ISSO Scholar Services Communique – Volume 13, Number 1
February 23, 2017
Greetings from the ISSO!
We are writing to update you on some important information related to the international scholar community at BU. Please feel free to follow up with your ISSO Scholar Advisor if you would like additional information or clarifications on any of the items below.
In this issue:
- Changes to Hiring Form in BUworks
- Recent developments on Executive Order 13769 on Immigration
- Upcoming training session for administrators
- ISSO scholar statistics for FY 2016
Changes to Hiring Form in BUworks
Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) has recently made some improvements to the hiring form in BUworks. New functionality allows hiring managers to enter either the new employee’s assigned BU Identification Number, or, their Social Security Number.
Since many foreign national hires do not have social security numbers when they first arrive at BU and since the prior version of the hiring form did not allow the BU ID, SAP was creating duplicate BU ID numbers for foreign national hires. We are optimistic that the new functionality, coupled with our prior recommendations listed below, will help to mitigate issues with duplicate BU ID creation and streamline the process for hiring managers:
- Check any prior ISSO correspondence for the BU ID assigned by the ISSO
- Check with the prospective employee to determine if they have a previously assigned BU ID (ie. prior affiliation, recent graduate, etc.)
- When completing the Personal Data, please enter the employee’s name as written in the passport; do not shorten or use nicknames
- Enter the employee’s birthdate, gender and country of citizenship where requested.
HRIS has updated the Hiring Form Step by Step instructions to provide more specific details about the process changes. Contact hrsys@bu.edu if you encounter any issues or have additional questions about completing the hiring form.
Recent developments on Executive Order 13769 on Immigration
The last few weeks have been very busy at the ISSO and very stressful for many in our international community, particularly students and scholars from the seven countries named in President Trump’s Executive Order 13769 (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen). The ISSO has been in touch with each of the 16 current scholars who are affected by the order. We have provided them with an individualized assessment of how the ban my affect them and encouraged them to speak to us with any questions or concerns related to travel or employment.
If you would like to know more, you can find the most up-to-date developments regarding Executive Order 13769 on our website. In addition, we have created a resource for the BU community to explain how the Executive Order may affect them. Please be reminded that the Executive Order eliminates mail-in procedures for ALL visa applications and renewals effective immediately, thus requiring all nonimmigrants (regardless of country of citizenship) to schedule an in-person appointment at a U.S. consulate or embassy. We expect that this change will cause visa issuance delays during peak travel seasons so if you have any scholars who will be traveling, please remind them to contact their ISSO Scholar Advisor to discuss their travel plans.
Global Programs will be hosting a Town Hall: From Executive Orders to Judicial Decisions and Beyond for the BU community on Monday February 27. This event will be moderated by Provost Karen Antman MD and will be a great opportunity to hear perspectives on recent events. Please RSVP: http://www.bu.edu/globalprograms/discover/events/town-hall-executive-orders/
Upcoming training sessions for administrators
We are pleased to announce two upcoming training for BU administrators. Whether you are new to BU, new to working with the ISSO, or a seasoned administrator who just wants a refresher, you are welcome to attend. We have a training scheduled on both the Charles River and the Medical campuses, so you can choose which date and location works best for you.
Thursday March 16 1:30 p.m. MED – L212 |
Thursday May 4 2:00 p.m. ISSO – 888 Commonwealth Ave, 2nd Floor |
Please confirm your attendance by creating a reservation at: http://www.supersaas.com/schedule/buisso/Administrator_Training
Please also note that the ISSO is always willing to work with departments to schedule more individualized trainings based on the departmental need. Please feel free to contact Sharon Ralston, Assistant Director for Scholar Services, should you like to discuss this further.
ISSO scholar statistics for FY 2016
Did you know that that BU hosted 1361 employees and scholars from 88 different countries in FY 2016! This represents a 19% increase since the prior year and means that both the ISSO and our hiring departments have been very busy. The J-1 Exchange Visitor classification continues to be our most commonly used sponsorship option with 648 (48%) of our total numbers coming in that classification. China (286), India (217), Norway (79), Italy (54), Brazil (48), Canada (48), Spain (47), Japan (44), United Kingdom (43) and Germany (40) made up our top 10 countries this year. Additional details about the international scholar community is available at: