ithaca college london center summer & fall 2015 work placement and visa orientation

Ithaca College London Center Summer & Fall 2015 WORK PLACEMENT AND VISA ORIENTATION

Whats in a name? If asked by an Immigration Officer at the UK border about your programme of study, always use the term work placement. In UK law, an internship is a full-time, paid opportunity to work for a firm as part of the firms normal recruitment process. The intention is that the firm will take you on if you successfully complete the internship. If asked about the amount of time you spend at your placement, always say that it is less than 50% of the time you are spending in the UK.

You need a visa if: You are a work placement student (intern). You are hoping to volunteer or undertake community service while in the UK. You are hoping to get part-time work (very difficult)/or do work- study at the London Center. If you plan on studying in the UK for more than 6 months i.e. spending another semester at the London Center. You are a visa-national (if you do not hold a US or EU passport) please contact the London Center to find out if you need a visa email [email protected])[email protected] If you have a European Union passport then you will NOT need a visa. Email us to let us know what passport you hold and to check that this does in fact mean that you do not need a visa.

Please note that the cost of the visa is about $500 (this fluctuates due to exchange rate). You will work closely with Hannah and other staff at the London Center who will guide and support you through this multi-stage process. You will be required to pass certain info on to us as well as the UK consulate in order to get your visa. You MUST be very organized and be sure to read everything about the visa process that is provided to you promptly and thoroughly. There are many details, and everything must be done precisely in order to obtain a visa. If you wait too long before applying, you will need to expedite the process, which will incur additional costs of approx. $200 plus additional worry & anxiety about having your visa in time!! More visa details

Your visa: Tier 4 (General) student visa To acquire the Tier 4 student visa you need: (1) 1,020 ($1,505 as of 3/19) per calendar month you will be in London. These funds must be held in a personal or joint bank account or parental account for each month & part month of your stay in the UK. (2) you must have this money held in the bank account a minimum of 28 days before submission of the online visa application. (3) Some students MAY be asked to submit official documents to prove that they meet the financial requirements. This can include bank statements, birth certificate/court order and a letter of support from your parent/guardian. Have these documents on hand in case you are asked to send them, but do not send them if you are not asked for them. (4) If you are a national of a non-majority English speaking country*, you may also need to take a language test, and you will need to submit your results with your application. *check with the London Center asap if unsure ([email protected])

Visa Process 1. Hold your money for 28 days (if you have money in excess of tuition through Financial Services, you may hold less or be able to skip this step. Confirm with Hannah if you have an excess) 2. Submit Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS) info online to ICLC using e-form that will be sent to you (Hannah will send you the link to the form soon, and then will send your CAS number) 3. Complete online visa application, using the detailed template that you will receive. This is where you pay for the visa, $500 [approx], and make your biometrics appointment. 4. After submitting the online application, print out a copy of it and sign it! You will need to take it with you when you go to your biometrics appointment 5. Attend biometrics appointment 6. Send complete application and passport to British consulate within two weeks of your biometrics appointment.

What is 50-50 and what does it mean for my work placement? The UK government defines work placements as work, even if unpaid. From 1 April 2009, to prevent illegal working, students will be allowed to work for no more than 50% of their time in the UK, i.e., term time. This averages to about 2.5 days per week. They must study at least 50% of their time in the UK. We will be strictly monitoring 50-50 as we have a duty to report violations. PENALTIES for breaking 50-50: Student can be deported, IC can lose its sponsor license.

What we require from you Clarity and some flexibility: we need to know what you want, and back-ups if we cannot get what you want. While we try our best to get your first choice, sometimes it is impossible. For example, the BBC is not possible. So too are the Premiership football teams. Big name marketing and advertising firms are also difficult as their HR departments often say no. The most successful placements are generally in smaller firms that actually NEED the help. Patience: Students need to be patient. Some firms dont know their requirements for Sept. 2015 until mid-summer or perhaps even later. Fall placements generally dont begin until the 2 nd or 3 rd week of term. Summer placements will begin more promptly. You need to give your placement a go. Dont expect to be the Chief Executives personal assistant from the start. Placements take time to mature. Responsibility: We need you to act professionally and responsibly in your placement. You represent, not only yourself, but Ithaca, and the US as well.

Your Coordinator We assign you a COORDINATOR, several of whom are subject specific. Your coordinator is your first point of contact. S/he will be contacting you over the summer. Your coordinator will grade your work and set the academic portion of your placement (journals, projects, presentations, etc.). They will also contact your site supervisor and monitor your progress. In many cases they will find you a placement, but if you have your own contacts and will be placing yourself, please notify the ICLC ([email protected]) ASAP and keep staff informed of your progress. You will need to explain the 50-50 rule to your placement site, and staff will help you clarify it if [email protected] All of our coordinators work differently. Some may be in contact very soon, some may not contact you until later in the semester.

Your Site Supervisor This is the person your coordinator has arranged your placement through. They may be the person you meet at your interview on site. Your supervisor may not be a person you work closely with on a day to day basis. If you have any issues at your placement, try and resolve them through your site supervisor first. If that doesnt work, your next point of contact should be your coordinator. Your final point of contact for a resolution is Hannah or Bill at the London Center.

The ICLC Staff assign students to coordinators after receipt of cover letter, CV and online interest questionnaire Organize mandatory work placement orientation session during the first week in London Meets students at the mid-term to check in, see how placements are going, answer lingering questions, address any issues which have arisen Monitor the number of days/hours worked each week by the work placement student.

Our expectations Students adhere to 50-50. We now have a duty to report any violations to the Immigration authorities e.g., exceeding number of work hours, taking a part-time job while doing a placement, etc. Students take the placements seriously: This is the professional job market, we have had sackings in the last year. Students dont get placement jealousy. My flatmate is in lovely Covent Garden; Im in grotty Camberwell. Students are prepared to travel outside zones 1 and 2.

Difficult placement areas: Stage management, company management Set design, props and scene painting Costume design Performance Advertising Banking On set film and TV production Newspaper journalism Football clubs Students interested in placements in these fields should also have backup fields of interest. Please touch base with Hannah at [email protected] if you have any questions about placements in these fields. [email protected]

Questions, Questions, Questions General email inquiries should be sent to [email protected] [email protected] Ask Hannah [email protected]@ithaca.edu Ask Thorunn [email protected]@ithaca.edu Ask Bill [email protected]@ithaca.edu Join the Facebook group if you havent alreadyits a great way to get to know other students and to get responses from both students and staff. Summer 2015 Ithaca College London Center Fall 2015 Ithaca College London Center

ithaca college london center summer & fall 2015 work placement and visa orientation

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