Manage Risks and Reduce Losses in Study Abroad

Each year, more than a quarter million college students participate in academic study abroad programs. The organization and oversight of these programs is an immense undertaking with many risks. United Educators (UE) recently reviewed study abroad higher education claims received from 2005 to 2014. The 126 claims, which cost more than $1.6 million to resolve, involved sexual misconduct, injury or illness, and death. More than half the study’s claims and two-thirds of its losses were related to sexual misconduct.

Consider the following scenarios, based on UE claims:

• While studying abroad in Chile, a female student went with friends to a bar and left with two Chilean men who were not in the program. The student did not remember leaving the bar and was discovered the next morning covered in vomit at her homestay. Several of the student’s personal items and the host mother's car were stolen. The school paid for new locks for the host family, repaired the car, and flew the student’s father to Chile to comfort her.
• As part of a study abroad program in Europe, several students, two faculty advisors, and a resident advisor (RA) lived in university-owned housing. The attic was a well-known site of drinking games among students and the RA. After one student drank to excess and passed out there, she woke up to find another resident sexually assaulting her. The school’s alcohol and sexual violence policies were not followed, and the case was settled for several hundred thousand dollars.

UE recommends colleges and universities consider the following risk management practices to protect students abroad from sexual misconduct and respond appropriately and compassionately when they do occur.

• Conduct pre-departure and onsite risk orientations. Educate students on the location-specific risks of sexual misconduct. Unlike most sexual assaults on U.S. campuses, most female victims abroad do not know their attackers. Advise students on locations to avoid within the host country. Keep in mind, cultural norms, such as gender-related attitudes toward dating, dress, and social interactions, may differ.
• Follow federal sexual violence response requirements. When students travel abroad, the requirements imposed by Title IX and the Campus SaVE Act (the amendments to the Violence Against Women Act) apply. Ensure that students know who to contact, particularly the institution’s Title IX coordinator. For more information, consult with legal counsel and refer to UE’s EduRisk publication, Responding to Sexual Assaults in the Study Abroad Setting.
• Respond to sexual misconduct with empathy. UE recommends treating all injured travelers with compassion—the “Cool Head, Warm Heart”® approach. Colleges and universities should assist the student in seeking health care, advise him or her on reporting the incident to law enforcement, communicate with parents if requested by the student, offer counseling, and make arrangements for travel home.

International travel requires effective risk management. Just as students on the institution’s home campus are educated before and assisted after an incident, students abroad should receive the same information and resources.

By Joe Vossen, UE risk management counsel