Getting Advising from International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS)
You may have many questions during your time at the University of Tennessee (UT). We are here to help you. Please follow the steps below to determine the best way to get help from ISSS.
Step One - Determine if you need an appointment.
We conduct drop in advising and scheduled advising at UT. It is important to know which one meets your needs.
Drop In Advising
Drop in advising is available for quick questions and to resolve easy issues. This advising is for 5 to 10 minute discussions, and it is available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Drop in advising is a great place to:
get a travel signature;
ask about getting a driver’s license;
find out how to get a Social Security Memo;
ask about dropping or withdrawing from a class;
and any other quick question or problem that can be solved in 5 to 10 minutes.
How to get Drop In Advising
If drop in advising works for your needs, all you need to do is show up! We conduct drop in advising from 12pm (noon) to 3pm, Monday and Thursday virtually. You can connect with the drop in advisor online at Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting Monday through Thursday. Remember, there may be other people ahead of you, so you may have to wait in the waiting room a few minutes before we can meet with you. Please have your student ID number and/or netID ready when you join the Zoom room.
Please reference our guide to successful drop-in advising: Being Successful in Virtual Advising
Advising Appointments
Advising appointments are for more detailed questions or working through a complicated decision or process you are facing. These are scheduled 30-minute appointments with your advisor. Advising appointments are great for:
learning about and processing Optional Practical Training (OPT) applications;
discussing Curricular Practical Training (CPT);
advising about major decisions you are facing;
discussing an important personal situation;
extending your I-20 or DS-2019;
and any other issue that might require a longer discussion.
Step Two - Book your advising appointment.
You can book an appoint with your advisor by going to https://outlook.office365.com/owa/calendar/ISSS@live.utk.edu/bookings/ . Please be sure that you are logged in with your netID when you make the appointment.
Select the correct appointment.
Appointments are available for F-1 students, J-1 students, ELI students, student athletes, students requesting a change of status, H-1B employees or departments hiring an H-1B employee, J-1 scholars/interns, or employees or departments seeking information about sponsorship for permanent residency. Please be sure to select the correct appointment for your status or question!
Many appointments are available in both in-person and virtually. Pleases select the appointment type for the type of meeting you would prefer.
Scroll down and select a date and time.
You will then see the dates and times available as well as the advisors available for the type of appointment you have selected.
Remember, certain times of the semester can be very busy. You may have to look one week out to find an appointment. You may be able to find an earlier appointment by changing the advisor under the ‘select staff’ drop-down menu. It may also be possible to find an earlier appointment by choosing a virtual appointment.
Scroll down and complete the appointment with your information.
After selecting the date and time, we need you to enter your name and email address. Please use your official Vols email for this.
We would also like you to provide your student ID number and a brief comment about the purpose of the appointment. This allows us to prepare for the appointment ahead of time.
Once this is done, click “Book” and you will receive an email confirmation of the appointment.
Before Your Appointment
Before your appointment, please be sure that you have received a confirmation email.
If you have scheduled a virtual meeting, the meeting will be held in Microsoft Teams. Please be sure that you are able to access Teams ahead of the meeting time. The link to join the meeting will be in the confirmation email as displayed below.
If you did not receive the confirmation email, please email us at international@utk.edu to receive the link.