Volume 2, Number 1, Winter 2000 - Summer 2001

Introduction

by Gary Rhodes

The third edition of the SAFETI Newsletter includes discussions of issues not dealt with in the first or second editions. The SAFETI On-Line Newsletter serves to promote the development and dissemination of information on issues related to health and safety and study abroad.

Articles focus on issues ranging from the response of a student to her injury while participating in study abroad, a FAQ for parents of students participating in study abroad, feedback from a trial lawyer who defended an institution sued for liability related to a student who was injured during study abroad, a look at how much detail one might want to put into responding to the needs of students with learning disabilities, and how one institution responded to the Interorganizational Task Force Guidelines on Safety and Responsibility in Study Abroad.

The Special section in this edition provides the testimony of all those who were part of the October 4, 2000 Congressional Hearing on Safety and Study Abroad. Along with being the first time that this issue reached such a high level of the government, it is important to obtain the perspectives of a sample of the study abroad interest groups: the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department. of Education, parents, a university President, a study abroad program director, and a private global security company.

In the Web Resources for Study Abroad section, we highlight the Interorganizational Task Force Guidelines on Safety and Responsibility in Study Abroad Guidelines, a letter that has gone to US college and university presidents from the American Council on Education, and resources available through the US Department of State’s Overseas Security Advisory Council.

The SAFETI (Safety Abroad First - Educational Travel Information) Clearinghouse Project, develops and disseminates resources to support study abroad program development and implementation, emphasizing issues of health and safety. This is possible using a World Wide Web-based Clearinghouse format, enhancing collaboration between higher education institutions, government, and non-governmental organizations. The SAFETI Clearinghouse is funded through support by FIPSE (the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education) of the US Department of Education. It is a part of the Center for Global Education at the University of Southern California.

We hope that you find the articles in the Newsletter useful. We will be publishing the Fourth Edition in Summer/Fall 2001. If you have ideas for articles or experts that you think we should contact, or if you would like to contribute an article, we would appreciate hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Gary Rhodes, Editor and Director
Center for Global Education
SAFETI Clearinghouse
Center for Global Education
UCLA Graduate School of
Education and Information Studies
8907 Math Sciences Building,
Box 951521
University of California, Los Angeles
Phone: (310) 206-5376
E-Mail:
URL: http://www.globaled.us/safeti/

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Gary Rhodes, Ph.D. is Director of the Center for Global Education at UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, and Editor of SAFETI (Safety Abroad First - Educational Travel Information) Clearinghouse. Before this, Dr. Rhodes served as Program Coordinator in the USC Office of Overseas Studies for nine years. His doctoral dissertation for his Ph.D. in Comparative and International Education Systems/Administration of Higher Education is titled Legal Issues and Higher Education: Key Issues for Institutions and Administrators (May 1994). He has served as an expert witness, written articles, given presentations, led workshops, and has been widely cited at the local, national, and international level in issues related to health and safety, risk management, and legal issues for study abroad. He has served NAFSA: Association of International Educators (NAFSA) as the Region XII (California, Nevada, and Hawaii) Representative for Study Abroad (SECUSSA) and is currently a NAFSA Professional Development Program trainer for Education Abroad Advising. He is co-author of the chapter "Legal Issues" in NAFSA's Guide to Education Abroad for Advisers and Administrators, 2nd Edition (1997). He serves as a member of the MICROSIG Steering Team, and is member of the SECUSSA Subcommittee for Data Collection.