If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em :
Helping student organizations with international travel
Natasha Adams Soulé, Penn State UniversityLotte Buiting, Drexel UniversityBeth Osterlund, Northwestern University
Northwestern University Basics
Midsized private research institution
Approximately 8,000 undergraduates and 8,000 graduate students
Three campuses NU-Evanston, NU- Chicago, NU-Qatar
Undergraduates traveling abroad on NU-affiliated travel must complete health & safety pre-departure requirements and request permission to travel to areas of heightened risk (US D.O.S Travel Advisory Level 3 and 4 countries)
Graduate students must purchase health insurance and complete waiver for higher risk countries (overall advisory Level 3 and Level 4)
Faculty and Staff members are covered under blanket medical insurance policy; no waiver or registration required
Global Safety and SecurityMission
Supporting the health, safety and security of students, faculty and staff who travel abroad
Reports to the Provost’s Office
Daily operations/regular activities
Monitoring world events/assess & mitigate security risks
Providing pre-departure training and preparation
Responding to student incidents/needs here and abroad
Characteristics of Registered Student Organization (RSO) International Travel
Short term international travel over winter break, spring break or summer
Travelers do not earn NU credit
Group of students with one or two student Trip Leaders
Generally travel without at faculty or staff leader
Work in advance with RSO Advisor in Student Engagement, Office of Global Safety and a vendor in destination country.
Who traveled in past 5 years?AIESEC
Alternative Spring Breaks
The Dolphin Show
Engineers without Borders
Fiedler Hillel
Formula Racing*
Global Brigades
Global Medical Brigades
GlobeMed
International Student Association
Medlife
Northwestern Crew
Northwestern University Community for Human
Rights
Project Rishi
Purple Haze
Reformed University Fellowship
Rotaract Club
Sheil Catholic Center
Thunk a capella
Treblemakers
University Campus Ministry
Wildcat Connection
RSO Advisor’s RoleInternational Travel
Meet with trip leader(s) to discuss international travel plans
Discuss implication of going to a areas of heightened risk, if applicable
Reach out to travelers if deadlines for completing health and safety requirements are missed, as requested by OGSS.
Check-in and de-brief as needed
Tracey Gibson-Jackson, Associate Director of Student Organizations & ActivitiesCampus Life
(Student) Trip Leaders
Schedule a meeting with your RSO Advisor to discuss trip plans at least a quarter in advance of your proposed departure
Complete a Risk Management Plan and submit to OGSS
Communicate individual health & safety pre-departure requirements to team members and follow up as necessary
If trip leader is a faculty or staff member, attend Trip Leader Training
Risk Management Plan
I. Resources - Provide students with links to information about destination (such as U.S. DOS, CDC, OSAC, University Security Assistance Provider, sample RM plan)
II. Trip Information - Students provide information on trip such as activities to be undertaken, Student Trip Leader information, accommodations for Clery Reporting, etc.
III. Vendor Information - Students provide detailed information about their vendor or local provider
IV. Risks and Responses - Section is divided into by categories including Health, Crime, Political Unrest, Environmental Conditions, Transportation, Road Conditions, Water Safety, Working Conditions, Cultural Differences, Special Needs travelers, Terrorism or War
I. Description of risks
II. How will the students mitigate risks
III. Response plan if impacted by risks
Registered Student Organizations Webpage:
https://www.northwestern.edu/global-safety-security/travel-policies/undergraduates/registered-student-organizations.html
Upasana PathakNorthwestern StudentTrip Leader, Project Rishi to India
Trip Participants
OGSS enrolls students in Canvas course “Before you Travel: Health & Safety Requirements” to complete health and safety requirements at least two weeks before departure.
Next Steps
Consider mandatory training for RSO advisors
Enhance RM plan to incorporate working group recommendations on ethical practice for community-engagement
Incorporate ideas from session
Penn State Context – Natasha Soulé
Large public university – over 100,000 students across the state
Travel registry is mandatory for students, faculty and staff; policy ties completion to reimbursement/funding
Restricted countries for students (different set for faculty) require an approved petition
Travel policy requires faculty/staff to accompany student orgs abroad
A number of student organizations travel internationally regularly and are required to register with us (usually Spring Break and summer) Global Brigades (Honduras, Ghana, Nicaragua)
Engineers Without Borders (Honduras)
Bridges to Prosperity (Bolivia)
Ski club (Canada)
Global Safety Office
3 full-time and 1 part-time professionals
Part of Global Programs – report up to Vice Provost for Global Programs
Support all students, faculty, and staff traveling internationally
Vision: Supporting Penn State’s global presence by preparing and assisting students, faculty, and staff engaging internationally
We review over 8,000 university-affiliated international trips a year by students, faculty, and staff to over 140 countries; 5,000 of those trips are non-credit (the majority of that is individual faculty travel)
Tasked with enforcing international travel policy – must manually review each travel record for compliance
Student organization travel abroad
2017 & 2018: 90 non-credit student group trips abroad
University-sponsored student group travel includes: athletics teams, choir, Alternative Spring Break, some faculty-led non-credit experiences
Where did they go?
This slide has a map of the world with faculty traveler numbeBahamas
DRMexicoBelizeHondurasNicaraguaCosta RicaPanama
AustraliaNew Zealand
PeruBolivia
South KoreaChina
Canada
ColombiaEcuador
Finland
Germany
GhanaTogo
Iceland
India
IrelandUKNetherlandsPortugalSwitzerlandAustriaSpainItalyMorocco
South Africa
KenyaUgandaRwanda
Malaysia
Brazil
Argentina
Japan
How do you capture in your travel
registry? What information do you want?
Name of org
Group leader and roster of all participants
Contact information for leader, co-leader
Description of program and itinerary
Flight, lodging, and local transportation info
Waivers (including liability)
Verification participants attended required training
Travel petition, if applicable
Work flow
Final approval in your system?
Steps completed by group leader and steps completed by individual participants
Insurance enrollment/coverage?
Explain steps and timeline
Example of a student org trip in registry
High risk travel
Which countries require a petition?
Are there other types of activities that could trigger review?
Who submits the petition?
Review timeline?
Criteria for review?
Additional safety measures you could put in place?
What happens if group’s petition is NOT approved?
Our process
1. If a student group wishes to travel to a restricted country, the group leader will complete one petition for the entire group inthe travel registry.
All communications regarding the petition will go to the trip leader
Review Process can take 2-6 weeks
2. In the petition, the Group Leader & Co-Leader should demonstrate
Understanding of Risks
Provide measures to mitigate these risks
3. Petition is reviewed by the International Restricted Travel Committee
4. Group should not purchase tickets/lodging until notified travel petition is approved. Once approved, group leader is notified and group continues with the remaining pre-travel requirements
High risk travel – example (Honduras)
Troubleshooting/lessons learned
Read petitions carefully! – students may say they will be in only one major city but are actually traveling and overnighting elsewhere
Late notice site selection – Global Brigades and some other organizations do not provide final volunteer site information until a few weeks prior to trip
On-site support – ask specifically whether each on-site staff member will be with the students the entire time
Transportation – often the biggest risks are long drives on bad roads to/from a more rural volunteer/program site
Program deposits – find out when students must pay non-refundable deposits for travel
Lotte Buiting
Private research university in Philadelphia
Co-op school; on quarter system
About 24,000 students total; 15,000 undergraduates, 9,000 graduate students
Drexel University
Office of International Programs (OIP)
Study Abroad (part of OIP): 7 full time staff members
OIP: 4 full time staff members, including the Director of International Health, Safety and Security
AY 2017-2018: 229 non-credit travelers (and counting…)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
GhanaGuatemala
BelgiumGreece
New…Indonesia
CanadaIndia
GambiaChinaIreland
BrazilGermany
Equatorial…UK
AustraliaSouth Africa
CubaDenmarkArgentina
SenegalAustria
ItalyFrance
SwitzerlandNetherlands
JapanNepal
RwandaPolandMalawi
PeruZambia
SpainLesotho
SwazilandCosta Rica
KenyaMongolia
IsraelSouth Korea
BoliviaHonduras
SwedenPortugal
Number of students
Non Credit Education Abroad (NCEA)
Who?
What?
Where?
How?
Non Credit Education Abroad (NCEA)
Who?Everyone participating in Drexel-affiliated travel registers travel: faculty, staff, graduate students, undergraduate students.
Faculty/staff: GRAND (online system – no approval required; sometimes outreach to provide additional support)
Graduate/undergraduate students: TerraDotta
Non Credit Education Abroad (NCEA)
What?
Conference travel
International research
International service learning
Student orgs traveling internationally
International workshops
Athletic competitions/trainings
faculty-led international programs that are not for credit
Non Credit Education Abroad (NCEA)How?
Conference travel: simple registration in TerraDotta
All other trips: 1. International Experience Approval Form2. registration in TerraDotta (more questionnaires and signature documents)
International Experience Approval Form
International Experience Approval Form
Pre-Departure Orientation
Student Organizations:
- Student leaders go through extensive training with Student Life
- Student leaders meet frequently with their group leading up to the trip. Chaperone often joins the meetings at least once or twice leading up to the trip.
- In-person Pre-Departure Orientation is scheduled about 2 weeks prior to departure. Facilitated by the Office of International Programs. Sometimes facilitated via zoom, so the presentation can be recorded and made available to those students unable to attend the in-person meeting.
Pre-Departure Orientation
Topics covered in the PDO:
What to bring (packing tips, medications, change of clothing, sense of adventure!)
Money Matters (currency; customs regarding cards/cash; transaction fees; bank notifications)
Communication(cell phones; not relying on WiFi; preparing friends/family for limited communication)
Pre-Departure Orientation
Topics covered in the PDO:
Health and Safety:Petty crime; safe sex/sexual assault; the law and serious consequences; recommended immunizations and medications
Health and Safety (continued)Zika: symptoms, consequences, and ways to be proactive
Health and Safety (continued)STEP; ER numbers, 24/7 (On Call Emergency Assistance Provider; Drexel International Emergency phone number)
Pre-Departure Orientation
Topics covered in the PDO:
CultureCulture shock; questions about the host country/research host country; language; experiencing local culture respectfully; understanding your own culture
PDO: Intercultural Training
Intercultural Training Workgroup:
Members from OIP; Fellowships Office; Center for Civic Engagement; Student Life
Objectives: to create value added to non-credit bearing opportunities, by better preparing and training students in global competencies and intercultural awareness
Currently:Feedback survey from past NCEA studentsCreating online module on BlackBoard (not for credit)Creating in-person training, to be incorporated in Student Life’s Student Leader Training Conference (facilitated four times a year)
When students go rogue…
You have a process: Great! Now what do you do when students don’t follow your process?
When students go rogue…
Case study:
Public Health Brigade, Drexel Chapter
- how I found out
- next steps:
individual meeting with the student leader; administrative meeting with Director of Intl Health, Safety and Security, Legal Counsel, Risk Management, and Student Life
When students go rogue…
Case study:
Outcomes:
- Students had to submit proposed program to the Travel Risk Review Committee (approved
- Students had to bring a chaperone (OIP funded the chaperone’s travel expenses, and part of their Global Brigades program fee)
- We wanted the students to travel, but also for them to follow process, prepared for their trip, and supported while abroad