Program insures USU international travelers
Utah State University has made some exciting changes concerning its travel programs, said Joe Dulin of Risk Management. The university has partnered with SOS International in hopes of providing more comprehensive international travel options for USU faculty and students.
When traveling overseas in the university’s name, faculty, students and staff will be provided with emergency medical, personal, travel, legal and security assistance services, Dulin said. Such occasions that would necessitate these options would be when students travel for research, humanitarian purposes and other learning experiences internationally, he said.
“Students travel for all sorts of reasons, such as the micro-lending program through the business department and Engineers Without Borders, but there are numerous reasons students travel abroad,” Dulin said.
SOS is involved in the safety of Utah State’s travelers and will provide their services in circumstances that are not optimal, including sickness, accidents, security-related incidents and politically unstable environments, Dulin said.
According to the program’s Web site, students and volunteers can get the insurance for $1.25 per day of travel. Alumna who travel on alumni tours can expect to pay $5 per day. Faculty and staff can be insured for $50, regardless of how many days they spend traveling.
Ed Reeve, interim vice provost for international education, said, “USU continues to be concerned with travelers’ health, safety and security while traveling on behalf of the university, especially to international locations.”
Dulin said the program is available to any person attending or working for Utah State and is traveling with the university or in its name.
“It’s like a big umbrella. It covers all students,” he said.
Dulin said for a fee, the program will even cover students who are not necessarily traveling for university purposes.
“This will help us to evaluate different circumstances abroad and to be able to decipher what we are supposed to do in those situations,” he said.
Dulin said the university hasn’t had a program of this kind before. In the past, various departments over individual travel ventures oversaw safety concerns and insurance issues for participants.
“We were using a piecemeal approach before with different departments contributing, but some were traveling without insurance,” he said.
Risk Management has decided to use all the money from the different departments to invest in the new program, Dulin said.
“The provost provided $50,000 up front and is willing to make up for whatever we fall short with, for now,” Dulin said.
Students, faculty and staff can learn more about the SOS program at www.usu.edu/riskmgt/other/international.cfm where they can find out what exactly the program does to keep its students safe.
“The safety and well-being of our students and faculty is our highest priority,” Dulin said.
–beck.turner@aggiemail.usu.edu