International Student Proposal 4-12-08

International Students Services Proposal

Hamilton College prides itself on representing over 200 international students from 46 different countries. While the office of The Dean of Students, in conjunction with the Dean for International Students has worked hard to provide services catered to the particular needs of international students, we still face problems in some specific areas of college life. We hope that with the support of the college, we can work collectively to find solutions to these issues. International students have faced major problems in the following three areas:

1. Storage, meals and transportation
2. International Student Orientation and yearlong supportive infrastructure for international students
3. International Student Advising

1. Storage, meals and Transportation

Storage

Storage poses a problem for most International Students on this campus. The Milbank basement used to be set aside for International Students, but as of June 2005, that space has been closed off, for two reasons:

The first reason was the misuse of storage facilities. The key to the basement storage room in Milbank stayed with Regina Johnson at the Dean of Students Office, but once students took that key, there was a lack of accountability and order. The key went missing multiple times and predictably, this system resulted in missing items and overcrowding.

In order to circumvent this problem, we propose that the Dean of Students Office employ a student worker, who would be accountable for the key and would supervise the storage process. A specific time would be allocated on the last day of exams and on the first day before classes begin, for moving things in and out of storage. Implementing a well thought out labeling methodology would be extremely helpful.

The second rationale put forward was that domestic students, (for example students from California), do not get free storage and hence there seemed no valid reason for preferential treatment of international students. This line of reasoning has a few flaws. The transport costs for the international students are far higher than those for domestic students. International students often find it a lot harder to pay dollar storage-rates, than domestic students whose families earn in dollars. Furthermore, we believe that it is necessary that Hamilton cater to the specific needs of international students by granting them student storage privileges, and that these privileges are not curtailed because the same facilities cannot be provided to the campus majority.

If the previous storage options are still deemed to be untenable, the alternative would be to subsidize storage for students with pressing financial aid issues as their storage space requirements are usually significantly higher.

Meals

Students with financial aid issues find it difficult to pay for their meals during their breaks. The college's policy of subsiding the meals for the students on the athletic teams can easily be extended to covering the meals of the small number of international students who do stay back. In the same way sports departments subsidize meals for athletes, there could be a department that puts aside funds to feed international students.

Transportation

We propose that the day after finals end, the period in which a lot of international students fly home, a separate van be arranged to ensure that the international students get to the airport on time. Also, for the winter, it would be very convenient if there was a way a shuttle could be arranged to go straight to JFK so that we avoid flight cancellations in Syracuse. For return travel, we propose that there be shuttles organized for international students a day before everyone else returns to campus. International students usually want to come back early to beat jet lag before classes begin, thus it would be immensely helpful to have a transportation system worked out for this purpose.


2. International student orientation program

The international student orientation program has proved extremely beneficial to international students in the past and we would like to ensure its continuation. International students should have an orientation that gives them adequate amounts of time to cope with jetlag, culture shock, reorientation into a new environment, and familiarization with a college campus that many of them are visiting for the first time.


Suggested Structure for International Student Orientation

Day 1:
6:30pm International Student Dinner and Welcome with host families
8:30pm Icebreaker activity led by Orientation Leaders

Day 2:
8:30am Breakfast at Commons
11:00am Tour guide led tour of the campus
12:30pm Lunch at Commons
2:00pm Trip to the mall
6:30pm Dinner at Commons
8:30pm Advising sessions with RA’s and upperclass international students

Day 3:
8:30am Breakfast at McEwan
10:30am NBT Bank account openings (??)
Noon Lunch at McEwan
2:00pm Talk by members of Faculty (understanding the liberal arts, how courses and classes are run, switching to an American curriculum, adding and dropping classes etc.)
5:00pm Q&A Session with dean of international students
6:00pm Dinner at McEwan
7:00pm On campus treasure hunt (with campus map)

Pre-Orientation welcome package for international Students

All international students must be provided with a package of basic essentials needed to navigate their first day at Hamilton. Many international students arrive at Hamilton straight from a long flight and require a set of basic supplies when they arrive, until they can make a trip to the mall and purchase what they need. The package should include the following: 1) a 5$ international phone card 2) travel sized toothbrush and toothpaste 3) Sachet of Shampoo 4) travel sized pillow and blanket 5) basic snack (a bag of chips and a granola bar?)

Increased Host Family Responsibilities:

1. Strongly encouraging all international students to opt for host families
2. International dinners organized by the International Students Advisor/ The Dean of Students Office with host families, during orientation and family weekend
3. Helping students with storage, transportation, advising, plus extending invitations to occasional dinners over breaks/festivals like Thanksgiving etc.



3. Advising for International Students

Currently, the International Student Advisor serves also as Study Abroad advisor for the entire Hamilton student body; several hundred students participate in study abroad programs every year. At the same time, roughly one hundred international students requires legal advice regarding their status in the United States, work authorizations, summer internships, visa processes, and general support in adjusting to a new environment.
1- The need for continuous and informed legal advice:
a. To perform any type of work off-campus, including paid and unpaid internships, international students require work authorization from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). There are two types of work authorization available: Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and Optional Practical Training (OPT)*. In the past, international students could not benefit from CPT due to lack of professional advice as well as a lack of courses that can be used for CPT. More importantly, the international student office failed to provide legal support for NYC and Washington D.C. internship programs: no OPT or CPT was filed, therefore putting foreign student in breach of visa status. Moreover, in recent years, foreign students have faced increased hardship in processing temporary work visa applications due to lack of appropriate advisory from the International Students Office.
b. The international student advisor also serves as the campus authority on issues regarding international students. It is therefore imperative for the advisor to provide fully-documented and accurate legal advice to the Career Center and academic departments regarding academic standing and degree requirements, as well as participation in off-campus programs and internships.
2- Dedicated international student advisory:
International students need constant support from the first day on campus – through orientation programs – until they graduate. The cultural change in many cases is extreme and students seek advice regarding cultural adjustment, academic options, host families, and array of personal issues (diversity, homesickness, financial problems, etc.) In several cases, foreign students have not been able to reach out to the international student advisor to share their worries, questions, and personal issues due to time limitations from the dual role of the advisor.

Given the continuously changing immigration legislation, and the variety and specificity of the needs of more than 100 international students, it is imperative that the international student advisor be a full-time position.


3- Finally, we propose that the ISA (International Students Association) be granted independent funding that can be used to run programs for international students throughout the academic year. Currently the ISA appeals various sources, including the Student Assembly and The Dean of Students Office for funding on an event-wise basis. It would be enormously beneficial to the international community if a set amount of funding were earmarked every year, to ensure the presence of programs that cater specifically to the International Student body at Hamilton College











What is Curricular Practical Training?
Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is an employment option available to F-1 students where the practical training employment is considered to be an integral part of the curriculum or academic program. According to the immigration regulations, this employment may be an internship, cooperative education job, a practicum, or any other work experience that is either required for your degree (as defined in the course catalog) or for which academic credit is awarded.