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 such as, internships, performances, competitions, research, workshops, and conferences. Accordingly, this policy identifies eligibility and behavioral requirements associated with such student travel.

2. POLICY

Students travelling on university business within the scope of this policy must meet eligibility requirements (Section 3.2), and the trip must be approved by the dean(s), director(s), or administrator(s) fiscally, conceptually, and structurally responsible for the trip and the associated activities. The trip approver (defined in Section 3.3) will ensure that appropriate supervision, certification of traveler eligibility, safety procedures, are all established before travel takes place.

Travel destinations are classified by the United States Department of State according to the level of risk to the safety of travelers. Travel to destinations designated by the Department of State as Levels 3 or 4 is prohibited by this policy. Moreover, travel to destinations listed as Level 2 must be carefully evaluated with respect to the importance of the trip and the adequacy of planned safety precautions prior to approval.

3. IMPLEMENTATION

3.1 Scope

The implementation details (e.g., eligibility, approval process) for internships is governed by the Internship policy.

Personal travel, errands on Oahu, and routine travel associated with a student’s employment, are excluded from this policy.

For all other student travel on university business, the implementation details described in the following sections apply. Although much of this policy focuses on travel beyond the island of Oahu, the same principles, especially with respect to safety and appropriate representation of the university, should be applied as relevant also to travel on Oahu. It is the responsibility of the approver designated in Section 3.3 to make reasonable adaptations of procedures for local travel so that the purpose of this policy is retained while not over-encumbering the approval process.

3.2 Eligibility

Students traveling under the scope of Section 3.1 must meet the following criteria; otherwise, they are not approved to travel. Each student traveler must

1. Be enrolled at the university during the semester of the travel (if the travel occurs during the summer break, continuation as a student evidenced by registration for the following fall semester or deferment for a mission is required). See Section 3.10 for authorized exceptions to this enrollment requirement.
2. Be in good standing academically.
3. Be in good standing with the Office of Honor.
4. Have met with Financial Services to clear for travel any financial holds, if applicable.
5. Comply with any additional eligibility standards required by a specific program.
6. Be at least 18 years old.

Additionally, all international students must consult with their Designated School Official (DSO) or Responsible Officer (RO) in the International Student Services Office prior to traveling outside Oahu.

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/or reasonable academic standards. It is also the responsibility of the approver 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 (Section 3.2) for individual 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:

1. Travel of performing groups such as music ensembles, theater companies, and academic competition teams is approved by a designated member of the President’s Council.
2. Travel on study abroad programs including, but not limited to, programs sponsored by other Church Educational System institutions is approved by the Vice President for Academics.
3. 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.
4. Travel for other university business purposes is approved by the manager or director fiscally responsible for the travel.
   

3.4 Supervision

The approver (see Section 3.3) 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 described in Section 3.5. 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.

3.5 Behavior during the trip

The following expectations must be met by all travelers.

1. Travelers travel together unless the nature of the activity requires separation, which must be approved in advance of the trip by the approver named in Section 3.3.
2. The planned itinerary is followed by both the group and the individual travelers unless a deviation is warranted by an emergency situation, which should be communicated to the approver as soon as feasible.
3. The Church Educational System (CES) Honor Code and Dress and Grooming Standards are followed throughout the trip by both students and supervisors.
4. Students may not engage in any activity prohibited by university policy, the trip supervisor, or the approver.
5. Local laws and cultural norms are respected at all times throughout the trip.
6. 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.
7. Any other guidelines or restrictions designated by the approver or the Trip Supervisor must be strictly followed.
8. No unauthorized travelers (students or non-students) are allowed to participate as members of 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

Students travelers should use good judgment and are primarily responsible for their own safety. The Trip Supervisor should also take 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 according to university policy (e.g., treatment facility).

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

The Trip Supervisor is responsible to enforce compliance with the rules designated in Section 3.5 and to take 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 for reasons described in this paragraph.

It is the Trip Supervisor’s responsibility to submit a written accounting within ten days following the trip for any cash advance provided by the university. For details related to this responsibility, please see the Financial Services web page under the heading “Procedures to be followed by employees who receive cash advances for university travel.” The approver of the trip has the ultimate responsibility to ensure that the Trip Supervisor complies with this paragraph.

3.7 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 specified in the official trip plan/itinerary. In addition,

1. Supervisors and students must lodge separately.
2. Travelers who are married to each other may lodge together provided no one else shares the room.
3. Traveler(s) may not share a room with an individual who is not a member of the travel group.
4. Single students may be housed in the same room provided that males and females are in separate rooms and every student has access to his or her own bed.

3.8 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.

3.9 Accompaniment by non-students other than designated supervisors

In general, non-students should not 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:

1. Participation by the non-student must be approved in advance by the trip approver.
2. The scope of the non-student’s participation, financing, and approval must be included as part of the written trip plan/itinerary.
3. The participation of the non-student is subject to the supervision of the Trip Supervisor.
4. The non-student must sign and submit to the approver a waiver of liability.
5. 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.

4. RELATED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Death of a BYUH Student
CES Honor Code
Dress and Grooming Standards