CGE Safety Notices and Information
SAFETY NOTICES
Statements – Mexico
June 12, 2009
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday, June 11, that the pandemic alert level for H1N1 influenza has been raised from phase 5 to phase 6 based on the scientific criteria for an influenza pandemic. In the speech announcing the raised level, the WHO director general emphasized that the overall severity of the pandemic is moderate. Most individuals recover from the infection without hospitalization and the levels of infection and severity of symptoms are similar to seasonal influenza. Hospitals and health care systems have been able to accommodate people seeking care.
WHO continues to recommend no restrictions on travel and no border closures. The Office of International Programs and the Center for Global Education will continue to monitor the situation as reported by WHO and CDC.
The Office of International Programs and the Center for Global Education will continue with all international travel seminars and programs as scheduled.
For additional information on the WHO announcement see:
http://www.who.int/en/
http://www.cdc.gov/H1N1FLU/
May 18, 2009
Center for Global Education - Travel update
As of May 15, 2009, the Centers for Disease Control downgraded the Travel Warning to Mexico into a Travel Health Precaution:
http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/content/travel-health-precaution/novel-h1n1-flu-mexico.aspx
No travel warnings exist for other sites in which the Center for Global Education at Augsburg College has programs. However, because of the H1N1 influenza (swine flu) outbreak in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control has also cautioned people traveling from the US about possible international travel delays due to novel H1N1 flu screening procedures: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/content/news-announcements/delays-H1N1-screening.aspx
They recommend that if you are sick with symptoms of influenza-like illness you should not travel.
The health and well-being of our current and future students and our staff and faculty members at all of our sites is our top priority. Moving forward, we will continue to monitor conditions and we will not hesitate to make whatever programming changes are necessary.
May 6, 2009
Center for Global Education - Summer programs update
The Center for Global Education at Augsburg College has closely monitored the increased number of H1N1 influenza (swine flu) cases around the world and in the areas surrounding our sites in Mexico, Central America and Namibia.
The health and well-being of our current and future students and our staff and faculty members at all of our sites is our top priority. Moving forward, we will continue to monitor conditions - especially in Mexico - and we will not hesitate to make whatever programming changes are necessary.
With the World Health Organization continuing to refrain against issuing travel restrictions, the Center for Global Education will hold all of its summer programs as scheduled. That includes programs at our site in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
This decision is based on several factors:
- The number of H1N1 cases across the globe have not expanded at a exponential pace. The number of cases in Mexico is decreasing and there have not been signs of rapid growth there.
- Cuernavaca is in a a state that has only had four confirmed cases of H1N1, all of which have been successfully treated.
- Traditionally, students spend their first week in Mexico in Mexico City, but that part of the program has been at least postponed.
- Our students in Cuernavaca have access to masks and oseltamivir, an anti-viral drug used to fight the H1N1 virus.
- Upon their arrival in Cuernavaca, students will be urged to let the staff know immediately if they come down with any flu-like symptoms.
If students or institutions continue to have concerns or fears about Mexico and the H1N1 virus, we will gladly allow them to transfer into our Spanish program in Guatemala, which begins on May 31. Indication of this should be made by May 15.
We are in daily contact with our staff in Mexico and we will not hesitate to reroute or cancel programs as needed. As always, we continue to monitor all developments around the world and how they could impact our international sites.
April 29, 2009
Mexico travel update – Swine Flu
The Center for Global Education at Augsburg College continues to closely monitor the increased number of H1N1 influenza (swine flu) cases around the world, particularly in regards to our site in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
We are continually monitoring information from the Center for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and the U.S. State Department and the health and well-being of the 23 students in the Cuernavaca program and our staff and faculty members there.
While a number of institutions have opted to end current programs and have students return to the United States, our current semester programs in Mexico are scheduled to be completed as planned.
That decision is based on several factors.
- According to the State of Morelos Secretary of Health, only four cases of H1N1 have been confirmed in the state. Of those four, only one case has been found in Cuernavaca, a city of about 350,000.
- Our students are housed in one of two houses owned and operated by CGE rather than in a hotel or in residence halls operated by a Mexican university. In addition, our students eat in the facilities where they live.
- Our students are not currently frequenting new locations, visiting public venues that may have high exposure risk or taking classes in conjunction with an institution that is currently closed.
- In addition, remaining on location in Cuernavaca may present less risk than moving through the Mexico City airport at this time.
Ann Lutterman-Aguilar, our site director in Cuernavaca, met with students and urged them to let the staff know immediately if they come down with any flu-like symptoms. Masks have been purchased for our students and staff and a number of them are wearing them. Students have been advised not to travel and to certainly avoid the Mexico City area, where the H1N1 virus has been more widespread.
If any of the 14 other schools that have students at our CGE site decide that they should return to the U.S., Augsburg College will certainly help the students make arrangements to go home early and to complete their coursework there. The same is true if parents would like their child to leave or if any of the students in Cuernavaca want to return to the United States.
In addition, students were given information about alternative airports to use for their travels home when the semester ends in two weeks. It may be possible for students to fly out of Cuernavaca, Toluca or Acapulco rather than Mexico City.
We are in daily contact with our staff in Mexico and we will not hesitate to reroute or cancel programs as needed.
A decision on CGE summer programming in Cuernavaca is tentatively scheduled to be made on May 7. That is when the national closure of schools and universities in Mexico is scheduled to be lifted. At that point, more will be known about the H1N1 virus and how much it has spread.
Programming in other CGE locations is continuing as planned; however, we are also closely monitoring events in those countries.
April 27, 2009
Mexico travel statement - Swine Flu
The Center for Global Education at Augsburg College is closely monitoring the increased number of cases of swine flu throughout Mexico. We are extremely concerned with the health of the students from both Augsburg and our partner institutions along with the staff at our facility in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
At this point, no significant cases of swine flu have been reported in the Cuernavaca area. However, we are regularly monitoring information from the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. Our staff in Mexico has been in contact with the United States embassy in Mexico. We will continue to monitor developments over the upcoming days and weeks.
The Center for Global Education has taken the following steps in response to the increasing number of swine flu cases.
- Spring semester courses are continuing in Cuernavaca. They are scheduled to continue until mid-May.
- Students have been urged to limit travel and to avoid all travel to Mexico City.
- Face masks have been purchased for our students to use, should they choose.
- The schedules for our summer Spanish programs that begin at the end of May have been modified. That program was to open with students spending several days in Mexico City. That program will now begin in Cuernavaca.
We are in daily contact with our staff in Mexico and we will not hesitate to reroute or cancel programs as needed or as advised by the United States government through a travel warning.
For further information on swine flu, the CDC has prepared a list of precautions for people traveling to Mexico to reduce their risk of infection. That list is at: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentSwineFluMexico.aspx
March 5, 2009
The Center for Global Education at Augsburg College would like to respond to the recent U.S. State Department Travel Alert for Mexico regarding increased violence, mainly near the US-Mexico border. We would like to reiterate that the reported increase in violence is mainly in Northern Mexico along the US-Mexico border and does not affect travel to Mexico as a whole. The majority of the Center’s travel seminars take place from the program facility in the city of Cuernavaca, an hour south of Mexico City and over 1,100 miles from the US-Mexico border - approximately the same distance that exists between Washington, DC and Minneapolis, MN. Other areas in which the Center sometimes operates include Chiapas and Oaxaca, south of Cuernavaca and even further from the US- Mexico border.
The Center has offered travel seminars in Mexico since 1979 and has full time staff living in Cuernavaca who closely monitor the current situation. The Center’s staff has not reported any significantly increased safety or security risks in Cuernavaca or the State of Morelos. While most crime victims are Mexican citizens, US citizens are advised to follow the same precautions as anyone living in a large city anywhere in the world. The Center’s faculty and staff in Mexico provide extensive health and safety orientations to all program groups. In addition, a night watchman is on the premises of the CGE Mexico facilities every night to provide security for participants in residence at the Center.
Although we have taken groups to the border regions of El Paso/Ciudad Juarez and the region of Tucson, Arizona-Nogales, Sonora, we have suspended all border programs until the violence subsides and the situation becomes safe enough to continue our educational programming there.
The Center plans to continue all other scheduled programming in Mexico, but will continue to carefully monitor the situation. We will not hesitate to curtail or cancel any or all programming in Mexico if an increased threat in any area warrants further cautionary decisions. In the event of an emergency, we will follow our emergency preparedness plan.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN
Center for Global Education at Augsburg College
with Field Sites in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Namibia
March 22, 2004
The purpose of this document is to provide information about Center for Global Education emergency preparedness in light of the Worldwide Caution issued by the U.S. State Department in March, 2004.
In consultation with the Center’s international staff regarding global and local conditions, a decision has been made to continue Center for Global Education semester programs and travel seminars as scheduled. An Emergency Response Team will continue to monitor both world-wide and local conditions. If deemed necessary because of changing conditions, any or all of the emergency protocols already in place will be implemented.
Center for Global Education Contact Information
Office Hours (8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. CST)
Toll-free number 1-800-299-8889.
Nights and Weekends
Cell Phone (24/7) (612) 817-2830
Emergency Response Team
In Minneapolis:
Director, Center for Global Education
Associate Director, Center for Global Education
Coordinator for Semester Programs Abroad
Director, International Travel Seminars
In Mexico: Site Director
In Guatemala: Program Director
In El Salvador: Program Director
In Nicaragua: Regional Director
In Namibia: Site Director
In locations where Center for Global Education does not have permanent staff, local consultants are available to participate in a response team.
Risk Assessment
Members of the Emergency Response Team consider several sources of information when determining the status of program operations:
- Public announcements, travel advisories, and consular information sheets issued by the U.S. Department of State (http://www.travel.state.gov)
- Information gathered locally by international program staff
- Other resources at our sites of operation, including U.S. Embassy officials
- SECUSSA (Section on U.S. Students Abroad) of the Association of International Educators, that shares comparative security information from study abroad sites around the globe
In making individual decisions concerning participation, we suggest that students, travel seminar participants, and their parents carefully review the State Department Travel Advisories web page: http://www.travel.state.gov/.
Orientation and Training for Participants
Every Center for Global Education program begins with a comprehensive orientation to the country, city, and facilities, which includes, among other information, an explanation of any local risks the resident directors have identified and tips for enhancing personal safety. Participants are provided emergency contacts, including on-call schedule, cell phone number, etc.
On-Site Care and Insurance
Each site maintains a list of recommended local health and mental health providers. The Center for Global Education requires health/emergency/medical insurance for all participants, and has an arrangement with an insurance provider for those who do not currently have such insurance that covers them outside of the country. The price of this insurance may be included in the cost of the program.
Monitoring
International program staff stay informed of conditions and changes in local health and safety risks, and inform participants of any changes that occur. International site directors and members of the Emergency Response team subscribe to the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs travel advisory service and automatically receive Public Announcements and Travel Warnings as soon as they are issued.
Security Systems at International Facilities
At each of our facilities the following safety/security measures are observed:
- Secure premises requiring a key for entry
- Security services are contracted by site as needed
- Safe is available for participants’ travel documents and personal valuables
- No signage or other indications identifying the facility as a U.S. institution
- On-call schedule and emergency contacts are given to all participants
- Participants doing independent travel apart from the program schedule are required to submit an itinerary of their travel plans
- Health and safety orientation including emergency and preventive measures
Emergency Protocol at International Sites
- Semester students are registered at the US Embassy.
- Each site has in place a contingency plan to deal with local emergencies.
- Participants are required to receive permission to leave the group for independent
- travel, and they are required to leave a written itinerary with the CGE staff.
In the Event of a Local Emergency
Local staff will monitor and evaluate the situation based on personal experiences, observation, and information gathered from local sources. Based on this information and analysis program staff will determine what, if any, action needs to be taken. Responses may include:
- Keeping a low profile, limiting movements, and remaining on program premises or with a host family
- Canceling or rerouting planned trips/activities
- Implementing a local contingency plans that may require (a) extra caution, (b) relocation of the program to a different site in the same city or country or to a nearby country, or (c) suspension of the program and evacuation of participants.
In the Event of a Worldwide Crisis (such as armed conflict involving the U.S.):
Programs will continue within countries that are not directly affected by the crisis. Students and travel seminar participants will be asked to contact their parents by phone to confirm their well-being and safety. An e- mail will be sent to parents from the Minneapolis office to confirm the safety and well being of students and program participants and to confirm the continuation of the program.
In the event of a new, major armed conflict involving the U.S., it is advisable for staff to keep students and program participants at their current program location for 24 to 48 hours (e.g. if the students are in home stays or in a rural area) unless there is information indicating that the location is or soon could be unsafe. This period of time should be used for the purpose of assessing any events or responses within the country that might pose a risk to the group before moving to the next program location. If there is no security risk, then program should continue as planned. If there is a security risk of any nature, the program should be modified to assure the safety of students and travel participants. Satellite phones will be acquired to assure communication when program activities occur in remote sites without cell phone or landline connections.
Minneapolis staff and international staff will be in contact with each other immediately in the event of a worldwide crisis. Frequent information sharing will occur to apprise the respective staff of any changes regarding the security of students or continuing program in each site.
Each international site will develop an evacuation plan to be implemented in the event of a natural disaster, political or social unrest, or armed conflict that endangers students.
In the event of program cancellation
- Teaching faculty will make every effort to assist students in completing the coursework, making alternate and substitute assignments as needed
- In general, no refunds will be issued unless faculty are unable to implement a substitute curriculum to complete the courses
- Whenever possible, recoverable costs will be refunded.
Voluntary Withdrawal from a Program
Students and parents may decide to voluntarily withdraw from the program independent of cancellation by CGE. In this eve nt, transportation home is at the student’s own expense. The student will be given make-up assignments to be completed at home. No monetary refunds will be available should the student leave early and not complete makeup assignments.
Center for Global Education
Crisis Management Policy
Effective date: September 16, 2001
Purpose: The purpose of the crisis management policy is to
1) Maintain the security and safety of the program participants
2) Minimize exposure to the media that might further jeopardize partic ipants and program
3) Manage the flow and authenticity of information within and outside of the organization.
Scope: A crisis situation could include any of the following:
- Death, serious illness, or injury of one or more program participant(s) or staff members
- Major outbreak of fighting or natural disaster in an area of programming
- Arrest or jailing of a program participant or staff member; a serious threat to the health or safety of program participants or staff members
- A program participant (short-term or semester program) leaves the program early and unhappy
- The intimation or threat of a law suit
- Any significant negative publicity about the organization.
Policy: In any of the above situations, a crisis management team is formed immediately. It should be comprised of:
- The Assistant Vice President, Office of International Programs (in his absence, the Associate Director, Center for Global Education)
- The staff person working with the travel seminar sponsor or Coordinator of Semester Programs Abroad (whichever is directly affected)
- The country’s Augsburg staff person primarily responsible for the particular program (if applicable)
- The travel seminar sponsor or in-group leader accompanying the program
- In crises involving Augsburg faculty, students and/or staff, the Associate Dean will contact the Vice-president/Academic Dean or one of the following: College President, Director of Human Resources or Director of Public Relations. If other staff members are to be involved, it is the decision of the crisis management team.
Steps to be taken in a crisis situation:
- During office hours call: The Center for Global Education Office in Minneapolis: (612) 330-1159. After office hours and on weekends call: Center for Global Education Cell Phone (24/7) (612) 817-2830
- The Center staff directly involved (trip leader, in-country leader etc.) must report the crisis immediately to the Minneapolis director/coordinator of the program affected. In the absence of that person, the person to be contacted is listed below in order: Assistant Vice President, Office of International Programs, Associate Director, Center for Global Education
- The crisis management team meets promptly to determine the appropriate response.
- The crisis management team drafts a memo and/or holds a meeting to brief Office of International Programs staff on the crisis, inform them of the designated point person(s) and the appropriate staff response internally (within the organization) and externally (outside the organization).
- A crisis incident report must be submitted to the Assistant Vice President of International programs within two weeks of the incident by the staff person most involved with the crisis. The report should include a description of the initial event, steps taken, and any other relevant information.
- Any further follow-up is the responsibility of the crisis management team.
