3 best practices for managing student travel


Colleges are using technology to maintain real-time connections with travelers and provide them with emergency resources

It’s a familiar challenge for colleges and universities sending students, faculty, and staff on off-campus trips: how to ensure travelers’ health and safety while minimizing security risks. Students study abroad or travel regionally for group events; faculty attend conferences or travel for research purposes. However, it is difficult to predict when crisis situations may arise. From natural disasters to violence and health outbreaks, the list of possible off-campus crisis situations can be overwhelming and fraught with communication disruptions and confusion as events unfold.

As a result, many higher-education institutions are updating their student and faculty travel protocols. This includes using technology to maintain real-time connections with travelers and provide them with emergency resources to be used in the moment of need. It is no longer enough to send travelers with a printout of emergency numbers and instructions. Managing today’s higher-ed travel risks requires ongoing communication. Here are three best practices.

1. Set risk-management expectations

Establishing clear expectations around travel risk is critical. Not every aspect of travel is controllable and travelers must be prepared to act quickly. Also, there are varying degrees of unrest and uncertainty in different regions of the world that require more due diligence and planning.

While many institutions hire external organizations to provide additional local security and health-related support services, it is key to inform students and faculty that they may need to execute emergency protocols abroad. Also, while purchasing health and travel insurance is helpful, it doesn’t remove all risks due to unforeseen circumstances.

To proactively address these issues, you need to communicate the desired set of actions that should be taken for possible emergency situations before the groups depart. This includes preparing travelers on how to check in with home university contacts and how to access the local emergency-resource contacts. Your university should ensure the emergency information is accessible 24/7 online and via mobile devices.

2. Modernize pre-departure orientations

Traveler health and safety is a common topic during pre-trip orientation sessions, but it is also important to include program- and location-specific information that speaks to regionalized nuances and risk factors. For example, students traveling to India may receive specialized advice on taking precautions to avoid pickpockets or staying safe when using public transportation. The majority of students will be using their electronic devices while traveling, so make all essential information available in digital formats and, if possible, with interactive capabilities.

It is also helpful to provide an overview of pertinent health-related topics that can help student and faculty travelers reduce their safety risks when travelling, including the role of self-responsibility, maintaining situational awareness, preparing for personal medical needs ahead of time, understanding cultural nuances, and being cautious about engaging in non-program-related activities—especially alone—or where non-screened vendors are providing services.

It is important to highlight the perception of what it means to be an American in a foreign country, as this issue may present challenges in particular areas. For example, if the prevailing local sentiment about the United States or its policies is negative, then institutions should proactively communicate this dynamic and offer strategies for avoiding unnecessary risks and diffusing possible conflicts.

3. Leverage mobile devices + GPS technology

With the right capabilities enabled, travelers’ smartphones can serve as an invaluable resource for emergencies in a moment of need. Not only can students and faculty receive mobile alerts about possible crisis situations as they are unfolding, but they can also immediately tap into local resources provided by their institution and transmit GPS information to their home campuses to confirm their location during an emergency situation. Institutions can also push alerts or directions to travelers via email or SMS text to share developments or instructions for departing the location, if needed.

Universities and colleges can also use student and faculty travelers’ GPS data to locate them in real time if they are away from their primary destination during a crisis. This capability can be vital for confirming an individual’s current safety status and providing updated emergency resources for the local area if different from their study-abroad location. As an example, a student studying abroad in Spain may have taken a weekend trip to France when an unexpected emergency occurs.

Overall, managing and maintaining safety protocols across study abroad and any off-campus programs requires a modern approach that keeps home universities connected to travelers in real time and enables greater duty of care. With the help of technology—particularly mobile devices—institutions can proactively communicate emergency alerts, engage in safety check-ins, and provide up-to-date resources for students and faculty to engage with when it is most needed.

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