Transfer Process for Undocumented and Refugee Students: Models and Considerations for 2 & 4 Year Institutions Public community colleges enroll around 4,662,364 students.¹ Additionally, immigrant-origin students accounted in 2018 for 5.3 million students, or 28% of all students, in higher education.² Community colleges often serve as the gateway into higher education for many immigrant and […]

This post contains resources from American University’s Defending The Dream AU Initiative and other partners on Advanced Parole and information on what the program is and how Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients can apply for it. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an Advance Parole document may authorize a non-citizen who […]

University Sponsorship of Refugee Students: Initiative on Increasing U.S. Education Pathways for Refugee Students The need for collective action to support refugee students could not be greater. Forced displacement has doubled in the past decade, and among the displaced are thousands of university-aged youth dreaming about continuing their education. While 39 percent of students are […]

Updated: April 8, 2022 Undocumented students are eligible to qualify for a number of scholarship opportunities in the U.S. regardless of their immigration status. Funding for higher education is incredibly important for undocumented students, especially in states where undocumented students do not qualify for in-state tuition or state financial aid. Lack of access to financial […]

Guiding Principles for University Sponsorship of Refugee Students The Initiative on U.S. Education Pathways for Refugee Students developed the following guiding principles to inform and ground the design and implementation of any college or university sponsorship program for refugee students. 1. Student-Centered. University sponsorship should be student-centered and focus on refugee learners’ inherent strengths, placing students’ prior […]

The purpose of this document, FAQ on Experiential and Funding Opportunities for Undocumented Students, is to provide campuses and their legal counsel with information on developing nonemployment-based, funded experiential opportunities for undocumented students. This document sets forth legal considerations pertinent to experiential and funding opportunities that institutions may consider providing to undocumented students.  The following […]

Colleges and universities have opportunities to support undocumented students in many ways. A new guide published by Fwd.us in September 2021, Investing in Social Support Systems Will Enhance the Higher Ed Experience for Students Directly Affected by Immigration, identifies key ways for colleges and universities to support students directly affected by immigration through systems that […]

As state policies in certain states make higher education more accessible and affordable for undocumented students, many have gone to pursue graduate and professional degrees. One such option is a law degree, also known as the Juris Doctor (J.D.), which typically takes three years to complete. Immigrants Rising published a new resource in September 2021, […]

The Student Voices for Refugees Toolkit is a comprehensive toolkit that provides resources for and about students from a refugee background. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are nearly 82.4  million displaced people around the world. This toolkit aims to help members of the U.S. higher education community to expand […]

Students from a refugee background resettled in the U.S. face a number of challenges in accessing higher education. This effective practice provides an overview of One Refugee (1R), a nonprofit organization based in Utah, that has made a positive impact on the lives of hundreds of college students from a refugee background. 1R provides students […]