International Services
Center for International
Faculty and Student Services
The Center for International Faculty and Student Services coordinates services for international faculty, staff, students and scholars. It assists with all matters of special concern to them and serves as a referral source to other university offices and academic departments. Center staff members provide direct support with employment, immigration, personal, and other matters. In addition, the center sponsors a variety of programs throughout the year.
Advice on immigration includes both general information on students' rights and responsibilities as well as assistance with procedures required for transfer of schools, extensions of stay, work permission, and practical training experiences. The staff also provides support and advice on such matters as adjustment to life in the United States, cross-cultural differences, family concerns, financial planning and questions, health care and insurance, and other personal concerns.
Center staff serve as representatives and advocates for foreign students in dealings with U.S. and foreign government agencies, other campus offices and departments, and community members.
All students are encouraged to maintain close ties with the center throughout their stay at Rutgers. Located at 180 College
Avenue College Avenue College Avenue, the office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The
telephone number is 932-7015.
International Student Advisers
Every new student is assigned an international student adviser at the center. Advisers are assigned according to your college, school, or graduate program. A list of adviser assignments is given to all new students upon arrival.
Your adviser is available to meet with you individually for discussion of and assistance with a variety of concerns. Whenever
you wish to consult with the adviser, call ahead to make an appointment to ensure that yours will be available when you come
to the center. Appointments can generally be made within two to three days of your call.
Immigration-Related Advising Services
The center provides both individual and group consultations on immigration-related matters. The "Laws and Regulations"
chapter of this handbook offers some general information for your immediate reference, but you are responsible for becoming
familiar with the specific regulations that apply to your personal situation. All individuals have rights and limitations which
govern their particular nonimmigrant status; it is ultimately your responsibility to ensure that you comply with these regulations.
Your international student adviser is ready to advise and assist you in these matters.
Orientation
Each semester, the Center for International Faculty and Student Services conducts an orientation program for new international students. The program is designed to help students learn about the many facets of academic study and day-to-day life at the university and in New Brunswick. The program includes tours, lectures, discussions, curriculum planning, and social activities offered by professional staff, faculty, and student volunteers.
Rutgers International News Gazette
The Center for International Faculty and Student Services publishes the Rutgers International News Gazette (RING), a
newsletter for international students, scholars, and faculty. It contains information on pertinent deadlines, changes in
government procedures and regulations, travel opportunities, articles and current events of interest to the international
community. All members of the university are invited to contribute articles, announcements, descriptions of cultural or historical
activities and celebrations which can be shared with other readers. An abstract of this publication is mailed to every
international student at least twice a semester. The entire RING is available on the center's web page at
info.rutgers.edu/Services/International.
Rutgers International Women's Group
In cooperation with the Rutgers International Women's Group (IWG), the center holds get-togethers, conversation classes, and programs for all international spouses in the university community. Married students are asked to be certain the center has the name and correct address and telephone number of their spouses so that an invitation to participate can be extended to those who may be interested in meeting others and developing English language skills. Programs include beginning and intermediate conversation classes, a support group to facilitate adjustment to life in the United States, lectures on lifestyles and comparative culture, and short trips.
In 1996, with the help of a generous grant from the U.S. Information Agency, the IWG wrote and published a "Guidebook for
International Families." The book, available in hard copy from the center and on-line on the center's web page
(info.rutgers.edu/Services/International), is a valuable resource for all spouses of international students and scholars. In
addition to providing information about local resources, shopping, schools, health care, and more, the guidebook offers
practical advice on how to survive and thrive as the spouse of an international student or scholar in New Brunswick.
Seminars, Workshops, and Educational Programs
The Center for International Faculty and Student Services sponsors seminars and workshops on a variety of topics throughout the year. Some are designed specifically to inform international students of matters related to their immigration status; others are aimed at providing the general university community with exposure to intercultural topics and issues. Many programs provide a forum where international students can share their knowledge of their own culture with others.
Some transactions, such as applying for permission to work or requesting documents for bringing dependents to the United
States, require attendance at a workshop, but many programs are optional and are offered to assist students in meeting their
academic, administrative, and personal needs throughout their stay at Rutgers. Topics include part-time and summer
employment, post-graduate employment, filing income tax returns, cross-cultural communication, pre-departure concerns,
bringing dependents to the U.S., and anything else international students express an interest in learning more about.
International Lecture Series
The International Lecture Series offers the opportunity for international students, faculty, and other members of the university community to share their knowledge of some aspects of a culture outside the United States. In the past, students have presented talks on such diverse topics as the lives of Muslim women, the poetry of Pink Floyd, a comparison of the cultures of China and the United States, as well as panel discussions on women in Germany and international students' experiences of becoming "multicultural personalities" while living away from home.
Students interested in presenting a program will be given assistance with the preparation of the program.
Programs are advertised on flyers, in the Rutgers International News Gazette, on the center's web page
(info.rutgers.edu/Services/International), and the university's program calendar in The Rutgers Focus, and all members of the
university community are invited.
World Wide Web Home Page
The center maintains a home page accessible through the world wide web at info.rutgers.edu/Services/International. Among
other things, the web page provides information about the center's services and programs; has an events calendar; details
"What's New" of interest to international students and scholars at Rutgers; answers some frequently-asked questions (FAQs);
carries most of the center's forms; gives the latest information on government regulations that affect foreign students and
scholars; and offers links to other web sites of interest to international students and scholars. The center's home page can be
used as a resource for a broad variety of questions and concerns you might have.
International Friendship Program
Some members of the larger university community, including students, staff, faculty, alumni, and local residents, wish to help first-year international students with adjustment to life at Rutgers. Their volunteer organization, The Rutgers International Friendship Program, introduces new students to local participants, who welcome new students and arrange several get-togethers during the first year. The group also sponsors a welcoming reception and co-sponsors two dinner parties, including the annual Talent Show.
Application forms are available at the center. Attending an orientation session on the program is recommended. Reading the orientation newsletter is a must for all participants.
Local participants of the program and international students often maintain a continuing relationship during the student's stay.
Contact takes many forms: family dinners, phone calls, attending films or concerts together, visits to the residence halls, a talk
over tea or coffee. Invitations should be mutual.
English Conversation Opportunities
International students are invited to join the English Conversation Program. Interested students are introduced to local members of the university who are ready to meet for conversation practice for an hour once every week, every other week or once a month.
One-to-one conversations are supplemented by bi-weekly Conversation Get-Togethers, where American idioms and brief
news articles are discussed in the context of American culture. Techniques of initiating and carrying on conversations are also
demonstrated and practiced.
The Multicultural Pizza Hour
As a forum for discussions about the special challenges and rewards of learning to live in more than one culture, international
students meet twice a month for conversation, programs, and consumption of the famous and delicious Italian/American pizza.
Meetings are held in the lounge of the center on the first and third Friday of each month. They are sponsored by the
International Student Association and the International Student Affairs Committee of the Graduate Student Association.
The Annual Talent Show
At the beginning of every Spring semester, several international organizations at Rutgers co-sponsor a dinner party which
includes an international talent show. This annual event provides an opportunity for international students to show forth their
special talents in music, dance, or poetry while sharing a beautiful aspect of their home cultures. In addition to demonstrating
traditional instruments from home or playing a piano/violin concerto, musicians are also sought to accompany singers on any
instrument of their choice. Check the RING and the web page for announcements in the Fall.
Alumni Abroad
In cooperation with a number of other offices at Rutgers, the center participates in a program that encourages international
alumni to stay in touch with the university after graduating and returning home. The Alumni Abroad program hosts a graduation
reception annually in the spring for all international students graduating that year, sends updates on university happenings and
developments to alumni abroad after they have left Rutgers and, in general, aims to maintain on-going contact and
communication with international students long after they have left the university. We encourage all international students to
make sure the center has their permanent address at the time they leave Rutgers.
International Classroom Program
The International Classroom Program is a chance for international students to visit local elementary and secondary schools
and speak to a class about their country, culture, language, and anything else that interests the student. Not only do students
have this opportunity to tell their own story, but they also get an inside look at the American educational system, a chance to
meet the teachers and students, and experience firsthand the U.S. elementary and secondary teaching experience. The
International Classroom Program has been a wonderful cross-cultural experience for many participants in the past, as it can be
for international students today. All international students and visitors are encouraged to apply.
The university has several student-run organizations of special interest to international students. The organization representing undergraduate international students throughout the university is the Rutgers University International Student Association (ISA), which offers a forum for the exchange of ideas and the development of cross-cultural educational and social programs. The group sponsors entertainment, trips to scenic and historic sites in the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, and a variety of service and cultural programs. ISA activities are governed by an executive committee elected once a year. All international students are encouraged to participate in the organization and its activities. Announcements of meeting times are published in the RING and The Daily Targum and posted on a bulletin board at the Center for International Faculty and Student Services.
The International Student Affairs Committee of the Graduate Student Association (ISAC) is a committee designed to serve all international students and visitors, although it is primarily graduate student based. Again, like the ISA, the ISAC sponsors several trips and functions throughout the entire year. In addition, the ISAC, together with the center, sponsor the Multicultural Pizza Hour every other Friday during the fall and spring semesters. This event offers students the opportunity to discuss new experiences in an unfamiliar cultural setting, to identify potential problems that arise from living in a different cultural environment, and to explore ways to turn problems into learning experiences. Some of the events held so far have been movie nights, stories from around the world, and discussions about the American political system. And, students can sample America's most popular food among college students, PIZZA!
There are several other student organizations on the campus which have a more specific national, religious, or cultural focus. Representatives of one or more of these organizations may have contacted you prior to or just after your arrival. If you have not yet found the group that can offer you support in maintaining ties with your own culture, check with the center for more information.
You might also wish to join clubs with a more general focus; there are associations which concentrate on sports, arts, publications, academics, and virtually anything else that a group of students have in common and wish to share. Student organizations offer excellent opportunities to learn new skills, meet different people, and have a lot of fun. A good place to start looking for an organization is the Student Activities Center, 613 George Street, College Avenue Campus, 932-6978. You may also check the student centers on the College Avenue, Douglass, Cook, and Livingston campuses, the Graduate Student Association, and the Center for International Student Faculty and Student Services.
Your experience in the United States will be enhanced by your participation with other students in a common cause, and others will benefit from your contribution.