OIS Quarterly Bulletin - Fall 2011

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Timely reminders, updates, and news about International Admissions, Student & Scholar Advising, and International Events

We are very pleased to announce that the Office of International Services and the Office of International Admissions are now a combined staff. We have consolidated our points of contact, and will be a one-stop shop from recruitment to graduation and beyond. We hope you are as excited as we are! For additional information concerning the integration, see the Provost's announcement.

As a result of our integration, several staffing changed have taken place. We are pleased to introduce Matt Beatty in a newly created Director of International Admissions position. Watch our web site for other new faces as hiring is finalized over the next month.

The OIS Tech staff has created a new, dynamic, admissions application within Sunapsis (where you submit or respond to e-forms). We will be sharing information about the new system at the upcoming International Grad Admissions Workshop (see below for details).

International Admissions application information can now be found at ois.indiana.edu.

All international applicants are now required to submit English proficiency test results. For more information, please see: http://ois.indiana.edu/admissions/apply/freshmen/admissionstandards.php

Don't miss this year's Grad Workshop. It will be held in the Georgian Room at the IMU on November 14, from 8–12:00 pm. We will start with an overview, and then break into smaller groups to provide training on the new software. More details to come via email.

International Students in F–1 or J–1 status are permitted to work on campus for up to 20 hours per week. There are 2 exceptions to this rule that departments should be aware of:

• Full–time work is allowed during official school break periods (Thanksgiving Break, Holiday Break, Spring Break, and summer)
• In some cases OIS can issue permission to work for additional hours – but students should be directed to OIS PRIOR to working.

It is important to note that the 20 hour limit is not a monthly average – it's a per week limit. Additional, one-time projects can interfere with this limit, so if professors ask a student to assist with a weekend workshop or pay them for a translation project, these opportunities could negatively impact a student's immigration status. Please check with OIS before employing.

Spring 2012 Orientation Dates: January 3–6, 2012

Summer 2012 Orientation Dates: New international students applying for summer will be limited to the 2nd 8 weeks session only, and orientation will take place from May 31–June 1, 2012. Please note that in accordance with federal regulations, most students who begin their studues at IU in their summer term will be required to enroll full–time (12 credit hours for undergraduates, 8 credit hours for graduates.)

Students with expiring immigration documents who have not yet completed their degrees may be requesting extensions between now and mid-December. Students can apply for extensions via iStart, and are asked to name an academic adviser to support their request. Advisers will then receive an email from OIS@indiana.edu with detailed instructions. A student making a request at this time of year is usually trying to beat a December 31 expiration date, so please treat emails from this address with urgency.

TIf you would be interested in having OIS staff visit your department or office, please contact us. We are willing to offer immigration, procedural or cross-cultural information sessions.

We have a new Associate Director for Sponsored Students who is focusing his efforts on attracting and improving services for degree-seeking students who are sponsored by a third party. This includes Fulbright students as well as those sponsored by their home-country government. Look for more information soon, coming from Daniel Whitmer.

Spring Applications: If you are hosting a visiting scholar (J-1) in your department, please plan ahead as much as possible. While OIS processing is usually done in 1-2 weeks, visa processing and security checks abroad can take several months. We recommend applications be submitted three months in advance of a scholar's visit. If you are hiring an international employee (H-1B), please allow up to six months for government processing. For additional information concerning processing times or appropriate visa types, do not hesitate to contact us at OIS@indiana.edu.

Visiting Scholars: If you plan on hosting a visiting scholar sponsored by Fulbright, IIE, or any organization outside of IU, please contact Jennifer Ashcraft in the OIS at jeashcra@indiana.edu. This program's administration has been moved from Edda Callahan/Margaret Key in OVPIA to OIS.

October 27, 9–11:00 am: Departmental E-form Training (for administrative staff)

November 21, 9–10:30 am: Permanent Resident Information Session (designed for chairs, staff and international employees)

December 1, 9–11:00am: Departmental E-form Training (for administrative staff)

For additional information, or to register for these sessions, please contact Joanna Snyder at snyder1@indiana.edu.

The IU World's Fare is coming soon! Mark your calendars for Wednesday, November 16, from 5-8:00pm at Alumni Hall in the IMU.

Noon Concert Hours have begun – turn your lunch hour into a wonderful musical interlude, with food included!

Are you working with students or scholars who could use some English language improvement? There are free, informal classes at the International Center.

Details on these events and more can be found at: http://ois.indiana.edu/ic.php