Student Travel

1. PURPOSE

This policy is designed to promote safety and maintain the reputation of Brigham Young University–Hawaii ("BYU–Hawaii" or "university") during student travel on university business. Accordingly, this policy identifies eligibility and behavioral requirements associated with such student travel.

2. POLICY

Students must be approved and meet eligibility requirements to travel on university business. The trip approver will ensure that appropriate supervision, certification of traveler eligibility, and safety procedures are all established before travel takes place.

3. IMPLEMENTATION

3.1 Scope

This policy governs student participation in university business travel such as performances, competitions, research, workshops, and conferences. Internships are governed by the Internship policy.

Personal and routine travel are excluded from this policy.

3.2 Eligibility

Each student traveler must show that they

Do not have any enrollment holds (academic, financial, or honor code),
Have clearance from International Student Services,
Are enrolled as a full-time student for the semester of travel (or for summer break, enrolled for fall semester or deferment for a mission),
Are willing to comply with program specific eligibility standards.

Only students who exemplify the CES Honor Code and university standards in their everyday lives should be considered to represent the university through student travel.

Age restrictions may be placed on minor students when traveling internationally.

3.3 Approval of the trip and student travelers

The approver is responsible for ensuring that the proposed trip is consistent with the university mission and reasonable academic standards. It is also the approver's responsibility to verify that all eligibility requirements have been satisfied for each student traveler. This approval must be documented in writing as part of a written plan or itinerary for the trip prior to making travel arrangements.

The approver must reconfirm eligibility standards for individual student travelers immediately prior to the trip. Approvers may establish their own procedures for verifying traveler eligibility, but the approver is accountable to the university for adequately meeting the standards of this policy.

Approvers are designated as follows:

Performing group travel, such as music ensembles, theater companies, and academic competition teams is approved by a designated member of the President’s Council.
Travel on study abroad programs including, but not limited to, programs sponsored by other Church Educational System institutions is approved by the academic vice president.
Travel related to individual academic programs or research sponsored by individual faculty members including research trips or attendance/ presentation at conferences is approved by the relevant dean. When the travel activity is of interest to multiple faculty units, the approval for the trip is given by the associate academic vice president for faculty, and the approval for individual travelers is given by the dean over the sponsoring program.
Travel for other university business purposes is approved by the manager or director fiscally responsible for the travel.

3.4 Supervision

The approver ensures that adequate supervision is provided on trips that involve student groups. Supervisors should be regular full-time employees of the university. At the approver’s discretion, spouses of employees may be involved as additional supervisors. At a minimum, there should be one supervisor for every ten students. Supervisors should remain with the students throughout the trip and enforce the behavior standards. Good judgment must be exercised throughout the trip to avoid any appearance of impropriety between supervisor(s) and students.

One of the supervisors should be designated by the approver as the trip supervisor. The trip supervisor must be a full-time employee of the university. Trip supervisors are responsible for anticipating risks and providing appropriate supervision. Supervision should increase proportionally with trips that include hazardous elements or activities. Departments may purchase field trip accident insurance, obtainable by working with Campus Safety, at a nominal cost.

3.5 Behavior during the trip

The following expectations must be met by all student travelers.

Travelers travel together unless the nature of the activity requires separation, which must be approved in advance of the trip by the approver.
The planned itinerary is followed by both the group and the individual travelers unless a deviation is warranted by an emergency, which should be communicated to the approver as soon as feasible.
The CES Honor Code and Dress and Grooming Standards are followed throughout the trip by both students and supervisors.
Students may not engage in any activity prohibited by university policy, the trip supervisor, or the approver.
Local laws and cultural norms are respected throughout the trip.
Social activities will be under the guidance of the trip supervisor, who also designates reasonable curfew and spatial constraints for travelers. In general, pairing of student travelers of the opposite sex for private social engagements (e.g., dating) is not allowed during the trip.
Any other guidelines or restrictions designated by the approver or the trip supervisor must be strictly followed.
No unauthorized travelers (students or non-students) are allowed to participate in the travel group. No traveler may encourage and/or assist an unauthorized traveler in attempts to participate as a member of the travel group.

3.6 Accountability during and after the trip

Student travelers should use good judgment and are primarily responsible for their own safety.

When travel for a BYU–Hawaii-related activity will result in missing classes, students should provide faculty with a notification of absence and take responsibility to stay current with course requirements.

3.7 Trip Supervisor Responsibilities

The trip supervisor takes reasonable efforts to promote the safety of all students during the trip. This includes the responsibility to assist a student traveler in seeking necessary professional medical care and, if necessary, to send one or more travelers back to Honolulu early. The trip supervisor will notify the approver as soon as possible of any safety or medical issues and of any associated early departures. The approver will arrange for transportation of the student from the Honolulu airport back to campus or other relevant location.

If a student becomes seriously ill, is hospitalized, is involved in a serious accident, or dies on an approved trip, the trip supervisor should immediately notify the dean of students.

The trip supervisor will make reasonable efforts to remain available for communication with university personnel throughout the trip. It is therefore expected that the trip supervisor will monitor text messages and email regularly throughout the trip.

The trip supervisor is responsible for enforcing compliance with the trip rules and for taking appropriate corrective action. Depending on the seriousness of a violation, the trip supervisor has the authority to restrict a student’s participation in any part of the activities of the trip or to end the traveler’s participation completely by sending him/her back to campus early. If minor violations that do not merit curtailment of one or more of the trip activities persist after verbal warnings, the trip supervisor should send the traveler back to campus. The trip supervisor will notify the approver as soon as possible of any serious behavioral issues and of any associated early departures. The approver will arrange for transportation of the student from the airport back to campus. The university, at its sole discretion, may recover from a traveler any additional costs associated with early return.

It is the trip supervisor’s responsibility to submit an expense report within ten days following the trip to account for any cash advance(s) provided by the university.

3.8 Accommodations

Students must lodge in commercial venues unless the nature and location of the activity preclude the availability of such accommodations (e.g., field research in remote locations). In such cases, justification, details, and approval of alternative accommodations must be pre-approved by a vice president.

The university does not permit any student groups to stay overnight in the homes of private individuals or families, unless contracted through a university-approved third-party company.

In any lodging, unrelated travel companions of the opposite sex must stay in separate lockable rooms during travel. Unrelated travel companions of the same sex may share a room only if no power differential exists (e.g., there is no existing relationship of professor and student or supervisor and supervisee) and everyone is provided with a separate bed. Traveler(s) may not share a room with an individual who is not a member of the travel group.

3.9 Travel Arrangements

Travel arrangements are made through the university travel office. To the extent feasible, public transportation or university vehicles should be used for all segments of the trip.

3.10 Accompaniment by non-students other than designated supervisors

In general, non-students, nor concurrent enrollment students, should be official members of the travel group sponsored by the university. For example, collaborators in research, co-presenters at conferences, and hosts at competitions or performances are considered to be independent of the university group and are responsible for their own costs, lodging, supervision, safety, and insurance. In rare cases that the university assumes financial responsibility for some or all of the travel costs for a non-student participating with the group, the following criteria apply:

Participation by the non-student must be approved 60 days in advance by the trip approver.
The scope of the non-student’s participation, financing, and approval must be included as part of the written trip plan/itinerary.
The participation of the non-student is subject to the supervision of the trip supervisor.
The non-student must sign and submit to the approver a waiver of liability.
The non-student must assume responsibility for his or her own safety and insurance.

No other non-students may be an official part of the traveling group, and the trip supervisor or the approver has the authority to curtail the trip for any students encouraging or assisting and individual to violate this policy.

3.11 Travel Authorization

Students traveling domestically without university personnel for university-approved activities must submit a spend authorization in advance of the trip.

Student travel funded through a department scholarship or award does not require a spend authorization.

Students traveling with faculty, administrative employees, or staff may be included on that employee’s spend authorization.

3.12 Meals

Student groups may be provided with the following meal options, both of which can be used during a trip:

Option 1

Students engaged in BYU–Hawaii-sponsored and BYU–Hawaii-approved student activities may be given a meal allowance at the discretion of the dean or director and according to availability of budgeted funds. University personnel who are student group leaders may distribute to students from personal travel advance funds an appropriate amount of meal money not to exceed the established allowance. Receipts are not required; however, student group leaders must submit a list of students receiving meal money, the amount of money received by each student, and the signature of the student receiving the money. This list must be submitted with the expense report at the trip’s conclusion.

Option 2

Student group leaders may choose to have the entire group eat together for a meal and account for the meal expense as a group expense. If this option is used, reimbursement will be made for the actual meal costs, and receipts are required. All required documentation must be submitted with the expense report. (See  Hosting, Retreats, and Teambuilding policy.) Deans and directors should exercise caution and good judgment when authorizing this meal option as meal expenditures should not be extravagant. Meal expenditures determined to be unreasonable will not be reimbursed.

3.13 International Travel

The university uses Brigham Young University’s published list of current countries where travel is restricted. Restrictions are based on security, political, operational, health, and natural disaster risk factors within a country or region. The university may restrict travel for an entire country or regions of a country.

Countries that are restricted or have restricted regions generally require vice president approval after consultation with Travel Services and the President’s Council. This restriction applies to all BYU–Hawaii sponsored student experiences and to all experiences for which students may receive BYU–Hawaii course credit or travel under the auspices of the university. Exceptions will be considered for students who are native to and carry the passport of the country where they wish to travel.

Students permitted to travel to countries that are restricted or have restricted regions may be requested by the university to sign a release.

All students traveling abroad on university-sponsored programs and activities (such as performing arts tours) will be required to enroll in an additional university-sponsored international health and evacuation insurance plan beyond their own personal insurance plans.