Health and Safety Field Guide for Program Leaders

Emergency response

This section provides MU’s expectations regarding the measures program leaders should take to support the health and safety of MU students abroad. Each individual situation will demand a unique response, and we trust your judgment in weighing all the factors and taking appropriate action within the guidelines provided.

Taking action to support student health and safety is important in its own right, since student welfare is a top priority in the operation of our programs. It is also important to ensure the academic success of our programs and to mitigate liability risks.

We expect program leaders to take all reasonable steps to support students’ health and safety during their participation on our programs. This involves taking appropriate steps in three areas:

  1. Providing students with information and orientation. This includes conveying appropriate information to help students understand risks and health and safety considerations so they can look after their own well-being in what may be unfamiliar environments. Students receive significant general orientation information about health and safety during study abroad. As a program leader, you should support and supplement this with additional information that is pertinent to your particular program, including health and safety considerations specific to your program’s activities and locations.
  2. Setting and maintaining health and safety expectations. Students are subject to MU student conduct rules while participating in study abroad programs. This includes complying with your directions as program leader regarding safe conduct. Students receive general orientation information on conduct expectations. You should supplement this with reasonable specific directions that are appropriate to your program. You also should hold students accountable for compliance with conduct rules and directions.
  3. Provide support to students in urgent or emergency situations. If a student on your program experiences a health or safety concern, you should provide appropriate support to the student. You will have the assistance of other university personnel in addressing the situation, but you frequently will be the person responsible for initial response and most directly implementing our efforts to support the student. In these situations, you should use reasonable judgment and consult with International Programs as needed, prioritizing the health and safety of program participants.

This field guide and the program leader workshop will help provide more specific information on how you can take appropriate steps in each of these areas. In addition, International Programs staff are available 24/7 to assist and support you.

Prepare for emergencies

As a program leader, you should:

  • Keep this field guide within easy access while abroad and save the International Programs emergency number in your cell phone: +1 573-673-4756.
  • Register in the International Travel Registry and download, activate and familiarize yourself with the features of AlertTraveler, MU’s security software.
  • Register your travel with U.S. Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive updates from the U.S. Embassy and ensure that the Embassy knows how to contact you in an emergency.
  • Encourage students to register their primary program location and any personal travel with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program.
  • Maintain contact information for local emergency services including the nearest U.S. Embassy/Consulate, local equivalent of 911, fire department, police department and ambulance service. Remind students this information is available through AlertTraveler.
  • Make sure that students and MU know how to reach you 24/7 in an emergency and always answer your phone during your program.
  • Keep current contact information (address and phone number) and emergency contact information (contact name and phone number) for each student and forward a copy to globalhealthsafety@missouri.edu. Establish a procedure for contacting the students and, if necessary, their emergency contacts in an emergency.
  • Ask students to provide contact information if they will be away overnight. Remind them to register any personal travel during the program as a side trip in myStudyAbroad.

Communication and contingency planning

  • Recommend that students contact and check-in with their family/support network to confirm their safety upon arrival and following an emergency.
  • Remind students how to contact you in an emergency and also how to contact International Programs in an emergency through the MU Police Department: +1 573-882-7201.
  • Designate a back-up leader on site in case you are incapacitated or unavailable.
  • Forecast potential disasters and develop what-if scenarios. Think about aspects of your program that are more likely to be crisis prone, and consult with the Office of Health, Safety and Security regarding those scenarios.
  • Inform students about potential health, safety and security risks in the host country and actions to take to help avoid them.
  • Designate primary and secondary meeting places and times in case of an emergency (e.g., residence halls, a local restaurant).
  • Identify alternate methods of communication if a physical meeting does nor or cannot take place.

It can also be helpful to set up several contingency plans for students if they become separated from the group, lost or injured.

Overview of emergency response process

  1. Provide an initial assessment of the incident, gathering as many facts as possible concerning all of those involved and the exact nature and circumstances of the event. Ask who, when, where, why and how.
    • Use this information to start an incident log.
  2. Concern for students’ physical and psychological well-being should influence all decisions — the student(s) affected as well as the other program participants.
    • In your log, record actions taken to ensure students’ well-being.
  3. After you have attended to the students’ pressing needs, immediately call the International Programs emergency number regardless of the time difference.
    • For programs run by another MU division, also contact that office.
  4. Guidelines for media inquiries: MU will assume full responsibility for dealing with the media. If you find yourself and your group in a situation that will garner public relations or media attention, it is imperative that you do not make a statement or comment to a representative of the media without first contacting International Programs. Call the International Programs emergency number immediately — regardless of the time difference — and they will coordinate with the MU News Bureau to develop an official response.
    • If you are contacted by a member of the media during an emergency or incident and you have not been in contact with the university, use the following statement:
      “My first responsibility is to the students on this program, their families and the university. I will be happy to discuss this matter with you after I have contacted those parties. Thank you for understanding.”
  5. International Programs will convene an international emergency response team that includes MU and UM System experts.
  6. The emergency response team will develop a plan for disseminating information. Depending on the situation, they may establish a “communication central” phone number and inform all involved personnel to direct callers to this number.
    • The team will determine the individuals and groups, internal and external, that need to be informed of the situation, and will determine from whom they need to hear it and in what order.
    • Calls to a communication central number will be logged, prioritized and returned systematically.
    • The team will respond to any media requests to contact the affected students or their families.
  1. The emergency response team will hold briefings with key stakeholders, internal and external, as the situations evolves as necessary.
  2. The emergency response team will develop necessary formal communications and make them available to you.
  1. The emergency response team will contact you for a debriefing and to discuss potential changes to future practices. They will confirm all key constituents have received relevant information.

Top 10 list for risk mitigation and emergency response

From Thomas Butcher, Grand Valley State University

  1. Do the right thing.
  2. Do something, rather than nothing.
  3. Consider what a reasonable person would do and carry it out.
  4. Consider what can go wrong before a program begins.
  5. Disclose the dangers of a program and destination.
  6. Obtain signed waivers (informed consent).
  7. Don’t adopt policies and procedures you can’t enforce.
  8. Alcohol and students don’t mix well.
  9. Prepare program leaders and participants. Information is key to healthy and safe behavior.
  10. Involved and educate your campus president, provost, legal counselor, risk manager, public affairs staff, business office, health services staff, counseling office and any other office associated with study abroad programs.

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