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;

get a Social Security Memo signed;

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.

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 - Determine who your advisor is.

We have everyone assigned to a specific advisor. Drop in advising is handled by all advisor, but if you need an advising appointment, you MUST schedule it with your advisor.

J-1 Student Visa

If you are on a J-1 student visa, your advisor is Dave Lawson at dplawson@utk.edu.

International Athlete

If you are an international athlete your advisor is Brian Todd at btodd@utk.edu.

English Language Institute (ELI)

If you are an ELI student, your advisor is Anna Kholod at akholod@utk.edu.

F-1 Student Visa

We divide F-1 students by name. Look at your passport and see what the first letter of your surname is. This will tell you who your advisor is.

Surname A through B William Vittetoe at wvitteto@utk.edu.

Surname C through H Brian Todd at btodd@utk.edu.

Surname I through N Yevie Teyfukova at yevie@utk.edu.

Surname O through U Anna Kholod at akholod@utk.edu.

Surname V through Z Brian Todd at btodd@utk.edu.

Step Three - 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/ .

Select the correct appointment.

Scroll down and select a date and time.

If you have chosen the correct appointment type, you will be automatically paired with the correct advisor. You will then see the dates and times available. Remember, certain times of the semester can be very busy. You may have to look one week out to find an 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 also need to know if you want to meet in-person our virtually. Bookings will automatically create a virtual appointment through Teams, but you can select to meet in-person at 1620 Melrose Hall.

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.