Policy 05-007 Program Cancelation

I.  POLICY SUMMARY

This document describes the policies and the rationale for cancelations of UCEAP programs that are based on US government agency assessment, and on UC Presidential Directives on travel restrictions. Generally, cancelations may occur because of security, health, academic quality, or operational concerns. In executing its academic and administrative oversight responsibilities, UCEAP and/or the UC Office of the President (UCOP) reserves the right to cancel operations if conditions so warrant.  UCEAP reserves the right to modify, suspend, or cancel, any UCEAP program prior to departure or while in progress should such a decision be warranted by a change in health, safety, or other country conditions that impedes regular program delivery regardless of the current US DOS Advisory Level and/or CDC Travel Health Notice.

II.  CANCELATIONS BASED ON SECURITY

A.  BACKGROUND

UCEAP strives to educate students on how to remain reasonably safe while studying abroad. Risk, the health and welfare of all students, staff, and faculty abroad, and institutional liability are factors in considering program cancelations. UCEAP considers US Department of State (DOS) Travel Advisories, either independently or in conjunction with other US government agencies, when determining to cancel a program due to security concerns.

US DOS posts Travel Advisories (TA) for countries and regions based on information they collect. UCEAP monitors and thoroughly considers all DOS travel information. Conditions in any country or region may change at any time.

• Level 1 - Exercise Normal Precautions: This is the lowest advisory level for safety and security risk. There is some risk in any international travel. Conditions in other countries may differ from those in the United States and may change at any time.
• Level 2 - Exercise Increased Caution: Be aware of heightened risks to safety and security. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time.
• Level 3 - Reconsider Travel: Avoid travel due to serious risks to safety and security. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time.
• Level 4 – Do Not Travel: This is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. During an emergency, the U.S. government may have very limited ability to provide assistance. The Department of State advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time.

In addition, UC Presidential Directives can limit or restrict travel for the UC community due to security concerns.

B.   POLICY

UCEAP issues security-related program cancelations when US DOS Level 4 (Do Not Travel) is issued, and on UC Presidential Directives. Accordingly, UCEAP doesn’t initiate, operate, supervise, direct, or otherwise support a new program, or a new term of an existing program, in countries for which such DOS TAs or UC Presidential Directives are in effect. In these instances, the UCEAP Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director (AVP&ED) issues a formal statement of program cancelation.

Should a UC Presidential Directive or a DOS Level 4 TA be issued after the start date of a UCEAP term, UCEAP will evaluate the safety and security conditions at the program location and region to determine if programming can continue. UCEAP will consult, if time permits, with the affected UC study center or partner abroad, US DOS regional and security analysts, US Mission Regional Security Officer, other US institutions of higher education with programs in the country or region, UCOP Risk Services,

UC travel insurance and security providers, and area experts. Once UCEAP ascertains whether programming can continue, the UCEAP AVP&ED requests an exception to the Program Cancelation policy, and/or an exception to the UC Presidential Directive from the UC President (see section 4.0), or supports the cancelation of the program. If time permits, the UCEAP program director will consult with the study centers or its partners to determine the appropriate period for canceling the program and/or the evacuation of students, faculty, and staff from the host country or region. When reasonably possible, UCEAP assists the students in completing their academic program while minimizing adverse financial consequences. UCEAP works with the UC campuses to help students transition back to campus classes.

Should a UC Presidential Directive or a US DOS Level 4 TA be issued for a specific region of a country before the start date of a UCEAP program term in that region, UCEAP will consult with the affected UC study center and/or partners abroad, US DOS regional and security analysts, US Mission Regional Security Officer, other institutions of higher education with programs in the country, UCOP Risk Services, UC security and insurance providers, and area experts to determine whether the threat level to continue operations can be reasonably controlled.

If a UC Presidential Directive limiting or restricting travel is issued, UCEAP will evaluate the safety and security conditions at the program location or region to determine if it’s appropriate to request a presidential exception. When the UC Presidential Directive is more restrictive than US DOS TAs, its application to UCEAP programs supersedes US DOS TAs.

In the event the US DOS TA or UC Presidential Directive is removed for a country or region in which UCEAP has ceased operating an existing program(s), UCEAP will resume such program(s) within a reasonable and appropriate time frame, unless factors other than safety provide an independent reason for continuing the cancelation of the program(s). Depending on the specific security situation, UCEAP must first request the UC security providers to carry out a thorough risk assessment before the resumption of UCEAP-sponsored operations start.

III.  CANCELATIONS BASED ON HEALTH CONCERNS

A.   BACKGROUND

Many US and international health agencies issue scalable definitions for travel notices about emerging health issues abroad. Depending on the urgency, all US government agencies will coordinate advisories and guidance on disease outbreaks for travelers. UCEAP considers notices from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), either independently or in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO), and DOS TA with a health risk indicator when determining to cancel a program due to health concerns.

B.   POLICY

UCEAP issues health-related program cancelations if the CDC Travel Health Notice (THN) Level 4 Avoid All Travel or US DOS TA 4 (Do Not Travel) with a health risk indicator is issued, and on UC Presidential Directives restricting University-sponsored travel due to health risks.

The THN informs travelers and clinicians about the risk level of health issues, like disease outbreaks, special events, and natural disasters in destinations around the world. Countries or regions experiencing health outbreaks could put a student’s health at risk and could impact local medical infrastructure.

Accordingly, UCEAP won’t initiate, operate, supervise, direct, or otherwise support a new program, or a new term of an existing program, in any country or region for which the CDC, independently or in partnership with WHO or other government agencies, issues a THN warning or high-risk level, or for which the US DOS issues a Level 4 TA with a health risk indicator. In these instances, the UCEAP AVP&ED will issuea a formal statement of program cancelation.

The UC President may issue a directive restricting travel due to health risks. When the directive is more restrictive than CDC THN and US DOS TA, its application to UCEAP programs supersedes US DOS TAs.

Should any of these travel advisories be issued after the start date of a UCEAP term, UCEAP consults, if time permits, with the affected UCEAP study center/UCEAP representative, CDC and WHO health experts, other US government agencies, US institutions of higher education with programs in the country or region, UCOP Risk Services, UC travel insurance and security providers, UC campus health experts, and area health agencies to determine the appropriate time frame for canceling the program and/or the departure of the students, faculty, and staff from the host country or region. Once UCEAP ascertains whether programming can continue, the UCEAP AVP&ED requests an exception to the Program Cancelation policy and/or the UC Presidential Directive (see section 4.0), or supports the cancelation of the program. When reasonably possible, UCEAP assists students in completing their academic program while minimizing adverse financial consequences. UCEAP will work with UC campuses to help students transition back to campus classes.

In the event the US DOS TAs or UC Presidential Directive is removed for a country or region in which UCEAP has ceased operating an existing program(s), UCEAP will resume such program(s) within a reasonable and appropriate time frame, unless factors other than health provide an independent reason for continuing the cancelation of the program(s). Depending on the specific health situation, UCEAP must first request the UC health and security providers to carry out a thorough risk assessment before the resumption of UCEAP- sponsored operations start.

IV.  EXCEPTIONS TO SECURITY AND HEALTH POLICIES

A.   EXCEPTION TO POLICY

In compelling circumstances, depending on the local or regional situation and the potential risk to students, the UCEAP International Health, Safety, and Crisis Management unit will work with the UC health and security providers in consultation with the UCOP Risk Services to provide a general assessment of the situation, issue recommendations for program restrictions and specific travel restrictions to students (if necessary), review partners’ contingency plans, and discuss with the AVP&ED to consider requesting an exception to this policy and/or a UC Presidential Directive, if such exception is deemed reasonable. After review, if the recommendation is to continue the program, an exception to policy will be requested from UCOP. Such requests are supported by health and security overviews and/or assessments by UC health and security providers, recommended program modifications to help mitigate risk (e.g., travel restrictions, required cell phones, additional student waivers), and other considerations depending on the situation. A final decision on the appeal for an exception is issued by the UC President or their designee.

B.   EXCEPTION CRITERIA

The exception request is evaluated within the context of the potential risk to students and UCEAP. Exception request criteria must include mitigating controls and assessments of the following (among others): analysis of current US government restrictions, data issued by official sources, and the local situation; a general overview from the UC health and security providers; a list of enhanced safety protocols that students will be required to follow; student policies and agreements; local partners’ contingency plans and protocols for enhanced risk reduction; and any additional information that may be specifically requested by the UC President. Exception requests that create significant risks without compensating controls will not be not approved.

V.  CANCELATIONS BASED ON ACADEMIC QUALITY

A.   BACKGROUND

The Academic Senate, through the University Committee on International Education (UCIE), exercises academic oversight over UCEAP. Among other responsibilities, UCIE formally reviews existing programs and approves new programs. Having active involvement by UC faculty in the development of new programs ensures that they are of comparable quality to UC and that the proposed curricula can be integrated into UC academic majors and programs. In addition to direct faculty oversight, UCEAP maintains a standard set of informational documents that, taken together, provide assessments of the academic strengths and weaknesses of various programs. These documents include annual reports from each UC study center director or local liaison officer and/or visiting UC faculty or UCEAP staff, and annual status and strategy reports providing a review and assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each program.

B.  POLICY

UCEAP doesn’t initiate, operate, fund, supervise, direct, or otherwise support a new program, or a new term of an existing program, in any host institution if that program doesn’t meet UC standards of quality. To ensure program quality, ongoing assessments are done by the AVP&ED and the Associate Dean(s), and include consideration of such factors as the academic rigor of learning opportunities, course availability, professional qualifications of faculty, accreditation, UC faculty program reviews, student evaluations, study center director or program director input, reports from UCEAP-international faculty exchange visitors, and access to appropriate research and library resources, among other things.

Program cancelation provides an opportunity to develop a plan for restoring program viability. UCEAP attempts to remediate problems of academic quality for programs that have been identified as problematic. If such remediation is unsuccessful, UCEAP will close the program after consulting with UCIE. The AVP&ED has the formal authority to close programs for academic quality reasons.

VI.   CANCELATIONS BASED ON OPERATIONAL FACTORS AND CONDITIONS

A.  BACKGROUND

Programs being considered for cancelation because of operational factors and conditions are identified through a variety of mechanisms: the annual status and strategy reports, annual reports, student evaluations, recommendations from study center directors or program directors, enrollment reports, and others. UCEAP attempts to remediate the program in those instances that it determines are appropriate and feasible. UCEAP alerts the relevant UCEAP community in those instances that remediation is authorized. UCEAP then reviews the condition(s) or factor(s) that triggered the remediation plan after an appropriate interval of time to determine if they have been satisfactorily addressed. If remediation is unsuccessful, UCEAP will cancel the program after consulting with the UCIE.

B.   POLICY

UCEAP may cancel a program based on operational factors and conditions. These include, but are not limited to: the level of enrollment in the program; the financial impact of operating the program and its participants; ability to meet administrative and logistical requirements associated with operating the program; local conditions affecting the safety, health, and welfare of the students and the UCEAP study center; or other factors related to being able to fulfill the provisions and obligations of the contractual agreement between UC and the host university or program provider. UCEAP cancels a program if conditions so warrant after consulting with the University Committee on International Education and CFD. The AVP&ED has the formal authority to cancel programs based on operational considerations.