Monitoring Federal Changes

We are committed to our mission and values, ensuring all community members have a feeling of belonging on campus. College leaders are monitoring and seeking clarity on the U.S. President’s Executive Actions that concern diversity, equity, and inclusion and how they relate to our campus community. Some of these executive orders stand in direct conflict with local State of Minnesota laws. We are currently seeking guidance from the Minnesota Attorney General to understand how to interpret the conflict between federal and state regulations.

During this time, members of the college’s leadership team have met with many of the groups potentially affected by these changes in policy to explain what we know at this moment and how the college is planning on supporting them.

The college partners with local first responders and law enforcement to come to campus to assist with medical emergencies, conduct investigations, serve legal processes, or perform other duties. St. Olaf Public Safety and the City of Northfield Police Department wear identifiable gear and do not wear face masks. 

If you are approached by an outside law enforcement agency that requests access to college facilities, students, or student education records, you should contact Public Safety at 507-786-3666 so they can verify that there is a legitimate, lawful request to respond to as required under the law.

• • As a private campus, outside law enforcement agencies cannot enter private spaces without a judicial warrant. Other private spaces include:
    • Residence halls, office spaces and classrooms
    • Personal apartments and houses
    • Private companies
  • Tips if approached by immigration enforcement
    • Stay calm. Don’t run, argue, or obstruct the officer or agent. Keep your hands raised where they can see them.
    • Do not accept a subpoena from the agent, direct them to General Counsel and call Public Safety immediately.
    • Do not allow individuals to tailgate or follow you into a private space, such as a residence halls.
  • Know Your Rights: If You Encounter ICE
    • Every campus individual, regardless of citizenship, has rights when encountering an immigration officer.
    • Minnesota does not have a stop-and-identify statute.

• Know Your Rights
• The ACLU outlines several resources for U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and non-citizens to be aware of, including:
  • Identify an emergency contact who has your travel itinerary
  • Rights around searching of personal devices
  • How to answer questions about identity and immigration status
  • How to navigate questions around political or religious affiliation
• Emergency Contacts: students, staff, and faculty are encouraged to update their emergency contact information. This can be done by logging into Oracle under “Family and Emergency Contacts.”
• Social Media and Digital Presence: On April 9, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced they will begin monitoring social media accounts of lawful permanent resident status, foreign students and international employees in academia for social media engagement. Please read the full announcement from the DHS.
• Electronic Devices and International Travel: For anyone entering the United States, including U.S. citizens, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has the authority to physically inspect electronic devices, including a review of its contents. No one is required to provide their passwords to CBP, but refusing to do so may result in possible consequences, such as device seizure or denial of entry. Note that CBP also retains the authority to conduct a search of social media accounts and postings. Learn more information on the Border Search of Electronic Devices at Ports of Entry.
• Gender on government-issued documents: In early November 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the federal administration in President of the United States v. Ashton Orr. Under the ruling, U.S. citizens seeking passport, visas and other government-issued identification documents under the State Department to reflect sex at birth. This is a reversal of a previous federal policy that permitted government-issued documents to reflect an individual’s gender identity and added a third gender marker – “X” – for nonbinary applicants.For more information, please read the State Department website or reach out to your nearest U.S. Passport Office for details. For students: Please reach out to the Smith Center for Global Engagement for assistance.

Current Travel Ban: January 1, 2026

There are the current restrictions for traveling to and from the following countries:

This is what we understand so far about how the ban impacts persons on campus:

• • • If your country of citizenship is not in one of the countries listed in the travel ban, there has been no change to your status, and you should have no issues traveling in and out of the country with your valid visa.
    • If you are a citizen of one of the countries listed in the travel ban, but have a valid F-1 visa, you are exempt from the travel ban, and you should have no issue traveling in and out of the U.S.
    • If you are a citizen of one of the countries, have an expired F-1 visa status, or a visa that will expire before December 31, 2025, and you are currently in the U.S., you should not leave the country until further notice. Your status as an international student has not changed; however, your ability to leave and re-enter the US has now been limited due to the travel ban.
    • Students with an expired F-1 visa who are currently outside of the country and citizens of one of the  countries would be banned from reentry due to the travel ban.

Reporting a Concern: St. Olaf is committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which all members of the St. Olaf community — students, faculty, staff, and guests — are treated with respect and dignity, free from bias and harassment. St. Olaf community members can report concerns using the Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation — including Title IX and Bias — Form, and you can reach out to Director of Equal Opportunity Pamela McDowell at mcdowell@stolaf.edu with any questions.

Pursuant to Minnesota State Law, St. Olaf is a place free from discrimination based on Gender Expression and Identity.

In the age of the web, individuals can become targets of online harassment. To learn more about resources and steps individuals can take once they become targets of online harassment, read the Resources for Responding to Online Harassment.

The executive orders and guidance from the U.S. Department of Education does not impact our academic programs. As outlined in the college’s faculty handbook, we believe in the academic freedom of our faculty to investigate, teach, discuss, and publish findings based on their discipline without interference. With freedom comes responsibility; hatred and intimidation have no place on our campus.

The Provost’s Office and President’s Office are monitoring policy changes related to federal funding and grants to evaluate which areas on campus are impacted and provide guidance to these community members. Any members impacted by any changes in grants or funding will receive communication from the Provost’s Office or the appropriate senior leader of their division. Unless you hear directly from the college’s leadership or from the Government, Foundation, and Corporate Relations (GFCR) office, all funding and work should continue as usual. 

• • At this time, we are aware that the NIH notice related to the  indirect cost (or facilities and administrative, F&A) rate cap is currently paused by the federal courts. 
  • At the end of March 2026, a Presidential Executive Order directs federal agencies to include an agreement for federal contractors and subcontractors to agree to not engage in discriminatory activities and policies based on race and ethnicity.

If you receive notification from a government funding agency, please notify GFCR.

At this time, federal financial aid in the form of Pell Grants, loans, and federal work study have not been impacted by any of the executive orders or changes in policy. To get information on questions related to financial aid, please contact the Financial Aid Office at finaid@stolaf.edu.

All employees, including faculty and staff, are expected to distinguish between speaking or acting in their personal capacity and speaking on behalf of the College. 

Personal contacts (including those on behalf of professional societies and other external organizations) with elected, appointed officials, governmental agencies or media outlets, whether in person or in writing, must be done in the name of the individual or the professional society or organization. 

It must be clear when an employee is engaging within their individual capacity and not on behalf of St. Olaf College. To ensure that the outreach is not construed as being on behalf of the College:

• St. Olaf letterhead and envelopes may not be used
• Any reference to affiliation with the College must be made only as an aid to identify the individual making the contact
• Use of a personal, non-college email address is recommended 
• If an email is sent using a college email address, the email must specify the outreach is not being made on behalf of St. Olaf

To assist with clarifying personal engagement versus college-sanctioned engagement, below is a list of potential phrases that are recommended:

• As a Northfielder resident…
• As a Minnesota resident…
• As a concerned citizen…
• As a [establish profession or relationship status] ….

For example:

•  “As a mother of an elementary-aged student …”
• “As a physician…”
• “As an educator of fifteen years…”

My opinion is my own and does not represent the official stance of St. Olaf College.

St. Olaf College is guided by FERPA in protecting the privacy of student records. FERPA deals specifically with the education records of students, affording them certain rights with respect to those records. The privacy of our students is of utmost importance, and it informs the way data is accessible and available to different members of our community.

The Smith Center for Global Engagement provides academic programs and courses to more than 40 countries around the world. At this time, study-abroad programs are not impacted by federal policy changes. For questions on the documentation needed for study abroad, contact smith.center@stolaf.edu.

For information about re-entry to the United States and Customs policies, please review the information under the section General Travel and Potential Immigration Need to Know.