University of Ottawa looks to attract U.S. students affected by travel ban

The University of Ottawa is offering itself up as an alternative for students studying in America who are affected by U.S. travel restrictions.

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On Wednesday, the university announced a number of measures to attract students at American universities who are from one of the seven Muslim-majority countries under the U.S. travel ban.

"Universities must serve as a model for the diversity of disciplines, perspectives and people among us," said Jacques Frmont, the school's president and vice-chancellor, in a statement. "This lies at the very heart of our mission and must not be questioned."

For students from the seven countries Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya studying in the U.S., the school is offering to:

• Accelerate the admissions process.
• Integrate them into University of Ottawa research teams.
• Look at ways to enroll them in similar courses.
• Implement a tuition fee exemption program to allow students to pursue their studies in the fall semester at the same tuition rates as Canadian students.
• Work with immigration officials to allow them to pursue studies in Canada without returning to their country of origin.

The university said that for academics working in the U.S. it would consider visiting appointments and help them find housing.

The university is advising students and academics affected by the travel ban to contact its international office to discuss whether to proceed.