BATON ROUGE — Universities around the country were issued new guidelines on Monday regarding Curricular Practical Training programs, causing many students enrolled in programs to lose their jobs. 

CPTs allow students to obtain a part-time job in their area of study and are the only way many international students can legally work while in school. 

The new guidelines come as the Student and Exchange Visitor Program observed a rise in CPT authorizations that appear to violate regulatory requirements, which permit CPT only where the training is an integral part of an established curriculum. 

SEVP noted that several institutions throughout the country have described CPT as an optional practical training despite clear regulatory requirements. CPTs that are classified as optional would fail to meet the integral and required aspects for authorization under the new guidelines. 

It was also discovered that some institutions have not required all students enrolled in the same established curriculum to participate in practical training. 

Under the new guidelines, foreign students must make an official request for authorization for CPT to their Designated School Official so that the school can confirm that the student is participating in an established curriculum where practical training is integral and directly related to the student's major area of study.