Travel - Risk Assessment
Travel involves certain risk that should be identified prior to the trip departure date. It is important to identify the potential risks, determine how to reduce or avoid the risks, and how to respond in the event an emergency occurs on a field trip involving ground transportation, domestic air travel or international travel.
Academic Field Trips are defined as mandatory or voluntary activities outside the regularly scheduled class room/laboratory environment arranged, supervised and led by a faculty and/or staff member. Field trips include travel within the continental United States. Field Trip participants may include enrolled students, employees and identified University volunteers. Participant's and employee's parents, partners, spouses, siblings, children who are not enrolled university students or employees, and pets are not authorized to participate in University Field Trips.
While Field Trips can provide a valuable learning experience, they can also present risks to the student, faculty and the University. Field Trip Guidelines have been developed to minimize risk without jeopardizing the learning experience.
The University and faculty members are responsible for the welfare of students who travel internationally as part of a course or in any other way are under the supervision of a faculty member. Risk Management Administrative Guideline for Foreign Travel Liability Insurance Program has been developed to assist faculty members in reducing risk to themselves, to students and to the University uniquely associated with international travel. This Adminstrative Guideline is not a substitute or reiteration of University requirements for the development ad implementation of short-term international study/travel programs that confer academic credit.
CSU affiliated programs are defined as programs that are offered by, or pursuant to a program, of the California State University, any student body organization, or any organization affiliated with any such organization, or with any combination thereof.
The following requirements associated with student air travel are contained in the CSU Executive Order No. 1041 dated May 29, 2009 (PDF).
Minimum Travel Insurance
Students Participating in California State University affiliated programs who are traveling by air on flights which are not regulated by the U.S. Department of transportation and/or not subject to liability insurance minimums established by the U.S. Department of Transportation shall first obtain, or have obtained on their behalf, trip insurance covering bodily injury and death of the student and for the loss of or damage to property in the maximum amount available for American insurance carriers.
Notice to Students: Release and Hold-Harmless Provisions
Students participating in CSU affiliated programs which require air travel shall be informed in writing that participation in such programs is voluntary and that air travel involves risks to personal safety which could result in damage to property, injury, or death. Students participating in such travel shall be in writing that the California State University assumes no liability for damage, injury, or death occurring on such voluntary air travel and that students undertake such travel at their own risk.
Students participating in CSU affiliated programs which require air travel shall be required to acknowledge that they have been informed of the risks of air travel required by such programs and to sign a statement certifying that they have been informed of an undertake such air travel voluntarily with full knowledge of such risks, and release and hold harmless the state of California, the California State University, California State University, Long Beach, and each and every officer, agent, employee and volunteer of each of them, from any and all claims and causes of action that the student, or any person(s) claiming through the student, may have against any of the above institutions or persons, by reason of any accident, illness, or injuries, death, or other consequences resulting directly or indirectly from or in any manner arising out of, or in connection with, the student being a passenger on a flight.
