1. ISSS Staff Not Available Tuesday Morning, November 27
2. Cold Weather is Here, and Snow May Come! How Can You Find Out If Classes are Cancelled?
3. Early Registration for the Spring 2008 Semester ends November 30
4. Holiday Closing Dates for International Student and Scholar Services
5. Payment Deadline for Spring 2008
6. Selective Service Registration

1. ISSS Staff Not Available Tuesday Morning, November 27

ISSS staff will be unavailable on Tuesday Morning, November 27 until after 12 noon, while they attend a morning planning meeting.  ISSS apologizes for any inconvenience.

2. Cold Weather is Here, and Snow May Come! How Can You Find Out if Classes are Cancelled?

After enjoying some unusually warm weather for much of November, the temperature has returned to “normal,” meaning cold. As the weather gets colder, many students wonder what the University procedures are for classes should there be a heavy snow fall.

As a State facility, Binghamton University can only be closed by order of the Governor of New York, but university presidents are authorized to cancel classes and recommend that all but essential employees not report to work in some situations. Unless weather conditions are so severe that the University issues special instructions regarding opening and remaining open, classes are in session. In the event of severe conditions, call the BU Snow Line, 607-777-7669 (607-777-SNOW) or the BU Alert Line, 607-777-7700. The information will also be posted to the BU website at: http://www.binghamton.edu/home/bualert/ Local radio stations will also have this information.

Please note that on many days when local school districts close their schools due to weather conditions, the University will remain open, so be sure to listen to the radio carefully or call the Alert or “SNOW” line.

3. Early Registration for the Spring 2008 Semester Ends Friday, November 30

Have you advance registered for your Spring 2008 courses?  Hurry, because early registration ends on Friday November 30.  The on line version of the Spring 2008 course schedule is available for viewing at: http://busi.binghamton.edu/schedule.html  Just select “Spring 2008” as the term choice.

Currently enrolled degree-seeking undergraduate students and all graduate students can register for courses for the Spring 2008 term using online registration on the BUSI (Binghamton University Student Information) system from 8:00 am to 6:00am (22 hours) seven days a week until Friday, November 30.

The registration period for Spring 2008 courses will re-open on Friday, January 25, 2008.

4. Holiday Closing Dates for International Student and Scholar Services

The Office of International Student and Scholar Services, along with most other university offices, will be closed for what is traditionally known at the University as the "holiday shutdown" period. The official holiday shutdown starts on Tuesday, December 25, 2007 with offices re-opening on Wednesday, January 2, 2008, but many offices will have limited or no staff on Monday, December 24 as well.  During this period, there will be no mail delivery into or out of offices. Voice mail, e-mail and fax will be monitored periodically, but not every day.

International students and scholars who have paperwork that needs to be processed by the ISSS should note these dates and anticipate that after Friday, December 21, there will be a wait until January 2 before work resumes. It is strongly recommended that any requests for documents be made no later than December 14 to assure timely processing.  Remember not to wait until the last minute, as doing so may require you to wait until after January 2nd for documents to be returned to you!

5. Payment Deadline for Spring 2008

The Office of Student Accounts will e-mail billing forms for the Spring 2008 semester to students’ Binghamton.edu e-mail addresses beginning in mid December.  Web payment for Spring 2008 will be available once bills are e-mailed, from http://busi.binghamton.edu  The deadline for making payment without incurring a $30 administrative fee is January 16, 2008. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this payment deadline, please contact the Office of Student Accounts (Student Wing Room 117) by visiting their office or by writing to them at stuaccts@binghamton.edu

6. Selective Service Registration

If you are a male and between the ages of 18 and 25 you may receive a notice from the U.S. government’s Selective Service System (SSS) that you have been registered.  Registration means that your data has been provided to the US government in the event that the US military needs to call up more soldiers than those who are already serving as volunteers.  Even though such registration is normally only required of US citizens and US permanent residents, foreign nationals on non-immigrant visas may receive a notice in their mail, informing them of their registration. 

How does this happen?

Many states, including New York, have enacted legislation which links SSS registration with the process of applying for a driver's license or state identification card.  This is done to ensure compliance with the Selective Service registration requirement.

But, foreign nationals who are male and who are in the United States on student or visitor visas, and men who are part of a diplomatic or trade mission and their families are not required to register for Selective Service.

If you receive (or have received) such a notice, return the Selective Service registration card and a photocopy of your I-94 departure card, along with a letter of explanation, to:

Selective Service System
PO Box 94638
Palatine, IL 60094-4638

Be sure to keep a copy for your records. This instruction and address also appear on the registration card.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Office of International Student and Scholar Services.

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.