In order to maximize the value of study abroad, students need to engage directly with the host country's society and culture and with its intellectual and professional environments. To accommodate diverse student interests, educational needs and priorities, we offer an array of program options in all of the world's major regions. This year MSU will offer 152 programs in 52 countries. And nothing will fully protect those who ignore good advice or do not exercise good judgment. However, we work to prepare our students to live and learn in another culture, to design programs that minimize risk, and to inform students of behaviors and places to avoid.
Study abroad presents some unique challenges for our students' safety.
Sending students to different cultures with unfamiliar laws, language and customs requires us to prepare them so that they do not inadvertently offend their hosts or get themselves into trouble. Some countries to which we send our students have limited health care systems which requires us to take special measures to prevent illness and deal with health problems should they arise. Susceptibility to crime is an issue we must examine, whether here or abroad. Different patterns of criminal behavior in locations abroad require us to be vigilant about conditions in countries where we place our students and to have sufficient prior knowledge of locations or situations that should be avoided. As I will lay out, we have comprehensive policies, procedures and action plans in effect to deal with each of the major concerns.