EA:  Education Abroad
IEM:  Int'l Enrollment Mgmt.
TLS: Teaching, Learning, Scholarship
REGBUD: Regulatory Ombudsperson
KC: Knowledge Community
MIG: Member Interest Group
SIG: Special Interest Group  
 
Next Newsletter:
Friday, April 6, 2018

 


For all 2018 conference information, please click the:
Contents:  
  • Update! Jacksonville State University Disaster Damage
  • Update!  Puerto Rico and Caribbean Relief Fund
  • Update!  Newsletter Subscriptions Nearing 2000
  • Update! Great Job at NAFSA Advocacy Day!
  • New!  Region VII Idea Generator is Now "Conference Crowdsourcing Platform"
  • New!   TLS KC
  • New! NAFSA IssueNet
  • 2018 Pre-Conference Workshops and Pricing Announced  
  • SEVP Go-Live and USCIS Updates
  • NAFSA Philadelphia: Student Health and Safety Abroad Preconference Workshop  
  • NAFSA 2018 Symposium on Leadership
  • Future Region VII Chairperson Needed 
  • Updated!  Region VII State Updates
  • Updated! Position Openings
  • Connect / Subscribe  
Update! JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY DIRECT TORNADO HITS

Region VII sends thoughts, and prayers to all those affected by the tornado devastation that occurred at Jacksonville State University and beyond on March 20th. At this time, the campus is reporting closed until early April. Follow their local news for updates or emerging ways to help.

 
Update!
 PUERTO RICO & CARIBBEAN RELIEF FUND!

NAFSA Region VII is pleased to announce, as follow from the Spartanburg Conference, that a donation in the amount of $4,323 was made to the Puerto Rico & Caribbean Hurricane Relief Fund.

All donations to this fund will support hurricane recovery and relief efforts in the Caribbean. For more information and additional contributions, please follow this link.


 

          Update!  GREAT JOB AT NAFSA ADVOCACY DAY 2018

 
Bravo to all Advocacy Day Participants. The 2 photos below include all 3 Region VII 2018 Travel Grant Winners: Sonali Kathuria, Dionna Wright and Wendi Doughty.

~ Note from a Travel Grant Recipient ~
 
I wanted to send a major thank you to Region VII for sending me to Advocacy Day. It was an amazing experience ,and I came back with a better idea of how to advocate for our students and a renewed passion for advocacy. I am looking forward to sharing all that I learned with my colleagues as they look for better ways to connect with their local, state, and federal officials. As we often heard on the first day, advocacy is a marathon, not a sprint. I came back with business cards and contacts from legislative staffers. I am ready (and feel confident and equipped) to follow up with them and continue to inform them about the issues facing our students. I would not have felt this prepared without advocacy day.  I am beyond grateful for the opportunity! Thank you for making it possible.

All the best,
Wendi Doughty
Intensive English Program
Georgia State University

 
Part of the Georgia group with Hon. Representative John Lewis!

 The North Carolina Contingent outside Hon. Senator Richard Burr's office!
 
 
 
Update!
 NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTIONS NEARING 2000!
 
March is "bring a friend to NAFSA Region VII" month as we march to 2000 newsletter subscribers! 
Currently, we're at: 1954! 
 
Anyone connected with or interested in international education is invited to receive our free newsletter, and NAFSA membership is not required. Editions are bi-weekly until closer to conference time in late summer. Please reach out to new staff, colleagues, liaisons, recent graduates or students who may be interested in careers in IE. To subscribe, just click here.
 
New! REGION VII'S CONFERENCE SESSION
IDEA GENERATOR IS NOW CALLED 
"CROWDSOURCING PLATFORM"

To help facilitate collaboration and cross-state connection of presenters for conference sessions,  we encourage you to utilize the   Region VII Crowdsourcing Platform  open now through June 4th. 
 
This platform allows you to share ideas, connect with diverse co-presenters, and identify colleagues with similar ideas in order to develop session proposals before they are due. 
 
Then, submit your session proposals April 16, 2018 - June 15th on the NAFSA Region VII website.
 
Region VII is seeking proposals which include co-presenters from a range of institution types and well developed ideas have a better chance of being selected for the conference, so make sure to check it periodically for new ideas! There's plenty of time, but don't wait too long.

 
New! TEACHING, LEARNING & SCHOLARSHIP COMMUNITY

The Teaching, Learning and Scholarship Knowledge Community is please to offer the following outstanding pre-conference workshops at the NAFSA Annual Conference in Philadelphia. Early bird registration ends April 13th. Please share with colleagues who may be interested!
  • International Educator as Practitioner-Scholar: Conducting Ethical Research. registration form
  • Assessment and Evaluation for International Educators. registration form
  • Innovative Practices in Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). registration form
  • Curriculum Internationalization: A Transformative Institutional Approach to Global Learning: registration form
New!  NAFSA ISSUE NET

NAFSA's IssueNet platform offers international educators two powerful tools to report trends from the field and obtain professional guidance on regulatory issues. All international education professionals are welcome to "Report an Issue" to NAFSA on the emerging obstacles or challenges they are encountering in the field. NAFSA members can "Get Help" on individual cases by connecting with a committee of their peers who liaise with U.S. and foreign government officials. You simply need to set up your free NAFSA Passport to access Issue Net.

Please do not hesitate to take advantage of this service for your inquiries: IssueNet

 
2018 
PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS &
PRICING ANNOUNCED

The following pre-conference workshops, including an HBCU Forum, are slated to be offered. This information is subject to change based on registration and capacity. Registration information will be available soon.
  • F1 advising for beginners
  • F1 advising, intermediate
  • J1 advising for beginners
  • Filing academic H1B's
  • Strategies for ISSS Advising
  • Student Health and Safety Abroad
  • Recruiting International Students
  • HBCU Forum (open to everyone)
CEP Workshops
Member
Non-Member
Academy / Student
Full Day Workshop
$350
$450
$250
Half Day Workshop
$275
$375
$150

* Full time students only and not yet working in the field.
SEVP PORTAL GO-LIVE & USCIS UPDATES

SEVP will launch its new portal allowing OPT and OPT STEM students to update some types of information directly into SEVIS themselves on Friday, March 24th around 8pm. You may want to inform your students about it so they are not confused by direct email contact from SEVP about it. To assist, Study In The States has posted several helpful videos

Credit card payments are now an option for 41 fee-based USCIS forms. Individuals must use a form G-1450 with their petition. Institutions should consider what changes may be necessary with internal processes and how to guide and communicate this information to their students or scholars.
NAFSA PHILADELPHIA: STUDENT HEALTH AND SAFETY ABROAD PRECONFERENCE WORKSHOP
 
If you work with outbound students, and will be attending NAFSA's Annual Conference in Philadelphia this year, I'd like to encourage you to consider registering for the Student Health & Safety Abroad pre-conference workshop.

This 4-hour workshop addresses how we as education abroad professionals can prepare for and respond to health and safety situations while empowering students to take charge of their own health and safety abroad. It's a very practical and applied session that would benefit anyone working in education abroad, new or experienced!

The workshop is on Monday, May 28 from 8 am to 12 pm. More details can be found at here.
NAFSA 2018 SYMPOSIUM ON LEADERSHIP

Value vs. Values: Defending International Education in a Complex World

Tuesday, May 29, 2018 ▪ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Save the date for this NAFSA Signature Program where keynote and panel speakers from the United States and abroad will explore the way volatility impacts international education. Participants will also engage in roundtable breakout discussions and networking opportunities. Through thoughtful analysis, rich discussion, and powerful examples, SIOs and university leaders will be empowered to defend and advance international education on their campuses and in their communities.

Registrations are open!

Don't miss Early-bird savings! Member $319; Nonmember $429.
Apply Now! FUTURE REGION VII CHAIRPERSON
 
The following team member positions are currently open. Click to view the job description:
Applying for a position is simple. Connect with the current team member* for the position that you are interested in. Their contact information is here. Then:
  1. Complete this form which includes a statement of interest
  2. Send your curriculum vitae/resume to the current team member*
  3. Send a letter of support from your supervisor to the current team member*
*If applying for one of the LAC Co-Chair positions in Memphis 2018, please contact NAFSA Region VII Chair, Erin Hillis ( [email protected]) who is current Chair and a Memphis resident!

REGION VII STATE UPDATES
Please note: The following updates are from the seven state associations located within region VII, unrelated to NAFSA, that provide valuable information, resources, and support for international education.
ALABAMA
 
 
AAIE 2018 CONFERENCE
The AAIE Conference will be held April 12th, 2018 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on The University of Alabama Campus. For all the details (hotel, session proposals, leadership nominations) please visit the AAIE resources below: 
 
Listserv: [email protected]

International Perspectives on University Teaching and Learning Symposium -
Call for Proposals and Registration Open

Hosted by Auburn University, International Perspectives on University Teaching and Learning brings together a diverse community of teaching and learning professionals, international educators, policy makers, administrators and researchers dedicated to internationalizing teaching in higher education. The symposium is scheduled for May 30 - June 1, 2018 at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Orlando, Florida.  A wide range of relevant ideas will be addressed during the symposium.

To register, please click here.

For questions, please contact Jenn Mason, director of international initiatives at Auburn University.
GEORGIA
Georgia 2018 International Leadership Conference

The Georgia International Leadership Conference (GILC) will be April 13-15, 2018.  This annual student leadership conference brings together 200 international and study abroad students from across the state. The intense weekend is full of leadership development and intercultural simulations and fun!

More information about GILC is on their website.
 
If you are interested in joining the planning committee, please contact directly Chase Harvey.

Lot of positions available!
 


MISSISSIPPI
2018 Mississippi State Meetings  

The MAIE and Study Mississippi executive board is pleased to invite you to the second of three State Meetings this year. It will be held at the University of Southern Mississippi on Friday, June 15. We will have lunch followed by round table discussions within the Knowledge Committees.
The MAIE and Study Mississippi State Meetings are an opportunity for colleagues from across the state to connect and build a network of resources on the state level, as well as to take advantage of professional development from experts in their knowledge community.

Please see below for the schedule and registration information.


POSITION OPENINGS
Additional vacancies are posted in  Region VII on the NAFSA Career Center.
Your state level associations may also post openings that are not advertised with NAFSA.

International Student & Scholar Services
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Office of International Education
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia

International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) Office 
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

International Student Services Office
Lynn University
Boca Raton, Florida

Office of Global Engagement
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina

Department of Global Initiatives
Auburn University (AUM)
Montgomery, Alabama

Department of International Programs
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina

Office of International Programs
UNC Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
CONNECT WITH REGION VII / SUBSCRIBE
Region VII Chairperson:  Erin Hillis 
 Region VII on  Facebook # likes:  1039
Region VII Leadership Team
 Region VII on Instagram  #followers: 138 (+2)
Region VII  Website 
 Region VII on Twitter  #followers: 349
NAFSA membership not required.     # recipients:  1954 (+8)

Region VII Communications Coordinator: Brett Reichert.  Please submit newsletter updates to Brett by 5pm each Thursday.