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COVID-19 Updates & FAQs for International Students

Week of July 13

From: Center for Global Study and Engagement <global@dickinson.edu>
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2020 3:58 PM
Subject: A message from CGSE - 07.17.2020
Importance: High
 
Hello again, International Students –
 
*As your emails continue to pour in with questions about the Fall semester, I want to assure you WE ARE WORKING ON THE FAQ’s NOW and hope to send you something by Monday. There are simply too many unknowns to finalize everything today, and we need to assure the information we are sharing with you is accurate and clear.*
 
Your questions are important as they revolve around: your SEVIS status, studying online from your home country, studying online from the U.S. ON-campus, studying online from the U.S. OFF-campus, participating in one of our “study abroad from home” programs for international students, taking a Leave of Absence (LOA), returning from a LOA, the need for a new I-20 if you’re arriving to the U.S., the need for a new I-20 if you’re now planning to depart U.S., can you even arrive into the U.S. at this point?, travel restrictions, financial aid, campus life, move-in dates, and the list goes on!!!
 
IF YOU ARE A FIRST-YEAR… we understand your situation is unique. We are awaiting a new set of FAQ’s from the SEVP that better outline the regulations for F-1 students who are beginning their program this Fall. We are still unclear on many issues and need to wait for updated information from the SEVP.
 
TO EVERYONE, we are receiving your emails but are simply not able to respond to most individual inquiries at this time. This does not mean we are not reading your messages! Our FAQ’s will address almost everything you’re asking. Please know that we care about you and are working extremely hard to get you the answers you deserve. We will be in touch again on Monday!
 
Warmly,
Melodi, on behalf of the entire team at CGSE (Kristine, Keyana, Katie, Sam, Marissa, and Stephanie)
 
P.S. If you are planning to leave the U.S. and return to your home country before Monday’s FAQ’s from CGSE are released, please know that you can leave on your current I-20. You do not need a new one to depart. We will send you an updated I-20 via email in late August/early September after the Drop/Add period.
 
Melodi Hendrickson
Assistant Director, International Student & Scholar Services
Center for Global Study & Engagement
Dickinson College
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

From: Center for Global Study and Engagement <global@dickinson.edu>
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2020 10:13 AM
Cc: Hendrickson, Melodi <hendricm@dickinson.edu>
Subject: A message from CGSE - 07.16.2020
Importance: High

 
Good morning from Carlisle, International Students –
 
Global pandemics are so hard, aren’t they? This has been an incredibly challenging time for all of us, and here at CGSE we continue to stand with you and support you in every way possible.
 
Given yesterday afternoon’s message from President Ensign, as well as the rescinded guidance from I.C.E. the day before (which was amazing news!), you all now have AN ENTIRELY NEW SET OF QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS. We understand!!! All of these changes bring up so many questions, new stress, and an incredible amount of uncertainty and confusion. CGSE fully supports the institution’s decision as announced in yesterday’s email, and are very proud at how purposefully our leadership made this decision with the international student population in mind. You have always been a critical part of the conversation, every single step of the way.
 
But the challenges of the pandemic are still very real, hence your questions… Thank you for sending them to us. We had to forego the next FAQ we were already working on and start anew. We are currently working on more detailed (separate) FAQ’s for our returning F-1 students and our new First-Years. While you wait for those FAQ’s to be released, we wanted to share a few helpful points of communication:
 
  1. The Dickinson FAQ page does address several international student questions. Please refer to that page for initial responses to some common FAQ’s.
  2. The college has not yet made a decision about move-in dates for those of you choosing to return to campus and take your classes remotely from here. We acknowledge this can make travel arrangements very stressful, and we are doing our best to come to a decision as fast as possible. There are so many factors affecting move-in, and we hope to have a decision to you soon.
  3. Since so many of you have reached out to me lately about financial aid… If you have questions about your financial aid, please reach out directly to the Financial Aid office at finaid@dickinson.edu.
 
A more complete list of FAQ’s will be coming soon. Again, hang in there! We are working hard to be in touch again soon.
 
Warmly,
Melodi, on behalf of the entire team at CGSE (Kristine, Keyana, Katie, Sam, Marissa, and Stephanie)
 
Melodi Hendrickson
Assistant Director, International Student & Scholar Services
Center for Global Study & Engagement
Dickinson College
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
 
For F-1 visa questions during COVID-19, please visit THIS WEBSITE.
For J-1 visa questions during COVID-19, please visit THIS WEBSITE.
For Dickinson’s ongoing COVID-19 response, visit THIS WEBSITE.
 
From: Center for Global Study and Engagement <global@dickinson.edu>
Sent: Monday, July 13, 2020 8:20 PM
Subject: A message from CGSE - 07.13.2020
 
Hello again, International Students –
 
As promised, the team here at CGSE wanted to send a quick update to you today. We had initially planned for this email to include the link to the Zoom Webinar we will soon be hosting. However, as we await further updates from I.C.E./SEVP in response to all of the pending lawsuits, as well as additional information from the college on the plans for the Fall (*many* of your FAQ’s revolve around that), we felt it best to host our live session with you once further news is released. So look for another message from us in just a few days. We are working hard to keep you informed!
 
THANK YOU for sending in your questions – keep them coming! They really do help us know how to best respond to your needs at this time.
 
And THANK YOU for completing the form requesting your new I-20’s. We will start producing the new I-20’s as soon as we hear confirmation from I.C.E. after this week’s hearings in the Harvard/M.I.T. lawsuit. We have full confidence we will be able to email you your updated I-20’s in time for travel and/or visa appointments.
 
TODAY, CGSE’s Associate Provost and Executive Director, Samantha Brandauer, signed Dickinson’s name to a letter being sent from the “American Council on Education” in protest of the July 6th guidance released from I.C.E. The letter is being sent after 5:00pm on July 15th to the Speaker of the House and Minority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as the Majority and Minority Leaders of the U.S. Senate. The signing of this letter is in additional to all of the advocacy work we have already done (as mentioned in last week’s FAQ from CGSE) and the ongoing work many of our faculty and staff are still doing with our local congressional leaders.
 
HANG IN THERE, everyone! We are advocating for you. We care about you. And we’ll be in touch again later this week as more news unfolds.
 
Warmly,
Melodi, on behalf of the entire team at CGSE (Kristine, Keyana, Katie, Sam, Marissa, and Stephanie)
 
Melodi Hendrickson
Assistant Director, International Student & Scholar Services
Center for Global Study & Engagement
Dickinson College
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
 
For F-1 visa questions during COVID-19, please visit THIS WEBSITE.
For J-1 visa questions during COVID-19, please visit THIS WEBSITE.
For Dickinson’s ongoing COVID-19 response, visit THIS WEBSITE.