With summer approaching, many Miami University students are preparing for summer study abroad trips to all corners of the globe. However, with these extraordinary programs comes the responsibility of keeping students and staff safe.
Several departments at Miami work together on study abroad safety.
Cheryl Young, director of lifelong learning, is in charge of risk management for study abroad emergencies. She works closely with David Keitges, director of international education, to ensure safety.
According to Young, a faculty member and four graduate students were studying in Guatemala in June 2008 when Guatemalans shot at their van with the intention of robbing the passengers. One of the shots clipped the faculty member on the side of the mouth, but everyone survived the attack.
"It's important to note that the robbers did not know there were Americans or Miami students in the van," Keitges said. "They wanted to rob whoever went by."
Someone is always available in the office of international education to take calls from traveling faculty and deal with emergencies, Keitges said.
"We're all available 24 hours a day for situations such as those," Keitges said.
Young agreed.
"If anything happens, we have an entire campus full of resources ... we will even schedule bedside visits if we need to get the parents over there," Young said.
Young said in the Guatemala situation, the injured faculty member was immediately taken to the hospital and all members of the group came home early.
According to Keitges, that same week a group was in the Bahamas doing an archeological dive. A student hit her head on a cave wall, and Keitges said he got a call immediately.
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"Faculty sometimes have satellite phones ... there's a whole bunch of people working to ensure student safety at all times," Keitges said.
Much of the planning to maintain student safety while studying abroad starts long before students even board the airplane.
"We work very hard before a program ever leaves campus to make sure everyone involved knows what to do if an emergency were to arise," Young said. "There is a risk management checklist ... this includes faculty knowing history of students and students being aware of risks and what to do if something happens. We make sure to advise faculty leaders to go over risk management once on site."
Young said students have orientation meetings both before leaving Oxford and while abroad to review emergency procedures.
Keitges said many of the incidents involving injury abroad are directly related to alcohol consumption and abuse. This can pose a problem as the Student Code of Conduct applies to students while they are representing the university abroad.
Young said each study abroad program must first be assessed to ensure the location is safe for students. Programs are generally proposed by faculty and then go through a series of committees before being presented to Young.
Young said the university works very closely with the State Department to review proposed locations, and faculty members are responsible for being aware of changes or problems in the area. If the State Department reports problems, faculty can cancel the trip, move it to a different location or avoid the dangerous areas.
"We have cancelled, relocated or not approved programs that show signs of being in dangerous areas," Young said.
In addition, Young said students are under a health care plan with Highway to Health (HTH) Incorporations.
"With HTH, faculty is ensured that students will have coverage wherever they are and will get to the right facility for the right medical condition," Young said.
Mark Walsh is an associate professor of kinesiology and health and faculty coordinator for the Life at Altitude program, a program in which students climb to the base camp of Mount Everest and visit Tibet. He said each study abroad program has procedures to ensure students stay safe while abroad.
"Miami is pretty serious about promoting international trips but will not jeopardize safety," Walsh said.
Walsh said he is more concerned with problems arising from altitude or temperature than traveling in dangerous areas.
"During the day most of our students are in shorts, and at night temperatures might reach freezing, but by then we're inside," Walsh said. "If students do get cold, the Sherpa we travel with have heavy-duty jackets and sleeping bags."
Walsh said the Sherpa they travel with are mountain experts and provide another layer of safety and guidance to the group.
While the university does everything it can to ensure safety while abroad, there are situations that are outside of control.
"We can't predict things are going to happen ... we just have to make sure people are prepared if an emergency arises," Young said. "My goal is to make sure every student returns home safely."
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