Changes in F-1 Graduate Student CPT Procedures

Guidelines and Procedures - Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
Graduate and Professional Students Only

Dear Graduate and Professional F-1 International Students:

We are writing you to tell you about some changes that will take place in how CPT/COOP is approved and processed, beginning in the spring 2005 semester.
These changes are the result of decisions and recommendations made by the Graduate and Professional Studies Council (GPSC) to insure the academic in-tegrity of our graduate programs while complying with Federal Regulations.

The University of Houston recognizes three types of CPT experiences:
• CPT/Internship/Practicum (courses required of all students in a particular course of study),
• CPT/COOP (work experience that is similar to an internship/practicum but is NOT required of all students), and
• CPT/Dissertation/Thesis (a situation where students must be employed by an outside agency in order to collect data for a dissertation or thesis).
This notice only addresses issues regarding the CPT/COOP experience. Infor-mation regarding the other types of COOP can be found in the attached docu-ment detailing each CPT experience along with step-by-step instructions on ap-plying for approval.

It is important to understand two important definitions:
• First, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) defines a holder of an F-1 visa as “…an alien having a residence in a foreign country which he has no intention of abandoning, who is a bona fide student qualified to pursue a full course of study, and who seeks to enter the United States temporar-ily and solely for the purpose of pursuing such a course of study [italics added].” The U.S. Government expects F-1 students to return to their home countries to pursue employment once their degrees are completed.
• Secondly, federal regulations state that international students may only engage in CPT/COOP when it is an “…integral part of an established cur-riculum.” GPSC and the Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies have decided that approved CPT/COOP must be a truly integrated aspect of an established curriculum and not just good or relevant work experience.

The policy and procedures for CPT/COOP at the University of Houston for graduate and professional F-1 visa holders beginning with the spring 2005 se-mester are as follows:

Policy for CPT/COOP
• Students may only hold a part-time CPT/COOP assignment during the fall and spring semesters. In other words, no full-time CPT requests will be approved for the long semesters (fall and spring) except under the conditions listed below.
• Secondly, students who hold a part-time CPT/COOP assignment dur-ing the fall and spring semesters will be ineligible to hold an ap-pointment as a .50 FTE Graduate Assistant on campus. Accepting a CPT assignment will result, therefore, in the loss of the Graduate Assistant Tuition Fellowship, non-resident tuition waivers, the opportunity to join the U of H staff insurance plan, and the insurance reimbursement program.
• Finally, students may engage in full-time CPT/COOP only when en-rolled in a reduced-course load. Thus, students in their final semester, students who enroll in a reduced-course load over the summer, or stu-dents who do not enroll in the summer may hold a full-time CPT/COOP assignment.

Process for Approval for CPT/COOP
• Students will begin the approval process by checking with ISSSO to have their eligibility for CPT verified.
• Students will then complete a new F-1 Graduate Student CPT Application Form (available from the ISSSO office), and have it signed by their advi-sor, Department Chair, College Dean, and the Dean of Graduate and Pro-fessional Studies. A copy of the CPT offer letter must be attached to the Petition.
• You will enroll in the COOP course offered through the College of Engi-neering as you always have in the past. However, your academic advisor in your home department will be asked to evaluate your performance as well as your employing supervisor.
• Once the Request form has been completed, students must return to ISSSO for authorization.

If you have questions, please contact Margaret Watson, Ph.D., Assistant Dean (mwatson@uh.edu or 3-9118) in the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies.

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