Teresa Schuster/ Staff Writer
FIU will ensure that international students are able to stay in the US and take the classes they need in the fall, said University President Mark Rosenberg at Thursday’s international student information session.
“We are going to fight for you,” Rosenberg told students. “We’ll make sure you have the courses you need to graduate, and we will be in compliance with all federal regulations.”
Class registration requirements
International students need to take one face-to-face or hybrid class in the fall semester, said Alejandra Parra, senior director of FIU’s International Student and Scholar Services office.
They must also take a full course load, 12 credits for undergraduate students, and nine for graduate students.
While international students’ other classes can be online or remote, Parra said they should try to take as many of their classes face-to-face or hybrid as they can.
FIU is working with its departments to offer the face-to-face and hybrid classes international students need.
“We know which [international students] don’t have an in-person class,” said Leanne Wells, director of FIU’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching. “We are contacting your departments and working with them to make sure you have a class to take in the fall.”
Wells said international students’ departments will email them information about the face-to-face and hybrid classes they can take.
Lidia Kos, associate dean of FIU’s graduate school, told students not to worry about the classes filling up before they can register.
“We will not leave international students not being able to enroll [in them],” Kos said.
International students must update their I-20 forms, said Parra. FIU will email them the forms in the next three weeks.
“If you’re traveling, you can show that document and it can prevent you from having any problems,” Parra said.
Students graduating in the fall semester must submit a reduced course load form.
What if classes go online again?
Provost Kenneth Furton said if FIU is forced to put face-to-face and hybrid classes online after the fall term begins they will still count for international students.
“A component would [still have been] face-to-face or in person,” Furton explained.
If a medical condition prevents students from going to class in the fall, Parra said they must file a form for a medically reduced course load.
Graduate students
Graduate international students are in a similar situation as undergraduates, according to Kos. They must take one face-to-face or hybrid class.
Dissertation, thesis, research, and supervised research credits are counted as face-to-face classes.
On-Campus Housing
FIU Housing is opening for fall, and international and out-of-state students will be given priority in reservations, said Andrew Naylor, director of Housing and Residential Life.
“[This situation] is not something you created,” said Naylor. “We want to be as helpful as possible.”
Students can cancel housing reservations at MMC with no penalty, and at BBC for a significantly reduced cost.
Final Thoughts
International students should keep in contact with their advisers and the International Student and Scholar Services Office, said Parra.
Parra reiterated the importance of international students updating their I-20 forms. If they are staying out of the US for more than five months, they must submit a leave of absence form.
Over 14,000 international students study at FIU, representing 143 countries. Rosenberg reaffirmed FIU’s commitment to accommodating them.
“We’re going to find a way to make it happen,” he said.
Optional Practical Training and Curricular Practical Training programs have not been impacted at this time.
Resources
ISSS’s information sheet for international students can be accessed here. To speak with an ISSS advisor, visit go.fiu.edu/virtualoffice
To schedule an appointment with one of the ISSS advisors, visit go.fiu.edu/appointment
FIU launched AskCharlie, where students who need additional support can submit their questions about fall 2020. Visit askcharlie.fiu.edu
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