Annual Report

To enhance the experiences of international students by providing the highest levels of knowledge and expertise in immigration advising, advocacy, and programming to the UB campus community. In addition, we are dedicated to building and maintaining partnerships across the campus to encourage international student well-being, and academic and professional success.

CPT is a type of work authorization that allows F-1 students to complete off-campus training experiences in the student‘s field of study. Students on CPT must be enrolled in an appropriate course and must maintain a full course of study.

OPT is an F-1 student benefit granted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that allows students to work off-campus in a job related to their major to supplement their academic experience with practical experience.

The intention of the J-1 student intern program is for the student intern to enhance skills, expand knowledge and promote international exchange through completion of an internship. The internship must fulfill a home country degree requirement, be a minimum of 32 hours/week of work and student interns must maintain enrollment at their home institution.

Among respondents to our Navigate Advising Feedback survey,

• 93% agreed or strongly agreed that the ISS advisor treated them with respect,
• 94% agreed or strongly agreed that the ISS advisor took the time to listen to their situation/question, and
• 91% agreed or strongly agreed that the ISS advisor provided resources to help them understand their next steps.

Even after graduation, our OPT students still regularly need our services.

In Spring 2024, we launched this form to be used by faculty and staff, who would like to request trainings or presentations from ISS including, but not limited to:

• F-1 & J-1 policy or procedure updates
• ISS overview
• international student support
• intercultural communication activity

We have received 5 requests so far and most of them are for ISS Overview presentations.

The Office of International Education and the broader UB community want to ensure that international students, regardless of where they’re from, have the financial support they need during times of crisis and emergency. This fund provides emergency assistance to international students in financial distress.

The approved funding for each recipient ranged from $500-$2,500.

According to our New International Student survey

• 94% of respondents found the pre-arrival emails from ISS informative or very informative.

Offered in collaboration with different campus partners, goals for Pre-Arrival Live Events include maintaining status, navigating UB, and transition support for new students.

• The “Off-Campus Housing” session was the most attended for Fall 2023 with 85 attendees.
• “HUB Student Center - Class Registration, Bill Payment & International Payment” session was the most attended for Spring 2024 with 111 attendees.
  
• 89% of respondents indicated that these were helpful or very helpful in preparing them to attend UB.
  

Through a collaborative process, new and transfer undergraduate F-1 students participate in UB’s “New to UB” program facilitated by UB’s Orientation, Transition and Parent Programs.

Among respondents to our New International Student survey,

• 64% agreed that attending the “Connecting with Your International Student Peers” program helped them feel more comfortable with interacting with people from different cultural backgrounds.
  
• 59% agreed that the Vendor Fair connected them with services and resources they needed to get settled into life at UB/Buffalo.
  
• 84% of respondents agreed that the ISW program and events were effective, very effective, or extremely effective at making them feel welcomed at UB.
• 73% agreed that they created new connections with other international students at the Welcome Party.
  
• 84% reported feeling valued, very valued or extremely valued as a member of the UB community after attending the ISW Ceremony.
  

The Spring 2024 ISW had almost 300 students in attendance across a few different events.

We're growing! ISS social accounts saw increases this year compared to last year in significant metrics including:

The International Student Advisory Council brings together a diverse representation of international students at the University at Buffalo to communicate the needs and challenges of international students. Board members are volunteer student leaders who provide a direct line of communication between international students, International Student Services, and campus partners in support of the international student experience at the University at Buffalo.

IEW presents the richness of cultures and promotes the benefits of international education for our campus and greater community of Western New York.

790 total attendees were present at 18 in-person and online events in collaboration with campus partners.

UB's faculty, staff and alumni demonstrate their generous spirit by hosting Thanksgiving dinner for a number of our international students; making it possible for international students to experience the many ways that American’s celebrate Thanksgiving.

• 16 hosts
• 33 student participants

We offer multiple virtual sessions promoting education on immigration benefits and maintaining status.

While pre-registration rates for Information Sessions continue to be high, attendance remains low for pre-registered participants (22.8% of pre-registered participants attended across both Fall and Spring semester).

In August 2023, we transitioned our OPT Information Session to a pre-recorded OPT Workshop video series to ensure every student applying for OPT has the required information to apply and maintain status successfully.

• 83% of the respondents agreed that
  • the information in the OPT video series was very easy to understand,
  • the video was very helpful in planning for OPT, and
  • the steps for applying for OPT were very easy to understand after watching the video.
• 75% agreed that the videos were very helpful in understanding how to maintain their visa status while on OPT.
• 100% shared that they plan to re-watch the videos if they have any questions about OPT.

Our trips help to facilitate cultural learning and social connections each semester. Last year we hosted 5 trips with a total of 464 attendees. Our average trip rating was 4.4 out of 5.

• Similar to last year, our “Letchworth State Park” trip was the highest attended trip with 226 students.
  

In Spring 2024, we sent out a survey to all enrolled students, requesting feedback on the different services ISS provides. We received over 1,000 responses (27.34% response rate) that informed us that:

• 82.5% felt they were a valued member of the UB community as an international student,
• 85.2% felt welcomed at UB,
• 82.5% felt included at UB,
• 71.4% agreed that UB offers activities that matched their interests,
• 74.9% stated that they engage in activities that are offered at UB,
• 83.6% shared that connecting with other international students is important to them, and
• 87.2% shared that connecting with U.S. or domestic students is important to them.

The survey responses also showed that:

• Graduate students reported feeling valued, included, and welcomed (84%) more than undergraduate students (77%).
• Students from India were more likely (80%) to report finding activities that interest them at UB compared to students from all other countries (66%).
• Students from India were more likely (81%) to engage in activities offered at UB compared to students from all other countries (63%).
• Students from India rated making connections with U.S. or domestic students as important (90.3%) much more than students from China (77.8%) and students from all other countries (83.5%).

Please email iss@buffalo.edu with any questions.