From: Marielena Maggio
Date: May 6, 2020
Subject: ISS News, May 6, 2020: End of Semester Reminders, Graduating Students- Access to UH&CS and Insurance Information, Sprintax Webinar for Tax Help, Tell Your Story, Good Vibes, & More!


IS

May 6, 2020

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in this issue:

  1. End of Semester Reminders
  2. ISSNews Summer Schedule
  3. OH BMV Services Unavailable
  4. Campus Events
  5. Good Vibes Only
  6. OPT & CPT Workshops
  7. Graduating Students: Access to UH&CS and Insurance Information
  8. Sprintax Offering a Webinar- Thursday, May 28

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ISS Staff is available to students, without an appointment, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday during virtual advising hours,11am to 3pm.

There are no virtual advising hours on Wednesday.
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Appointments through Zoom or by phone can be requested by emailing international@case.edu. Please provide your full-name and a brief description of the nature of your appointment when you contact us.
keep calm the semester is about to end meme

End of Semester Reminders

If you have thoughts about traveling abroad during the summer, be sure to ask yourself these important questions, visit the links if you need to take action, and take the effects of COVID-19 into consideration as you make your plans:

Do I need to extend my I-20 or DS-2019? If you do, read more under the Frequently Asked Questions Section.

Do I need to transfer my F-1 or J-1 SEVIS Record? If you do, read more under the Frequently Asked Questions Section.

Am I fully prepared to travel during the break so that I can return to campus smoothly?  In addition to having your I-20 or DS-2019 signed for travel, which you can read about here, if you’re an F-1 or J-1 student, please:

  • check the validity of the visa in your passport. US Embassies and Consulates have suspended services worldwide and there could be significant delays in visa issuances.  This delay could significantly affect your ability to return to the United States.
  • be aware of travel restrictions.  Travel restrictions are changing as the situation with COVID-19 evolves.  Unless travel restrictions loosen or lift entirely, it could be very difficult to enter the United States.
  • make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months into the future at all times.  Many government agencies are reducing and suspending services. Passport issuance could be an issue in your home country.  Please prepare as early as possible if you need to apply for a new passport.

Do you have more questions that you need help answering? Get in touch with ISS staff during advising hours or by email before you leave campus.

OPT and CPT workshop branding telling students that workshops are available online
summer schedule text with bright yellow sun in background

ISSNews Summer Schedule

After Commencement, ISS will continue to publish and send ISSNews to all international students, but not every Wednesday since campus activities slow significantly during this time of year; however, please continue to check your CWRU email regularly and read through any ISSNews publications that we do send out. They will include information that is important to be aware of as student visa holders!

ISS will resume its weekly ISSNews publication in August as we all prepare for the new Fall semester!

Graduating Students: Access to University Health & Counseling Services & Insurance Information


UH&CS knows that graduating students have been particularly affected by the upheaval of university and daily life. They are here to assist you as you graduate from CWRU. Please visit their website for more information about services, insurance, and health records.
healthy life road sign
OH BMV logo

Many OH BMV Services will be Unavailable While Stay-at-Home Order is in Effect.

Effective March 19, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) closed many locations and discontinued many services.  Please visit the OH BMV's website for more information.

Sprintax logo

Sprintax Offering a Webinar
Thursday, May 28, 1-2 pm (EST)

During this webinar, Sprintax will provide a refresher on filing obligations, but also touch base on the recent stimulus payment and other tax related changes resulting from COVID-19. If you have not yet filed your 2019 taxes or have additional tax questions, you should consider participating. 

The maximum capacity for this webinar is 500 participants. You can register here with Sprintax and you'll be sent information about joining the webinar.

Remember, ISS staff members are not tax experts- we have no formal training or expertise on these very complicated matters and cannot assist you. If you have specific questions, you should work directly with a tax professional or accountant.

Campus Events

KSL image

Kelvin Smith LIbrary Calls on CWRU Community to Record History with "COVID-19: Tell Your Story"

This week, the Case Western Reserve University community reflects on its legacy at the same time it navigates COVID-19, which will have an historic impact on campus and beyond. 

“The experiences endured by our campus during the COVID-19 pandemic have been nothing short of unprecedented.  We have shifted, we have pivoted and we have quickly transitioned, all as the world around us reels from the effects of this virus,” Provost and Executive Vice President Ben Vinson III said.

The outbreak has forced the world to adapt, with non-essential businesses closed, employees working from home, students of all ages learning through a computer screen, essential employees taking serious precautions before going to work, and health care workers facing the virus each day.

To document this significant moment in history, Kelvin Smith Library asks students, faculty, staff and alumni to record their personal experiences during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic to be kept in the University Archives.

Read more about how you can be a part of this!

group of people in a huddle around a table

CWRU Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship's Speaker Series

The Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship aims to be a catalyst at CWRU for venture creation and commercialization, entrepreneurial learning and programming, and communication. Check out their series being offered digitally through the end of the semester!

EVENT

Diversity 360 - Open Session

Wednesday, May 6
1:30pm - 4:30pm
Adelbert Hall, Toepfer Room, 2040 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, OH 44106, United States
Link
Add to Google Cal,Outlook,Yahoo,iCal

Note: RSVP numbers will be checked 60 hours before a session. If there are not at least 5 registrants at that point, the session will be cancelled.

Diversity 360 is a campus-wide diversity education program for students, faculty, and staff developed in collaboration with the Office for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity, the Division of Student Affairs, the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

Based on research from higher education and the corporate sector about cross-cultural competency and on results from university climate surveys, the modules will engage participants in learning to:

Increase capacity to recognize and engage in dialogue across the breadth of differences;

Deepen understanding of how affiliations in privileged and marginalized groups impact treatment on campus, campus climate and productivity.

Deepen awareness of types of micro-aggression and how they affect experiences on campus and in the local community.

Discover ways to become a change agent and diversity champion with new knowledge, ideas, and resources about university policies, programs, and best practices.

Diversity 360 includes pre and post-assessment of diversity-related knowledge, as well as, ongoing programming to assist members of the campus community with the goal of creating a welcoming campus climate at CWRU.
RSVP

EVENT

Interrupting Unconscious Bias in the Faculty Search Process (Refresher session)

Wednesday, May 6
3:00pm - 3:30pm
Private Location (rsvp to display)
Link
Add to Google Cal,Outlook,Yahoo,iCal

This session, required for all faculty and staff members participating on faculty search committees, explores barriers within the faculty search process that prevent the fair evaluation of underrepresented candidates. Former participants will be required to attend a brief 30-minute refresher session if they have not attended the full training within the last two calendar years.
RSVP

EVENT

Interrupting Unconscious Bias in the Faculty Search Process (Full Session)

Friday, May 8
9:00am - 10:30am
Private Location (rsvp to display)
Link
Add to Google Cal,Outlook,Yahoo,iCal

This session, required for all faculty and staff members participating on faculty search committees, explores barriers within the faculty search process that prevent the fair evaluation of underrepresented candidates.
RSVP

EVENT

Diversity 360 - Open Session

Thursday, May 14
9:00am - 12:00pm
Senior Classroom, Tinkham Veale University Center. , 10900 Euclid Avenue Adelbert Hall, Room 109, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7048, United States
Link
Add to Google Cal,Outlook,Yahoo,iCal

Note: RSVP numbers will be checked 60 hours before a session. If there are not at least 5 registrants at that point, the session will be cancelled.

Diversity 360 is a campus-wide diversity education program for students, faculty, and staff developed in collaboration with the Office for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity, the Division of Student Affairs, the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

Based on research from higher education and the corporate sector about cross-cultural competency and on results from university climate surveys, the modules will engage participants in learning to:

Increase capacity to recognize and engage in dialogue across the breadth of differences;

Deepen understanding of how affiliations in privileged and marginalized groups impact treatment on campus, campus climate and productivity.

Deepen awareness of types of micro-aggression and how they affect experiences on campus and in the local community.

Discover ways to become a change agent and diversity champion with new knowledge, ideas, and resources about university policies, programs, and best practices.

Diversity 360 includes pre and post-assessment of diversity-related knowledge, as well as, ongoing programming to assist members of the campus community with the goal of creating a welcoming campus climate at CWRU.
RSVP

Good Vibes Only

During this very challenging time, ISS staff wants you to know that we are thinking about you- hoping you are safe, healthy, staying positive- and sending out good vibes!

In this section, we are including some things that we hope will make you laugh and smile, help you relax, be entertaining, give you something to do, etc.

This is a good vibes only section!

Lang Lang performing from https://www.npr.org/series/tiny-desk-concerts/

Tiny Desk

National Public Radio (NPR) provides a space for artists to perform live (at home) from all over the world! Lang Lang recently performed from Shanghai.  Check out Lang's and others' performances here.
 

case of beautiful (in quarantine) from https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#label/Good+Vibes+Only/CrpPVdKwLFbtBbNshhNWNgmSRSxWjZxKQrdlNHGkjWWJNltPFCMZGfzJZtCjJdBjNjwDCfPmNHfvQkVVScjB?projector=1

You've Got a Friend

The worldwide cast of the Broadway musical, Beautiful, performs (in quarantine).
Beautiful tells the amazing life story of American singer-songwriter, Carole King.

Images of people performing from home with Jimmy Fallon

Social Distancing with the Tonight Show

Check out Sting with Jimmy Fallon and the Roots performing together but apart!