UW-Madison to assess fee for international services

To offset the costs of implementing and operating the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, UW–Madison will begin assessing a fee of $50 per semester for international students.

The international-services fee will appear on tuition bills beginning for the fall semester of the 2003-2004 academic year. A $25 fee will be assessed for summer session registration. The fee change affects UW–Madison’s approximately 3,700 international students.

The revenue will offset substantial increases in technology and staff costs associated with the implementation and operation of the federally mandated SEVIS system, says Judy Brodd, interim International Student Services director.

“We are not at all happy to have to implement this fee,” she says, noting that international students are receiving additional services and the costs of those services must be recouped. “These are challenging fiscal times and we need a significant increase in resources to operate under these government-mandated guidelines.”

Beginning this year, UW–Madison, along with all other colleges and universities across the country, were compelled to enroll in SEVIS, now managed through the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Department of Homeland Security. The system is a processing and record-keeping database that tracks changes in visa status for international students and visiting faculty and staff.

Without participating in SEVIS, the university could no longer accept or serve international students, Brodd says. Additionally, failures on the part of UW–Madison to correctly administer the system could result in the loss of status (the right to remain in the U.S.) for a student, even if the infraction is minor or inadvertent.

International-services fees have become common around the country and UW–Madison’s is comparable, or lower, to peer and other UW System institutions.

“International students are hugely important to this university and we value their presence in our community,” Brodd says. “We understand that a new fee doesn’t seem like a good way of expressing those feelings. But it’s important for us to have the resources to run this system the right way and serve our students well.”

International students and scholars should ask for assistance from International Student Services or International Faculty and Staff Services on any visa or status issue related to SEVIS compliance.

University faculty and staff members who have contact with international students or scholars should also call those offices with questions, while also watching out for information about SEVIS seminars and workshops.

For SEVIS resources for international students and scholars, visit the International Student Services Web site .

Students may also contact International Student Services, 217 Red Gym, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at (608) 262-2044 or e-mail instudents@redgym.wisc.edu.

Scholars may also contact International Faculty and Staff Services, 174 Bascom Hall, from 7:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at (608) 265-4000 or e-mail ischolars@bascom.wisc.edu.