Emergencies and Incident Reporting

If you are in need of emergency assistance, please refer to the resources and contact information on this page. For non-urgent information and resources, refer below.

Develop a Contingency Plan

Program directors should consider the health and safety risks that could impact their program and should take steps to mitigate those risks. You should also develop plans to respond to incidents appropriately and understand incident reporting procedures.

Responding to Emergencies Abroad

Confirm the safety and well-being of all education abroad program participants.
Seek appropriate medical care and/or get to a safe location. If you or an education abroad participant needs emergency assistance, contact the local emergency authorities.
Follow the advice of local authorities. Often this will include sheltering in place.
If you need to communicate the well-being of your program, contact the Office for Global Health, Safety and Security. If you need immediate help or guidance call the MSU 24/7 International Emergency Line at +1-517-353-3784.
Implement any instructions given and communicate instructions to your education abroad program. Maintain communication with Office for Global Health, Safety and Security using phone, text, email, or social media as agreed upon.
In case of a critical incident, you should be prepared to be on-call 24/7 until the situation is resolved.

In the event of a major incident, Office for Global Health, Safety and Security can assist with:

Accounting for students.
Responding to concerned parents.
Communicating with emergency contacts.
Updating MSU officials including the Office of Education Abroad.
Managing media inquiries.
Assessing the safety of your location for continued program presence.

In an emergency abroad your, primary responsibility is safeguarding the well-being of your participants. MSU will reimburse program directors for any expenses incurred as a result of an emergency.

Incident Reporting

The Office for Global Health, Safety and Security is responsible for coordinator the university's management of health and safety incidents on education abroad programs. We have developed robust procedures to respond to incidents and are connected to campus and external partners that can help us resolved issues effectively and appropriately. 

To report an urgent issue, contact the MSU 24/7 International Emergency Assistance Line at +1-517-353-3784.
For non-urgent issues, please email the Office of Global Health, Safety, and Security at globalsafety@msu.edu.

Please report any incidents that:

are disruptive (or potentially disruptive) to the program 
affect (or have the potential to affect) the health, safety, and security of the program and/or its participants
violate MSU policies (e.g. the Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct policy, the Anti-Discrimination Policy) or federal laws (e.g. the Jeanne Clery Act)
you need help resolving

Please report incidents even if they have been resolved on site. This helps you and your students get the support you need and allows our office to better understand the health and safety needs of education abroad programs. 

Student Conduct While Abroad

Please familiarize yourself with the conduct expectations and disciplinary actions that are communicated to students via our website and their online pre-departure orientation. More details on your role as a program director are provided during Critical Incident Management training. View Student Conduct Information.

Responding to Sexual Misconduct Abroad

The University Policy on Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct (RVSM) stipulates that faculty and staff are "responsible employees" (formerly called mandatory reporters). If you learn that sexual misconduct—defined as sexual harassment, sexual violence, or sexual exploitation—has occurred on your education abroad program, you are required to report this to MSU. Learn more about responding to sexual misconduct abroad.

Remember that a survivor may feel a variety of emotions after experiencing sexual misconduct. It is important that the survivor understands that what happened is not their fault. Visit the MSU Center for Survivors for information on how to support survivors.