NMC President Carmen Fernandez said compared to the local statute, federal immigration law has more “rigorous” requirements for student visas.
But, she added, “we will continue to aggressively recruit international students.”
According to NMC’s director of institutional advancement and college spokesman Mark Mendiola, they raised their concerns with the U.S. congressional delegation that visited the island recently.
“We discussed the need to ensure that there will be a smooth transition for our [foreign] students,” Mendiola told Variety.
He said NMC is reviewing its other policies that will be affected by the federalization law.
NMC accommodates nearly a thousand students almost every year and college officials said they want to maintain the “diverse cultures” on their campus.
“We’re looking into what we need to do to meet that threshold set by this new federalization law,” Mendiola said. “Since this law will definitely impact our students, we want to ensure that its implementation will be smooth.”
NMC needs more information about the transition program for student visas, he added.
“We’re recruiting heavily in the CNMI and different regions to increase enrollment for this semester,” Mendiola said.
NMC, he added, is also waiving its registration fee and encouraging the CNMI’s graduating high school students and government employees to enroll in the college.
