Pre-Departure Orientation: the three-step
process
In order to fully prepare you for your upcoming journey and
allow you to make the most of your time abroad, we've developed a
three-part orientation process that will guide you through
everything that you need to do and know before you go. Through this
process, you'll get detailed information on what you can expect
from your program and what we expect of you. It may seem like a
lot, but we've found this process to be the best way of making
pre-departure orientation as painless as possible - and remember,
you'll be required to complete all three components of the
orientation process before beginning your program.
Pre-Departure
Requirements
1. Complete the
Blackboard Course - Available Starting March 22
We’ve condensed everything you need to know in
one place! (You’re welcome.) The Global Studies Orientation
Blackboard course will be available starting on Friday,
March 22 for you to complete at your leisure. To access
the Global Studies Orientation Course, just login to your
Blackboard account:
- Step 1: Go to https://bbprod.stjohns.edu
- Step 2: Login (your user name and password will be the same as
St. John’s Central)
- Step 3: Click on the “Global Studies Orientation” course
link
- Step 4: Get started!
It’ll take about an hour to complete the
course, but you don’t have to finish it in one go. That said, you
must complete each learning module with a perfect score,
but don’t worry: you can take each quiz as many times as you need
in order to master the material and get everything right.
The deadline to complete the Blackboard course is
August 1. You will not be able to participate on the
Global Studies program until you have completed the Blackboard
course.
2. Complete
required forms and online surveys
This is a two-step process. We have a bunch of
information we'll need to collect from you before you go, and a
couple ways of collecting it. First, you'll need to complete two
online surveys, which will allow us to collect information on your
roommate preferences and your flight itinerary. The surveys will be
available here by March 22. Second, you'll have to complete and
hand in the Required Forms packet, available
here. This is pretty self-explanatory, and includes the Student
Agreement, Authorization for Medical Treatment and Health
Disclosure forms. The deadline for forms and surveys is
Saturday, May 4.
**Important Note: Since this inlcudes your
flight itinerary, you’ll need to have your passport in hand and
your flight booked by May 4. Before you book,
however, be sure to check out the subsidized STJ flight deal
through STA Travel. We’ll send more details by the end of March.
If, for whatever reason, we have all the other forms by May 4 but
not your flight information, we won’t revoke your admission,
however: it’s even worse. We just won’t be able to consider your
arrival time when we arrange airport pickup, and though we can’t
guarantee everyone a pick-up, we attempt to accommodate as many
students as possible in this courtesy service.
3. Attend a Global Studies
Advising Session
Remember that part about wanting you to be
really prepared? Well, we've developed a special in-person advising
session to make sure that happens! You'll meet with a Global
Studies staff member, along with a small group of fellow travelers,
to discuss the process of applying for your visa, meeting OGS
pre-departure requirements and everything else that needs to happen
before you go. You'll also be able to ask any questions you might
have about any part of the process. The full schedule of Advision
Sessions is below; RSVP early to ensure that you get the session
that best fits your schedule.
Queens Campus Advising
Sessions will be held daily from April 3 through May
17 as follows:
Mondays: 10am-11am and 2pm-3pm
Tuesdays: 1pm-2pm
Wednesdays: 3pm-4pm
Thursdays: 10am-11am and 2pm-3pm
Fridays: 11am-12pm
AND Saturday, May 4: 12-1pm
*Please note: A
special Advising Session has been created for all students unable
to attend a weekday session. This session will be on
Saturday, May 4th from 12-1pm in the
D‘Angelo Center, room 416.
Staten Island Campus Advising
Sessions will be held on the following days:
Wednesday,
April 17, 10am, Rosati Hall Conference Room
Monday, April 22, 2pm, Rosati Hall Conference
Room
** Attend the Global Studies Send-off
Soiree (optional)
This is your chance to meet other travelers in
your program and/or module, learn a little more about the language
and culture of the places you'll be going and maybe even win a
prize. Oh yeah, and there will be food. You can even invite your
parents! (Don't worry, you won't have to hang out with them the
whole time -- we'll have a separate orientation session just for
them.)
OGS Send-off
Soiree
Saturday, May 4
1:00 - 4:00pm
DAC 416
For Parents
We have a number of info sessions and Pre-Departure Orientations
designed specifically for parents scheduled throughout the spring
semester. See our
Parent Orientations and Info Sessions page for full
details.