Penn State sends faculty, staff and students abroad each year on more than 10,000 trips to all corners of the world. In most circumstances, this is normal operating procedure for a global university. But, when unforeseen events occur -- illness, theft, political unrest -- the Travel Safety Network (TSN) was created to streamline Penn State’s ability to assist in emergency situations.
“The safety of our faculty, staff and students is our highest priority,” said Michael Adewumi, vice provost for global programs. “We have had several emergency situations in the past few years when we have needed to provide emergency evacuation to faculty and students. We want to prepare ahead of time, not in a reactive way, for these instances.”
Faculty, staff and students traveling are encouraged to register at http://tsn.psu.edu.
Parents are encouraged to have handy access to the TSN website.
The Global Programs Faculty Senate Sub-Committee, Risk Management, Export Compliance Committee in the office of Sponsored Programs, Ethics and Compliance, Student Affairs and students all provided input to streamline the TSN.
By registering travel in advance, benefits include:
-- Emergency assistance: logistics, emergency coordination, case management, emergency message transmission, insurance assistance and claims.
-- Access to HTH-GeoBlue International Medical Insurance: comprehensive medical coverage, payment of medical expenses, medical evacuation or repatriation, security and natural disaster assistance and evacuation
-- Group registration for the U.S. Department of State’s Smart Travelers Enrollment Program: security messages from local embassy, event updates and emergency assistance
-- Access to country-specific travel resources: trip planning, logistics, customs regulations, safety and security advice
-- Customs regulations/intellectual property compliance screenings for eligible travel
“This is a soft launch of the system, which means that participation from faculty and staff is voluntary, but students are mandatory,” said Jennifer Campbell, director of student engagement and operations in Global Programs and the TSN project manager. “By utilizing the Travel Safety Network you gain the immediate international safety and travel benefits while providing valuable feedback as an end user.”
To register travel on the TSN, go to http://tsn.psu.edu. For questions, contact tsn@psu.edu.