ISSS News 12 January 2009

An electronic news service for international students and scholars, owned by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services at Binghamton University, State University of New York

Editor’s Note: Next Monday, January 19, 2009 is the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Most university offices, including the Office of International Student and Scholar Services, will be closed. However, ISSS-BU News will publish its regular Monday issue on that day.

Are you assisting new international students? Many new students have begun to arrive at Binghamton. New international students who have not yet visited the ISSS should come to the ISSS this week to pick up an early arrival packet. Orientation begins Thursday, January 22, 2009 (see article below).

1. Binghamton Named 4th Best Public College Value In The U.S. By Princeton Review And USA Today

Binghamton University has been named the fourth best public college value in the Princeton Review's "Best Value Colleges for 2009" list, based on more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs of attendance and financial aid.

To view the articles, visit the USA Today and MSNBC links below
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/best-value-colleges.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Walk-in hours for students with employment questions will be held Tuesday, January 13, 2009 from 1:30pm to 2:30pm, rather than the usual 1:30pm to 3:15pm. There will be no walk-in hours for employment questions on Tuesday, January 20, due to new student arrivals. Employment Walk-In Hours will resume with the usual schedule on Tuesday, January 27, 1:30-3:15pm. Please note that there will be no walk-in hours for health insurance questions Wednesday, January 14.

International Student Orientation activities begin Thursday, January 22, and orientation packets will be distributed during orientation check-in, Thursday January 22 from 9:30am to 12:30pm in the University Union Food Court (to the left of the University Bookstore).

What it is: A resource for students from ANY MAJOR who have an interest in the field of book publishing.

Why we love it: With information on how just about any major can fit into the publishing industry, descriptions of different departments and typical tasks, a job search function, and listings of publishing internships, this is an excellent resource for anyone with an interest in careers in the publishing industry.

How to access: bookjobs.com is linked on the Career Development Center website in several locations, but can be accessed directly at http://bookjobs.com/index.php.

The Career Development Center and the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations are pleased to present current, matriculated Binghamton students the opportunity to practice their telephone interviewing skills with Binghamton Alumni!

       What:Alumni Phone Practice Interview Program
       Who: Any matriculated Binghamton student
       When: During the month of January 2009 - days and times are scheduled at a mutually convenient time for you and the alumni volunteer.
       Where: Anywhere! All you need to do is call your assigned alumni volunteer at your scheduled time
       Why: Everyone can benefit from practicing their interviewing skills, and as the economy slows, more and more employers will utilize phone interviews as an        economical and efficient piece of their hiring process. Practice with an alumni volunteer!
       Deadline: The deadline for students to submit ALL REQUIRED DOCUMENTS is Friday, January 16, 2009

Visit http://cdc.binghamton.edu/alumniphone.html for more information about the practice interview process and instructions on how to apply for your own Alumni Phone Practice Interview!

EMPLOYERS ARE STILL HIRING!! APPLY TODAY! New positions are posted to eRecruiting on a daily basis. Students may view and apply for positions through their eRecruiting account. All matriculated students have an account and there is great diversity in the types of employers/positions available. Current sample employers for jobs and/or internships:

Summer College Program: New York Presbyterian Hospital Westchester Campus

Applications are now being accepted for the 2008 Pre-Career Practicum in psychology at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Westchester Division, White Plains, NY. The eight-week program, 30 hours per week, runs from Monday June 8th to Friday July 31, 2009. The program is open to undergraduates and graduate college students interested in careers in social work, psychiatry, medicine, recreational therapy, nursing, research, psychology, and hospital administration. Internships are also available working with our populations in Art Therapy, and Physical Education.

Practicum students will assist staff with daily activities on the unit which include but are not limited to room checks, escort, sitting in on small group activities and/or groups, interacting with the patient population on one-to-one and small group settings and attending case conferences. Some of our populations include geriatrics, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorders, crisis stabilization, women’s issues, child & adolescents, eating disorders and substance abuse. Internships in Art Therapy, and Recreation Therapy would entail similar job duties as mentioned above with the exception of room checks and attending case conferences. Hospital Administration positions would entail students working in our Quality Assurance/Risk Management Department.

The pre-career program is limited to 40 students. Eligibility is determined by demonstrated academic ability and a required personal or telephone interview. Please note there are NO financial stipends provided. A physical exam and testing is required. Our hospital medical clinic will do the exam and lab work at no cost to the student and must be completed by June 1, 2009. For out-of-state applicants, please note: There are no accommodations for housing or transportation at our facility for this practicum. Students will have to secure their own arrangements.

Applications must be returned no later than May 1, 2009. However, applications are processed as they are received. Please email LAT9002@nyp.org for an application packet to be sent to you.

Please note that compliance with the University’s Immunization Requirements is a pre-requisite for registration for new students. New international students with any questions or concerns regarding these requirements will find additional information at the following link:
http://www2.binghamton.edu/health/new-students/index.html

The University’s registration system on BU Brain http://bubrain.binghamton.edu will be turned on for Spring 2009 course registration beginning Friday, January 23, 2009 for new and continuing undergraduate students. Graduate students will be able to access BU Brain for course registration beginning January 19, 2009. The system will be available seven days a week until the evening of the course withdrawal deadline, which is March 27, 2009. Course adds will be accepted until the deadline of Friday, February 6. The system will accept course drops and deletes until the course drop deadline, Friday, February 6. After that date, the system will allow for course withdrawals until the course withdrawal deadline of March 27. Please note that students who drop courses during the course withdrawal period will receive a grade of W.
Registration start times are available at: http://registrar.binghamton.edu/registration.htm

The Schedule of Classes for Spring 2009 is available online at http://bubrain.binghamton.edu
The online schedule is the most up to date and accurate source of course information and is the only published version of the Schedule of Classes.

Students with outstanding debts to the University, and students who have not complied with University Health Service requirements will be blocked from registering. Students can also view their account balances and pay any outstanding debts through BU Brain, http://bubrain.binghamton.edu and select “my account.”

Students are assigned starting times for spring registration according to their total cumulative credits, not including advance registration credits. Students can check their total cumulative credits by going to BU Brain http://bubrain.binghamton.edu

You can view and print your schedule from BU Brain at any time. Student schedules will not be mailed. Please look online for your classroom assignments.

* Classroom assignments are subject to change. Assignments on BU Brain are the most
accurate and up to date.

6. Five Years of Comparative International Student Data Now Available on the ISSS Website

The ISSS website has been updated to include five year's worth of international student comparative data for the period 2004-2008. In the past five years, international student enrollment at Binghamton University has increased by 72%, from 1229 in Fall 2004 to 2114 in Fall 2008. The data is in three tables in the Publications section of the ISSS website: http://isss.binghamton.edu The 2008 International Student Enrollment Report is also available.

The United States Postal Service is selling first class stamps ($.42) to commemorate Lunar New Year 2009, the year of the ox. The stamps are sold in sheets of 12 stamps for $5.02. The stamps are for sale at any U.S. Post Office, or on the web at http://www.usps.com

From the usps home page, click on “buy stamps and shop.” Then click on “stamps” “42-cent First Class” to view and/or order the Lunar New Year 2009 stamp.

On-line courses have become increasingly popular for students, and many colleges and universities, including Binghamton, have greatly expanded their on-line and distance education course offerings in the past few years. But, the US federal government limits the number of on-line courses that an F-1 student can count towards a full-time course load during a required term.

Here is the text of the federal regulation:
For F-1 students enrolled in classes for credit or classroom hours, no more than the equivalent of one class or three credits per session, term, semester, trimester, or quarter may be counted toward the full course of study requirement if the class is taken on-line or through distance education and does not require the student's physical attendance for classes, examination or other purposes integral to completion of the class. An on-line or distance education course is a course that is offered principally through the use of television, audio, or computer transmission including open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, or satellite, audio conferencing, or computer conferencing.

For Binghamton F-1 students, a full-time course load is required only during the Fall and Spring semesters. There is no requirement that students be enrolled during the Summer or Winter sessions, which are optional. Thus, a F-1 student can take as many on-line or distance education courses from Binghamton or from another institution as they wish (with Binghamton’s approval) during Summer or Winter session. But, during the Fall and Spring semesters, an F-1 student is limited to only one on-line or distance education course that can be counted towards a full-time course load. If the course requires the student to come to the sponsoring university’s location for a class, examination, or some other purpose integral to the completion of the course, then it is not considered “on-line” or “distance education” for the purposes of the federal definition, and is not subject to the federal limit.

Confused? Don’t be. Send your questions regarding on-line or distance education courses to the ISSS at isss@binghamton.edu

When the US federal government established the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) in 2002, many of the federal regulations governing F-1 and J-1 students changed. Among the most significant regulations were changes to ensure the security of the production of I-20s and DS-2019s, to prevent fraud. As a result, in addition to the initial I-20 issued to students, schools are required to prepare new I-20s for F-1 students whenever a student:

Thus, it is not unusual for a student to have many I-20s! This can be frustrating for students, who wonder what they are supposed to do with so many pieces of paper, and need to determine which is the one to use for travel.

The ISSS knows that multiple I-20s can be cumbersome. The office has had to greatly expand its file space to accommodate the additional I-20 copies in students’ files. But, it is all done to be in compliance with federal regulations.

10. Delete E-mail Scams, Do Not Respond

BU’s Information Technology Services has announced that another phishing scam that requests your personal information, including your user ID, password and date of birth, has been sent to Binghamton.edu e-mail accounts. Like many of these requests, this message to Edu Webmail Users looks official, but it is not. Delete the message immediately without responding.

Information Technology Services reminds everyone that no business or government entity would ever require you to send it sensitive information it already possesses and you should never send any passwords via e-mail for any reason. If you’re unsure of the validity of any message, call a contact number for the organization for verification.

11. Income Tax Information: Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement

This is part of a weekly series of "Income Tax Information" that appear in ISSS-BU News. To view back issues go to: http://isss.binghamton.edu and click on "ISSS-BU News."

Today's income tax article is about Form 1098-T, “Tuition Statement” which is sent by U.S. colleges and universities to its students, to be used by the student, or the student’s parents, for claiming an education tax credit on their federal income tax forms. You may receive form 1098-T from Binghamton University.

However, only those individuals who are residents for tax purposes can claim these tax credits.
International students who have been continuously in F-1 or J-1 status for five years or less (entered the U.S as F-1 or J-1 2004 or later) generally file income tax forms as non-residents.

International students who have been continuously in F-1 or J-1 status for MORE than five years (entered the U.S. as F-1 or J-1 in 2003 or earlier) generally file income tax forms as residents for tax purposes, and may be eligible to claim the “Lifelong Learning Credit”, which is based on the information provided on Form 1098-T. For more information on this tax credit, consult IRS publication 970, which can be viewed and printed from the IRS web site, http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf or ordered by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM. Please note that the on-line publication is an 80–page pdf file, and you will need Adobe Acrobat reader or some other pdf reader to download it.

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Association for Energy Affordability	Brant Publications
Department of Homeland Security	Google
Lockheed Martin	NYSEG
Oasis Children’s Services	PricewaterhouseCoopers
Rood Research, Inc.	State of New York Unified Court System
The Conference Board, Inc.	The Epcot Science Internship Program
UBS Investment Bank	New York Life Insurance