due no later than 2011 1 Based on your response please add to your Form I 17 all locations at which nonimmigrant students currently study or may study in the near future Any location at which a nonimmigrant student takes classes must be listed on the Form l 17 2 Be sure to click the SUBMIT button to fully process your changes Some practical implications of SEVP s non campus instructional site policy A number of important practical implications arise out of an SEVP policy that directs schools to add non campus instructional sites to their Forms l 17 Use of the Add New Campus function i
15. rom the main campus and at which the institution offers at least 50 of an educational program Refer to MSCHE s full substantive changes policy for more information Adding Non Campus Instructional Sites to Form l 17 NAFSA 2011 NAFSA Practice Resources and Advisories do not constitute legal advice and an MSCHE accredited institution needs to seek MSCHE pre approval only when adding Branch Campuses and Additional Locations Locations that do not constitute a Branch Campus or Additional Location are termed Instructional Sites Although Instructional Sites should be noted on the annual Institutional Profile the school provides to MSCHE Commission approval is not required for an Instructional Site to be included within the scope of accreditation If asked to document that a non campus instructional site is included within the scope of a school s accreditation a PDSO may have to document a negative i e document that the school s accrediting body does not need to pre approve such sites A similar documentation challenge may arise when documenting that a school s State licensure covers a site added to the school s I 17 Recommendations Although there may be legal and practical arguments for why SEVP should not impose its current policy regarding non campus instructional sites schools will have to face the practical reality that not complying with this SEVP policy could impact the school s certification as w
16. s each location of the school that is included in the petition for certification or recertification specifically including any physical location in which a nonimmigrant can attend classes through the school i e campus extension campuses satellite campuses etc SEVP s reading of this provision focuses on the phrase any physical location in which a nonimmigrant can attend classes through the school despite the parenthetical phrase that references only types of campuses and the despite the fact that the remainder of the F 1 regulations SEVIS and the SEVIS RTI User Manual use only the word campus Out of context this phrase could be read to refer to any location even spaces rented by a school where one might find a desk an instructor and an F 1 student SEVP s evolving position The regulatory language above was added to 8 CFR by the final SEVIS fee and recertification rule in 2008 73 Fed Reg 55683 September 26 2008 At that time there were numerous questions regarding the scope of the language and how it related to the term campus which appears throughout the remainder of the F regulations In the supplementary information at 73 Fed Reg 55683 55694 SEVP said that they chose not to clarify what a campus is in the rule Three comments requested that SEVP better define what a campus is and what is required of schools when a campus is added e g when is a fee required SEVP agrees with the commen
17. tion is DoEd regulations at 34 CFR 602 22 require accrediting bodies to maintain adequate substantive change policies that ensure that any substantive change to the educational mission program or programs of an institution after the agency has accredited or preaccredited the institution does not adversely affect the capacity of the institution to continue to meet the agency s standards Those regulations then specifically direct accrediting bodies to review and pre approve the establishment of an additional location at which the institution offers at least 50 percent of an educational program in order for the additional location to come within the scope of the institution s accreditation Typically an accrediting body will consider new instructional locations that do not meet this definition to be permissible without approval by the accrediting body and within the scope of the institution s accreditation For example the Middle States Commission on Higher Education s MSCHE substantive change policy divides new instructional locations into Branch Campuses Additional Locations and Instructional Sites MSCHE accredits degree granting colleges and universities in Delaware the District of Columbia Maryland New Jersey New York Pennsylvania Puerto Rico the U S Virgin Islands and several locations internationally 3 MSCHE uses DoEd regulations to define Additional Location as a location that is geographically apart f
18. titution is in control and share bona fides with the instructional site An instructional site owned and controlled by a different entity cannot be listed on the same Form l 17 Individual schools also report that SEVP has been including very specific queries relating to instructional sites in Requests for Evidence RFEs issued during the recertification process To illustrate here is a redacted example from one recent RFE in which SEVP says Please note that if a nonimmigrant student is taking a class at a location other than your main campus that location needs to be listed on your school s Form I 17 Adjudication of your Recertification petition cannot take place until you have responded to this Adding Non Campus Instructional Sites to Form l 17 NAFSA 2011 NAFSA Practice Resources and Advisories do not constitute legal advice request According to your school s website your school has additional locations and or instructional sites that are not listed on your school s Form l 17 These are the A Campus B Campus C Campus D Center E Center and H Site locations Please note that if a nonimmigrant student is taking a class at a location other than your main campus that location needs to be listed on your school s Form l 17 1 An explanatory statement regarding each of the above referenced locations and their relationship to your school 2 Indicate whether or not nonimmigrant students are cur
19. ts but does not intend to make this clarification in this rule SEVP in the meantime provides individualized guidance to schools on this issue SEVP intends to propose a rule amending 8 CFR 214 3 to be in place when recertification begins and anticipates addressing this issue in more detail in that rulemaking Adding Non Campus Instructional Sites to Form l 17 NAFSA 2011 NAFSA Practice Resources and Advisories do not constitute legal advice Although recertification began in May 2010 the rule to clarify the term campus that was contemplated in 2008 has never been published even in proposed form Curiously in the boiler plate compliance guidelines that SEVP sends along with its recertification approval notices SEVP includes the following statement a broadcast has been released explaining in detail the definition of an instructional site INSTRUCTIONAL SITES 8 C F R 214 3 a 1 The petition must identify by name and address each location of the school that is included in the petition for certification or recertification specifically including any physical location in which a nonimmigrant can attend classes through the school ie campus extension campuses satellite campuses etc However the only broadcast message members have reported receiving is an October 2 2008 broadcast message sent to SEVIS users shortly after the recertification rule was published in 2008 That message presented a campus focused
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