They're known officially as "international student advisers," sometimes counselors, but they double as surrogate parents and willing ears.

This year, the men and women who ease international students' entry into American universities say they will add yet another dimension to their duties: that of enforcer.

For the first time, colleges across the country must now participate in a computerized tracking system designed to keep better tabs on international students.

Across California, some international student advisers shuttered their offices for days or weeks to meet the Aug. 1 deadline to comply. Others suspended services until they could catch up.

Most are pondering how the new tracking system -- called the Student Exchange Visitor and Information System (SEVIS) -- will affect their relationships with students.

The tracking system "is changing the way we do business," said Mayra Jimenez, counseling clerk for the International Student Center at Sacramento City College. "Before, we didn't have to ask so many more questions of students. Students now sometimes feel uneasy. We have to apologize."

As international students around Northern California return to school or enroll for the first time, some say they're feeling the effects of the new system.

Sihai Chen, a returning student at Sierra College in Rocklin, was born in China but raised in Japan. He has been studying business at the school for two years.

This year, Chen noticed that it's taking longer to schedule an appointment with the international student counselor. Where it used to take a few days to get in, it now takes up to a week.

"It seems like she has more work to do than before, since two or three months ago," said Chen, 23. "She's overwhelmed. I don't know what's the reason, but I think the new policies are considerable."

Federal officials contend that SEVIS isn't really new. International students have been required to report to immigration officials for 50 years, said Garrison Courtney, spokesman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Now, he said, college officials will report on a computerized system instead of on paper. As a result, colleges, not students, will now bear a much greater burden of the reporting requirements.

Courtney added that planning for the database started a decade ago, but implementation was accelerated after the Sept. 11 attacks. Now, he said, federal officials will know where international students are and whether they're complying with the terms of their visas.

Under SEVIS, colleges are required to report when international students change their addresses, dip under the required number of courses or otherwise fall out of compliance with the terms of their visas.

Already, more than 1 million international students and scholars are in the SEVIS database, Courtney said, about as many as were recorded in previous years.

"We're not asking anything different of them now than we have in the last 50 years," he said. "We're just asking them to put it in the computer."

Many educators disagree, saying the new system has dramatically increased their workload because they must adhere to strict deadlines and keep close watch on students' progress throughout the school year.

They also fear that international students, coming under increased scrutiny, may instead seek more welcoming countries.

At some schools, including public institutions in California, losing international students means losing money because they pay higher tuition than California residents. Educators also argue that international students foster understanding between different cultures and nations.

Over the summer, the number of international students enrolled in intensive English programs in the United States declined over previous years, said Ursula Oaks, spokeswoman for NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

"We're just hopeful things will not be as bad as we fear," she said. "We certainly are concerned there may be a decline in enrollment and students will see the United States as becoming harder ... and they will choose to go elsewhere."

At Northern California campuses, educators have coped with their new roles in different ways.

Officials at the University of California, Berkeley, expect about 2,500 graduate and undergraduate international students this year, and about 2,000 visiting scholars, said Ted Goode, the university's director of services for international students and scholars.

Goode said he and other officials don't want their counseling role to suffer, and are trying to balance the increased reporting requirements with student services. His office has been authorized to add an additional counselor and an administrative worker to handle the increased workload.

At Sierra College, Patricia Efseaff has taken steps to protect her relationship with students.

Over the years, Efseaff has soothed many international students who seek her advice.

"At first there's excitement and euphoria," said Efseaff, coordinator of the International Students Office, which serves about 170 such students. "Then they start missing things at home, the food, the way things get done ... the things familiar to them. And then I get tears in my office."

In order to maintain the integrity of the counseling process under the new SEVIS requirements and preserve her role as a confidante, Efseaff said she leaves reporting and compliance responsibilities to other officials.

"I, as a counselor, do not want to be involved in that kind of role," she said. "It contaminates the counseling relationship."