Dive Brief:
- Establishing diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba will make it easier for academic travel to the Caribbean country, Inside Higher Ed reports.
- Regulations established in 2011 had already allowed U.S. institutions to sponsor study programs for credit in Cuba without having to apply for permission from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which has enforced the Cuba trade embargo.
- Under the latest announcement by the Obama administration, academic conferences and not-for-credit studies will also be allowed without applying for permission from the Treasury office.
Dive Insight:
According to a senior public policy adviser for NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the 2011 regulations had already given American higher education institutions more than 90% of what they wanted for travel freedoms, and this week’s announcement will remove the remaining roadblocks. Also, U.S. travelers can now go to Cuba to study language, even if they aren’t enrolled in a university.