In the last 20 years, the number of U.S. students studying abroad has more than tripled. They are studying in areas well beyond the traditional study abroad destination of Western Europe”in places with infrastructure, cultures or safety issues with which the students and university personnel may be less familiar. In addition, as the study abroad population increases, so do the numbers who have pre-existing health issues or disabilities. Anticipating the risks associated with these issues can help improve student and institutional safety and help guide decision-making in the event of a crisis.
Things to keep in mind
While many large institutions are adding staff to deal with such risks, including such professionals as health and safety analysts or international risk managers, the staff at most smaller institutions are learning to increase their range. In either case, collaboration among enrollment professionals is essential, says Opal Leeman Bartzis, Director of Custom and Collaborative Programs at the Institute for Study Abroad at Butler University and Chair of the AACRAO Committee on Study Abroad.
Considerations include:
- Consistent, clear and regularly-communicated policies and procedures for the institution, staff and faculty.
- Before the study abroad experience, ensuring ways to meet the needs of students with health conditions
- Before the study abroad experience, ensuring that mental health services are covered by insurance.
- Establishing strategies for administrative cooperation in a crisis event, such as if a student is arrested for drug possession or must be airlifted out of a country after an injury; or if a group must be evacuated from a country in political crisis.
Specific tips for emergencies
An emergency situation can affect the student's academic record, so the registrar must work together with other personnel,┬" says Steve Seaworth, Vice President for University Relations, Institute for Study Abroad, Butler University and Chair of the AACRAO International Recruitment and Marketing Committee. It helps if those responsibilities and relationships are clear prior to the study abroad experience, rather than cobbled together in the event of an emergency.
Leeman Bartzis says, in a national disaster, or if a program is suspended, protocols must be in place to salvage the students' academic records.┬" There must be a procedure in place that takes into account where the program is, especially if it is faculty-led and homegrown. The institution must carefully select the location and be sure the faculty member is trained properly. On the flip side,┬" adds Seaworth, if your institution is using program providers, you should make sure THEY have the policies and insurance in place to protect the students.┬"
Previously. many institutions' students were studying abroad under the direction of a single provider or a handful of their own faculty, Leeman Bartzis explains. But with the broadening of study abroad providers, programs and regions there are more unexpected occurrences”such as the riots in the Middle East, floods in Australia, and student protests disrupting classes in Chile and Argentina”that home institutions must be able to navigate.
While IFSA-Butler has designated staff for issues of health and safety, 9/11 sparked a change for many institutions that did not previously have one. The ever changing geo-political landscape coupled with expanding study abroad destinations makes a well thought out safety and security plan a necessity, says Seaworth.
Leeman Bartzis notes that the Committee on Study Abroad works with NAFSA: Association of International Educators and the Forum on Education Abroad in the effort to establish and maintain the best safety practices. The Committee tries to have a session at each AACRAO annual meeting specifically relating to study abroad health and safety and invites members to consider possibilities and to propose sessions. The Study Abroad Committee often collaborates with other AACRAO committees to propose and present sessions. While no sessions about risk in study abroad are scheduled for the 2014 Annual Meeting, some of the sessions the Committee is involved with this year take up the topics of FERPA and Study Abroad, Study Abroad 201 for Registrars, and Study Abroad Assessment. Calls for proposals for the 2015 annual meeting in Baltimore will be distributed in April 2014.