Model Practices for Faculty Host Supervisors

Before Arrival

  1. Lay the groundwork for a successful relationship before your Exchange Visitor's visit by conducting conversations with the prospective Exchange Visitor designed to help with alignment of research timelines and academic goals. Establish expectations about what support the Exchange Visitor will receive from the hosting department. Please be specific about what expectations you have for the visit. These expectations should include the following:
    • The Exchange Visitor must complete work and research on-site at the Georgia Tech Atlanta campus to ensure institutional and Exchange Visitor compliance with the U.S. Department of State regulations.
    • The Exchange Visitor will not be eligible to modify their program objective while participating in the program.
    • The Exchange Visitor must follow all institutional policies related to handling information and research materials.
    • The Exchange Visitor must inform the faculty host supervisor of their activities and progress on outlined expectations and goals.
    • The Exchange Visitor must comply with all U.S. and state laws.
    • The Exchange Visitor must participate in routine check-ins with the faculty host supervisor.
  2. Share resources from your home department and OIE to help Exchange Visitors plan their upcoming visit. OIE's resources are available at https://isss.gatech.edu/ISSS_Jscholars.

Arrival

  1. Meet the Exchange Visitor and any accompanying dependents at the airport or help them organize another transportation method to arrive safely to their new living quarters.
  2. Once your Exchange Visitor arrives at Georgia Tech, show them around campus and the department, and introduce them to colleagues, including the HR Coordinator who helps with the BridgeUSA reporting for the department. As part of this tour, please introduce the Exchange Visitor to any customs, norms, or expectations that are shared within your department.
  3. Please remind the Exchange Visitor to complete the required OIE check-in to ensure the SEVIS record is activated within 30 days of the program start date.
  4. Schedule the recurring bi-weekly (or more frequent, if desired) check-ins with the Exchange Visitor.
  5. Support the Exchange Visitor with any training or onboarding protocols necessary to complete the Exchange Visitor's program objectives.
  6. Collect the Exchange Visitor’s emergency contacts in case of any health or safety related emergencies and maintain these throughout the Exchange Visitors experience.

During the Program

  1. Invite the Exchange Visitor to participate in department events, academic discussions, and other opportunities where they will learn more about U.S. life and academia and can share their cultural perspectives.
  2. Conduct your bi-weekly check-ins with the Exchange Visitor. Please follow the guidelines below to ensure compliance with federal regulatory oversight and monitoring of the BridgeUSA experience:
    1. Conduct bi-weekly check-in meetings in person at the Georgia Tech Atlanta campus.
    2. Maintain a log of meeting times, dates, and topics for audit purposes.
  3. If you will be on leave from more than two weeks during an Exchange Visitor’s stay, you will be required to find a temporary faculty host supervisor to support the Exchange Visitor during your absence. You can report the new faculty host supervisor to OIE by requesting that the HR coordinator in your academic department submit the J Scholar Update to DS-2019 e-form in iStart with the new faculty host supervisor’s details.
  4. Request support from your department’s HR coordinator with reporting any changes to program dates, purpose, objectives, or employment status via the iStart portal’s J Scholar Update to DS-2019 e-form.
  5. Encourage the Exchange Visitor to contact OIE with any immigration-related questions. Contact information is available at isss.oie.gatech.edu/ISSS_Jscholars.
  6. Participate in the yearly BridgeUSA program evaluation to provide feedback on the faculty host supervisor experience and help OIE understand what is going well and what can be improved.
  7. Offer a going away reception or gathering to celebrate the Exchange Visitor's experience and provide an opportunity for the exchange of farewells.

Incident Report

OIE is required within one business day to report any exchange visitor related incidents to the U.S. Department of State's Office of Private Sector Exchange Program Administration's Academic and Government Team (OPA-AG).  Should an exchange visitor be involved in an incident, units should do the following:

  1. Review OPA-AG Incident Report Rubric for information how and when a report is required.
  2. Immediately report any significant incidents, including severe medical conditions, arrests, or crimes committed against the Exchange Visitor to OIE by filing an OIE Feedback report linked here.
  3. OIE will then review and complete the required U.S. Department of State incident reporting.