Student Travel Policy

Rhodes strongly encourages its students, faculty and staff who are contemplating travel abroad for educational or other purposes to plan well in advance and to take precautions to ensure a safe trip. All travelers should familiarize themselves with political, health, crime, and other safety-related conditions prevailing in any country and specific locations within the country(ies) to be visited. A review of these conditions should be performed by viewing web-based information provided by the U.S. Department of State as well as information provided by various other cognizant agencies and governments.

Additionally, the College recommends that its students and their parents consult the insurance websites managed by Relation and Chubb, the insurance and travel emergency assistance providers engaged by Rhodes to support students who are traveling internationally.  The 4StudentHealth site provides up-to-date plan and claim information for Rhodes students, and the CHUBB site provides access to emergency support and the Travel Intelligence Portal, a site providing real-time information about travel risks of many kinds.

The Rhodes College Travel Policy determines which countries and regions Rhodes College students may travel to for study, work or professional development as representatives of the College. All international student travel requires approval by the Buckman Center and Department Chairs in order for academic credit or financial support to be awarded. Failure to comply with all Rhodes College Travel Policies will result in the withholding of academic credit and/or financial support or reimbursement. Resources: US Dept. of State Travel Advisory Page and International SOS Travel Risk Interactive Map 

Restricted Destinations Policy

Rhodes College will not support, finance or award credit for any travel to countries designated by the U.S. State Department as a Level 4 country. Level 3 countries are presumed to be off limits, but permission may be given under certain conditions, see below. Travel to Level 2 destinations will generally be approved by the Buckman Center after the proposing student or faculty member indicates they have reviewed the details of the travel warning and are willing to accept the risk (see below).

Approval
It is expected that approval will be granted for many proposals for travel, even to selected restricted destinations. The Buckman Center will review applications based on an assessment of the components of the proposal, i.e., the diligence of the proposal (level of strategic planning, level of vetting of vendors/partners/providers), the relevance of the purpose of the trip to the mission of the College, the experience and the perceived competence level of the applicants, and upon a more in-depth review of the particular destination and itinerary within the restricted country.

US State Department Advisory Levels and Approval Considerations 

Level 4. No approval for travel to these destinations will be given.

Level 3. Approval may be given for proposals for travel to Level 3 destinations if:

1. No approval will be granted for student led group or individual students on independent study or internships.
2. No other of the following international travel advisories (Australia, Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand), advise against travel to the destination.
3. International SOS risk rating https://www.travelriskmap.com/#/planner/locations is no higher than medium.
4.  The itinerary must be limited to regions within the destination country for which the US State Department has indicated that the risk is lower than that for the overall risk of the country and International SOS has indicated that the risk is no greater than medium.
5. The itinerary has been reviewed and approved by our Risk analysis consultants, Lodestone International.
6. The application demonstrates competence and due diligence including an understanding of the hazards and the implementation of risk mitigation strategies as demonstrated by a signed waiver.
7. The applicants agree to any additional requirements, e.g., Buckman Center requested changes in itinerary, the carrying of satellite communication devices, an agreement that no itinerary changes will be made once the program begins without permission and any additional vetting or addition of personnel deemed necessary.
8. Approval may be made for students studying abroad with a well known internationally based third party provider who is willing to indemnify Rhodes College if all points 1 – 3 are true.

Level 2. Approval may be given for proposals for travel to Level 2 destinations if: 

1. Approval may be granted for student led groups or individual students on independent study or internships if the International SOS risk rating is Low or Insignificant.
2. International SOS risk rating is no higher than medium.
3. The itinerary must be limited to regions within the destination country for which the US State Department has indicated that the risk is no greater than that for the overall risk of the country and International SOS has indicated that the risk is no greater than medium.
4. The application demonstrates competence and due diligence including an understanding of the hazards and the implementation of risk mitigation strategies.
5. The applicants agree to any additional requirements, e.g., requested changes in itinerary, the carrying of satellite communication devices, an agreement that no itinerary changes will be made once the program begins without Buckman Center permission and any additional vetting or addition of personnel deemed necessary.
6. Approval may be given for students studying abroad with a well known internationally based third party provider if the itinerary does not venture into any area for which the International SOS risk rating is higher than Medium.

Level 1.  No additional considerations. Rhodes College reserves the right to withhold or give approval and support if the US State Department Advisory designation is significantly inconsistent with International SOS’ risk rating.