When terror struck London this past March with a rampage near the British Parliament, the University’s Office for Global Engagement was able to quickly confirm the whereabouts and safety of all known University travelers in the area and directly connect with them to offer any needed assistance. This response is part of an institution-wide international travel registry managed by Alan Ryon in the Office for Global Engagement. The registry creates a connection between the University and travelers while they are abroad, as well as provides students, faculty and staff with pre-departure and region-specific resources for international travel.
“The travel registry provides a secure system for faculty, staff and students to enter their global travel itineraries and contact information, and in turn have my office as a single point of contact for many resources,” said Ryon, manager for international travel and security in the Office for Global Engagement. “Its biggest benefit is the emergency preparedness—we are able to share important safety and security information with travelers ahead of time, and reach them in the event of an emergency to potentially activate travel insurance benefits, health care services, or even evacuation assistance.”
Currently, any student, faculty or staff member who uses Town & Country Travel to book an international trip is automatically entered into the registry and soon after receives an email from the Office for Global Engagement with specific destination information, health advisories or State Department travel notices to be aware of, or special requirements for entering a country. The Office for Global Engagement subscribes to IJet International, a service that provides daily—if not hourly— profile information for any country and risk analysis that can be passed along to travelers.
International travelers who book travel through agencies other than Town & Country can enter their travel plans into the registry at http://www.rochester.edu/global/travel, or by forwarding their complete itinerary information to urglobaltravel@ijet.com. This should be done in advance of departure and is for academic, business or any travel that is considered University sponsored or supported. Students planning to travel for coursework, research, fieldwork, internships should first register through the Center for Education Abroad at abroad@rochester.edu.
All travelers can also download important University phone numbers to have on hand by texting URGlobalTravel to 444999.
“We want every community member to feel connected to the University even when far away in another country,” says Ryon.
For full information, visit http://www.rochester.edu/global/travel/.
