To: Wellesley College Community
From: Courtney Coile, Provost and Lia Gelin Poorvu ’56 Dean of the College
Re: Impact of the WOAW-UAW strike on international students’ immigration status and on students’ eligibility for financial aid
Date: March 27, 2025
We have received a number of questions about the impact of the ongoing WOAW-UAW strike on our international students’ immigration status and on students’ eligibility for financial aid.
It is important to understand that federal regulations govern both the number of contact hours required to earn college credit and the number of credits a student must be enrolled in to maintain full-time status for financial aid and visa eligibility purposes. Unfortunately, the strike threatens students’ visa eligibility and financial aid eligibility, because if classes do not meet for the required number of contact hours, the College will be unable to award full credit, and some students may fall below the credit threshold.
To avoid these consequences, the College has developed a plan for students to enroll in 0.5-credit courses. The plan must be implemented now so that students will have enough contact hours to support the 0.5 credit by the end of the semester.
We are depending on the tenure-stream faculty to offer these classes and on students to enroll in them. The education of our students is our responsibility and our priority.
The College continues to be committed to bargaining in good faith with WOAW-UAW and looks forward to two scheduled bargaining sessions next week.