A charge for the 2021-2022 International Student Health Insurance (the insurance required for all F-1 international students) has been added to your St. Cloud State e-Services account for the amount of $1,927.00 for the upcoming policy year (August 10, 2021 – August 9, 2022).

The payment options for the 2021-2022 International Student Health Insurance are as follows:

• Option 1.      Submit a full payment ($1,927.00)
  • When you make the payment of $1,927.00 in full by August 4, 2021, you will be enrolled in the insurance plan for the entire policy year of August 10, 2021 – August 9, 2022.
• Option 2.      Submit a partial payment ($760.00)
  • You must submit at least a partial payment of $760.00 by August 4, 2020 to enroll in the insurance plan for the fall semester only: from August 10, 2021 – December 31, 2021.
  • With this option, you will not have health insurance coverage beyond December 31, 2021 until you make your payment in full.
  • By December 10, 2021, you should submit the remaining $1,167.00 to continue your insurance coverage from January 1, 2022 – August 9, 2022. You may begin making payments toward the $1,167.00 balance during fall semester. Failure to pay the remaining $1,167.00 may result in a hold placed on your account restricting your spring semester enrollment.

Payment Methods

• Online through e-Services: stcloudstate.edu (Mastercard, Visa, Discover, or E-Check accepted). Please select “Health Insurance”
• By Phone: Call Cashiers Office at 1-320-308-4012 between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday: Mastercard, Visa, Discover or American Express accepted.
• In Person: Administrative Services Building, Room 123 between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Coronavirus Emergency Grant

Students with financial need are encouraged to apply for the CRRSAA/ARP Emergency Grant for emergency funds that may assist with things such as tuition, food, housing, health care, etc.

Graduating Students

Students completing their degree program at the end of the fall semester may choose to make the fall-only payment of $760.00. However, should you need to purchase university international student health insurance after December 31, 2021, you will need to enroll in at least 1 credit during each semester of insurance coverage.

Minnesota Native Landscapes, Inc. is providing internship opportunities (CPT, OPT) for SCSU students majoring in Environmental Science, Biology, and other academic fields directly related to the positions below:

Products Dept. (Foley, MN)

• Greenhouse Technician, seasonal until ~the end of October – 2 FT positions (may be open to PT positions)
• Equipment Operator, year-round – 1 FT position
• Production Agronomist, year-round – 1 FT position

Construction Dept. (Otsego, MN)

• Ecological Field Technician, year-round – 2-3 FT positions
• Equipment Operator, year-round – 2-3 FT positions
• Equipment Operator (Travel), year-round – 1 FT position

Vegetation Management (Otsego, MN)

• Equipment Operator, year-round – 1 FT position

For more information, please see the job postings on Handshake.

SCSU and Minnesota State require that all new students provide the school with their most recent tetanus and MMR dates: https://www.stcloudstate.edu/medicalclinic/medical-clinic/immunization.aspx.

Although the requirement is not new, the message on the e-services homepage is. Any student who has not provided SCSU with the required immunization information will have a message on their e-services homepage that looks like this:

Students can provide their immunization dates to www.scsu.mn/immunizationrecord. Note that the current Minnesota State system requirement does not include COVID vaccination dates. This may change in the future, but for now, Minn State only requires MMR and Tetanus dates.

Student Spotlight Thursday! Let’s welcome Sachith to the CIS Front Desk team! Sachith is a Manufacturing Engineering major from Sri Lanka.

His favorite class was MME 224 and he has recently return from Tennessee for his Internship. One advice Sachith would like to give international students is to be active and talk to people to establish good networking skills!

If you are a student who is experiencing financial challenges as a result of the pandemic, please refer to the application process included below. Recent policy changes have made this funding available to all students who are currently enrolled or have been enrolled at some point in time since the beginning of the pandemic (March 13, 2020).

This information is also available in the “Ask St. Cloud State” knowledgebase and on the Scholarships and Grants page of the Student Registration and Financial Services website https://www.stcloudstate.edu/srfs/finances/scholarships-grants.aspx

Are Emergency Grants available to help with expenses related to COVID-19?

Yes, a portion of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) and American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding is available for distribution through an emergency grant program. These emergency funds can be applied directly to institutional charges on a student’s account or disbursed directly to the student based on the student’s preference. Awards will be made based on the order applications are received until the last available funds are awarded.

Eligible students who had emergency expenses including items like tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care), or child care are asked to complete a brief application.

Step 1: Make sure that you are logged into Office365 with your starid@go.minnstate.edu and StarID password.

Step 2: Complete the brief application.

Student Spotlight Thursday! This week we have Akshyata, one of our Front Desk Student Worker here at CIS!

Akshyata’s favorite memory when she first arrived here at SCSU was attending Huskies First Four Days as she got to meet the most incredible people and the environment was welcoming and exciting to her!

Her favorite study spot on-campus is the Computer labs on the second floor of the library. A quick tip she would like to share with all international students is to “Never hesitate to ask questions and get involved on campus as much as you can. That is how you grow!”

Get involved with St. Cloud’s Granite City Days! CIS is looking for individuals to represent their country at the World Heritage Day celebration Sunday, June 27, at 1pm. Please let us know if you are interested AND available to showcase your culture by walking on stage with your flag. If interested, please e-mail sjunaid@go.stcloudstate.edu with your name, student ID#, flag/country, and number of volunteers in your group. Questions? Please e-mail sjunaid@go.stcloudstate.edu

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) has notified us of a spoofing scam involving individuals using an SEVP Response Center (SRC) phone number (703-603-3400) or a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) office phone number (757-441-6533) to target nonimmigrant students. Fraudulent callers are claiming to be SEVP representatives and asking students to provide their immigration information, such as their Alien Registration Number or Form I-94, “Arrival/Departure Record,” information, or face deportation.

If you encounter or are a victim of this spoof call, you are encouraged to report the incident to the HSI tip line.

Tips and items to remember:

• NEVER divulge personal or financial information to unknown callers.
• SEVP officials will NEVER ask stakeholders to provide credit/debit card/gift card numbers, wire transfers, or bank routing numbers, or to make bitcoin deposits for any purpose.
• Report all suspicious calls to the HSI tip line, and if you are unsure about the validity of a call from SEVP officials reach out to CIS.

If you have any additional questions regarding this matter, please contact the SRC at 703-603-3400 or 800-892-4829, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, except federal holidays.