Off-Campus Trips & Excursions – On-Demand Training

Policies & Procedures to Protect Your Institution, Employees & Students 

Institutions of higher education — large and small, public and private — struggle with creating opportunities for student engagement and at the same time, balancing liability. Off-campus excursions are ripe with opportunities for accomplishing educational goals — and also for  potential liability. It is critical that institutions develop standards that help them to run trips safely for all participants.

You will align policy with practice to coordinate off-campus excursions in a way that will minimize risk to your institution, you and your students.

Foreseeability and negligence are key concepts that should concern you with regard to off-campus local, regional and international trips, as there are liabilities and risk associated with the choices made when coordinating and managing transportation and conduct.

Topics Covered

Gain crucial, actionable takeaways that will help you: 

• Train your faculty and staff on off-campus trips and liability issues to help ensure you limit exposure to risks while still allowing opportunities for critical academic and social endeavors.
• Explore the requirements you should include in a syllabus or conduct agreement for off-campus local, regional and international excursions — you’ll learn what has saved institutions in these circumstances, and what sunk them, so you can eliminate the chance of similar pitfalls. 
• Design a checklist for faculty and staff leading and advising off-campus excursions so you can decrease your liability while improving your faculty and staff’s ability to recognize potential issues and respond to a crisis should it arise.
• Minimize liability and prepare for problem scenarios, including medical evacuation, student death and unrest — be able to align practice with policies in terms of coordinating trips in a manner that will minimize risk, based on best practices and case law, including U.S. and international travel considerations.
• Explore travel documents and agreements that you can use with students on your campus so you can create a simple, streamlined process for your campus to accomplish educational goals without without fear, annoyance and significant red tape.

Presenter

Dr. Grant L. Azdell currently serves as the Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, and is a Professor at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia.
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