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Policy on Travel and Study in High Risk Countries
No program can guarantee a student's safety or eliminate all risks in a
study abroad program any more than can any college guarantee a student's
safety and eliminate all risks on the home campus. However, Southwestern
College believes that, under normal circumstances, there is no greater risk
in studying and traveling abroad than there is in studying and traveling
here in the United States. In study abroad as in other settings,
participants play a major role in their own health and safety through the
decisions they make before and during the program and by their day-to-day
choices and behaviors.
Specifically, Southwestern College:
- cannot guarantee or
assure the safety of participants or eliminate all risks from the study
and travel abroad environments;
- cannot monitor or
control all of the daily personal decisions, choices, and activities of
individual participants;
- cannot prevent
participants from engaging in illegal, dangerous or unwise activities;
- cannot assure that
U.S. standards of due process apply in overseas legal proceedings or
provide or pay for legal representation for participants;
- cannot assume
responsibility for the actions of persons not employed or otherwise
engaged by Southwestern College for events that are not part of the
program; or that are beyond the control of Southwestern College and its
subcontractors; or for situations that may arise due to the failure of a
participant to disclose pertinent information; and
- cannot assure that
home-country cultural values and norms will apply in the host country.
Suspension of Approved Study
Abroad Programs
Southwestern College has several
study abroad programs that have been approved, in part, on the basis of
knowledgeable and seasoned program personnel that are stationed in-country;
the sound and proven program infrastructures that these personnel have in
place; and the due care and attention that these personnel devote to
enhancing the safety and security of our students.
In spite of our confidence in the
measures our foreign partners take to enhance student safety and security,
Southwestern College may find it advisable to suspend participation in an
officially recognized study abroad program or destination due to political
unrest, social instability, contagious disease control, military operations,
or terrorism concerns within the host country.
Southwestern College endeavors to
balance the value of participation in international educational activities
against the potential risk to its students and employees of such
participation. In balancing these factors, the College relies on
information from the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of
State.
For
decisions affecting study abroad programs and other College-sponsored travel
to health-risk areas, the College will use the “Travel Alert” and “Travel
Advisory” publications developed by the Centers for Disease Control.
For
decisions affecting study abroad programs and other College-sponsored travel
to security-risk areas, the College will use the “Travel Warnings” and
“Public Announcements” publications developed by the U.S. Department of
State.
Accordingly, when conditions in a
foreign country make travel to or in that country unsafe, Southwestern
College reserves the right to:
- suspend its own study
abroad programs;
- withdraw approval of
participation in an externally-sponsored study abroad program;
- limit the use of
college funds for travel abroad;
- set conditions for
student, faculty, and staff traveling to and returning from travel in
high-risk areas;
- take other actions
deemed appropriate to protect the safety of students, faculty, or staff
traveling or intending to travel abroad under any form of Southwestern
College sponsorship.
The Academic Dean, in consultation
with the Director of Builders Abroad and others who have knowledge about the
affected area, makes all decisions concerning the cancellation or
modification of a study abroad program recognized by Southwestern College.
Decisions taken by students and their parents regarding individual
participation in a study abroad program are personal. There can be no
guarantee of credit for students who independently attend a program for
which approval has been suspended. Similarly, there can be no guarantee of
credit for students who independently withdraw and return home from a
non-cancelled program before the completion of scheduled instruction and
examinations.
Policy for Study and Travel
Abroad in Areas Affected by a Travel Warning
Southwestern College has developed
the following policy governing its educational and other activities in areas
for which the U.S. Department of State has issued a Travel Warning.
1. Except
as provided in Paragraph 2 below, Southwestern College will not operate, pay
for, supervise, direct, or otherwise support a study abroad program,
research program, travel program, or other course or program for any
students (undergraduate, graduate, professional) in a portion of a country
where a Department of State Travel Warning (“Travel Warning”) is in effect.
2. An
individual faculty member, staff member, or graduate student whose
professional activities (e.g., research, teaching at a foreign institution,
attendance at a conference) necessitate travel to a portion of a country
where a Travel Warning is in effect and any of whose travel/research costs
are paid from a college administered account may undertake such travel only
after the following steps have been taken:
a. A
description of the proposed professional activities has been filed with each
program that is funding the trip and each group has approved the trip in
writing based on its feasibility and importance; additionally, the
individual’s division chair, director of Builders Abroad, and academic dean
have also approved the trip in writing.
b. The
faculty member, staff member, or graduate student has signed the Faculty and
Staff Travel Waiver Form (available through the Builders Abroad website)
indicating that he or she understands the risks involved in travel to this
location and releasing Southwestern College from any liability;
c. The
faculty member, staff member, or student has appropriate health insurance
approved by Builders Abroad;
d. Evidence
of compliance with a., b., and c. is on file with the Director of Builders
Abroad.
3. Notwithstanding
the terms and conditions set forth in Paragraphs 1 & 2 above, any student
who wishes to travel to an area subject to a Travel Warning in connection
with a study abroad program or other course of study or research may do so
under these conditions: (i) the program or other course of study or research
is not operated or funded by Southwestern College or supervised or directed
by Southwestern College faculty or staff, (ii) the student has made a
successful appeal to the Director of Builders Abroad to participate in the
program, and (iii) the student has signed the Student Travel Waiver Form
(available through the Builders Abroad website) indicating that he or she
understands the risks involved in travel to this location and releasing
Southwestern College from any liability. If the student is an undergraduate,
at least one of the student’s parents (or the student’s legal guardian) must
also sign the completed Student Travel Waiver Form. During the time that the
student is engaged in travel under this paragraph, the student will not be
enrolled at Southwestern College.
Written
Appeals to Participate in Suspended Study Abroad Programs
Appeals to participate in a suspended
study abroad program must be submitted to the Director of Builders Abroad by
the study abroad application deadline. Written appeals to participate in a
suspended study abroad program consist of three parts, included in the
application:
-
The student must offer a compelling academic rationale for study in the
selected country, outlining how study in only that country will advance
their academic goals and aid them in the pursuit of their Southwestern
degree, and detailing why a study program in another country will not
advance adequately the academic goals he or she has outlined.
-
The student must articulate what steps they have taken to inform
themselves of the safety and security risks that study in the selected
country may pose and demonstrate that they have considered such risks in
a thoughtful and deliberative manner.
-
The student must print out and read the current U.S. Department of State
Travel Warning for the selected area, sign it, and submit it at the time
of the appeal.
A committee composed of the Director
of Builders Abroad, the Academic Dean, as well as a faculty member with
expertise in the proposed country or region will evaluate written appeals.
If the committee denies a student's appeal, that denial shall be final and
shall not be reconsidered.
Students who independently
participate in a suspended program may not receive transfer
credit for courses taken in those countries, and Southwestern College will
not authorize the use of financial aid for students enrolling in such
programs.
Possible Academic and Financial Loss
The
committee's granting of a student's appeal to participate does not alter the
College's position that study and travel in the country or region may be
dangerous. Rather, it indicates that the College recognizes that the student
understands and appreciates the risks involved in participation, is willing
to assume individual responsibility for those risks, and, for academic
reasons, the student has made the choice to participate in spite of such
known risks. Furthermore, any student who seeks and is granted an exception
to participate in a suspended program or destination shall bear solely and
entirely any financial loss or loss of academic credit that may result in
the event that the situation in-country deteriorates and the U.S. State
Department's evaluation of the situation in-country changes and the U.S.
State Department advises that all Americans leave immediately. Likewise,
should a student choose to leave the program or destination for any reason
prior to the completion of his or her studies, the student shall bear solely
and entirely any financial loss or loss of academic credit that may result.
Students Already Participating in
a Program Suspended due to a Travel Warning
If a student is already in the area for
which the Travel Warning has been issued, the Director of Builders Abroad
shall decide, in consultation with the Academic Dean and others having
knowledge of the situation, whether the student shall be advised to return
to the U.S. Where the student is advised to return to the U.S. or where the
student desires to return to the U.S. under these circumstances, the College
will work with the student, his or her family, and the overseas program to
decide the best course of action at that time. If
a student chooses to remain in the program, they will be asked to sign a
waiver stating that Southwestern College is not responsible for their
decision to remain in the Travel Warning area.
When Southwestern College
withdraws approval of participation in a study abroad program during the
semester, Southwestern College will do its best to assist students in
completing the semester of academic work on the home campus.
Where the student has pre-paid the
costs of a college-sponsored study abroad program the student may be
eligible for a refund of all or a portion of the payment, but the
availability of a refund is not guaranteed and will depend on the
circumstances of each case.
Builders Abroad
100 College St
Winfield, KS
Sheila Krug, Director
Phone: (620) 229-6368
Email:
sheila.krug@sckans.edu
Campus Phone: (620) 229-6367 |
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This page was last updated on
Friday, March 28, 2008
This page has been accessed
times since December 22, 2001 |
