Faculty are invited to meet one-on-one with SDS staff members Tori Jakpa and Michael Canale for hands-on support to help move your Ally score from red to green. Sessions are practical, supportive, and designed to leave you feeling accomplished.

We're also happy to answer questions about:

• Accommodations

• Working with students with disabilities

• General digital accessibility concerns

Webex Details: 

• Dates: January 6–27
• Time: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (daily)

Please use this link to schedule a session.

Dear Campus Community,

I am writing to update you on recent travel restrictions that affect certain members of our campus community.

The information contained in this communication is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. If you have specific legal questions about your own immigration status, please seek assistance from a private immigration attorney.

On December 16, 2025, President Trump issued a proclamation that expands upon the June 4, 2025 list of countries subject to a "full" or "partial" suspension of entry to the United States. This proclamation expands entry restrictions to include certain immigrants and nonimmigrants from 39 countries and individuals traveling with Palestinian Authority-issued documents. The new entry restrictions go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 01, 2026.

Full Suspension of Entry
A "full" suspension constitutes a restriction on entry into the United States as immigrants and as nonimmigrants with limited exceptions for:

1. Any lawful permanent resident of the United States;

2. Any dual national of a country on the above list when the individual is traveling on a passport issued by a country not so designated;

3. Any foreign national traveling with a valid nonimmigrant visa in the following classifications:  A‑1, A-2, C-2, C-3, G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, NATO-1, NATO‑2, NATO-3, NATO-4, NATO-5, or NATO-6;

4. Any athlete or member of an athletic team, including the coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State;

5. Special Immigrant Visas for United States Government employees under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(D); and

6. Immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran.

Countries (additions in italics) subject to the "full" suspension include: 

• Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burma, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Niger, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

• A full suspension was also announced for individuals using travel documents issued or endorsed by the Palestinian Authority.

Partial Suspension of Entry

A "partial" suspension constitutes a restriction on entry into the United States as immigrants and as nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas with the same limited exceptions as are provided for the "full" suspension. Other categories of nonimmigrant visas are not currently subject to the "partial" suspension.

Countries (additions in italics) subject to a "partial" suspension include:

• Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Entry Restrictions on Nationals of Turkmenistan to be Amended
The current partial ban on nonimmigrants from Turkmenistan will be lifted. The ban will be lifted for nonimmigrants on B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M and J visas. However, the entry into the United States of nationals of Turkmenistan as immigrants remains suspended.

Applicability:
According to a White House Fact Sheet, the new proclamation only applies to foreign nationals of the designated countries who:

• Do not meet one of the limited exceptions previously mentioned;

• are outside of the United States on January 01, 2026; and 

• do not have a valid visa on January 01, 2026.

Impact:
During the fall 2025 semester, 160 UMBC students were citizens of one of the designated countries. An additional 30 students who were admitted and already confirmed their intent to enroll at UMBC for the spring 2026 semester may no longer be able to join our campus community due to the expanded travel restrictions.

Guidance:
Nationals of the designated countries should fully understand how this proclamation applies to their individual circumstances before planning travel outside of the United States.

• Individuals holding active F, H, or J immigration status should contact the Center for Global Engagement prior to planning international travel.

• Individuals in other immigration statuses should contact a private immigration attorney prior to planning international travel.

• Individuals who are considering changing their current immigration status should consult with a private immigration attorney about how the proclamation may impact their future intended status.

Support:
The Center for Global Engagement is actively reaching out to international students, employees and visiting scholars (F, H and J nonimmigrants) from the designated countries regarding the expanded travel ban. These individuals will also be invited to attend one of two closed virtual information sessions scheduled for Friday, December 19, 2025.  

The Center for Global Engagement will continue to monitor White House, U.S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services communications for any updates on this proclamation. Please feel free to contact our Office of International Students and Scholars if you have any questions, concerns, or if you simply want to talk with an advisor. We are here to support you.

Please check your email regularly and refer to our Immigration Policy Updates pagefor announcements regarding future updates to immigration and visa policies. Additionally, we recommend reaching out to a private immigration attorney if you have specific legal concerns.

Additional information and resources related to immigration and other federal policy updates are available on UMBC's Federal Orders and Actions Page.

David L. Di Maria
Vice Provost for Global Engagement

Hi grad Retrievers! As we head into winter break, here's a quick update on the Office of Graduate Student Life's availability.

Today, Wednesday 12/17, our office is closed due to Fall Commencement. Congratulations to all our fall graduates—we're cheering you on!

We'll resume limited winter hours tomorrow and throughout the remainder of the break after closing for the holidays. Please plan accordingly if you're hoping to stop by or reach out.

Wishing you a restful end to the semester and a warm, well-deserved break!

Transfer success at UMBC begins with the student experience — and the Registrar's Office is driving the improvements that make that success possible. For the Transfer Services team, every transcript, evaluation, and policy update is centered on one goal: ensuring students have the information they need to move forward. 

Smart Technology Meets Smart People

Launched in 2022, Smart Panda has transformed how transfer credit evaluations are processed.

Before its implementation, staff manually entered each course detail from incoming transcripts — a time-consuming task made even more challenging by the growth in electronic and dual-enrollment transcripts after COVID-19. Now, Smart Panda's Raptor tool assists data entry by capturing transcript data, and its Rule Builder helps create course equivalencies that populate directly into the student record system.

This shift allows staff to focus on quality checks and complex evaluations rather than repetitive data entry. "Technology can make us faster, but it doesn't replace our expertise," one team member explained. "Equivalencies change, and it takes knowledgeable people to keep everything accurate."

The project — more than five years in the making — highlights the team's persistence and creativity. "We approach these projects as a team," the Transfer Services staff shared. "Everyone brings different strengths. We brainstorm, problem-solve, and learn together to create the best possible outcomes for students."

Meeting Students Where They Are

The Transfer Services team works closely with offices across campus to ensure credits are evaluated fairly and efficiently.

• Daily coordination with Admissions keeps transcripts moving.

• Support for registration and graduation helps ensure students meet prerequisites and degree requirements.

• Ongoing collaboration with Study Abroad and academic departments builds new equivalencies that recognize the full range of student learning experiences.

The Maryland Transfer With Success Act has also expanded flexibility, allowing credit to be awarded for a broader range of coursework and for new forms of prior learning. Combined with Smart Panda's efficiencies, these efforts support the new 20-day turnaround goal — giving students faster decisions and clearer pathways forward.