BYU-Hawaii officials announced today that because the United States government has tightened requirements related to foreign nationals working in the United States, the university has adopted more stringent policies for its international graduates who wish to remain in country and gain work experience.
Such employment is called OPT, or optional practical training. In the past, OPT has opened doors for international graduates to receive practical work experiences in the U.S. for up to one year using their F1-student visa—in continuation of the student experience and as authorized by the university they have been attending. The experience was designed for graduates to receive training in a "career-track" position related to their academic majors in fields that require a university degree. However, after the terrorist incident of 9/11, the U.S. government eliminated 90 percent of H-1B visas that allow foreign nationals to continue work in the U.S. after their OPT is completed.
"While the government is reducing these opportunities, they have left it up to universities to monitor the types of employment opportunities international students are receiving and which students can most benefit by them after they graduate," said Rob Wakefield, director of university communications at BYU-Hawaii.
"With our university mission and the desires of our Board of Trustees in mind, the President's Council looked at what our international graduates are doing within this OPT program and decided some changes were necessary."
The Council's review of the OPT program at BYU-Hawaii found that only a small percentage of the university's graduates taking advantage of the OPT have positions that require a degree or that are really helping them move into positions even marginally related to what they studied on campus.
"The majority of our OPT graduates are in sales, secretarial, or construction jobs," said Kimbrelyn Austin, director of career services at the university. "Many remain unemployed for much of the 12-month OPT period. Over one-half of our OPT participants from this year do not have jobs yet, and this is consistent with each group of graduates who worked on OPT visas since 2000."
A major part of the mission of BYU-Hawaii, which is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is to help students receive a strong academic education founded on solid moral principles, then to help them return to their home countries where they can enter positive careers and serve in their homes, communities, and church.
The return-to-country rate of BYU-Hawaii's graduates on OPT is significantly lower than the return rate for the university overall.
"This suggests that the OPT program has not been effective, perhaps even counter-productive against helping accomplish the mission of this university," said Austin. "Some revisions were necessary to make OPT a positive force for the building of Zion."
While OPT can assist some careers, it is not for everyone. Students from most countries may find that extended stays in the U.S. actually limit long-term opportunities back home. For example, an executive search director from Korea last fall strongly encouraged our Korean students to forego OPT and seek employment in Korea immediately after graduation, unless such an OPT was with a multinational corporation which hired the graduate for a Korean position and then wanted to train him or her in the U.S.. Such an opportunity can be available to students from any country; however, very few BYU-Hawaii graduates have ever utilized OPT in this manner.
The new program policies should help ensure that students who need it get productive training, effectual towards returning to their country, procuring a successful career, and making a positive contribution to their community, country, and the Church.