Office of International Education absorbed by Rider’s Student Navigation Office
By Cal Sutton
At the end of June, the decision was made to move the Office of International Education under the umbrella of the Student Navigation Office, following the departure of the Office of International Education’s director, Kim Algeo, among other universitywide and structural changes.
The OIE and S.N.O. joined forces and are now working as one, with an office still located in the Bart Luedeke Center.
Joana Pirela de De Gregorio, S.N.O.’s assistant director, said that Algeo was a great leader and was loved by the students she encountered, following her transition to Saint Peter’s University over the summer.
Following the changes within the OIE, Rider’s S.N.O. has taken on a more expansive approach to supporting students. Originally assisting first-year students — freshmen and transfers — S.N.O. now supports first-year students, international students and those who want to study abroad for semesterized programs.
“All support for international students will be now under S.N.O.,” De Gregorio said. “Anything relating to their visa status, F-1 or J-1, will be supported through us, the DSOs and PDSOs.”
F-1 and J-1 visas are how international students stay in the United States to complete their university-level studies.
Designated school officials, or DSOs, and principal designated school officials, or PDSOs, are university officials who assist international students in their ability to study at universities in different countries.
PDSOs complete and submit documentation for the international students that the U.S. government and Department of Homeland Security can access.
The restructuring of S.N.O. to expand its approach and include the university’s study abroad opportunities was done to streamline access to international experiences for Rider students.
S.N.O.’s major duty is to help new students learn about and navigate Rider.
Now that S.N.O. leads international education and study abroad opportunities, they will also cater to any student who plans to study abroad or wants to learn more about it.
Camilla Sabogal, a junior elementary education major, studied abroad in Spain as a short-term education-based program this summer.
Sabogal credits the OIE’s staff for her ability to study abroad and get the assistance she needed to be successful. She is grateful that the staff is making the move to S.N.O.
“All the main staff that were in OIE are now in S.N.O., so there’s no change in that way,” Sabogal said. “All the same people who were so helpful to me and so helpful to other people are still in the office.”
While she acknowledges that this shift can be confusing–especially amid many other structural changes–she is excited to see what is in store for S.N.O.
“I think a lot of the changes Rider has done have been for what they perceive as for the better, and I hope it is for the better,” Sabogal said.
One large change regarding studying abroad is occurring this academic year. The avenues of communication for short-term study abroad programs are shifting, since they are now entirely organized by the leading professors.
Semesterized study abroad programs will still be handled by S.N.O.
“Part of the changes transitioning through OIE, [are] faculty-led programs. [They] are going to be managed directly through the faculty, and then semesters will be through [S.N.O.],” De Gregorio said.
S.N.O. is also transitioning from utilizing a separate website for studying abroad and university-led international travel to streamlining the information and keeping it all on Rider’s main website.
Updates to the websites for study abroad opportunities are planned to take place in October.
De Gregorio said that S.N.O.’s goal for this year, following the new structure, is to “make students feel comfortable, supported and that their inquiries — not only academic — but social and emotional, are also attended, so they can find a home away from home.”
