Campus Gears Up for SEVIS Compliance

UC Davis has been closely monitoring the changes in federal law regarding the tracking of international student, scholar, and exchange visitor populations. To comply with these legal requirements, a Students and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) Workgroup was formed in July, 2002 to review international student and employment business practices. This review also involved a thorough understanding of the data that is currently collected, what is required under the new federal rules, and which campus systems (e.g., the Banner Student Information System) have some of the information needed for reporting to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The workgroup is comprised of representatives from Services for International Students and Scholars (SISS), IET, Undergraduate Admissions, the Registrar's Office, Graduate Studies, University Extension, and the Professional Schools. The group was charged with completing the review and recommending changes to campus processes, policies, and systems.The group's recommendation to select a product called fsaAtlas from NewFront Software was accepted by the SEVIS Oversight Committee and subsequently acquired and installed in the Campus Data Center. This system provided the support needed for managing all of the visa-holding populations on campus, as well as special processes to support the tracking and reporting of SEVIS-reportable events to the INS. The fsaAtlas System also offers SISS staff an internal buffer to review the SEVIS-reportable events before they are sent to the INS? SEVIS application. The project is on track for its January 2003 roll-out for new student, scholar, and exchange visitors. Data regarding all existing student, scholar, and exchange visitors will be converted over to this new application by late March, 2003.