5 Trends Impacting Higher Education Safety and Security Plans
Higher Education is a unique ecosystem heavily impacted by sociocultural and environmental change — so when it comes to developing robust Assistance, Safety & Security plans, it’s essential to keep a finger on the global pulse. Based on research, client concerns, and conversations with industry experts, I’ve compiled a list of five trends Higher Education institutions should keep in mind when planning for the safety of their students, faculty, and staff during the 2023-2024 academic year:
The return of travel
Expanding coverage for international students
The state of COVID coverage
Increasing mental health needs
Improved coverage for diverse student populations
Let’s take a closer look at each.
1. Travel is back
After COVID brought the world to a standstill, people are finally starting to feel comfortable traveling internationally again — and study abroad is no exception. Vanderbilt shared that a record-breaking 589 students studied abroad during the 2022-2023 year, and Brown reported 266 students studied abroad during the Spring 2023 semester, “the largest number since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.” But while we anticipate another year of activity abroad, the travel landscape has changed in the wake of COVID and there are new considerations to keep in mind — like tracking travel.
Tracking the travel plans for all students, faculty, and staff has evolved from a best practice to an essential action item following the pandemic. Additional compliance measures should also be implemented to ensure all movements are accessible from a central database. To help with this, many assistance providers now provide tracker systems or work with travel management programs.
Beyond ensuring students, faculty, and staff have the travel and assistance coverage they need, Higher Education institutions should also make sure they understand how any alumni travel programs are covered — an increasingly robust group that is often overlooked.
2. Expanding coverage for international students
International study is also rebounding; in November 2022, the Washington Post reported, “The number of international students increased 4 percent in the 2021-2022 academic year to nearly 1 million students, coming from more than 200 countries, the survey found, a rebound that many higher education officials hoped to see.”
Institutions routinely cover students studying abroad, but some do not extend the same coverage to international students studying at a U.S. campus. Complicated plans and changing coverage pose additional challenges for international students. Ithaca College recently recounted the stories of several international students becoming “confused and frustrated when their health insurance was abruptly denied in Fall 2022 by the college’s affiliated health insurance broker.”
If U.S. Higher Education institutions are going to welcome a growing number of international students, they need to provide comprehensive, accessible, and equitable coverage. Support for emergency evacuation and repatriation should also be a part of any assistance plan for international students. You may consider asking your current broker for outgoing international travel coverage about plans for incoming international students.
3. Questions around continuing COVID coverage
The return of travel and international study begs the question: is COVID — and COVID coverage — really over? Like all things COVID-related, the answer is not that simple.
COVID coverage is often tied to government mandates and can vary by state and country. As you re-examine any new coverage your institution added during the pandemic, here are two important things to consider:
Pandemic Evacuation Coverage. This type of coverage allows for an evacuation to be covered if a pandemic is declared in the country where you are traveling. Without this specific coverage in place, a pandemic declaration is often not enough to trigger an evacuation. However, political and security evacuation coverage would kick in if the pandemic caused conditions to deteriorate to a point where security concerns arose. Likewise, medical evacuation coverage would kick in if the pandemic caused an illness.
Quarantine Coverage. This coverage often specifies that a quarantine must be government-mandated, so if the government in question no longer (or rarely) requires quarantines, this coverage may be difficult to use. Some policies provide a more generous definition that allows coverage if a quarantine was medically recommended — which is certainly something to look for and consider.
4. Increasing mental health needs
Unfortunately, many people — but especially teenagers and young adults — are suffering from the long-term psychological effects of the pandemic. My colleagues in Higher Education report student resilience is at an all-time low, and mental health conditions are worsening.
The good news is there are solutions Higher Education institutions can pursue to help meet the needs of this vulnerable population. We routinely work with assistance providers to improve mental healthcare coverage for students on campus — but especially while they’re studying abroad, a time often accompanied by additional stressors and uncertain access to adequate care.
To ensure students' mental healthcare needs are covered while studying abroad, I recommend Higher Education institutions ask their assistance providers about the following:
Individualized pre-traveling screening tools that produce a comprehensive, configurable, and confidential personal travel risk assessment
Pre-departure mental health awareness training
The ability to call and receive advice on medications or set up advance appointments
Access to free counseling sessions
An app or remote portal students can access for pro-mental health resources
Dedicated mental health resources identified and utilized solely for specific program sites
A medical team that can determine if and when repatriation is necessary and facilitate the process
Additionally, it’s important to make sure assistance providers are well-versed in the age group you are covering and the common mental health concerns that often accompany international travel. If there are gaps in your study abroad coverage, specialized providers like mindhamok and Being Well Abroad are a great way to offer auxiliary support.
5. DEI is top of mind
Underscoring all the aforementioned trends is the importance of an unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) when developing emergency assistance plans for your students, faculty, and staff. The intersection of Safety and Security with DEI isn’t a new topic, but what we often don’t hear about is the pivotal role international insurance and emergency assistance providers can play in advancing DEI efforts.
As more students from diverse backgrounds study abroad — and travel from abroad to study in the U.S. — the better prepared Higher Education institutions must be to support them. Here are some of the most important questions to ask insurance and assistance care providers to ensure your Higher Education institution is supporting all student populations, at home and abroad:
How are your students covered and enrolled? It’s important not only to understand these processes, but also the implications of different approaches. Follow-up questions include:
Is coverage mandatory?
Is coverage blanket or individual enrollment?
Is it self-enroll or roster?
Who is covered, and for what kinds of travel? You should also inquire about double coverage with the study abroad provider and any coverage supplied by affiliated partners.
How are students of varying identities supported? Understanding the differences in legislation and cultural perception is key to protecting the well-being of diverse student populations abroad — and, increasingly, in the U.S. Until we achieve true equity, it’s important to ask providers about the specific security measures in place for potentially vulnerable populations such as:
Members of the LQBTQ+ community
Students with high financial need
Those with pre-existing health conditions
Students with dependents
Female-bodied people
Racially-diverse populations
With the right insurance and assistance providers, coverage for diverse populations can be improved. The key is for Higher Education institutions to get involved in the negotiation process when determining coverage. Ask questions. Advocate for your students, faculty, and staff — nobody knows your community better than you do. And when in doubt, bring in a trusted partner to help broker the most comprehensive, accessible, and cost-effective Assistance, Safety & Security plans.