Named one of the Most Interesting College Presidents by the Best Schools, Jane K. Fernandes has led Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, since 2014. In this role, Jane K. Fernandes has supported the rights of international and undocumented students enrolled in higher education. Among her efforts in this area, she lobbied before Congress on behalf of students under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
Passed under the Obama administration in 2012, DACA provides a pathway for undocumented individuals who arrived in the United States while underage to achieve legal status. In addition to preventing qualifying individuals from being deported, DACA enables recipients to attend college.
There are several caveats and obstacles to accessing higher education, and enrollment processes vary widely by state and county. For example, DACA recipients may qualify for in-state tuition programs in some states, but not others.
Furthermore, DACA students are barred from federal student loans and grants and many state financial aid programs, but they may receive grants from universities or private scholarship programs. To increase higher education access to DACA recipients and other undocumented immigrants, several states have enacted "promise programs," which accept all eligible students regardless of immigration status. Advocates hope more states will adopt similar measures.
