Fuller is Committed to Our International Students

For much of our 73-year history, a distinguishing factor of the Fuller experience has been the global representation that comprises our student body and the richness this brings to our classrooms and our lives. Each year we welcome students from countries across the globe as they commence their educational journey with the Fuller community. These international students contribute in immeasurable ways to our community and our mission in the world and deepen our understanding of theology, missiology, and psychology. When they leave Fuller, they expand our reach around the world as scholars and practitioners whose work we continue to support. Fuller is a far better institution because of our international students.

Because of—and on behalf of—these beloved members of our community, we are opposed to the recent announcement from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outlining changes to educational requirements that threaten the studies of our international students. The Department of Homeland Security has added more burdensome requirements to international students amidst a global pandemic that not only compounds uncertainty but puts students at risk—simply because their educational institutions were forced to move classes online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are waiting on rules from the Department of Homeland Security to know which legal parameters must be satisfied, but Fuller is committed to doing everything within our power to develop plans for the Fall quarter that will enable our international students to fulfill their visa requirements and remain in the U.S. to continue their studies. We are in direct contact with our international students and are working with them on program specific solutions to address this matter. We will share more later when determinations have been made.

The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), of which Fuller is a member, is in active conversations with the Department of Education lobbying for changes to these new policies to protect our international students and their studies with us. Additionally, we are monitoring pending litigation from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as well as cases being filed by the University of California system intended to stop these egregious policies from being enacted. Whatever the outcome of these efforts by the CCCU and the pending litigation, Fuller will work towards protecting our international students and their ability to remain in the U.S.

Please join us in prayer for these efforts and the many challenges that our international students are facing in securing visas and possibly arranging travel to return to Fuller campuses in the Fall. We encourage you to reach out to any international students you may know and find ways to support them during this time.