International Student Orientation
Program (ISOP) for new international students
All new international students need to go to the International
Student & Scholar
Services (ISSS) office, 190 Humphrey Center. It is necessary for
them to review your immigration documents, sign you up for the International
Student Orientation Program (ISOP), and provide information on how to
release your holds. Please understand that orientation and reviewing
immigration-related documents is a requirement mandated by the Department
of Homeland Security (formerly known as Immigration and Naturalization
Service) for all new international students and ISSS has been given this
responsibility on behalf of the University of Minnesota.
It is also important to note that the regulations for international students
have changed as of January 2003. International students are now only
allowed to enter the U.S. within 30 days of their first day on payroll.
That date is August 20, 2007. Regulations and SEVIS requirements provide
strict guidelines as to what that date may be. However, students
who are currently in the U.S. and studying at another U.S. institution
will not necessarily need to leave the U.S. before transferring to the
University of Minnesota.
When are the Fall 2007 ISOP orientation sessions
scheduled?
Please
check the following website http://www.isss.umn.edu/new/ISOP.html
Useful Information from ISSS
The 1st step is for newly admitted
students to come to ISSS for “Document
Check”
Document check is a time in which you submit all of your visa related
documents to an international student advisor. The advisor will photocopy
and review your documents, provide information about your new student holds,
and information on how to obtain a social security card. At this time you
will also sign up for ISOP. Upon completion of document check, you may
be able to register for your classes.
Come to ISSS in 190 Humphrey Center for document check.
Document Check is Monday through Thursday 8:00-4:00
p.m., and Fridays from 10:30-4:00 p.m. More information can be found
at http://www.isss.umn.edu/new/docCheck.html
Please bring your:
1. I-20 or DS-2019,
2. passport, visa,
3. I-94 card,
4. Previous school's I-20/DS-2019(if applicable),
5. Admission letter,
6. Graduate Assistantship (TA/RA) offer letter (if applicable),
7. Sponsor letter (if applicable),
8. Dependent I-20/DS-2019 (if applicable),
9. Dependent I-94 card (if applicable)
What happens when newly admitted international students come to Document
Check?
Upon review of their documents we will temporarily remove the AI
negative service indicator (hold) and sign the new student up for one of
the ISOP programs.
Students may not participate in the ISOP program until they have had
their documents reviewed by an advisor in ISSS. We will permanently remove
the AI hold once the student completes the ISOP program.
ISSS will instruct the students
about removal of all other negative service indicators (holds) such
as Boynton Health Center’s ME hold
and Minnesota English Center’s AZ hold during this initial contact.
ISSS will advise students to arrange for removal of all holds prior to
attending college orientations and attempting to register for classes.
What happens at ISOP?
Students are introduced to our office, and learn about the services
and support we provide. Students receive information about their legal
status including information about the Student Exchange Visitor Information
System (SEVIS), the electronic tracking system implemented by DHS. Students
will also learn about living and studying in the U.S., and about resources
available to them at the University of Minnesota.
When can a new international student register?
Students will only be able to register after they have had their
documents reviewed (after completing a document check) and all holds are
either temporarily or permanently removed.
At what point in this process should a student attend his/her college
orientation?
New students may attend their college orientations
and register for classes prior to attending the ISOP (provided they have
had their documents checked at ISSS and received a temporary hold release).
OR, they may attend ISOP prior to college orientation and registration,
as best suits their needs.
Direct any questions you might have to 612-626-7100.
SPEAK Test and TSE (Center for Teaching and Learning Services)
University of Minnesota policy requires that all prospective teaching
assistants who are non-native speakers of English take the SPEAK Test
when they arrive or provide official documentation of their score on
the Test of Spoken English (TSE). The University offers the SPEAK Test
at no cost to students who have been admitted to the Graduate School.
Learn more about this program at http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/int/it.html.
You should plan to be here by July 26, 2007; we would like you to check
in with the Chemistry Graduate Operations Office (115 Smith Hall) sometime
between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m within the week of your arrival. Beginning
July 26 you will take a required course in English for Teaching
Assistants. The course will begin on July 26 and run until
Friday afternoon, August 17. You will be provided with an extra $400
to cover your expenses because of this earlier starting date a few weeks
after your arrival.
Chemistry Department Orientation
The official start-up date of the Chemistry Department
orientation program is Monday, August 20, 2007. Included in this period
will be preparation for teaching undergraduate laboratory courses; lectures
about the department, the graduate program, and faculty research; taking
proficiency examinations; and your first meeting with your three-member
advising committee (TMC). We will provide you with a detailed schedule
on the first day, but at this time plan to start at 9:00 a.m. in 331
Smith Hall on Monday, August 20, 2007. The schedule is at: http://www.chem.umn.edu/grad/Orientation.html.
Entering students are required to take a series of proficiency exams
during the first week of orientation. Five examinations are offered,
in analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry.
You must take four (and no more than four) of these exams. Please indicate
which four exams you will take on the interest form at the end of this
e-mail. Regarding the proficiency exams, students pursuing the Ph. D.
program in Chemistry must pass all four examinations sometime during
the first year of study. It is in your best interest to prepare for these
exams now. The proficiency exams cover what the American Chemical Society
defines as basic undergraduate chemistry in each of the exam subject
areas. A review for these exams would probably be most efficiently done
from your own undergraduate texts. With a reasonable and serious review
of your past coursework in each area, you should not have great difficulty
passing these proficiency exams. We require you to take these exams even
if you took them as an undergraduate student. |
