January 19, 2012
Order a recording of NAFSA's January 17, 2012 Webinar: Navigating the Recertification Process: Keys to Success
November 3, 2011
NAFSA Resource: Non-Campus Instructional Sites And Form I-17
October 11, 2011
SEVP Makes Available Recertification Webinar
July 7, 2011
SEVP Recertification Slides from the NAFSA Conference 2011
January 19, 2011
SEVP provided NAFSA with a copy of a Recertification Checklist it provides to schools undergoing the recertification process.
December 21, 2010
A KCISSS collegial conversation asks representatives from five diverse institution types, all of which have successfully been recertified, how the process went and how they prepared for it.
October 19, 2010
According to the SEVP PowerPoint presentation used at NAFSA regional conferences, 100 additional schools were sent recertification notices in July 2010.
May 26, 2010
Recertification began on May 26, 2010, when SEVP sent a 180-day recertification notice to the first group of 50 schools. SEVP informed NAFSA that they will begin with schools that are required to file IPEDS reports with the Department of Education, and that the order in which a school first enrolled in SEVIS will also factor into the order in which a school is sent a notice to apply for recertification (i.e., schools that did preliminary enrollment may be done first, etc.). Each month, SEVP will send notices to another group of schools, until all schools have been notified.
April 5, 2010
SEVP talks about recertification in its March 2010 Quarterly Newsletter:
April 2, 2010
SEVP has informed NAFSA that they plan to begin sending the first group of school recertification notices during the first week of May 2010. The number of schools included in the first group to receive notices, originally planned to be 400, may be fewer than that (possibly 100 or less), depending on the number of experienced adjudicators that SEVP can have in place by that time. SEVP is also working to assess the final "lessons learned" from the beta testing they conducted with eight institutions, which may also impact the timing and number of schools included in the first grouping.
April 2, 2010
SEVP has made a number of public presentations during spring 2010, to update schools about the F/M School Recertification Process. Here is the spring 2010 slideshow used by SEVP at these presentations. Some details presented in the slideshow may change after feedback from the schools that are beta-testing the recertification process with SEVP, but before recertification begins.
March 26, 2010
SEVP has announced at state meetings that they are planning to begin recertification "first quarter 2010," and that they have been working with several institutions to beta test the recertification plan. The plan continues to call for an initial group of schools, followed by additional groups of schools each month thereafter, until all schools have been notified. Please note that a school cannot apply for recertification until its PDSO and DSOs receive an e-mail from SEVP, informing them that it is time for the school to submit the recertification application. That email notification will establish the 180-day period in which the school must submit a complete recertification application package. NAFSA will post more details as they become available.
October 27, 2008
The final SEVIS fee/recertification rule became effective on Monday, October 27, 2008. Changes include: fee hikes of SEVIS I-901, initial certification, and site visit fees; rules for recertification of F and M schools; and new I-17 and maintenance of school certification rules. Content on this topic has been updated in the NAFSA Adviser's Manual Online.
September 25, 2008
SEVP sent a broadcast message to SEVIS users explaining some basics of the SEVIS fee/recertification rule that will go into effect on October 27, 2008. Important information conveyed in the broadcast message includes:
- Recertification will occur in phases, i.e., not all schools will apply for recertification at the same time.
- There will be about 400 schools included in the first notification.
- Each month following the first notification, SEVP will send 180-day notices to additional schools, until all schools currently eligible for recertification have gone through the process.
- A school cannot begin the recertification process until it receives its 180-day notice. The notice will be sent to the PDSO and all DSOs as well.
- After being recertified the first time, schools will receive a new certification expiration date, and will then have to apply for recertification before that date every two years thereafter.
- Schools should begin reviewing their Forms I-17 and student SEVIS records now, to make sure that all information is accurate. SEVP reminds schools that site visit fees for changes of school location and addition of campuses will raise to $655 per campus (up from $350), and fees for new certifications will raise to $1,700 (up from $230), effective October 27, 2008. There will be no fee for recertification.
- There will be no fee for recertification.
The guidance also identified the following areas that schools should review now, in preparation for recertification:
- Make sure that all DSO listings and contact information is accurate and up-to-date, including DSO e-mail addresses (for example, an extra space or character will prevent an e-mail being received)
- Ensure that any e-mail firewalls will not prevent receipt of e-mails from sysadmin.sevis@dhs.gov
- Ensure that the ownership field in SEVIS lists the corect owner name.
- Ensure that all "campuses" are listed on the school's Form I-17. Although the term "campus" is not defined in the regulations, the SEVP guidance states that an instructional location will be considered a campus for SEVIS purposes if it:
- Meets the Department of Education's definition of a "branch campus" [see 34 CFR 600.2] or
- Is an instructional location where students "can either complete their degree requirements for a program of study or complete more than 51% of their requirements for a program of study..."
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