Honors College Home Jamaica Program Info Syllabus Multimedia


  • Pre-departure things to-do list and safety checklist
  • FIU Office of International Studies Health & Safety Guidelines
  • Responsibilities of Participants
  • Recommendations
    Pre-Departure Things To Do List and Safety Checklist:
    • Obtain or hold insurance coverage for the trip. You MUST have insurance in order to participate in the Program.  Photocopied proof of insurance must be left with The Honors College office.
    • Contact the FIU Financial Aid Office, located at PC 125. Call Maria Tolon at (305) 348-2340 if you need to. They will ask you for a letter from The Honors College indicating that you have been  accepted into the Study Abroad in Spain Program.
    • Obtain or hold a current passport valid through June of 2009. All Dade-County Team Metro offices offer U.S. passports. For example, there is one continently located across from FIU at 1409 SW 107 Ave. REMEMBER: It takes these offices between four to six weeks to process and mail you the passports. The most efficient passport office is downtown, across Flagler Street from the Dade County Courthouse.  Call 1-900-225-5674 or visit the passport website for more information. You alone are responsible for all of your travel documentation.
    •     If you are an international student, contact the FIU Office of International Student Services (ISS), located at GC 217. You must do this if you are an international student in order to participate. Speak to Ana Sippin at (305) 348-2421.
    •     If you are an international student, contact the Spanish Consulate to verify which documentation you need. They are at 2655 Le Jeune Rd., Suite 203 in Coral Gables. Call them at (305) 446-5511.
    •     Completely fill out the Student Emergency Information Form and returned it to The Honors College office.
    •     Complete the OIS Release of Liability Form and return it to The Honors College office. You must do this in order to participate in the Spain Program Program.
    • Purchase a guidebook(s) for the trip.
    •     Read the following FIU / OIS Health and Safety Guidlines Considerations?


    FIU Office of International Studies Health & Safety Guidelines (abbreviated):

     The following information is provided for participants and their parents / guardians/ families regarding when and where the sponsor's responsibility ends, and the range of aspects of participants' overseas experiences that are beyond the sponsor's control.

    In particular, program sponsors generally:

    a) Cannot guarantee or assure the safety of participants or eliminate all risks from the study   abroad environments.

    b) Cannot monitor or control all of the daily personal decisions, choices, and activities of   individual participants.

    c) Cannot prevent participants from engaging in illegal, dangerous or unwise activities.

    d) Cannot assure that U.S. standards of due process apply in overseas legal proceedings or
     provide or pay for legal representation for participants.

    e) Cannot assume Responsibility for the actions of persons not employed or otherwise engaged by the program sponsor, for events that are not part of the program, or that are beyond the control of the sponsor and its subcontractors, or for situations that may arise due to the failure of a participant to disclose pertinent information.

    f)  Cannot assure that home-country cultural values and norms will apply in the host country.
     
     

    Responsibilities of Participants

    In Study Abroad, as in other settings, participants can have a major impact on their own health and safety abroad through the decisions they make before and during the program and by their day-to-day choices and behaviors.
     

    Participants should:

    1. Read and carefully consider all materials issued by the sponsor that relate to safety, health, legal, environmental, political, cultural, and religious conditions in host countries.

    2. Consider their health and other personal circumstances when applying for or accepting a place in a program.

    3. Make available to the sponsor accurate and complete physical and mental health information and any other personal data that is necessary in planning for a safe and healthy study abroad experience.

    4. Assume responsibility for all the elements necessary for their personal preparation for the program and participate fully in orientations.

    5. Obtain and maintain appropriate insurance coverage and abide by any conditions'

    6. Inform parents / guardians / families, and and, others who may need to know, about their participation in the study abroad program, provide them with emergency contact information, and keep them informed on an ongoing basis.

    7. Understand and comply with the terms of participation, codes of conduct. and emergency procedures of the program, and obey host-country laws.

    8. Be aware of local conditions and customs that may present health or safety risks when making daily choices and decisions.  Promptly express any health or safety, concerns to the program staff or other appropriate individuals.

    9. Behave in a manner that is respectful of the rights and well-being, of others, and encourage others to behave in a similar manner.

    10.  Accept responsibility for their own decisions and actions.

    11.  Become familiar with the procedures for obtaining emergency health and law enforcement services in the host country.

    12. Follow the program policies for keeping program staff informed of their whereabouts and well-being.
     
     

    Recommendations

    Recommendations to Parents / Guardians / Families

    In Study Abroad as in other settings, parents, guardians, and families can play, an important role in the health and safety of participants by helping them make decisions and by influencing their behavior overseas.
     

    When appropriate, parents / guardians / families should:

    1. Obtain and carefully evaluate health and safety information related to the program, as provided by the sponsor and other sources.

    2. Be involved in the decision of the participant to enroll in a particular program.

    3. Engage the participant in a thorough discussion of safety and behavior issues, insurance needs, and emergency procedures related to living abroad.

    4. Be responsive to requests from the program sponsor for information regarding, the participant.

    5. Keep in touch with the participant.

    6. Be aware that some information may most appropriately be provided by the participant rather than the program.



    .