Effective Aug. 24, USC will authorize Curricular Practical Training requests only when practical training is a degree requirement, the Office of International Services announced Tuesday. OIS said the policy change will not affect CPT authorizations issued before that date.

The change follows an Aug. 24 broadcast message issued by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, a program within United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The message stated that CPT requests for elective courses not required of every student in a program will not meet the requirements for approval.

An authorized CPT must be an “integral part of an established curriculum” that applies to all students, domestic and international, the message read.

CPT is a form of work authorization that allows international students on F-1 visas to participate in paid or unpaid off-campus internships and practicums during their degree program. After securing an internship offer, students at USC need to register for an internship course at their university before they can submit their CPT work authorization request.

Under the updated policy, CPT work authorization requests will be less accessible to international students as many degree programs do not require practical training for graduation. SEVP wrote that it had observed a rise in authorizations that did not meet regulatory requirements and that it is increasing scrutiny of approvals.

The Aug. 24 message, Broadcast Message 2608-02, elaborated on an earlier one issued Aug. 12. The message prompted several universities to pause CPT processing.

UC Berkeley and UC Davis suspended applications for course credit CPT while continuing to process CPT that fulfills a degree requirement. UC San Diego paused submission and processing of all F-1 CPT requests.

The Aug. 12 message said both the institution and the designated school official could face administrative or legal consequences for authorizing CPT requests not integral to a student’s curriculum. Consequences include the withdrawal of the school’s certification to enroll international students.

It told officials to authorize CPT only if its absence results in the impossibility of completing their program.

Going forward, OIS said approval of CPT requests may be delayed. The University said that it is in contact with potentially impacted students in a statement to the Daily Trojan.

“USC’s Office of International Services is in direct communication with our international student community about the most recent broadcast message related to CPT,” the statement read. “We have also published an update on the OIS website to our broader community.”