FREE 200 page notebook

Long Beach City College is offering a FREE 200 page notebook to every LBCC student! Pick yours up at the International Student Office today!

If you haven't already recieved your 2008-2009 planner/calendar, you can also get that at the ISO while supplies last.

CSULB Spring 2009

With CSULB not accepting applications for Spring 2009 (except Nursing and Engineering), some of you have asked if students can attend another institution (such as CSUDH) in Spring 2009 and then apply for CSULB for the following Fall 2009 semester.  The answer to this question is “yes”.  However, the student will no longer be eligible for the “Long Beach Promise”. 

What is the Long Beach Promise?  Students for whom LBCC is their last institution attended, have earned the majority of their units at LBCC, and have met minimum admissions requirements for a NON-IMPACTED major are GUARANTEED acceptance to CSULB under the Promise.   Therefore, yes, students may attend another university in the spring but will no longer be eligible for the guarantee. Please remember that the CSULB Promise only holds for non-impacted majors and that timing factors for completion of admissions requirements (e.g. students cannot complete the Golden 4 the semester prior to transfer) still holds. 

Free Calendar

I hope you're enjoying your summer. There is just one month left before classes start for the Fall 2008 semester. If you haven't registered for classes yet, now is a great time to do that, before all the seats fill up!

This is also a great time to pick up your FREE calendar from the ISO! Our annual supply of calendars has arrived, so if you haven't received yours yet, stop by and present your Long Beach City College ID card to receive your calendar.

URGENT CSULB ANNOUNCEMENT:

CSULB CLOSED FOR SPRING 2009 APPLICATIONS!!!

CSU Long Beach announced on July 1 st that they will NOT accept any transfer applications for the Spring 2009 semester.  Typically they accept applications for Spring from August 1 st to August 31 st .  During these difficult budgetary times universities are very likely to make seemingly drastic and untimely decisions to their admissions policies in order to control enrollment.  We expect these types of decisions to continue. Please be diligent and proactive in checking on admissions policies even after your counseling appointments. Updates will be posted on the LBCC Transfer website (transfer.lbcc.edu).  Please check university admissions homepages as well as the links below for application updates/changes.

http://www.csumentor.edu/filing_status/  (which CSU's are accepting applications for specified terms)

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/ (which UC's are accepting applications for specified terms)

Service Holds

This week, ISO placed service holds on most international student records. If your record has a hold, you will not be able to register for classes for summer or fall. Other PeopleSoft functionalities may also be affected.

To have the hold removed from your record, please purchase the fall semester health insurance policy. Fall semester health insurance must be purchased before you can register for fall semester classes.

You can purchase fall semester health insurance at the ISO, or on-line at www.renstudent.com/lbcc. The insurance fee is still just $390 for six months. If you purchase insurance on-line, be sure to forward the receipt to me.

If you have already purchased health insurance and provided the ISO with your receipt, or purchased insurance at the ISO, a hold was not placed on your record.

If you are not able to purchase health insurance right now, but need a service such as a transcript, please come to the ISO where we will give you a waiver so that you can get your transcript, make a payment, etc. without having the service hold removed.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact us at the ISO. We are here to help you.

Health Insurance

Health Insurance for the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 terms is now available for you to purchase. The fee remains $390 for six months: the same rate as last year. You must purchase health insurance for the fall semester (Aug 1, 2008 to Feb 1, 2009) before you can register for the fall semester. Fall semester enrollment begins in June, so please make plans to purchase your health insurance before that time so that your registration and other PeopleSoft related activity is not blocked.

You may purchase health insurance on-line by visiting www.renstudent.com/lbcc. Be sure to choose the 2008-09 policy. You must also choose to receive a receipt via e-mail. You must forward your receipt to Denise Kinsella at dkinsella@lbcc.edu, or print it out and bring it to the ISO so that we can record it.

If you prefer, you may purchase your insurance by coming to the ISO and filling out the blue form that you will find at the front desk.

If you have had a payment problem in the past (such as a credit card that did not go through or a check that did not clear), you must purchase your health insurance in the ISO and pay with a Money Order. If you do not follow this procedure, your registration could be delayed because we will have to wait for your payment to clear before we can release the hold on your record.

If you have questions or need assistance with the 2008-09 health insurance payment, please contact Denise Kinsella. She will be happy to help you. .

Tuition Increase

There will be tuition increase for 2008-09. As you know, tuition increases a little every year. The tuition rate set for Fall 2008, Spring 2009 and Summer 2009 is $215 per unit. This increase does NOT affect Summer 2008.

Please contact your financial sponsor right away to advise them of this increase so that they can make arrangements to provide enough money for your Fall semester registration. Although we have not been advised of the exact registration dates yet, Fall semester registration usually begins in early June.

I am very happy to tell you that there will be no increase in health insurance fees for 2008-09. Health insurance will remain at $390 for six months. Remember that you must purchase health insurance for the Fall semester before you can register.

New Staff Member in the International Student Office

You may remember that our advisor, Dolores Franco retired in December. We have been lucky to have Mireille Halley helping us in the office until we could find a permanent replacement for Dolores.

I am happy to announce that Ms. Nelly Delgado started as a full-time Admission Technician (Advisor) in the International Student Office today. If your last name begins with the letters A - S, Nelly is the person who will be helping you with all of your needs, with support from me, of course.

Nelly will be working Monday - Thursday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., and Friday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., so our International Student Lounge will now remain open until 6 p.m., Monday - Thursday.

You can reach Nelly at ndelgado@lbcc.edu, or at (562) 938-4516. I hope you'll stop by the office to introduce yourself when you're in the area. I hope you will find Nelly to be very helpful to you, and I know she'll enjoy meeting you.

If you have questions or concerns about this change, please contact Denise Kinsella.

Optional Practical Training

If you are interested in applying for OPT, please make an appointment to see Judy in March. When you go to Counseling to make your appointment, be sure to tell them that you are there to see Judy Oh. Sometimes, if you forget to mention this, you may be told that there are no appointments available, but Judy almost always has time to see you if the Counseling staff knows that you are an international student.

Last Semeter at LBCC?

If this is your last semester at LBCC and you are enrolled in less than 12 units, you MUST get permission from Judy Oh to maintain your legal status as F-1 visa student. Please make an appointment with the counselor to get a permission form.

Counseling Appointments

If you need to schedule an appointment to see a counselor, please go to the Counseling Center located in Building A or call 562-938-4560 or 562-938-4561 to schedule an appointment with Judy Oh. If the staff tells you that the appointments are closed for the week, please make sure to tell them that it is for the "International Student Counselor".