Many international students who sought to attend UW-Madison this semester encountered delays in the student visa application process, a situation university officials have tried to resolve by adopting new policies to accommodate late-arriving students.
According to Judy Brodd, UW-Madison student services coordinator, 42 of approximately 3,600 international students enrolled at the university encountered difficulties. Fifteen of those 42 students reached Madison in time for the fall semester, but the others must wait until at least spring before they can register.
Brodd said she is unsure how these numbers compare to past figures because the university did not track visa applications until this year.
\We actually kept count and did a lot of e-mailing with the students that were having difficulties,"" she said.
The majority of these students experienced delays in the visa application process due to recently adopted federal government measures intended to prevent terrorism.
For instance, the government has compiled a ""technology alert list"" of several fields of study it deems sensitive to national security. All international students involved in these fields at American universities must undergo background checks, which take up to seven months to process.
To adapt university policy to this and other new measures, UW-Madison created the International Entry Delay Task Force this summer.
""We got 30 people that work at student services all across the campus together to come up with a set of principles,"" Brodd said. ""Whenever possible, we did not charge late fees for registration, or for signing up for insurance or for housing.""
Paul Barrows, UW-Madison vice chancellor of student academic affairs, said he thinks the university has been a leader in accommodating students hampered by delays.
""I think we're further ahead than most Big Ten universities,"" he said. ""I would venture to say we're ahead of most other large universities.""
Chavameth Vinijtrongjit, UW-Madison junior and president of the Wisconsin International Students Association, said many international students relate their struggles.
""There's one guy who has people tracking him all the time, whatever he does, and the only thing he can do here is study,"" Vinijtrongjit said.
However, he said he thinks officials try to prevent disadvantages.
""Basically, they try to make it fair,"" he said.
