Monday, February 9, 2009
The post office is no longer the only place to apply for a passport. The Passport Acceptance Center, which will provide a full range of services to obtain a passport, will open on Feb. 16 at the University of Kansas. The center is located in 300 Strong Hall and operated by International Programs. It is open to students, faculty, staff and the public. The center is one of 9,000 passport acceptance centers in the United States and the University is the only college in Kansas to offer this service.
Students at the University of Kansas will be able to get passports through International Programs starting on February 16. The average application takes around three weeks to process.
Alison Watkins, communications director for International Programs, said the idea for the center came about when one of the international staff program members visited Texas Tech University and learned that it had a Passport Acceptance Center on campus.
“We thought that it would be a great service for KU to offer,” Watkins said.
Video
Students will be able to apply for passports at the office of international programs beginning February 16.
After a year of working with the U.S. State Department, the center is making its final preparations in anticipation of its opening. The center will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Appointments can be made by phone or online through the International Program Web site. Watkins said she hoped this will make the process of obtaining a passport easier for students, faculty and staff.
“More than 900 students usually study abroad in the summer and a lot of those students don’t have passports,” Watkins said. “This means that they don’t have to go downtown to the post office. They don’t have to stand in line. They can simply come to Strong Hall in between classes or make an appointment and take care of it.”
details
Passport Acceptance Center opening February 16
Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. by appointment
To make an appointment:
Email oip@ku.edu
Visit International Programs, 300 Strong
Call International Programs, (785) 864-6161
Fees (must be paid by cash, check or money order):
Passport book-$75
Passport card- $20
Expediting fee- $60
Processing fee-$25
Photos- $15 for two photos
Sue Lorenz, interim director for the Office of Study Abroad, said that previously students were faced with the possibility of not even getting a passport because of the long lines that were present at the post office. She said with the addition of this service on campus, not only would the task of obtaining a passport be easier to accomplish, but it would also broaden students’ horizons of studying abroad.
“As a university, one of our goals is to encourage international knowledge and experience for our students,” Lorenz said. “When you make getting a passport a more visible and regular part of what you might do in your life it actually fits in with encouraging students overall to consider studying or traveling abroad.”
Victoria Faulkner, Junction City senior, studied abroad for two weeks in Ghana. She said that she would take advantage of the on campus convenience of the center.
“There would be no question in my mind,” Faulkner said. “It would make it a lot easier.”
Faulkner said that normally obtaining a passport requires a lot of time. She said this would make it less of a hassle.
“When I was getting my passport there was a lot of back and forth,” Faulkner said. “This makes it more accessible to me. I can go in between classes and get it taken care of. I wouldn’t wait until the last minute to get things done.”
Susan Gronbeck-Tedesco, associate vice provost for International Programs, said it was necessary to expand some of the services available to give students and faculty who study or conduct research abroad the opportunity to travel overseas.
“I’ve been really excited about this operation coming to campus,” Gronbeck-Tedesco said.
Watkins said there were no major additional costs to the University to have the Passport Center.
“In the big picture it is a small expenditure for something we think is a valuable service for the campus,” Watkins said.
— — Edited by Sam Speer
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