University Business - May 2007 - (Page 43)

Becoming immersed and fitting in with the local culture is an important part of a study abroad experience. This St. Norbert College student traveling in Tanzania, Africa, saw the wisdom in that. could be sent to a hospital with real SARS patients.” Independent studies were arranged so they could complete their course work in the United States. Individual health emergencies can require just as much action. In January, a Binghamton student traveling in Salamanca, Spain, was diagnosed with acute bacterial meningitis and fell into a coma. “I was on the next plane,” Krebs says. Although the host school was handling the situation, they were happy for the extra help Krebs provided. The student’s roommate had to be hospitalized for observa- 9. Have a plan. Knowing what steps to take can help people respond to an emergency more efficiently. In addition to establishing calling trees, many schools create crisis response teams on the home campus to assess the situation and develop a response. “We have a philosophy of imagining the worst and arranging plans,” Brandt says. When the political situation in Nepal began deteriorating in 2004, Brandt started scouting alternate sites for Pitzer’s study abroad program. Although the violence wasn’t targeted at foreigners, if the situation tion. In those situations, Tullbane has students disenroll from the college for the semester. “I don’t think you are ever free from liability,” he says, but it’s a layer of protection. Such students risk losing scholarships, and their course work may not be accepted. Brandt does her best to find a Pitzer program that will satisfy a student’s underlying motivation for going to a specific location. Sometimes, however, locations are just no longer acceptable. In 2004, Griffiths discontinued a UD program in Costa Rica because of a consistent elevation in petty crime and the use of weapons, although UD still offers programs in other parts of Costa Rica. The world has changed considerably over the years, but the nature of the dangers people encounter hasn’t—instead of IRA bombings, now it’s Al Qaeda threats. “I’m not sure [the world] is any more dangerous than it was,” Tullbane says.“It’s just more complex.” Still, with a little planning, it can be possible to help students stay out of harm’s way. Resources AIEA: Association of International Education Administrators, www.aieaworld.org The Center for Global Education, www.globaled.us Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program, www.lincolncommission.org Forum on Education Abroad, www.forumea.org Institute of International Education, www.iie.org NAFSA: Association of International Educators, www.nafsa.org Overseas Security Advisory Council, www.ds-osac.org STA Travel, www.statravel.com U.S. Department of State travel warnings, http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_ pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html The Year of Study Abroad, www.yearofstudyabroad.org Any travel warnings issued by the U.S. Department of State are mandatory reading for international studies offices. tion, and the host family and all students who had come in contact with the ill student had to be screened. The student is improving, but how she contracted the illness is still unknown. Despite the unpredictable nature of world travel, Krebs says in the 18 years she’s been in the business that is the worst incident she’s dealt with. “The wonderful thing about modern travel and modern medicine is students with health conditions can travel,” she notes. changed suddenly there was a plan in place to evacuate the students. “We even had cash on hand in case the banks closed,” she says. “We took these steps when no one else was thinking about it.” 10. Just say no. IHE leaders do their best to make sure program locations are safe and academically sound, but sometimes students develop their own ideas or can’t be dissuaded from traveling to a potentially dangerous loca- universitybusiness.com May 2007 | 43 http://www.aieaworld.org http://www.globaled.us http://www.lincolncommission.org http://www.forumea.org http://www.iie.org http://www.nafsa.org http://www.ds-osac.org http://www.statravel.com http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html http://www.yearofstudyabroad.org http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - May 2007

Contents
College Index
Advisory Board
Company Index
Editor's Note
Behind the News
Viewpoint
Money Matters
Marketing
Human Resources
Financial Aid
Community Colleges
The Innocents Abroad
The Big Business of Research
What’s New in A/V
The Kids Are All Right
Designing a Unified Campus
Business Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - May 2007