Campus News

September 14, 2011

Office's new name reflects priority changes for international students

Emory's International Student and Scholar Programs (ISSP) office has become the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) as of Sept. 1. The change reflects the office's shift toward prioritizing services on immigration and compliance in an increasingly complex U.S. regulatory environment.

This year's international student and scholar population surpasses 3,500—the largest in Emory history— making the ISSS's role as a facilitator of international student enrollment and scholar employment more crucial than ever.

"In recent years, our office has had to focus more on compliance, not only because of the significant increase in the number of international students and scholars at Emory, but also because the regulatory and administrative procedures required by federal and state government agencies have increased substantially," says ISSS Director Lelia Crawford. "ISSS staff spend considerably more time now working with other units to ensure that Emory maintains compliance."

ISSS will continue to enable international students and scholars to achieve their academic, personal, and professional goals through advocacy, consulting, and training with University partners, government agencies, and the international education community.

Advocating for international students

"ISSS staff are important advocates for our international students and scholars," says Holli Semetko, vice provost for international affairs and director of the Claus M. Halle Institute for Global Learning. "This year, for example, they led a successful campaign that resulted in statewide changes on processing driver's licenses for internationals at the Department of Driver Services."

Many of the social and cultural programming initiatives previously sponsored by ISSS, such as the International Coffee Hour series, have already found new homes in schools and units serving Emory's international community during the past two years.

The ISSS office is the top resource at Emory for assistance on regulatory issues related to a student's or scholar's immigration status. The Office of International Affairs is home to ISSS and reports to the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. Visit www.emory.edu/isss to learn more about available training and services.

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