DSS Spring 2021 FAQs

If you would like an academic coach, please email us and you will be assigned a coach. Your coach will be available in-person, via zoom or phone, and will email you to determine what will work best for you

The CLAS offers a handful of study groups for high need courses and English language workshops each week. All of our study groups and workshops are held online via Zoom.

You can find the meeting times and Zoom links by going to the Online CLAS Services Information page.

Yes! All tutoring services are offered online via Zoom. Call the CLAS at 617-573-8034 or click the blue “Get Assistance” button on the homepage of your Navigate account to schedule an appointment. Before your scheduled appointment, your tutor will email you a link to your Zoom meeting and instructions on how to connect.

Online tutoring closely approximates the in-person tutoring experience. With application and document sharing, mark-up capabilities, and a virtual white board, you and your tutor can do just about anything you would do in an in-person session.

Yes! Our amazing staff of peer and professional tutors has not changed; they’re just working remotely instead of in-person. Our tutors are the same people who know you, your professors, and Suffolk.

Email CLAS or call 617-573-8034 with any questions.

As Academic Advisors our role is to guide you through your academic journey.

Some of the services we can help you with are:

• Academic Concerns
• Registration and Class Schedules
• Major/Minor Exploration
• Long Term Planning
• Study Abroad

Academic Advisors are available to meet with students via Zoom, phone or in person.

You can call the main office 617-573-8034 or use Navigate to make an appointment. Before your scheduled appointment, the academic advisor will email you instructions with a link to your Zoom or phone appointment.

If you have a general advising question but don’t believe you will need a full appointment, please use the UAAC general email.

First, welcome to Suffolk! We are thrilled to welcome you into our community. For general inquiries and course registration/schedule changes, please call the main office to set up an appointment at 617-573-8034. You’ll want to make sure you have received your Suffolk credentials and can log in to WebAdvisor during the appointment. Before your scheduled appointment, the academic advisor will email you instructions with a link to your Zoom or phone appointment.

Every semester, we offer Transfer Advising Workshops to help our new transfer students become better acclimated to their curricula, learn how advising and registration work, how to access on-campus resources, and to become more familiar with their transfer credits and how they work at Suffolk. For more information regarding these workshops, please contact Ashley Leonard.

Courses will be offered in the following formats:

Refer to your schedule in WebAdvisor for more information.

Your specific accommodations will not change. If you have already provided a letter of accommodations to your faculty, you should communicate with them to plan how your accommodations will apply to your new class format.

If you haven’t requested a spring 2021 accommodation letter yet, please fill out the accommodation letter request form, and the Office of Disability Services will give you an electronic copy of your letter.

Please fill out the accommodation letter request form, and we will be able to provide you with an electronic copy of your letter.

Exam proctoring will be available at ODS for your classes that have in-person exams. To request an in-person exam, please complete the exam accommodation online scheduling form. Exams for your online and Hyflex courses that are administered online should be taken that way. To use your approved exam accommodations for online exams, please communicate with your professor before the scheduled assessment.

You can email ODS or contact your service provider directly with questions. To schedule a meeting time, please call the Division of Student Success at 617-573-8034. Once your appointment has been scheduled, you will be invited to a Zoom meeting.

You should make sure that your I-20 or DS-2019 has a recent travel signature and that your student visa will be valid for when you plan to return to the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued new guidance, and you can now take online or remote courses in the U.S. or from abroad. You can also participate remotely in practical training by working collaboratively with an employer.

If your I-20 does not have a recent travel signature (signed in the last 6 months), you can email the ISSO to request a new I-20 sent to you via email.

You can email the ISSO to request a new I-20 with a travel signature. The I-20 will be sent to you via email. Be sure to print it out in colored ink.

You can request shipment of your I-20 if you require a physical version with the original signature. Due to COVID-19’s impact, however, regulations permit the use of a printed version of the I-20 in color which can easily be sent to you via email.

Please email the International Student Services Office to register your travel plans.

Arrange to renew your visa as soon as possible. Check your U.S. consulate or embassy to see if it has reopened, as the status of individual embassies will vary. You can request transcripts and an enrollment verification letter from the Registrar’s Office. If you need additional assistance, please contact the International Student Services Office.

No and yes. Given current DHS guidance, and from an immigration status and legal standpoint only, you are subject to the same policies as all other international students studying on campus.

As a graduate student, you should carefully consider how the decision to return home might affect your degree requirements and on-time graduation. Please discuss your academic progress with your program director and/or graduate program advisor (your advisor information can be found on your Program Evaluation in WebAdvisor).

Please contact the faculty member in charge of your class for information on how the time difference will be accommodated. All faculty have been instructed to make accommodations for students in time zones that are significantly different from Boston.

The University is urging all faculty to be flexible in these situations. Please contact your professors directly with any questions.

If after multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact your professor, then we advise that you reach out to your Academic Dean’s office (CAS, SBS, or LAW) to request assistance.

No, DHS guidance from Fall 2020 remains in effect for the spring semester and continuing international students are permitted to take all coursework online.

Yes, as long as you stay enrolled in the required internship course. The professor of your internship course will send instructions on how to continue with your coursework. Ask your employer about the possibility of working remotely, too. If you decide not to continue in CPT, be sure you alert your professor, your faculty advisor/program director, and the ISSO immediately.

The Registrar’s Office will mail you your diploma. As an additional courtesy, all international students with receive an official transcript together with the diploma. You will also receive a secure PDF version via email.

At this time, DHS regulations still require you to be physically present in the United States when you apply for OPT. Please contact the International Student Services Office for more details.

No, as long as you have been hired and are still considered an employee of the company, you are not accruing unemployment days.

The Career Development Center has created an excellent collection of COVID-19 Job Search Resources to help you during this challenging time.

If you continue to struggle to find paid work, you are able to accept an unpaid job or internship in the meantime. You can also be self-employed during OPT. Try to seek help from a staffing agency, too.

If you have no job within the 90-day employment window, you cannot start one after that and we cannot report it to DHS on your behalf, unfortunately.

The Department of Homeland Security prevents citizens from certain “high risk” countries from entering the United States. All travel restrictions are subject to change, and the best method is to wait and see if you will be permitted to re-enter the country. You can consult the Center for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) for updates. You may also consider traveling to a third country, staying for the quarantine period (14 days as of September 14, 2020 – check the CDC website for the latest update), and then returning to the U.S. However, by the time your next semester starts, travel restrictions could be lifted.

We also strongly recommend that you monitor the website of your home country’s embassy in the U.S., as well as you home country’s national public health agency.

Yes.

Yes, all international students are required to file a tax return as a condition of their visa. The deadline to file your tax return will be April 15, 2021.

Yes. Pending health and safety conditions, you will have the opportunity to study abroad at the Suffolk University Madrid Campus or to choose from a selection of additional programs. Summer and Fall 2021 approved locations, programs, and opportunities will be available in late January 2021. Please email the Study Abroad Office if you have any questions and check the Study Abroad page for updates.

We will need to withdraw your application for the current cycle, but all application records are saved in our system. You will need to let us know when you’d like to apply again, and we can reactivate your old application and move it to the new term.

Yes, at this time we are planning to offer a variety of short-term virtual and / or in-person travel opportunities for graduate students during the Spring 2021 semester. Please be advised that the earliest we anticipate students being permitted to engage in traditional, short-term international travel will be May 2021. Even then, current health and safety conditions will dictate whether this is possible. Please monitor your email for updates and contact the Study Abroad Office with any questions.