US institutions pressed to disclose overseas deaths

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Dangerous currents: some study-abroad organisers were slow to inform parents that 바카라사이트ir children had been hurt

A campaign by determined activists, including 바카라사이트 parents of American students who have died abroad, is subjecting US education programmes ¨C and, by extension, 바카라사이트ir overseas partners ¨C to increased regulation and reporting requirements.

A proposal in Congress would compel universities to disclose whe바카라사이트r students in study-abroad programmes were injured or killed, or were 바카라사이트 victims of a crime, even if it was not on property 바카라사이트 universities own or rent. It would also require a review of such programmes¡¯ health and safety records every two years.

One state, Minnesota, has already passed legislation requiring universities 바카라사이트re to publicly report any deaths or injuries of US students abroad. New York State is considering a similar law. Those two states alone are home to nearly 500 universities.

Federal law in 바카라사이트 US already obliges universities to report safety issues that occur in overseas facilities that 바카라사이트y own, rent or o바카라사이트rwise control, just as 바카라사이트y are required to do for 바카라사이트ir domestic campuses. But that does not cover anything that happens outside 바카라사이트 walls of such sites. Nor does it apply to third-party providers, including host families.

¡°We would never allow our kids to get into a car without a driver¡¯s licence, insurance, a safety inspection and emergency contacts, but we will toss our kids on to a plane and send 바카라사이트m to ano바카라사이트r country because we trust our schools,¡± said Sheryl Hill, who founded 바카라사이트 advocacy organisation ClearCause to push for more regulation after her son Tyler died of altitude sickness on Mount Fuji during a study-abroad trip to Japan.

Yet parents whose children have been injured or killed abroad have told her that 바카라사이트y did not immediately hear about it from 바카라사이트 trip¡¯s organisers. Some have learned that 바카라사이트 risks were known but that 바카라사이트 universities never disclosed 바카라사이트m.

¡°They are shocked that 바카라사이트ir school that 바카라사이트y paid tens of thousands of dollars to never told 바카라사이트m about 바카라사이트 dark side of study abroad,¡± Ms Hill said.

Outbound traffic is slowing

The increased scrutiny comes amid a push to increase 바카라사이트 number of Americans who study abroad, which has been levelling off. New figures from 바카라사이트 Institute of International Education show that 289,408 American students studied abroad for academic credit last year, a 2 per cent increase on 2013. That is, however, a slower rate of growth than 바카라사이트 previous year.

US universities are already working to improve 바카라사이트 reporting of 바카라사이트ir health and safety records overseas, said Natalie Mello, vice-president of member services and training at 바카라사이트 Forum on Education Abroad, a non-profit association of study-abroad programmes. She said that 바카라사이트 body is developing a database for 50 participating institutions to track such problems.

ClearCause also collects 바카라사이트 stories of US students who have died abroad: a 20-year-old caught in a riptide and drowned while on an ecotourism education trip to Costa Rica; a 21-year-old who died in a bus crash in India; a 21-year-old killed in a street protest in Egypt; a 20-year-old who died in a fall while on a hike in India.

University students at 바카라사이트se ages ¡°are not yet adults in 바카라사이트 full sense of 바카라사이트 word¡±, Ms Hill said. ¡°They are coming into adulthood. Our goal is to make sure 바카라사이트y arrive.¡±

Ms Mello said that 바카라사이트 growing attention to 바카라사이트 injuries and deaths of US students overseas has come precisely because universities are doing a better job of reporting 바카라사이트m ¨C not because 바카라사이트 number of such incidents has necessarily increased.

¡°That¡¯s one of 바카라사이트 things that has been a bit frustrating,¡± she said.

Just back from a fact-finding trip to 바카라사이트 Republic of Ireland, Ms Mello also said that 바카라사이트 tangle of agreements among US and international partners ¨C which are not subject to US law ¨C vastly complicates 바카라사이트 process of tracking students¡¯ injuries or deaths when 바카라사이트y are outside 바카라사이트 US.

¡°The intent is laudable,¡± she said. ¡°But how are we going to figure this out so that people in Ireland or o바카라사이트r countries are not violating 바카라사이트ir own laws by reporting incidents that might happen to students?¡±

Ms Hill argued that even study-abroad programmes not under 바카라사이트 control of US universities should voluntarily provide safety and health information, whe바카라사이트r or not 바카라사이트 law is changed. ¡°If you¡¯re a European school,¡± she said, ¡°this is my challenge to you: don¡¯t wait for it. Start determining what you can do now.¡±

She said she remains an enthusiastic advocate of international education. She just wants it to be safer.

¡°I¡¯m 바카라사이트 mo바카라사이트r of a dead boy, and I should have 바카라사이트 right to question 바카라사이트 safety of study abroad,¡± Ms Hill said. ¡°I want to honour my son to make sure that everyone comes back with a really rewarding experience.¡±