Recent Communications and Updates

• 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 (DEI). Some of these orders are currently on hold in Federal courts. 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.
• As has been our practice, we continue to review all programming to ensure we are compliant with the Department of Education guidance based on the Fair Admissions vs. Harvard SCOTUS decision.
• The executive orders and guidance from the U.S. Department of Education do not impact our academic programs. 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. 
• See “First Responders and Law Enforcement”

• The Provost’s Office and President’s Office are reviewing and 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.
• If you receive notification from a government funding agency, please notify GFCR.
• TRIO Programs at St. Olaf
  • At the end of September 2025, all of St. Olaf’s TRIO programs have been renewed or received their next year of funding support from the federal government. These programs include: Student Support Services, Student Support Services Disability, Upward Bound 1 & 2, Educational Talent Search, and McNair Scholars.

• 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.
• U.S. Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ICE)
  • 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 x3666 so they can verify that there is a legitimate, lawful request to respond to as required under the law.
  • 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

• 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.

Added 6/6/2025

The Smith Center for Global Engagement provides 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 to travel out of the country for school, contact smith.center@stolaf.edu.

• • 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.

• Scrutiny on Chinese students: On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of State announced their intent to revoke visas for students from China that are suspected to have connections to the Chinese Communist Party or are studying in critical fields.
• H-1B visas: In October 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) clarified an Executive Order concerning H-1B visa applications. USCIS stated that companies filing or applying for non-U.S. workers that have not held an H-1B visa before September 21, 2025, would be subject to a $100,000 fee. Individuals not impacted are:
  • Faculty and Staff who are current H-1B visa holders or had a H-1B visa before September 21, 2025.
  • Students attending college on a F-1 visa that apply to move to a H-1B visa
  • Current other visa holders that apply to move to a H-1B visa.
• Travel Ban: January 1, 2026
  • • There are the current restrictions for traveling to and from the following countries::

      ✗ All travel banned

      Afghanistan	Iran	Somalia
      Burkina Faso	Laos	South Sudan
      Burma	Libya	Sudan
      Chad	Mali	Syria
      Republic of Congo	Myanmar	Yemen
      Equatorial Guinea	Niger
      Eritrea	Palestinian Authority
      Haiti	Sierra Leone

      ❙ Travel partially restricted

      Angola	Gabon	Togo
      Antigua and Barbuda	Gambia	Tonga
      Benin	Malawi	Turkmenistan
      Burundi	Mauritania	Venezuela
      Côte d’Ivoire	Nigeria	Zambia
      Cuba	Senegal	Zimbabwe
      Dominica	Tanzania

    • 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.

  On-Campus Support for International Students

  • St. Olaf supports our international community and works to ensure that every student has the resources to be successful on campus.
    • For international student support, information, and resources, contact:
      • Brisa Zubia, Assistant Director for International Student Programs | 507-786-3267 (bzubia@stolaf.edu)
    • For Immigration status and documentation, contact:
      • Caitlin Lamont Kreienkamp, Assistant Director for International Student Compliance | 507-786-3073| (lamont3@stolaf.edu)
• 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.

• 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.
  
• Cooper v. USA Powerlifting: On October 22, 2025, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that organizations and businesses cannot “facially discriminate” under the Minnesota Human Rights Act. Note that part of this case was sent back to the lower courts to determine if USA Powerlifting had a business reason for excluding Cooper.
• Online Harassment
  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.

• All campus 
  • College Ministry: As a confidential resource, the College Ministry team welcomes students and employees of all identities for individual conversation and pastoral care. The Boe Chapel sanctuary and the Meditation Room on the lower level are also frequently available both during the day and in the evening for individual prayer, reflection, and meditation for people of all backgrounds.
  • Vice President for Community and Belonging: Centered on generating conversations and processes that over time create greater clarity, transparency, trust, cooperation, consensus, respect, and measurable outcomes, the VPCB Office is a resource for all of campus to reach out as a partner in fostering an inclusive campus.
• Students
  • Dean of Students: Students who have personal, social, or academic concerns can reach out to their class dean. 
  • Counseling Center: The St. Olaf Counseling Center offers a variety of services and programs, including individual counseling, group counseling, workshops, consultation, and referrals. Services are free to all currently enrolled St. Olaf students.
  • 24/7 Counseling (TimelyCare): All students have access to free, unlimited, 24/7 confidential counseling through TimelyCare. 
  • Emergency Fund: Students have access to the emergency fund in case of unexpected and major events that would require additional financial assistance.
  • Taylor Center: The Taylor Center is a place designed to foster belonging on campus. Through a variety of programs and events, students make connections, celebrate each other, and develop leadership skills.
• Faculty and Staff
  • Refer to Mental Health Benefits provided by Human Resources

• Inquiries from members of the media can be sent to St. Olaf Public Relations at stolafmedia@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.

• A subgroup of the President’s Leadership Team — Eduardo Pazos, Carl Crosby Lehmann, and Susan Rundell Singer — follow and compile federal and state information daily, consulting and acting with multiple professional peer organizations as well as industry associations.
• We have established a Policy Rapid Response Team that will serve as advisors to help us think through localized impacts of federal changes and identify opportunities for supporting our community. They will make recommendations and provide ideas that are consistent with our mission, values, and priorities.
• St. Olaf hosted an immigration lawyer on campus to provide more clarity over immigration laws, rights, and the current landscape. We will continue to look for opportunities to educate our campus about these really important issues.
• St. Olaf holds memberships to several higher education associations and consortiums. This includes participation in advocacy to support higher education and lawsuits put forth by these groups. These associations and consortiums include:
  • Minnesota Private College Council (MPCC)
  • National Association of College & University Attorneys
  • Higher Learning Commission 
  • Liberal Arts Colleges Racial Equity
  • POSSE Foundation
  • Associated Colleges of the Midwest
  • American Council on Educations 
  • Association of Governing Boards 
  • Council for Opportunity in Education 
  • Council for Higher Education Accreditation)
  • American Association of University Women, Inc. 
  • Campus Compact – Iowa & Minnesota
  • National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education
  • National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities 
  • American Association of Colleges & Universities 
    • Signed “A Call for Constructive Engagement”, April 22
  • National Center for Civic Innovation/Presidents’ Alliance
  • The Council of Independent Colleges 
  • Fulbright Association
  • The Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges
  • National Humanities Alliance 
  • National Association of Schools of Music
  • National Association of Schools of Theater
  • National Association of Schools of Art
  • American Conference of Academic Deans
  • NCAA
  • Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Association
• Legislative engagement and support
  • Along with other MPCC schools, we are seeking guidance from the Minnesota Attorney General to better understand our responsibility to follow our state laws when they come in opposition to federal administration priorities.
  • Members for the President’s Leadership Team are reaching out to our legislative representatives to advocate on behalf of the college of the impact of the Presidential Executive Orders and changes in regulation in higher ed.
  • Signed the President’s Alliance amicus brief in April 2025

• If you live in the United States, contact your local, state and federal representatives on how these executive orders impact you and our industry. Find your local representatives at Who Represents Me?
• If you have a specific student situation, please have students reach out to the appropriate offices (see the options above for specifics offices by topic).
• Continue to engage and read updates provided in the weekly faculty and staff newsletter, This Week.

• As we await more updates on the future of the U.S. Dept of Education, faculty and staff who have school loans and were expecting public service loan forgiveness may be impacted first on campus.
  • Student loan forgiveness reinstated: Following AFT v. U.S. Department of Education, the two parties agreed to comply with federal law to alleviate or cancel student debt for those enrolled in certain repayment plans, such as income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, income-contingent repayment plans, Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
• At this time, St. Olaf is carefully monitoring how the reported cuts in the U.S. Department of Education could impact our community. This is what we currently know:
  • The deepest cuts in staff from the U.S. Department of Education affected departments that support civil rights investigations, Title IX, and legal services and compliance.
  • The cuts in the department most immediately impact K-12 public schools and public universities and colleges. 
  • Pell Grants and FAFSA are currently not impacted. 
  • There have been reports that if the Department of Education were to be eliminated, the management of Pell Grants and Federal Student Loans would be moved to the Treasury Department. At this point, there is no official policy on this and it would require congressional approval.
• Closing the U.S. The Department of Education would require federal legislative approval from the House and Senate, and require a majority vote. 
• Similar to the State Grant, we will ensure and do whatever we can for current students.

• 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.
• In August 2025, the federal administration sent a memo focusing on the collection of admissions data from colleges and universities, which expands to high-school grades and entrance-exam scores disaggregated by race and sex. The U.S. Department of Education has proposed a plan for how institutions can comply with the additional data demands.

Learn more

• 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.
• On August 15, the U.S. Department of Education proposed regulations that would limit or prohibit students from participating in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program if their employer is engaged in activity that has a “substantial illegal purpose.” Read the official press release Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

• If you are a current international student visa holder, there are no changes to your status at this time.  
• St. Olaf supports our international community and works to ensure that every student has the resources to be successful on campus.
  • For international student support, information, and resources, contact:
    • Brisa Zubia, Assistant Director for International Student Programs | 507-786-3267 | (bzubia@stolaf.edu)
      
  • For Immigration status and documentation, contact:
    • Caitlin Lamont Kreienkamp, Assistant Director for International Student Compliance| 507-786-3073 | (lamont3@stolaf.edu)
• Pause on Student Visas: On May 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of State announced a pause in scheduling new student visa interviews. This process will now include more scrutiny on an individual’s social media presence. 
• Scrutiny on Chinese students: On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of State announced their intent to revoke visas for students from China that are suspected to have connections to the Chinese Communist Party or are studying in critical fields.
• The Smith Center for Global Engagement provides 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 to travel out of the country for school, contact smith.center@stolaf.edu.