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While the Study Abroad Office/SAO closely monitors the safety of the areas you will visit, it is important to have a comprehensive emergency plan.  For example,  

1. Read the U.S. State Department Travel Advisories relevant to the area you plan to visit
2. Enroll in STEP/Smart Traveler Enrollment Program - .
3. Generate a Risk Management Plan.
   • Designate Helpers
   • Share the Plan with participants
4. Recommend that the students visit the U.S. Department of State’s website at:
5. Check if your overseas medical insurance coverage applies overseas.
6. Register with On Call International provided by UTEP (registration is automatic if your flights are arranged through the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é’s travel agency, Anthony Travel)
7. Familiarize yourself with local conditions and laws of your abroad destination
8. Take precautions to avoid being a target of crime, for example:
   • Do not wear conspicuous clothing or jewelry
   • Do not carry excessive amounts of money.
   • Do not leave unattended luggage in public areas
   • Do not accept packages from strangers
   • Do not leave the group.
9. Contact UTEP for all emergencies
10. When working with a third-party provider or local colleague, coordinate information and activities with them.
11. Sign your passport, and fill in the emergency information

Program directors should always have a copy of each student’s passport, and On Call International contact information. The Study Abroad Office will also have copies of these items on file.

Notify the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso Police Department Dispatcher, as soon as possible: 24-Hour UTEP Phone Number: (915) 747-5611

1. Contact the local authorities
2. Contact On Call International

1. 2. Phone: +1-978-651-9722 (dedicated line for UT system travelers)
   3. Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é Chat:
   4. Email: contat@oncallinternational.com
   5. Text only number: 603-945-0103

3. When contacting the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso Police Department Dispatcher (and/or the Study Abroad Office), program directors must be prepared to provide following information:
   1. Name of the student
   2. Details of the emergency
   3. Current location and any update to the director’s contact information
   4. Name and contact information of a second local person
   5.  
4. Notify the Study Abroad Office: studyabroad@utep.edu
   1. Determine the urgency of the situation and keep a log of what has happened and the responses (who, what, when, where, why, and how).
   2. Assess that the student(s)/ or staff is/are in stable condition both physically and emotionally.

Understanding that each situation is unique, the Study abroad Office has compiled guidelines that program directors can use to manage a crisis and/or mitigate risks while abroad.

• Events affecting multiple participants or entire program such as life threatening events
• Serious injury, illness, or hospitalization
• Missing person
• Terrorist events
• Natural disasters
• Major accidents
• Death
• Assault (physical/sexual)
• Arrest

In any emergency, SAO and all faculty and staff must exercise caution and restraint in deciding when, and with whom, information about an emergency will be shared. In particular, the faculty and staff members overseas must defer comment until they hear from the SAO. 

• Request that participants/staff do not to call, text, email, Facebook, tweet, Snapchat or communicate via any other social media with others until the designated representative from the Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso has communicated with the parents/guardians/significant others of the inflicted student or staff.
• Work with your local partners when in collaboration with an overseas partner or third-party provider.  Remember that they would have generated a health and safety plan; as well as have local contacts that could provide support.

Crime against a Student/Staff

1. Obtain the contact information of the person who filed the situation, as well as that of key witnesses.
2. Notify the Study Abroad Office and provide them with regular updates.

 Arrest of a Student/Staff

1.  On Call International provides 24/7 Global Risk Mitigation Service.
   1. Contact for assistance:

2. Contact The Study Abroad Office.
3. Notify the local US Embassy or Consular Office.
4. Visit the student as soon as possible; you may need to bring them basic necessities, such as food.

Missing Student/Staff

1. Determine how long the student has been missing.
2. Gather as much information about the student as possible from their roommate, host family, or neighbors.
3. Advise them to call, immediately, if the student returns.
4. Check hospital(s) and police department.
5. If the student does not return, contact the local authorities as well as On Call International. On Call will serve as a liaison to the local authorities and provide updates to you and UTEP.

 Psychiatric/Mental Health Emergency

1. Be supportive, speak with the student(s)/staff and/or seek assistance through On Call International*, if you notice any of the following warning signs:
   • Unusual poor academic performance
   • Expression of wish/intent to harm themselves or others
   • Disruptive acts, poor hygiene, mood swings, extreme anxiety
   • Nonsensical speech, rambling or disorientation, extreme weight loss or gain
   • Participating in activities under the influence of drugs or alcohol
   • *On Call International does provide travelers with tele-counseling services 24 hours a day. A limited number of sessions are covered through the plan before transitioning out to another provider is needed.

 Serious Illness, Injury, or Hospitalization

1. Call the country’s equivalent to 911 and/or get student to the appropriate location.
2. If you or a member of the group does not speak the local language, locate a staff member who can translate for you at the hospital/clinic.
3. Contact On Call International for medical evacuation, in the event of an emergency, or for guidance to the hospitals and clinics in the area.
4. A staff person should remain with the injured student at all times, if possible.
5. Notify the Study Abroad Office. The Study Abroad Office will contact the appropriate Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é personnel who will make notification to the student(s)’ emergency contact individual(s). The program director should not contact the student(s)’ emergency contact individual(s).

 Site Evacuation

1. With the guidance from On Call International, UTEP will bring faculty, staff and students home, at the point where the degree of risk to participants has been deemed unacceptable.
2. If this unlikely event were to happen, the Executive Director of Office of International Programs & Study Abroad, in consultation with On Call International, you, the U.S. Embassy and State Department, and appropriate individuals at UTEP will develop an evacuation plan in as much detail as possible.
3. This plan will be transmitted to you in confidence, and we will continue to work closely with you throughout the process.