UC Davis is close to implementing a new online database system designed to help the U.S. government keep closer tabs on the 1,400 international students and the 1,200 international scholars the university has on campus this year.

By Jan. 30, as part of the Patriot Act, Congress requires that all colleges and universities that provide the paperwork international students and scholars need to obtain a visa and enter the United States enroll in SEVIS, or Student and Exchange Visitors Information System. The Internet-based program should allow UC Davis to quickly relay to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and the state department whether a student or scholar has moved, fallen below full-time status or dropped out.

UC Davis has typically collected that information from their international students, making sure they stayed within the terms of their visa status. But until recently there was no impetus to report information to authorities, said Anne George, interim co-director of Ser-vices for International Students and Scholars.

"For the student who has always kept up with their paperwork it shouldn't be a problem," she said.

Congress accelerated plans for SEVIS after learning that one of the Sept. 11 hijackers came to the U.S. on a student visa but never attended classes. But the program has its roots in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. A Jordanian student-visa holder was charged in the attacks, and in 1996 the INS began plans for a centralized system to track all foreign students and scholars.

"The INS representatives don't see international students as criminals," George said. "They realize the benefit that they provide to the U.S. (The INS is) just trying to clean up its act."

• deadline dilemma
• Justice Department official recently told a U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee that he doubted that SEVIS would be fully operational by the Jan. 30 deadline since it still needs to train inspectors and school personnel monitoring the system. Organizations such as the American Council on Education have expressed concern that bugs in SEVIS could prevent students or their family members from obtaining visas in a timely manner.

George, too, said her office could use more information on what it will need to feed to the database and how the program will be funded. But for now, SISS and UC Davis Extension's International Programs office - which maintains separate records on its international students - plan to stay on schedule.

"We're happy to automate it, but we just need the information on how it works in order to be compliant," George said.

INS auditors have already visited UC Davis Extension, which enrolls foreign students in short-term certificate and other educational programs, to verify it is keeping track of student records and is moving to put them online.

But SISS, which keeps tabs on students on campus for longer periods of time, faces more headaches with the new system.

While the UC Davis system will pull information from Banner, which manages UC Davis students' records, SISS must purchase private software to help it link to the government system. The software, used by other UCs as well, will also provide a buffer between university records and the INS system. Then, if a student drops below full-time status - a violation of his or her visa - SISS will be alerted and will have from a few days to three weeks to correct the situation before the information goes to authorities.

Taking a campus-wide approach

With the specific government regulations not yet finalized, George says she's been reluctant to print any material outlining the SEVIS program. But in December as the INS moves closer to using SEVIS she plans to speak to the Graduate Student Association about the system. She's also working with representatives from Graduate Studies, Information and Education Tech-nology, Admissions and the law and veterinary schools charged to develop a campus-wide approach to SEVIS compliance.

Samer Talozi, a doctoral student in biological and agricultural engineering, said he was surprised about how little buzz SEVIS has generated among international students on campus.

The students the Jordanian native has talked with, however, are generally supportive of the new reporting requirements.

"We need a measure to protect the U.S. from graduate students who want to do harm," Talozi said.

Maintaining the students' sense of freedom

But the students do have a few questions about the information the university database will offer the INS. Many students, especially those from the Middle East, chose to study in America because they felt oppressed in their home countries. In the United States, they have supported political parties and joined clubs without the fear of retribution they might have felt before.

"They are concerned, 'Is this information going to be shared with their home countries?' Talozi said. "There is always the fear of the unknown."

George said SEVIS will not require schools to report political affiliations, club memberships or information about the non-academic activities of international students.

Beth Greenwood, chair of international programs for UC Davis Extension, says she has heard that a few prospective students are postponing their UC Davis studies until SEVIS is up and running. But most say they "still want American knowledge and know-how" and expect only minor inconveniences as the system is launched. During fall quarter 134 international students have studied in extension programs.

"By and large the majority of our students know what's going on and they still want to come," Greenwood said.

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