Barnard College, an undergraduate college within Columbia University, has paused new and pending Curricular Practical Training approvals for international students as it updates its protocols to comply with new federal guidance.
According to the Columbia Daily Spectator, the student-run newspaper of both Columbia and Barnard, the college paused approvals following two federal memos issued on Aug. 12 and Aug. 24, “threatening to cut off international student enrollment if the schools do not adopt stricter rules for approving international students’ work authorizations.”
Curricular Practical Training allows students on F-1 visas to participate in off-campus practical training, often through internships, when the work is an integral part of their academic curriculum. The Aug. 24 memo from the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which oversees international student visa compliance, warned that schools that fail to comply with CPT regulations could lose their certification to enroll international students.
The University of California, Los Angeles and UC Berkeley have also paused or restricted certain CPT authorizations following the federal guidance. UCLA said it was reviewing the guidance, while UC Berkeley stated that it would continue processing CPT required for a degree but would pause certain other applications.
The changes come amid the Trump administration’s broader scrutiny of international students involved in anti-Israel activism, including at Columbia.
