Student International Travel Safety

Scope

University units, administrators, and faculty member who are involved in organizing student travel; undergraduate or graduate/professional students who travel overseas on a university-sponsored instructional program or who travel individually using funding from IU.

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Policy Statement

Indiana University regularly monitors international information relevant to the safety of IU students since their safety and security is of the utmost importance. In evaluating the safety of travel abroad on university-sponsored programs, IU gives primary consideration to Travel Advisories issued by the U.S. Department of State and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Guidelines

The following policy applies to IU students:

For University-sponsored or organized instructional programs, including faculty-led instruction and other sponsored course work, for undergraduate and graduate/professional students:

Indiana University will not offer or support study abroad programs in, or other travel in or through, countries given Level 3 or 4 Travel Advisories. The same prohibition applies to any region of all countries where the Travel Advisory specifies “do not travel” to that region.  No exemptions will be considered for Level 4 countries or “do not travel” regions. For countries or areas under a Level 3 Advisory, requests for exemptions based on "special circumstances" are evaluated on a program-by-program basis through a process established by the Safety and Responsibility Committee of the system-wide Overseas Study Advisory Council (OSAC). For more information see: https://overseas.iu.edu/policies/safety-responsibility/travel-warnings.html

Upon advice of University infectious disease specialists, and taking into account warnings from the CDC, travel to countries experiencing serious outbreaks of infectious disease may be prohibited.

For individual travel by undergraduate and graduate/professional students who plan to use funding from Indiana University to pursue research, study or other University-related business:

The University will not provide funding for a student to travel to a country under a U.S. Department of State Level 4 “Do Not Travel” Advisory. The same prohibition applies to any region of all countries where Travel Advisory specifies “do not travel” to that region.

Undergraduate and graduate/professional students who travel to countries or areas under a Level 3 Advisory must sign a waiver that should be submitted to the department head to be kept in the student's file.

Upon advice of University infectious disease specialists, and taking into account warnings from the CDC, travel to countries experiencing serious outbreaks of infectious disease may be prohibited.

NOTE: Please see special requirements for students traveling to Cuba

Information on Travel Warnings

It is the responsibility of the sponsoring unit (e.g. Center, Department, Institute, or School) at Indiana University to comply with and enforce this policy. Current information on travel warnings for individual countries is available at:

US Department of State:
http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/alertswarnings.html 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
http://www.cdc.gov/travel/outbreaks.htm

Indiana University units that regularly send graduate students abroad may also obtain automatic email distributions of U.S. Department of State Travel Advisories by registering at:
https://step.state.gov/

Providing Contact Information while Overseas

While traveling abroad on university-sponsored or -funded programs, graduate/professional students are strongly advised to provide information about their travel itinerary and contact information in the destination country to their sponsoring unit at IU. This should include hotel and personal addresses, mobile and office telephone numbers, email information, and an alternative contact with an institution or individual in the country. Such information is necessary if emergencies arise either with family members in the United States or with events in the country of residence.

In addition, graduate/professional students are advised to register upon arrival in their country of destinations with the U.S. Embassy. This can now be done on-line at: https://step.state.gov/. Registration is especially critical where the destination country is one in which a Level 3 Travel Advisory is in effect.  In the event that issues affecting the safety of U.S. citizens unexpectedly arise, the U.S. Embassy needs up-to-date contact information for visitors in order to disseminate safety information, evacuation orders, or other updated travel warnings.

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Additional Contacts

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History

This policy was established in August 2006.

Policy contacts and links updated 6-19-17.

Policy updated due to revision of U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory system January 2018.

In November 2020, policy was temporarily suspended per Department of State pandemic guidelines. It was reinstated in October 2022.

Previous Versions:

Effective Dates: 08/15/2006 - 02/14/2018

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