Official Statement

Coronavirus Update for the Harrisburg University Community

July 28, 2022

International Student Announcement for Fall 2022 & Spring 2023 Semesters

Harrisburg University (HU) has decided that programs for current and new transfer graduate students will continue to be delivered in a virtual manner for the following semesters: Fall (August 27-December 14, 2022; Late Fall (October 29, 2022-Feb 24, 2023); Spring (Jan. 7 – April 21, 2023); and Late Spring (March 11 – June 16, 2023). No in-person sessions will be required for F-1 students transferring into HU from other U.S. universities, but virtual attendance and satisfactory academic progress are still required.

Federal guidelines for international students studying in the US continue to allow for greater flexibility in how programs are delivered and managed. Under the continuing but temporary federal guidelines, students still need to be monitored (e.g., attendance taken and verified), show academic progress (through their work), and maintain their full-time course load. An international student studying at HU will maintain their visa status and be allowed to remain in the US to study and work if the student continues to attend and fully participate in classes. These procedural adaptations, in response to COVID-19, have been approved by SEVP.

Information for Direct Students

If you arrived in the United States based on the issuance of on an F-1 visa for the Fall 2022 semesters or Spring 2023 semesters from Harrisburg University to attend in-person executive courses (i.e., those courses that have three required in-person meetings per semester), you will continue to attend in-person executive format classes for subsequent semesters throughout the duration of your program. One in-person executive course is required per semester.

The University is offering the following Master of Science programs in person for new international students (meaning students who are not currently in the country): Analytics, Project Management, Computer Science, and Information Systems Engineering and Management. This will allow students overseas to obtain an I-20 from HU to begin the visa process. Direct students will take classes in a hybrid format with weekly online classes and appear on campus three times during the semester for the duration of their studies at HU.  Direct students can only switch a program of study to another program at HU that accepts direct students.  These procedural adaptations, in response to COVID-19, have been approved by SEVP.

Students traveling to the United States should view the Requirements for Air Travelers to the U.S. and International Travel | CDC as requirements change regularly. Students with questions regarding visa status are encouraged to review the information available at International Students at https://isohelp.harrisburgu.edu/support/home,  and generate a new support request at ISO Help for specific questions.

Please continue to monitor HU’s COVID-19 webpage for news and developments: https://covid.harrisburgu.edu/.

NOTE: Any HU student who is experiencing concerns such as anxiety, depression, or academic stress because of this issue is welcome to contact the BHS Student Assistance Program. You can login via the app/web, https://portal.bhsonline.com, or call 800-327-2251. The username is HarrisburgU. Outreach to BHS is confidential, and each student is assigned a master’s level clinician as a care coordinator. BHS will provide HU students with quality, in-the-moment support.