SA R47 (2015-2016): International Student Admissions and Financial Aid
Acknowledged by the President
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- Resolution:
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Day:
May 5, 2016
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Action:
Acknowledged by the President
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Summary / Notes:
- File Attachments:
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Text Attachment:
Dear Juliana:
Thank you for conveying Resolution 47: International Students and Financial Aid. I appreciate knowing the Student Assembly’s perspective on this university policy matter.
The new need-aware policy for international undergraduate applications for admissions was recommended by the Provost’s Admissions and Financial Aid Working Group after much deliberation and consultation with stakeholders across campus, including the college deans, the University Faculty Committee, the Faculty Senate, and the SA’s Financial Aid Review Committee. While not every individual in all of these groups was in favor of the policy change, their voices were heard and were considered in the decision-making process.
Cornell is implementing a need-aware admissions policy for international students applying for admission starting with Fall ’17 matriculates. The Provost’s Admissions and Financial Aid Working Group and the associate vice provost for enrollment will monitor the implementation and impacts of the new policy and report to the university administration for further consideration as warranted.
International undergraduate applicants should decide at the time of application if they would be able to attend Cornell with the financial resources available to them from any non-Cornell sources they can access, and if the answer is “no,” they should apply for financial aid at the time of applying for admission to Cornell. This does not prevent applicants who have access to extended family grants and other financial resources from applying to or being admitted to Cornell. The new policy is intended to enable Cornell to target limited financial aid resources more effectively to those international students who are highly qualified academically and would not have access to other financial resources that would enable them to afford attending Cornell.
Regarding student representation on the Admissions and Financial Aid Working Group, as you know, a new Student Assembly representative has been appointed as a regular member of the working group to replace the position that you held, and the Assembly is allowed to have “rotating” student members attend working group meetings, with one student position that rotates to an appropriate person based on the topic of the meeting. I appreciate the working group chair’s flexibility in trying this alternative arrangement.
I understand that Senior Vice Provost Knuth provided a report, including the data that were available to respond to the data request in the resolution, several days prior to the passage of the resolution. Not all of the data the resolution requests are available. If your team has specific questions about the information in the report she shared, please contact her with those questions. I’m attaching the most recent version of the report here for your convenience.
Thank you for your recommendation to focus additional fundraising on scholarships for international students. That need is among our priorities for our ongoing development efforts.
Yours sincerely,
Hunter Rawlings
Hunter R. Rawlings III
Interim President, Cornell University
300 Day Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
Tel: 607-255-5201
www.cornell.edu