Final Report of the War Zones Task Force
July 2005
| Background |
In May of 2004, the Johns Hopkins University Council of Deans endorsed a new policy designed to assure appropriate considerations are taken into account when deciding whether to permit undergraduates to study or conduct research abroad. The University-wide policy, developed by the Provost's Office in collaboration with the Deans of Hopkins' schools with undergraduate programs, prohibits undergraduate travel to countries where the U.S. State Department has issued a Travel Warning. (A provision that allows students to petition for an exception was included.) Subsequently the Deans agreed that it would be wise to consider what standards, if any, the University should adopt to deal with the safety and security of other members of the University community — namely faculty, graduate students, and staff — who travel on University-related business to high-risk areas of the world.
Provost Steven Knapp convened the War Zones Task Force (the task force) in September 2004 to explore safety and security issues for Johns Hopkins faculty, staff, and graduate students who travel to high-risk areas of the world (including war zones) for the purpose of conducting research, engaging in collaborative scholarly activities, administering public health training programs, and other University-related activities. He asked the task force to consider the following questions:
What is the University's
responsibility to ensure the health and safety of its
faculty, graduate students, and staff in high-risk areas
of the world?
Under what conditions
should our employees be permitted to work in high-risk
areas of the world?
Associate Provost Pam Cranston chaired the task force, which was made up of ten faculty, staff, and administrators. (A roster of task force members can be found in Appendix A.) The task force began its work with a review of existing University divisional policies, procedures, publications, websites, and other materials related to international travel. It met with the University's risk and benefits managers, conducted an informal survey of peer institutions to ascertain their policies governing international travel, and consulted with a variety of non-governmental organizations that work regularly in high-risk areas of the world.
| Scope |
Before it began its work, the task force first considered its scope. Should all travel, both international and domestic, be considered? Should only war zones be considered or should other high-risk areas of the world be included? Should both business and personal travel be reviewed? With what kinds of safety and security risks should the task force be concerned? Should the task force limit its review to faculty, graduate students, and staff who are based in the U.S.?
The task force set the following as parameters for its work:
While the task force
recognized that all travel is potentially dangerous,
for the purpose of this task force, only international
travel to high-risk areas of the world (as defined
below) was considered.
The task force did not
consider personal travel. The findings and
recommendations contained in this report relate
exclusively to Johns Hopkins University business travel
(defined below).
Safety and security issues
related to international travel include, for the purpose
of this task force, severe illness, security threats,
terrorism, civil unrest, and natural disasters that may
result in bodily injury or death.
The task force limited its
review to faculty, graduate students, and staff (FGSS).
This report does not address the interests and needs of
undergraduates and in no way is meant to supersede the
undergraduate travel policy established in the spring of
2004. (A copy of the policy may be found in
Appendix
B.)
All Johns Hopkins
University FGSS, except those whose home bases are in
high-risk areas of the world, were included in this
review. The recommendations contained in this report are
meant to apply to all FGSS whenever they anticipate
short-term or long-term travel to high-risk areas of the
world. For example, the report does not apply to
distance education students who live in high-risk areas
of the world.
| Definitions |
The task force adopted the following set of definitions to govern its work.
High-Risk Areas. Countries or regions of the world on the U.S. State Department's Travel Warning list found at travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html and on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Travel Health Warning list found at www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm.
Business Travel. Travel related to one's employment at or enrollment as a graduate student in Johns Hopkins University for the purpose of executing one's responsibilities as a faculty, graduate student, or staff member.
Permanent Resident. A resident of, or regularly employed in, a country for three months or longer. This definition is used by The Hartford Group, which provides Johns Hopkins' group travel accident insurance for active, full-time faculty and staff.
| Findings |
Context. The task force found that it was timely for the University to review its policies and practices regarding travel by its FGSS to high-risk areas. The United Nations and most, if not all, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are currently reviewing (or have recently reviewed) their staff health, safety, and security policies and practices in response to the realization that the world is growing more unpredictable and more dangerous. This is especially true for Americans visiting or working in high-risk countries, such as Afghanistan and Iraq.
In the past, host governments provided for the safety of its foreign guests. In many cases, they are no longer able to do so. Humanitarian aid workers, NGO staff, and other non-military consultants to foreign countries used to be considered "neutral" and, as such, were relatively secure as long as they avoided alignment with either side of a conflict. Now Americans and others who provide consulting, training, or other humanitarian (non-military) services in foreign countries (presumably including Johns Hopkins FGSS) are often the targets of violence, even when they maintain their neutrality. In short, the maintenance of neutrality used to provide non-military visitors with some level of safety and security, but it is no longer effective in assuring it.
Private business enterprises are also evaluating their employee travel policies and support services. In December 2004, International SOS, the University's medical and security assistance company, reported huge increases in their business due to corporate recognition of the need to provide additional services and resources to their international travelers. According to Kevin Morris, Vice President of Marketing, "corporate managers have undergone a fundamental reassessment of duty of care expectations for their employees, especially those who travel overseas. Organizations that do not exercise due diligence and care for their employees risk severe damage to brand and reputation."
Like these agencies and corporations, some U.S. institutions of higher education are reviewing (or have recently reviewed) their policies governing international travel for faculty. An informal survey of nine of Johns Hopkins' peer institutions found that one (M.I.T.) had just completed a review of its policies and another (Dartmouth) was beginning a review at the same time as the Johns Hopkins task force. M.I.T.'s policy recommends that faculty not travel to countries that are listed on the U.S. State Department's Travel Warning list. Similarly, Dartmouth's travel risk policy (revised February 2005) "urges Dartmouth faculty, staff, and students not travel to locations where the Department of State has issued a Travel Warning." At both M.I.T. and Dartmouth, unless a waiver is granted, no university funds can be used to travel to a Travel Warning list country. Northwestern University requires faculty and staff who wish to travel to a Travel Warning list country to sign and file a waiver with the University's Office of Risk Management. The other six institutions surveyed had no limitations on faculty travel and did not anticipate reviewing the policy in the near future.
Nature and Extent of International Travel. In any given year, Johns Hopkins FGSS travel to many countries in the world. For example, staff members of the Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Communication Programs (CCP) traveled to more than 50 countries within the past year, and each year over 150 SAIS graduate students participate in international internships. The Bloomberg School of Public Health alone spent $6.8M on international travel for sponsored research in FY2004.
However, international travel by FGSS varies tremendously from one division or one department to another. Some FGSS travel internationally frequently as a regular part of their job; others rarely. Some stay overseas for long periods of time; others for just a day or two; some both. Some travel internationally for the purpose of presenting a paper at or attending an international conference; others for the purpose of conducting research or training projects or providing technical assistance abroad. Some travel to high-risk areas of the world; others travel only to stable, developed countries where safety and security risks are low. Some travel alone; others travel with Johns Hopkins or other American colleagues; some both.
While the nature and extent of international travel varies greatly within the Johns Hopkins FGSS community, it is clearly an important part of the fabric of University life. The very mission of the University — to educate its students and cultivate their capacity for life-long learning, to foster independent and original research, and to bring the benefits of discovery to the world — requires outreach to the world. In fact, international travel to unstable and/or developing countries of the world — many of which are considered high-risk — is an essential part of many Johns Hopkins units' missions, e.g., the Bloomberg School's CCP and Department of International Health, the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, and the Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics (JHPIEGO).
Current Johns Hopkins Travel Policy. The task force found that there is no University-wide or divisional policy that limits the travel of Johns Hopkins faculty or staff. There are administrative policies that govern the way expenditures must be recorded and the like, but none regarding where or under what circumstances they may travel. In fact, it appears that Johns Hopkins faculty have always enjoyed the freedom (within the constraints of the law) to make their own decisions about travel. In his inaugural address, Johns Hopkins' first president, Daniel Coit Gilman, affirmed their independence: "Teachers and pupils must be allowed great freedom in their methods of work." Today, the freedom to travel is still considered to be a fundamental component of academic freedom at Johns Hopkins, but there is also an increasing need for enhanced attention to safety and security concerns on the part of the University and faculty when making travel decisions. Like faculty, Johns Hopkins staff have similarly enjoyed the same freedom to make their own decisions about business travel.
Graduate students also have enjoyed the freedom to travel. However, in 1999, Provost Knapp and General Counsel Estelle Fishbein recommended to all the Deans that "information should be provided also to graduate students and a release form obtained." They determined that the University has a duty to make certain graduate students understand the risks of international travel and to make certain graduate students voluntarily accept those risks. Their memorandum to the Deans included not only a template for a release form, but also a "Statement of Responsibilities of Participants" [of study abroad programs] that "might be adapted as a check sheet to remind graduate students of considerations that may affect their health and safety if they do independent study or carry out research projects in a foreign country." (A copy of the 1999 release form may be found in Appendix C, and a copy of the statement may be found in Appendix D.) As a result, some Hopkins divisions that did not already have special procedures to assist graduate students in place have since put conditions on the overseas travel of their graduate students. They must comply with certain guidelines, e.g., sign liability waivers and/or complete travel checklists, before being permitted to travel internationally.
Insurance Coverage for Faculty and Staff. The University provides group travel accident insurance coverage (via The Hartford Group) for faculty and staff who are traveling on University business from their place of permanent residence. The task force was pleased to learn that University employees on long-term assignment outside the U.S. (90 days or more) became an eligible class on July 1, 2004. Previously, only those working in the U.S. were eligible for the University's travel accident insurance. However, the coverage requires that individual names be placed on file with The Hartford Group. At the time the task force met with the Johns Hopkins benefits manager, the University's Office of Benefits Administration was in the process of exploring ways to identify the appropriate people and report them to The Hartford Group.
War risk coverage under the travel accident insurance policy is automatically provided everywhere in the world other than the United States, Canada, and any country of which the employee is a permanent resident. Travel to the following countries requires prior notification to the insurance company to effect war risk coverage: Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, Chechnya, Colombia, Cote D'Ivorie (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Israel (including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank), Liberia, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Yemen. For eligible Johns Hopkins employees who are traveling or are on assignment for more than 90 days, it is necessary to report, prior to travel, travelers' names, names of countries, and anticipated duration of stays to the Office of Benefits Administration. As with the change described above for those on long-term assignment abroad, when the task force met with the benefits manager, the University's Office of Benefits Administration was in the process of exploring ways to identify the appropriate travelers in order to be able to place their names on file with The Hartford Group, as required by the policy.
What about insurance coverage for terrorism or terrorist acts? The task force was pleased to learn that terrorism or terrorist acts are not excluded from the Johns Hopkins group travel accident insurance policy. (See Appendix E for The Hartford Group's position on terrorism.) It does provide coverage with respect to terrorism and acts carried out by terrorists, in addition to the war risk coverage provided by the war risk rider, described above, which pertains only to war or acts of war, defined as "hostilities between two or more governments or sovereign nations, not to acts of terrorism by individuals or political groups who are acting independently."
The University's group travel accident insurance policy also covers Johns Hopkins subsidiaries, such as the JHPIEGO Board of Directors. However, the University's insurance consultant, with whom the task force met, suggested that a list of Johns Hopkins subsidiaries be provided to The Hartford Group so that a rider could be issued.
The voluntary personal accident insurance offered to Johns Hopkins faculty and staff by AIG excludes coverage for "declared or undeclared war, or any act of declared or undeclared war." Individual acts of terrorism are not considered in and of themselves as an act of war, and it is not clear whether losses occurring as the result of a terrorist act would be excluded. Such determination would be made on a case by case basis. (See Appendix F for AIG's discussion of opinion on terrorism.)
Under the Johns Hopkins life insurance plan, there are no exclusions or limitations regarding faculty and staff traveling to or on assignment in high-risk countries. However, the Johns Hopkins short-term and long-term disability plans (provided by CNA) do not cover any loss caused by, contributed to, or resulting from declared or undeclared war or an act of either. The policy does not address losses due to terrorism.
Graduate students are not generally covered under the University's insurance and disability policies for employees; however, they may be covered if the University employs them. In any case, they are entitled to use the International SOS program (described below) to which the University subscribes.
Insurance Coverage for Graduate Students. Full-time graduate students in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, the Whiting School of Engineering, the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education, Nursing and the Peabody Institute must demonstrate that they have comprehensive health insurance comparable to the University's health insurance program provided by The Chickering Group or they must purchase it. Graduate students in the Krieger and Whiting schools automatically receive health insurance coverage through The Chickering Group. The plan, which can be used while traveling, includes medical evacuation and other services provided by Assist America, Inc. Students in Medicine and Public Health have health insurance through the University's self- insurance program EHP. While the policy covers them when traveling overseas, "the student health plan does not cover injury or disease resulting from war, acts of war, terrorism, riot, rebellion, civil disobediences, or from military services in any country," according to Associate Dean Mary Foy of the School of Medicine.
All full-time students in the Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) are mandated to enroll in the John Hopkins Student Health Insurance Plan, provided by the Chickering Group, if they do not have comparable coverage from other health insurance companies. The SAIS Student Health Plan includes Emergency Travel Assistance Services. For SAIS students traveling abroad, the Assist America Services provides emergency medical assistance, which includes emergency medical evacuation, return of mortal remains services, guaranteed hospital admission, and medically supervised repatriation.
Medical, Personal, Travel, and Security Assistance. The task force met with the University's risk manager, who described a 24-hour worldwide assistance and emergency evacuation service available at no cost to all John Hopkins faculty, students, and staff who travel abroad or who live abroad, as of July 1, 2004. The service, provided by International SOS, provides an array of medical assistance services, security assistance services, travel assistance services, access to International SOS clinics, and on-line information. The website provides travel information for over 200 countries, reports of up-to-date health risks and situations around the world, and up-to-date information on medical care and vaccination reports. Johns Hopkins travelers may also sign up to receive email health alerts that send up-to-date travel health information to their PCs, laptops, or other wireless device. To secure a membership card that identifies the group membership number needed to access services, one must contact the Johns Hopkins risk management office. At the time the task force met with the University's risk manager, his office was exploring ways to distribute membership cards to those who needed them.
University Information Resources. In January of
2002, the International Affairs Coordinating Committee
(IACC) developed and distributed recommended language
regarding international travel for addition to faculty
handbooks (see Appendix G), but
the task force found that
only some divisions included it in their faculty handbooks.
During the course of the year, the task force learned about
the Johns Hopkins "Travel Center," a website produced and
maintained by the University's Purchasing Office. The
website
Another website
http://hrnt.jhu.edu/benefits/plans/, maintained by the
Office of Benefits Administration, includes information
about the "Worldwide Assistance" and the "Travel Assistance
Program Guide" as well as University insurance and
disability plans. It appears, however, that much of the
information was out of date at the time of the task force's
viewing. The site does not include information about the
University's new International SOS program, nor does
it include information about the changes made in the summer
of 2004 in the group travel accident insurance
policy (e.g., eligibility for those on long-term
assignments and the war risk rider).
The consensus of the task force is that it is likely that
few FGSS have any knowledge about University resources
designed to support FGSS traveling abroad, e.g., travel
insurance, emergency evacuation services, travel agencies,
international health immunizations, and so forth, with the
exception of those in CCP and JHPIEGO and to a lesser
extent the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response and the
Bloomberg School's Department of International Health. On
the other hand, the task force was pleased to learn that
both JHPIEGO and CCP each have comprehensive safety and
security programs and services for all their affiliates.
Their programs and resources served as models for the task
force's recommendations.
The focus of these recommendations is on the provision of
tools and information for FGSS who travel to high-risk
areas of the world in order to allow them to make informed
personal decisions; to protect reasonably themselves from
foreseeable harm; to increase their own level of health,
safety, and security awareness; and to prepare for
emergencies abroad.
Recommendations for Faculty and Staff
Recommendation 1. Faculty and staff should be
cautioned, but not prohibited, from traveling to high-risk
areas of the world. In order to fulfill the mission of the
University, they must continue to be able to make their own
professional judgments about business travel, balancing the
risks with the rewards that international travel to high-
risk areas may provide. They are, in fact, often in the
best position to know about the risks inherent in traveling
to a specific area.
Recommendation 2. No one may be required or coerced
(e.g., by a faculty member, supervisor, or advisor) to
travel to high-risk areas. Faculty and staff who decide to
travel abroad must assume responsibility for their own
individual safety and security. While the task force
recognizes that FGSS must take primary responsibility for
their own safety, it also believes that the University
should make available to travelers a variety of services
and resources that address safety and security.
Recommendation 3. Faculty and staff should provide
notification and emergency contact information to their
dean or his/her designee prior to travel to high-risk
areas. This recommendation will require that each Hopkins
division create and maintain a notification process that
will record and monitor the information after it is
submitted. (See also Recommendation 10.)
Recommendations for Faculty who Manage Programs or Projects
in High-Risk Areas
Recommendation 4. Program or project managers,
including Principal Investigators, have a number of
responsibilities as the leader or director of a group. In
addition to their own safety and security, they must be
concerned about the safety and security of the program's or
project's staff. They should submit a list of program or
project staff, and a safety and security plan for the
program or project staff (if they were not included in the
proposal itself) to the dean or her/his designee prior to
program or project implementation. JHPIEGO's "Emergency
Readiness and Response Plan," available from task force
member and Global Operations Specialist Robert Harris,
provides an excellent model. The plan should include, but
not be limited to,
Recommendation 5. In cases where collaboration with
the United Nations, World Bank, a government agency, or a
non-governmental organization (NGO) does not exist, Johns
Hopkins faculty and staff who manage programs or projects
in high-risk areas should ally themselves with an NGO or
United Nations agency working in the same area.
Recommendations for Graduate Students (GS)
Recommendation 6. Like faculty and staff, GS should
be cautioned about, but not prohibited from traveling to
high-risk areas of the world. However, they should be
required to demonstrate that they understand and
voluntarily accept the risks inherent in international
travel to high-risk areas. To do so, they should complete
an "international travel checklist" and submit it to the
Dean or her/his designee. (The checklist used by the
Bloomberg School's Department of International Health for
its Master of Health Science (MHS) students provides an
excellent model and can be found in
Appendix H.) One of the
items on the checklist should be the signing of a liability
waiver or study release form prior to international travel
to high-risk areas. An updated (2005 version) Graduate
Student Study Release form can be found in
Appendix I.
Recommendations for Faculty, Graduate Students, and
Staff
Recommendation 7. FGSS should vigilantly monitor
consular and press reports regarding the country(ies) where
they plan to travel. Besides the U.S. State Department
consular reports, they should check the consular reports of
countries friendly to the U.S. (e.g., Australia, Canada,
and Great Britain) as well as reports from other
international agencies (e.g., United Nations). They also
should participate in the security briefings offered by
other organizations with whom they may be working.
Recommendation 8. When traveling in an area where
regular communication is difficult, FGSS should maintain
contact with the "travel safety and security coordinator"
(described in Recommendation 10 below) or his/her
supervisor/advisor. If necessary, the nearest U.S. Embassy
or Consulate should be asked to act as a contact point.
Recommendation 9. For FGSS who are likely to stay
for a prolonged period in a high-risk area of the world,
registration at the U.S. embassy or consulate is
essential.
Recommendations for Divisional Deans and
Directors
Recommendation 10. Each divisional dean or director
should designate a senior level administrator to be that
division's "travel safety and security coordinator"
responsible for planning and managing safety and security
issues for their own FGSS who travel to high-risk areas. If
more than one administrator is appointed (e.g., one for
faculty, a second for graduate students, and a third for
staff), they should coordinate their efforts. The appointed
senior level administrator(s) should:
Recommendation 11. Each division's Crisis
Management
Team should regularly review its policies and procedures to
assure that it has an adequate crisis management and
contingency plan to deal with a change in a country's risk
status or an international emergency, such as the
kidnapping of a FGSS member by a terrorist or death by a
natural disaster. JHPIEGO's "Emergency Readiness and
Response Plan" provides an excellent model for
consideration by divisions.
Recommendation 12. Each division should develop and
implement a procedure for working with program or project
managers to implement Recommendation 4.
Recommendations for the University's Central
Administration
Recommendation 13. The University should enhance its
International Travel website www.jhu.edu/purchasing/travel/intl_travel.html, for
example, by adding information and/or links as follows:
Recommendation 14. The Johns Hopkins Office of
Benefits Administration should attempt to renegotiate its
group travel accident insurance policy for employees with
the goal of eliminating the burden of reporting employee
names for travel (a) to war risk areas or (b) to another
country for more than 90 days. Until such time as the name
recording is deemed unnecessary, the Office should work
with divisional "travel safety and security coordinators"
to develop a user-friendly method for collecting such
information. One possibility is to develop a web-based
self-report process.
Recommendation 15. The Johns Hopkins Office of
Benefits Administration should attempt to renegotiate its
disability insurance and voluntary personal accident
insurance policies to provide coverage for losses sustained
due to terrorism and while traveling abroad on University
business to war risk countries.
Recommendation 16. The Johns Hopkins Office of
Benefits Administration should send periodic announcements
regarding the University's group travel accident insurance
policy to faculty and staff via listservs and
newsletters.
Recommendation 17. The Johns Hopkins Office of
Benefits Administration should work together with
divisional "travel safety and security coordinators" to
identify all Johns Hopkins University subsidiaries and to
provide the list to its insurance vendor (currently, The
Hartford Group) so a rider can be issued for the
University's travel insurance policy to include Johns
Hopkins subsidiaries. Furthermore, the Office of Benefits
Administration should update its website.
Recommendation 18. The Office of Human Resources
should revise the University's staff handbook to include a
section on international travel.
The task force is hopeful that Provost Knapp, the central
administration, and the divisional Deans and Directors will
accept the recommendations contained in this report. Once
the report's recommendations are endorsed, the task force
proposes that the Provost's Office work with the General
Counsel's Office to develop a policy statement that will be
distributed to the Johns Hopkins FGSS community. Once the
divisions name their travel and security coordinators,
Associate Provost Cranston can work with them over the
course of the Academic Year 2005-2006 to implement the
recommendations within their divisions. The task force
proposes that the International Affairs Coordinating
Committee, which is currently staffed by Dr. Cranston,
monitor divisional progress during the year. Likewise, Dr.
Cranston can work with members of the central
administration, e.g., with Purchasing and Human Resources
staff, to implement the recommendations that fall within
their domain. The task force proposes that all the
recommendations be fully implemented by fall 2006.
© 2005 The Johns Hopkins University.
Baltimore, Maryland. All rights reserved.
Recommendations
a process to determine
when to bring team members home or to take them out of
country or to cancel programs or projects; and one or more training
sessions for program or project staff that familiarizes
them with types of risk they're likely to encounter in the
high-risk environment. Generally, programs or projects are
implemented for or in collaboration with the United
Nations, World Bank, a government agency, or a non-
governmental organization that have their own emergency
procedures. If faculty are able to secure them in advance,
they could use them to train Johns Hopkins program or
project staff. (See also Recommendation 12.) Make information
regarding
University resources, as described on pages 6-8 and
suggested in Recommendation 13 below, readily and easily
available to FGSS who travel abroad. Given the
differences in Johns Hopkins divisions, the manner in
which to communicate this information will likely vary
by division. At a minimum, there should be a section in
each division's FGSS handbooks and a dedicated page on
each division's website. There may also be a session
during FGSS orientation programs devoted to these safety
and security information resources. Divisions also might
develop a booklet of relevant information that would be
distributed to all international travelers for the
purpose of having a reference guide easily available
(particularly in areas where internet access is
limited). Develop and maintain a
mechanism for gathering names and other key information
from the following two groups of the division's FGSS:
(1) travelers to high-risk countries, including those
identified by The Hartford Group as "war risk
countries," for any length of time; and (2) travelers to
any country for more than 90 days. So that these two
groups of FGSS can be eligible for the University's
travel accident insurance, report the names and required
information to the Office of Benefits Administration who
will notify The Hartford Group. (See also Recommendation
3.) Develop and maintain a
mechanism for distributing International SOS
cards and related information to the division's FGSS who
have need of such. Assure that divisional
procedures and practices as well as information products
related to high-risk business travel are reviewed each
year for accuracy and relevance. Distribute occasional
reminders to divisional FGSS via listservs, newsletters,
or other means to raise awareness about the inherent
dangers in international travel and to remind them about
divisional policies and procedures. Maintain occasional
contact with (or assure that the supervisor/advisor is
maintaining contact with) FGSS who are traveling in an
area where regular communication is difficult. (See
Recommendation 8 above.) Join Overseas Security
Advisory Council (OSAC),
www.ds-osac.org, which provides detailed and
up-to-date
news, reports, and analysis on security worldwide and is
supported by the U.S. Department of State. Johns Hopkins University
insurance policy information, e.g., the Group Travel
Accident Insurance policy International SOS:
www.lmu.edu/globaled/index.html Johns Hopkins School of
Medicine Department of Medicine International Travel
Clinic:
www.hopkinsmedicine.org/referraldirectory/dept.cfm?DeptI
D=6&DivisionID=11 Canadian Department of
Foreign Affairs and International Trade:
www.voyage.gc.ca/consular_home-en.asp British Foreign &
Commonwealth Office:
www.fco.gov.uk Australian Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade:
www.smartraveller.gov.au/ University of Southern
California Center for Global Education:
www.lmu.edu/globaled/index.html State Department
Registration with Embassies:
travel.state.gov/travel/tips/registration/registration_1
186.html World Health
Organization
International Travel and Health:
www.who.int/ith/en/ Travel Insurance
Comparison Site:
insuremytrip.com "Tips for Traveling
Abroad" (See Appendix J.)
Next Steps
Go to
Middle States Commission on Higher Education Self-Study
Report
Go to
Johns Hopkins University Reports
Go to JHUniverse
Last updated 06Oct05 by dgips@jhu.edu