Health & Safety
The health and safety of students abroad is of utmost importance to the University at Buffalo and the Office of Study Abroad Programs.
In order to facilitate management of risks, the study abroad staff takes a number of measures to help promote proactive planning and safety while abroad.
These measures include:
- Daily monitoring of world-wide situations affecting US students abroad using reliable sources
- Individual advising around health and safety concerns
- Individual and group training prior to program departure
- Up to date and relevant online resources and training
- Emergency planning and response
- Good communication with students, faculty advisors, campus staff, overseas partners, parents, on-site staff, etc.
- Comprehensive international insurance coverage to all participants.
Life is filled with risks, but we try to minimize these risks on our programs. Although no one can guarantee safety or security in any part of the world, international travel can be very safe, especially if one takes specific steps to prepare for it.
We Want You to Be an AlertTraveler!
The University at Buffalo has purchased a product called AlertTraveler to help students make informed decisions about their travel, while abroad. AlertTraveler is a mobile application for iOS and Android devices that utilizes GPS and the student's travel itinerary (as informed by our application management software). AlertTraveler provides travelers with country and city intelligence to help them make informed decisions while traveling, safety and security alerts to let travelers know of any events that could potentially impact their travel or safety, and an instant check-in option allowing travelers to report their status back to administrators and travel advisors at their institution in case of an incident. Even though we hope travelers never have to use this app, we know the world is an unpredictable place. We want all students who go abroad to be aware of the possible dangers that could affect their studies at any given time.
Students can find more information about AlertTraveler through their UB study abroad application portal (simply log into www.buffalo.edu/studyabroad). We look forward to supporting your safety as you embark on the experience of a lifetime through studying abroad!
In the event of an emergency abroad that affects the location where we have students, our office will send check-in requests (asking students to confirm their safety) and the AlertTraveler app allows for students to respond with the touch of a button.