Suzanne Ortega is president of the Council of Graduate Schools, a not-for-profit group based in the United States. The council provides support to graduate school education and research projects.

Ortega told VOA that just like for everyone else, the sudden, unexpected spread of the coronavirus came as a shock to U.S. academic institutions. Luckily, many schools have been developing crisis communication and risk management plans for years. Some acted quickly, deciding not just to send students home and move classes online. They also decided which research projects to continue and which ones could be delayed.

While colleges sort through those challenges, education groups are making the case to federal officials that Optional Practical Training is an essential tool for bringing international students to U.S. campuses.

“This should not be an us versus them type of conversation,” said Lauren Inouye, vice president for public policy and government affairs at the Council of Graduate Schools.

Elite schools actually saw an increase last year in international graduate students, according to the Council of Graduate Schools.

STATEMENT FROM THE CGS PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dear Colleagues,

Recent days and weeks have brought us heart-wrenching reminders of race-based inequality and injustice. In addition to COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on students of color and their families, we have witnessed appalling acts of racism and violence toward African Americans—most recently George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade—acts that cause further distress and fear among communities already suffering. 

The CGS Board of Directors condemns both the deeply embedded and structural forms of racism and injustice we see around us as well as their most immediate manifestations. We also stand in solidarity with people of color in our community as they confront painful examples of violence and injustice.

We also acknowledge that words are not enough.  As an organization, we affirm our commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion at all levels of graduate education. We will continue working with our members to make programs more diverse and accessible, to promote diversity as a principle that supports the learning of all students, to deepen our understanding of inclusive mentoring practices, and to provide inclusive and accessible student support services. 

Of equal importance, we commit to helping our students develop the conceptual frameworks and analytic methods necessary to understand social and economic forms of injustice, in all their manifestations.  We also commit to helping them develop the leadership skills necessary to begin building a better, more just society.  To paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, we must create graduate programs and institutional cultures that prepare students to be the change this world so desperately needs.

If you have suggestions for how CGS can better support this work, please contact president@cgs.nche.edu.

In solidarity with you, your staff, and your students,

Suzanne T. Ortega
President
Council of Graduate Schools

Sally Pratt 
Chair, CGS Board of Directors (2020)
Vice Provost for Graduate Programs University of Southern California
on behalf of the CGS Board of Directors

Graduate enrollment at many institutions remained flat in recent years, and certain academic programs were prone to greater declines than others. Several factors have contributed to these outcomes, including immigration restrictions, a strong job market, and a growing aversion to debt. The graduate enrollment market has become even more unpredictable with the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic. The current landscape presents an opportunity for graduate school deans and university leaders to approach enrollments with a strategic lens.The facilitated discussion will highlight real-world examples from graduate school deans – providing attendees an opportunity to learn from peers across the country. Webinar sponsored by Huron.

Contact:

Katherine Hazelrigg: (202) 461-3888 / khazelrigg@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC - In mid-April, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) received a letter from student body presidents and leaders at 157 universities requesting formal acknowledgment of the “unprecedented challenges undergraduates have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic” and recognition of a set of principles regarding admissions policies. In response, CGS released the following statement on graduate admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The past few weeks have been filled with new challenges and extreme uncertainty for undergraduate and graduate students. Nevertheless, postsecondary students have shown extraordinary resilience during this time, balancing their studies and research in an online environment with personal responsibilities and planning for an unpredictable future.

Given the extraordinary disruptions we’re experiencing as a community, it’s important to ensure that our admissions practices continue to be as fair and transparent as possible. While CGS is not in a position to direct university graduate admissions policies, we encourage the graduate education community to continue to consider the impact of COVID-19 on students; to be flexible regarding existing deadlines, policies, and procedures; and to regularly communicate with both current and prospective students to reassure them of our support.

This guidance is consistent with the Council’s support and advocacy for holistic file review practices. Since we began our holistic admissions work in 2015, we have encouraged graduate programs to consider a broad range of candidate qualities when assessing graduate school applications rather than using strict GPA or standardized test score cutoffs. Determining a prospective graduate student’s potential to succeed in a program requires an evaluation of a broad range of attributes.

The principles of holistic review have special importance at a time when social and economic disparities are becoming starker. Undue emphasis on the quantifiable measures of academic achievement may disproportionately affect students who are managing greater responsibilities—including financial burdens-- during this time, including underrepresented minorities and women. Examining the fullest range of student qualities possible, and placing scores and GPA’s in the broader context of a student’s personal and intellectual qualities, will help us assess all candidates more fairly.

Several CGS members have already issued formal statements to reassure prospective graduate students of their commitment to holistic file review, and some graduate schools suggest students consider addressing their unique challenges and experiences during the pandemic in their personal statements. These statements explicitly address student concerns regarding changes to university grading policies from designated letter grades to a P/F or S/U system for this semester. CGS encourages all members to take the opportunity to emphasize holistic review as a good admissions practice that benefits programs, institutions, and students under any circumstances.”

The Council of Graduate Schools has done a yearly report on international student applications, admissions, and enrollments since 2004. For the first time since fall 2003, it found that 2017 applications from international graduate students dropped by 3 percent and enrollment by 1 percent compared to 2016. The 2019 report from the Council of Graduate Schools showed that for fall 2018, applications from international graduate students fell by 4 percent and first-time enrollment was down 1 percent from 2017. The bulk of the declines were from master’s and certificate programs, and from students from the Middle East and North Africa, where five of the seven nations included in the January 2017 travel ban are located. For instance, in fall 2017, applications from prospective Iranian students dropped by 18 percent.

The president of the Council of Graduate Schools, Suzanne Ortega, said she also understood the concern that motivated the student protests and urged her institutions to make clear their acceptance of pass-fail grading.

Suzanne Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, said she agreed with almost all of the points in the students’ letter — particularly with the idea that an applicant should be judged on an entire package of information rather than a single piece of evidence. Some universities have issued statements emphasizing holistic file review, she said.