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Reasons To
Be Informed
Each college and university develops and
administers study abroad programs differently. Some
programs are administered by the students’ home campus
or another U.S. college or university, while others are
supported by international universities, private study
abroad companies, and other programs where students may be
students with a faculty or staff member with no formal
center abroad. A
number of large universities and study abroad programs
have full-time staff focused specifically on international
travel health and safety issues for faculty, staff and
students.
We are raising the following issues to provide some
background about reasons for you to take the same amount
of time you did in choosing a university where you are
getting a degree to review the information about the study
abroad or other international travel program which will
support them while they are abroad:
- In
2007-2008, 262,400 students studied abroad (Open
Doors, 2009) and many others did internships,
service learning projects, and international travel.
As study abroad is increasing every year, it is
important for campuses to set effective and
comprehensive policies and procedures for their
international programs.
- In
1998, the study abroad field developed a set of Good
Practices for Health and Safety and Study Abroad, they
provide suggestions for program sponsors, students,
and parents (NAFSA).
They provide a good foundation for thinking
about the various support services that should be in
place and the importance of the student’s
responsibility in supporting their health and safety.
- Health
and safety challenges are found in all countries
(including the U.S.). The U.S.
Department of State provides Country Specific
Information with general as well as specific
information about crime and transportation for every
country in the world. When the U.S. State Department special
concerns, they will issues Travel
Alerts to disseminate information with short-term
impact on health and safety and Travel Warnings “to
describe long-term, protracted conditions that make a
country dangerous or unstable. A Travel Warning is
also issued when the U.S. Government's ability to
assist American citizens is constrained due to the
closure of an embassy or consulate or because of a
drawdown of its staff.” See
the U.S.
State Department’s Current Travel Warning list.
- ASIRT
has taken action to improve the travel safety
standards by education, advocacy, and the
creation and support of sustainable road safety
programs and partnerships worldwide, including U.S.
embassies business in their focus countries. ASIRT
proclaims that “The need to educate and inform the
education abroad community about the risks associated
with road travel is paramount.”
- The
Center for Global Education at Loyola Marymount
University has developed Student
Study Abroad Handbooks, which includes a checklist
of issues to consider when choosing a study abroad
program, including those which relate to health and
safety.
- The
Forum on Education
Abroad is recognized by the U.S. Department
of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission as the
Standards Development Organization for education
abroad. The Forum’s Standards of Good Practice goal
“is to improve practices in education abroad, so
that our students’ international educational
experiences are as rich and meaningful as possible. The
Forum’s Quality Improvement Program for Education
Abroad uses the Standards as part of a quality
assurance program that is available to all Forum
institutional members.”
- NAFSA:
Association of International Educators, is one of the largest organizations that support the college and
university study abroad field. NAFSA declares
that “Study abroad is very safe. No experience,
whether in our own communities or in the world beyond,
is completely free of risk.”
NAFSA is working to implement appropriate
policies aimed at improving student safety. They
recognize that “establishing requirements to report
crime statistics cannot, in and of itself, make
programs safer or prevent random acts of violence.”
However NAFSA and the field of study abroad are
“dedicated to comprehensive efforts to improve
student safety and security.”
- Study
abroad, internship, service learning, and other
international programs are operated differently at
every college and university. This includes
differences in staff support in the U.S. and abroad
and health and safety support, including insurance
options and what is covered. Some study abroad
programs include student health insurance and 24 hour
emergency assistance coverage during overseas travel.
It is important to look closely at the coverage when
made available. We suggest that all students purchase
study abroad insurance from private insurers such as HTH
Worldwide, special emergency assistance support
from companies like International
SOS, and international safety information from
companies like iJet.
Some
International Student ID Cards, like the ISIC
Card can provide emergency assistance and
insurance coverage for a low cost.
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