Exports and Online Education
The export regulations provide exclusions for educational activities that allow for the teaching of commonly taught information to continue at universities. If you have a course or teaching activity that does not qualify for the exclusions below, contact the Export Compliance Officer for further review.
Export Administration Regulations (EAR)(15 CFR § 734.3(b)(3)):
Information and "software" that "are released by instruction in a catalog course or associated teaching laboratory of an academic institution" are not subject to the regulations.
- Where - academic institution
- How - while conducting the instruction of a course or the course's associated lab class
- What - appears in a course catalogs
Note: This does not cover encrypted software
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)(22 CFR §120.10)
"Information concerning general scientific, mathematical, or engineering principles commonly taught in schools, colleges, and universities" is not considered technical data under the ITAR and is therefore not controlled.
- Where - academic institution
- How - implied - while conducting the instruction of a course or the course's associated lab class
- What - focuses on subject matter (implied - appears in course catalog)
Note: This does not cover software
Senior Design Classes
Classes where students are designing their own projects are subject to the export control regulations. Contact the Export Compliance Officer if the student design project:
- Uses proprietary information
- Uses export controlled technical data or technology
- Requires a non-disclosure agreement (for the faculty member and/or student)
- Has any restrictions on foreign national participation
- Has any restrictions on publication and/or dissemination
- Has a primary military or national security application
Teaching Abroad
There are several issues you should consider when teaching a course or part of a course outside the U.S. university system.
- Are there students from OFAC sanctioned countries or terrorist states? (Iran, Sudan, Cuba, Iraq, Syria, North Korea, Crimea, etc.) You cannot teach them without a license.
- Are any of the students on the Restricted Parties list? You may not teach them. To find out their status, their names must be run through a screening program.
- Is the course material transferring knowledge on "principles not commonly taught"?
- Is there sensitive nuclear technology being taught?
Online Courses
The provision of online course(s) to an individual physically located* within a country subject to comprehensive sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) constitutes an export of a regulated service. Authorization for the provision of the regulated service must be granted via either by a general or specific license. In addition to the provision of services for offering the course, the export of items other than general software utilized to host the course would require review. The export of any commodities and items related to the course should be reviewed to determine any applicable licensing requirements.
Below is a detailed review of the related citations for each country.
| Country | Citation | Course Level/Description | Allowable/Unallowable | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuba |
31 CFR 515.565 (a)(2)(x) | Undergraduate or below online Internet-based courses | Allowable via general license | |
| Cuba |
31 CFR 515.201(a) | Graduate internet-based courses | Unallowable | Unless specifically authorized by OFAC through license. |
| Cuba |
31 CFR 515.565 Note 2 to paragraph (a). 15 CFR 740.21 | Online Course Software | Requires EAR licensing determination | Allowable for ECCNs: EAR99 and 5D992.c. |
| North Korea |
31 CFR 510.201 (a)(3)(ii)(B) | All online, internet-based course | Unallowable | Unless specifically authorized by OFAC through license. |
| Syria |
31 CFR 542.207 | Graduate and Undergraduate online internet-based courses | Unallowable | Unless specifically authorized by OFAC through license. |
| Crimea Region of the Ukraine |
Pursuant to E.O. 13685, dated 12/19/2014 | Online Internet-based courses graduate and undergraduate | Unallowable | Unless specifically authorized by OFAC through license. |
| Iran | 31 C.F.R. 560. General License G, (b)(1)(iii) | Online courses (including Massive Open Online Courses, coursework not part of a degree seeking program, and fee-based courses) in the humanities, social sciences, law, or business provided that the courses are the equivalent of courses ordinarily required for the completion of undergraduate degree programs in the humanities, social sciences, law, or business | Allowable via general license | Does not cover individuals in degree seeking programs in science or engineering. |
| Iran | 31 C.F.R. 560. General License G, (b)(1)(iii) | Introductory undergraduate level science, technology, engineering, or math courses ordinarily required for the completion of undergraduate degree programs in the humanities, social sciences, law or business. | Allowable via general license | Does not cover individuals in degree seeking programs in science or engineering. |
| Iran | 31 C.F.R. 560. General License G, (b)(1)(iii) | Introductory undergraduate level courses ordinarily required for the completion of undergraduate degree programs in engineering, science, or math. | Unallowable | Unless specifically authorized by OFAC through license. |
| Iran | 31 CFR 560.204, 31 CFR 560.410(a) | Online Internet-based Graduate level courses** | Unallowable | Unless specifically authorized by OFAC through license. |
| Iran | 31 C.F.R. 560. General License G, (c)(1) | Online Course Software | Allowable | Must be EAR99 or Educational Information not subject to the EAR. (See 15 CFR 734.9). |
Drexel would like to thank the Association of University Export Control Officers (AUECO) for the informational material regarding Sanction Implications and Online Courses.
*This includes individuals physically in country and those ordinarily resident in country.
**General License M-1, dated 8/24/21 replaces General License M and grants to a specific programmatic subset of Iranian graduate students who have been granted a non-immigrant visa by the U.S. State Department, but are not physically present in the U.S. due to the COVID-19 pandemic a general license for specified online courses through 9/1/23. You must confer with the Drexel Export Compliance Officer before delivering any services under any general licenses.