Scholars - Occasional Lectures/Consultations

This page explains what activities are allowed to professors and research scholars outside of the primary assignment or area of study.

What's permitted

Professors and research scholars may participate in occasional activity outside of the primary assignment or area of study with prior approval from the International Student & Scholar Center (ISSC).  Wages or other remuneration for such activities may also be accepted.

Such an activity may take the form of single-occurrence lectures and short-term consultations, if authorized in advance by the UMass Dartmouth International Student & Scholar Center (ISSC).  These lectures and consultations must be separate from your primary program activities.  For example, a scholar doing research with our Biology Department may be invited by a local marine museum to give a lecture on a certain topic.  This activity would likely be approved, if the procedures below are correctly followed:

Occasional lectures or short-term consultations must:

• Be directly related to the objectives of the exchange visitor's program;
• Be separate from the exchange visitor's primary program activities;
• Not delay the completion date of the visitor's program; and
• Be documented in SEVIS; a new DS-2019 will be printed

Procedure for approval

Occasional lectures or consultations must be approved in advance and in writing by the Responsible Officer (RO) or Alternate Responsible Officer (ARO) at the ISSC.  These steps must be followed:

• Submit a letter from the organization making the offer describing the purpose of the lecture or consultation, including the duration, number of hours, field or subject, amount of compensation, and location of the activity.
• Complete the ISSC form (PDF) for prior authorization for this activity. The RO or ARO must review the offer letter and, if the activity satisfies the criteria stated above, approve the activity on the completed Prior Authorization form. The activity will be noted in SEVIS, a new DS 2019 will be printed, and a letter will be issued for the scholar to submit to the organization providing the honoraria.