1. Arrival of New International Students
2. Regular Office Hours Resume in the ISSS
3. ISSS Staff Availability During the Week of August 20
4. Pod Passwords Expired August 15 and Need Resetting
5. Final Call for International Team Players for International Student Festival!
6. International Student Handbook is Now On-Line!
7. Binghamton University Again Ranks High in National Survey
8. Bela Fleck and the Flecktones to Perform August 28

1. Arrival of New International Students

Today, Monday, August 20 is the first day of new international student orientation. Orientation check- in will be in the University Union Old Union Hall from 10:00am to 2:30pm. New students arriving in the late evening on August 20 should report to the University Union Mandela Room Tuesday morning, August 21 at 8:00am. The entire orientation program schedule may be viewed at: http://isss.binghamton.edu/

The first day of classes is Monday, August 27.

The staff of International Student and Scholar Services thanks the many current students who have assisted the new students upon their arrival. Your efforts are greatly appreciated in welcoming our newest and largest-ever entering class!

2. Regular Office Hours Resume in the ISSS

Summer hours have ended, and the Office of International Student and Scholar Services has resumed its regular work schedule.  The office hours are:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday: 9:00am to 4:30pm
Thursday: 11:30am to 4:30pm

3. ISSS Staff Availability During the Week of August 20

The Office of International Student and Scholar Services will be open for regular office hours throughout the week of August 20. However, most staff will be away from the office during much of the week, participating in various New Student Orientation activities.

Diane Sliwinski will not have her usual walk-in hours on the afternoon Wednesday, August 22
because of her presence at International Student Orientation that day.

Obtaining appointments, document processing and responses to e-mails may take a few days longer than usual while staff takes care of the newest class of international students. ISSS thanks you for your patience and understanding!

4. Pod Passwords Expired August 15 and Need Resetting

All Pod passwords expired on August 15. Students will need to reset their passwords by visiting http://busi.binghamton.edu and clicking on the “Change POD Password” link. Resetting your “Pod” password will not reset your BU e-mail password. This change is being made to strengthen security and better comply with Family Education and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations. You must know your PAC (Personal Access Code) to make this change. Your PAC can be found on your current BU ID card. If you do not have a current BU ID card, visit the Registrar’s Office or contact the Registrar at 607-777-6088. All other questions should be directed to the ITS Help Desk at 607-777-6420.

5. Final Call for International Team Players for International Student Festival!

The seventh annual International Student Festival will be held September 7-23, 2007.  An important part of the Festival is the sports competitions in Volleyball, Table Tennis, Basketball and Soccer.  BU Students, Faculty, Staff and Alumni are eligible to compete.

We are reminding students who would like to compete in sports but aren’t affiliated with any of the participating international cultural associations (Binghamton University Japanese Association * BU Turkish Students Association * Chinese Students and Scholars Association * *European Student Association *Graduate African Student Organization *Indian Graduate Student Organization * Korean Graduate Student Association * Korean Undergraduate Student Association *Taiwan Students Association * Turkish Cultural Association) that they can join as part of an International Team.  

This team is open to any BU student, faculty, staff or alumni, including U.S. citizens, who would like to match their skills in competitive play against the other student cultural associations.  Both men and women may compete in all sports.  Evening and weekend play will be required.

If you would like to be a member of the International Team, the deadline is drawing near!  Send an e-mail message to isss@binghamton.edu  Include your name, e-mail address, phone number (with area code) and the sport(s) in which you would like to compete.  If you are interested in serving as Team Captain, please indicate that as well.  We must hear from you before August 27, 2007!

6. International Student Handbook is Now On-Line!

The Office of International Student and Scholar Services is pleased to announce that the BU International Student Handbook is now on line!  This is the same handbook we make available to new students at Orientation.

The advantage of the on line handbook is that much of the information is very valuable to students prior to orientation, so new students can now view it easily.  Further, current students who have outdated copies of the Handbook from when they participated in Orientation can now have the advantage of viewing the latest materials with ease.

The immigration and tax sections of the handbook will become available after classes begin.
The Handbook is available at:
http://isss.binghamton.edu/Handbook/index.html

All of the contents may be viewed on the left side of the screen.

7. Binghamton University Again Ranks High in National Survey

For the eleventh consecutive year, Binghamton is ranked among the top 50 public institutions in the United States as listed in U.S. News and World Report’s 2008 edition of America’s Best Colleges.

Binghamton ranked 37th. The "top 50" is considered to be the premier list of flagship public universities. U.S. News uses a formula that includes academic reputation from peer institutions, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity and alumni giving to determine the rankings.

Among ALL national universities both public and private, Binghamton ranks 82.

8. Bela Fleck and the Flecktones to Perform August 28

Grammy-winning banjo master Bela Fleck and his band, the Flecktones, will perform at 8 p.m. Tuesday, August 28 at the Anderson Center. The innovative group blends the sounds of jazz, bluegrass, classical, pop and R&B.  The group was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2006 and won for best contemporary jazz album. Tickets are $38 for inside reserved seats and $20 for lawn seats. A special price of $10 is available to students with ID for lawn seating. Tickets are on sale at the Anderson Center box office, by calling 777-ARTS or online at http://anderson.binghamton.edu.

ISSS-BU is a listserv owned and managed by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services, Division of Student Affairs, at the State University of New York at Binghamton. It is the publisher of ISSS-BU News . Permission is granted to freely distribute the information posted to this list as long as its contents remain unchanged.