Health & Safety

Safety and Security Abroad

Student Health Overseas

Health Insurance

Safety and Security Abroad

We recognize that parents may worry when they send their son or daughter overseas. However, we can assure you that the safety of our students is a primary concern. Below we explain the safety precautions taken by International Programs and our on-site staff. We also make recommendations for parents and students to help you become as informed and prepared as possible.

In response to recent world events, the staff at our Rome and Tokyo campuses have reviewed safety procedures, are in regular contact with U.S. Embassy officials, and have extensive local contacts. Students are routinely briefed by the staff on personal safety, and any U.S. State Department communiqués are shared with students as they are received.

For our summer programs, International Programs consults the announcements from the U.S. State Department as well as the faculty directors and on-site contacts to assess the safety and security of the program sites. During the pre-departure and on-site orientations for all programs, students are informed of potential risks as well as of precautions they can take to reduce these risks.

We recommend that all students and their parents consult the U.S. State Department travel web site before and during their period abroad (www.travel.state.gov).  The State Department issues several types of announcements: Country Specific Information Sheets, Travel Alerts, Worldwide Caution, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information Sheets are available for every country of the world. They describe entry requirements, currency regulations, unusual health conditions, the crime and security situation, political disturbances, areas of disturbances, as well as emergency telephone numbers for U.S. consulates and embassies. Travel Alerts provide information about relatively short-term and/or transnational conditions posing significant risks to the security of American travelers. They are issued when there is a perceived threat, even if it does not involve Americans as a particular target group. Worldwide Caution Announcements have been issued by the State Department since September 11, 2001, and provide updated information on the continuing threat of terrorist actions and violence against Americans and interests throughout the world. The most serious announcement is the Travel Warning. In some dangerous situations, the U.S. State Department issues a Travel Warning, recommending that Americans defer travel to a country or to a particular region within a country.

We encourage parents to become as informed as possible about the country where their son or daughter will be studying, as well as to stay informed about world events. If students call home from abroad with concerns about their personal or group safety due to something they witnessed or experienced first-hand, parents should advise them to contact the program director or someone on the on-site staff immediately.

There are certain safety precautions that students abroad can take. The following are some of the recommendations that we make to students in our pre-departure manual, as well as in our orientations:

• Before departure, stay abreast of the news in and from the region where you will be studying. While abroad, read the local and international newspapers, read CNN online or watch it on TV (if available), and listen to or read the updates provided by your program director.
• Develop a plan with your family for regular telephone or email contact.
• Avoid political rallies or demonstrations.
• Maintain a low profile and avoid obvious American symbols and establishments.
• Keep emergency contact information with you at all times (for the program as well as for the ISIC 24-hour collect emergency number).
• If you are taking an excursion that is not related to your program, make sure the Dean (Temple Rome), Manager of Student Services (Temple Japan), or the Program Director (summer and non-Temple programs) knows where you will be going and how to contact you in an emergency.
• If you plan to travel independently to other countries, refer to the U.S. State Department web site (www.travel.state.gov) to read the Country Specific Information Sheets on each country you plan to visit.

We continue to monitor world events, and advise you to visit the State Department’s website for any updates. In addition, the State Department has a website geared specifically towards students studying abroad: >S T U D E N T S A B R O A D>>. Please see Resources for other web sites that you might find useful.

Student Health Overseas

Since the physical and mental well-being of your son or daughter is a fundamental component of a successful and happy stay abroad, students should plan ahead and schedule check-ups with their physician, dentist, and eye-care specialist before departure. Even mild physical or psychological disorders can become serious under the stresses of life while studying abroad. In order to ensure that students stay healthy while away from home, it is important that they discuss their treatment plan with their physician.  We encourage all students to consider what they need to do before they depart in order to stay healthy while overseas. Students who have a pre-existing condition should discuss their treatment plan with their physician and their family to ensure that they can stay healthy while away from home.

If your son or daughter calls home with a physical or mental health concern, please advise him/her to talk to the program director or someone on the program staff immediately. Staff on site are usually in the best position to help a student resolve any issues. Occasionally, students will first contact their parents but not speak to someone on site. Parents will then contact International Programs in Philadelphia, who then will contact the staff overseas. This extra step delays resolution of the problem.

For up-to-date information on health conditions in the country where your student plans to study abroad, refer to the Centers for Disease Control's Travelers' Health website at: http://www.cdc.gov/.

Immunizations may be required for travellers to certain countries.  In some cases, students may need to receive multiple immunizations, which can be costly.  Students can research recommendations for specific countries also on the CDC's website.

If you have any questions or concerns about availability of medical care on any of Temple's study abroad programs, please ask your son or daughter to contact International Programs.

Health Insurance

All students participating in a Temple University study abroad program are required to have health insurance with international coverage, which must be purchased in the United States. This insurance must be valid for the duration of the student’s studies abroad. For this reason, all Temple study abroad participants are required to purchase the International Student Identity Card (ISIC), which carries a basic sickness/accident insurance policy.

The benefits of this policy include:

Sickness medical expense coverage of $165 a day to a maximum of 61 days
$25,000 Accident medical expense
$300,000 Emergency medical evacuation (mental health problems are excluded)
$5,000 Accidental death and dismemberment--air
$1,000 Accidental death and dismemberment--other
$500 Travel document protection
$100 Baggage delay
• $100 Travel delay

There are some exclusions in the above ISIC coverage.  For coverage questions or to request a claim form, contact the insurance provider (Travel Guard) directly at (877) 370-4742.  Please refer to the Travel Documents section for information on how to obtain an ISIC.

While Temple University requires that students participating in its study abroad programs maintain ISIC coverage at a minimum, the University highly recommends that students purchase additional insurance and discuss this issue with their family. Before you purchase additional insurance, check with your current insurance carrier to determine whether coverage will extend overseas. The following is a list of companies that offer short-term travel health insurance. Temple University is not endorsing a specific company and encourages each student to determine which policy serves the student’s specific needs best.

For further information concerning insurance, you might also want to refer to the State Department's recommendations for U.S. citizens traveling abroad.

Currently, students studying at Temple Rome are required by the required by the Italian government to purchase an Italian Health Insurance policy that is limited to emergency care at public Italian hospitals and would not cover you for emergencies outside of Italy or non-emergency medical care in Italy. For this reason, you should not take this insurance policy into account when determining your health insurance needs while abroad.  The cost of the insurance (currently $150/semester, $85/summer) will be added to the student’s bill, and Temple Rome staff will obtain the insurance for students.

Also, all non-Japanese students studying at Temple Japan on student visas are required to join the Japanese national health insurance program. The potential benefits for this insurance are high. When students visit a doctor or dentist in the national health care system, and show their national health insurance certificate, they will receive an automatic 70% discount. Insurance benefits apply to medical and dental treatments, and prescriptions.  Students will receive instructions on how to purchase the insurance (currently $32 for four months) during on-site orientation in Tokyo.

Some other programs require additional insurance in order to obtain a visa.  Information is provided to accepted students.

You should be aware that most insurance companies (and hospitals and physicians overseas) will require students to pay medical expenses out of pocket, submit claim forms and receipts, and then be reimbursed. This may not pose problems for doctors' visits, but if a student needs to be hospitalized for any reason, many hospitals overseas require payment before the student can be admitted. This can amount to several hundred dollars or more, so please plan accordingly.

Please be aware that if insurance coverage is purchased specifically for the period your student is abroad, most policies will not cover treatment for pre-existing conditions. If your student has a condition that will require treatment while he/she is abroad, be sure that the policy that currently covers him/her will extend overseas.

In the event of a medical emergency overseas, all students on a Temple University study abroad program also have access to 24-hour assistance through International SOS. International SOS services help students with medical, personal, travel, and security information when away from home.

Finally, students should take claims forms and a copy of their insurance policy with them overseas.