EA takes very seriously the role of preparing students for their time abroad. Students are required to attend pre-departure orientations, familiarize themselves with extensive resources guides, including the Accepted Student Guide, and attend on-site orientation after they arrive.

Additionally, for students participating in CU Boulder Education Abroad programs and for those registered in the International Travel Registry, Education Abroad does the following:
 

1. Provides access to country-specific information including the United States Department of State’s International Travel page, Consular Information Sheets, and International SOS reports which provide basic health and safety information that we want and expect students to know.
2. Gives students information on registering their trip with the US Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). STEP registration allows the appropriate embassy to send information about safety conditions in the destination country and helps the U.S. embassy to contact students in an emergency.
3. Enrolls students in the Education Abroad international insurance policy.
4. Registers students in International SOS's TravelTracker service, which provides real-time updates on potential health, safety, and security risks that may arise while the student is on-site.

At the same time, this is necessarily a collaborative process. Ed Abroad can provide students with resources and advice, but students are ultimately responsible for their own actions in maintaining their health and safety, and for reviewing and following this guidance to keep themselves safe and healthy while abroad.

If you have a life- or limb-threatening emergency, you should always contact the local emergency response system first. You will be provided with emergency contact info for your program, including the 911 equivalent in your host country.

For non-life-threatening emergencies, your first point of contact should be your on-site staff, as they are in the best position to provide immediate help, whether that be accompanying you to the doctor, reporting a theft, or helping you replace a lost passport. International SOS can also provide you further support (+1-215-942-8478 - when calling, reference member ID 11BCAS000006).

See our What to Do in an Emergency page of the Accepted Student Guide for more information.

There are several resources designed specifically for travelers who want to receive pertinent updates. We recommend the following:

• US State Department Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) - students are required to enroll themselves in STEP prior to departure
• International SOS - CU Boulder Ed Abroad automatically enrolls all students in ISOS alerts
• US State Department Twitter alerts
• Resources for Students
• Monitor your email carefully for updates from CU Boulder or your program directly. Your program may also require you to download an app so they can send you health & safety updates, and check-in with you in case of emergency.