Prepare for travel

The student services program coordinator will hold a pre-departure meeting in every class. They will coordinate directly with you to schedule this during one of your class times approximately one month before departure.

The meeting will cover flights, logistics, rules, expectations and other travel tips relevant to your destination. The coordinator can cover other specific topics upon request with advance notice.

All students are expected to travel from Bloomington and back to Bloomington with the group, unless they have turned in a signed deviation form in advance.

The student services program coordinator will set a deadline for submission of travel deviation forms in advance, and will provide a summary of deviations to the trip leader.

Students must submit individual deviation forms for each leg of travel that they are completing separately from the group. For example, if a student wishes to meet the group at the Indianapolis airport for departure, and split from the group upon return to the Indianapolis airport at the end of the trip, they will need to turn in two forms, one for each date of deviation.

Sometimes students will need to miss a Friday or Monday class in order to accommodate the travel itinerary of their trip. When this happens, they will have the opportunity to request a class excuse letter from the student services program coordinator. Students must request this letter at least 10 days prior to the departure date, and the letter will be sent directly to the instructor of the missed course.

It is the student’s responsibility to communicate his or her absence in advance to the professor and arrange for completing any missed assignments. It is within the professor’s discretion whether to approve the absence.

All trip leaders and field assistants must complete the online Campus Security Authority training within the year preceding the program start date.

Please email a copy of your completion certificate to mschtrav@iu.edu once you have taken the training.

You must complete the training each year, even if you have already taken it for past travel courses.

Prior to travel, you will receive a binder containing all necessary travel documents. This may include itineraries, reservation information, tickets, emergency contacts, and health and passenger information forms. You will also receive a spreadsheet for tracking expenses while on student group travel and a copy of all of the binder contents in a digital format, typically on a USB drive.

You should carefully review this binder before departure, preferably in person with the student services program coordinator in order to familiarize yourself with its contents and ask any clarifying questions.

These binders contain a significant amount of restricted and critical data. It is your responsibility to protect the contents of the binder during your trip and to dispose of any critical information immediately upon your return. The student services program coordinator can assist you in proper destruction of critical data, and will collect the binders and their remaining contents upon your return.

The student services program coordinator will enroll all students and faculty/staff traveling overseas in the U.S. Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program about one week before departure.

Your trip binder will include a document called “Safety and Preparedness” that lists the contact information for the nearest U.S. embassy(ies), hospital(s) and police station(s) to the hotels where you will be staying throughout your trip. It will also list the emergency numbers and relevant emergency contacts at The Media School, the Office of Overseas Study and IU Risk Management.

You might want to institute additional policies for safety specific to your local circumstances. For example, in Uganda we restrict students from riding boda boda and instead facilitate taxis. Strongly consider this for any trips involving contact with water, and consult with OVST policies for any other considerations.

Notify your bank, make copies of your passport and follow other recommendations we give students when preparing to travel.

Your health care plan will cover you abroad. Depending upon your IU employee status (faculty, staff, full-time, part-time, etc.) you may have coverage that includes provisions for medical evacuation and repatriation.