International Travel Policy and Guidelines for Rowan Employees and Students

 At Rowan University there are many opportunities for international education and research through organized study-abroad programs, faculty-led educational trips and independent study and research. As our global engagement increases, additional risk is inevitable as activities are affected by war, terrorism, political unrest, natural catastrophes and epidemics worldwide.

The following policy and guidelines aim to ensure the safety and security of Rowan employees and students who engage in Rowan affiliated international travel.           

International Travel Policy

Rowan endeavors to balance the value of participation in international educational activities against the potential risk to its students and employees of such participation. In balancing these factors, Rowan relies on information from the U.S. Department of State’s Travel Warnings, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s Travel Notices, and other publications. Consequently, Rowan has developed this policy governing educational and other activities, with specific attention given to countries for which the Department of State has issued a Travel Warning and countries for which the Centers for Disease Control has issued a Travel Notice.

Rowan's International Travel Policy for employees and students pertains to Rowan-affiliated travel only.  Please see below for the criteria to determine if your trip is a Rowan-affiliated travel.  If you are traveling for personal purposes only, this policy does not apply.

Any international travel that meets at least one of the following criteria is a Rowan-affiliated travel.

• Use of Rowan funds for all or part of trip
• Any trip specifically related to your Rowan responsibilities
• Any trip in which students will be traveling with you
• Any conference/workshop or business meeting in which you are representing Rowan University
• Any Study Abroad trips

Step 2: View the current Travel Advisories and Notices

View the current Travel Advisories and Notices before making Rowan-affiliated travel arrangements to determine the risk level of your country of destination. Please follow the instructions listed for the risk level of your country of destination.

Step 3: Read  General Rowan-Affiliated Business and Academic Travel Waiver, Statement of Responsibility, Waiver, Release and Indemnification Agreement for, Students, Faculty and Staff

Step 4: Fill out the International Travel Request form on Accounts Payable website and follow submitting procedures.

All Rowan students, faculty, and staff must read and agree to the policies and procedures of the International Travel Policy & Guidelines including the General Rowan-Affiliated Business and Academic Travel Waiver, Statement of Responsibility, Waiver, Release and Indemnification Agreement for, Students, Faculty and Staff and must complete the Export Control training and International Travel Checklist prior to travel (Links are included in Section 3 of the International Travel Request Form.).

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FACULTY/STAFF TRAVELING WITH STUDENTS

All faculty and staff traveling with students are considered Campus Safety Authorities (CSA), and MUST follow the Clery Act guidelines.  This includes:

• Completion of the on-line CSA training found on your banner employee account  
• Watch the training video and fill the CSA form found on this website:                            https://sites.rowan.edu/publicsafety/clery/csa/resources/
  

*Faculty/staff-led trips must be pre-approved by the Study Abroad Office. Faculty can run credit-bearing or non-credit bearing programs through our partner organizations or faculty can choose to run trips on their own. Any faculty interested in going abroad with students must contact the Study Abroad Office for approval and next steps. Any faculty/staff-led travel abroad trips that do not complete the above two requirements and other requirements provided by the Study Abroad Office will be considered non-sanctioned Rowan trips and will require an additional Non-approved Travel Waiver signed by students and their parents.

*For more information regarding the Clery Act, and the responsibilities of the CSA, please visit www.rowan.edu/publicsafety

International Travel Safety Guidelines

Global engagement is an integral part of life in the 21st century and Rowan encourages its students, faculty and staff to engage in international learning, research and cross-cultural collaborations.   It is critical that anyone traveling is aware of the responsibilities and risks of travel.  The following guidelines are designed to ensure safe travel practices; and, where risks arise, a plan for communicating those risks to all necessary parties and/or a plan for safe departure from the country. All faculty and staff traveling with students MUST follow the Study Abroad guidelines for faculty/staff-led travel abroad.

1. Carefully read and follow the steps outlined in the International Travel Policy.  You cannot proceed with your travel plans until you read and complete the steps outlined in the policy.
2. After completing the steps outlined in the International Travel Policy, we recommend that you enroll your trip in the Department of State’s STEP Program.  To enroll and learn about the benefits of the STEP Program, visit:  https://step.state.gov/step/
3. Most U.S. health insurance plans do not cover medical expenses abroad.  Check with your health insurance company, and if needed, purchase travel health insurance.  An example of international travel health insurance can be found at:  https://www.hthtravelinsurance.com/  and  https://www.internationalstudentinsurance.com/travel-medical-insurance/ . 
4. Increase your awareness of the U.S. requirements for international travel, including required Visas, immunizations and travel alerts and warnings that may impact your trip.  Use the U.S. Department of State travel site as a resource: http://travel.state.gov//content/travel/en.html
5. Provide your family and/or friends with your full travel itinerary, including addresses, contact person & phone number at each location, and all flight information. 
6. Have all travel documents with you while traveling by plane, train, or other mode of transportation (do not check-in with luggage).
7. Keep all original travel documents in a safe location at your hotel, dormitory or other safe location where you are residing.
8. Practice safety and awareness at all times (i.e. do not go out alone at night; avoid areas known to be dangerous; if traveling in-country, provide all emergency contacts with travel information; follow the local rules and customs; be aware of any travel alerts and warnings).

Resources:

 Traveler’s Health is a new website created by the New Jersey Department of Health to lessen the spread of COVID-19, particularly during any form of travel. It has information on domestic travel, International travel, cruise and air travel and international students. It also has resources that include NJ vaccine finder, NJ testing sites, NJ Info hub, Local health department directory, symptom checker, domestic destination checker, international destination checker, CDC travel notices, and FAQs.