International travel safety reminder

Dear UIC campus community,

As a reminder, UIC's International Travel Policy requires that all faculty, staff and students traveling internationally on UIC-sponsored business or programs must enroll in the appropriate International Travel Safety Portal before traveling. Enrollment also is required to receive reimbursement.

If you are traveling internationally for non-UIC-related purposes, please review the non-UIC-related international travel considerations below.

Faculty and staff traveling abroad for university-related purposes are required to:

• Seek approval from their supervisor and/or departmental leader as outlined in their unit's protocols for requesting travel.
• Submit trip details in the International Travel Safety Portal.
• Submit trip details to Gallagher, UIC's international health insurance provider, for the university's international health insurance (provided at no additional cost to faculty/staff members). Information about submitting trip details to Gallagher is available as a task in the portal.
• After submitting trip details to both the portal and Gallagher websites, travelers will receive email confirmations, which can be used for expense report submission. Information on acceptable documentation for expense reports is available under the FAQ section on the International Travel Safety webpage.

Students traveling abroad for university-related purposes are required to:

• Submit trip details in the International Travel Safety Portal.
• Submit trip details to Gallagher for the university's international health insurance. The current cost of international health insurance for students is available here. Information about submitting trip details to Gallagher is available as a task in the portal.

Travel to countries with elevated travel advisories

Furthermore, the policy states that students traveling to any country with an elevated Travel Advisory from the U.S. Department of State (Level 3: Reconsider Travel and Level 4: Do Not Travel) or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Level 3: Avoid Nonessential Travel) are subject to additional review by the Office of Global Engagement. Students are also prohibited from traveling to countries for which the U.S. Department of State has issued an evacuation order.

In March, the Office of Global Engagement notified faculty, students and staff with planned travel to the Middle East that the U.S. Department of State had issued a Worldwide Caution alert with a specific focus on travel to that region. As of today, this alert remains in place. Therefore, proposed travel to the Middle East region, or other locations with Level 3 or Level 4 Travel Advisories, for UIC-sponsored business or programs will continue to undergo additional review.

Insurance Coverage Considerations

Please note that Gallagher monitors global geopolitical situations and maintains an active list of countries/regions with war risk. If faculty, staff or students are approved to travel for university business to a country or region on this list, certain insurance benefits will not be provided unless a war risk endorsement is purchased through Gallagher. The university requires that a war risk endorsement be purchased in these cases. Please contact the Study Abroad Office at [email protected] for the list of war-risk countries or for more information.

Non-UIC-related international travel considerations

Faculty and staff who travel internationally as part of an outside activity must receive preapproval for the trip through the UIC Conflict of Commitment & Interest research portal accessed via the UIC Research COI link on the Conflict of Commitment & Interest webpage. Faculty and staff whose travel is paid for by any entity other than UIC as part of their UIC activities must receive preapproval under the Educational Materials and Missions exception to the Ethics Act. Purely personal travel should be reported to your supervisor or unit executive officer, but travelers should not enroll in the International Travel Safety portal for this travel.

Faculty, staff and students who travel internationally, particularly with UIC property (such as computers) or data, should review the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research travel guidance. This guidance includes recommendations for traveling with cellphones and information for travel laptops for researchers. These recommendations apply regardless of the purpose of travel.

Questions and resources

More details regarding international travel safety, including step-by-step instructions, frequently asked questions and specific contacts, can be found on the Office of Global Engagement website.

The health and safety of our students, faculty and staff, both on campus and abroad, remain the university's top priority. We thank you in advance for your partnership in prioritizing safety in the pursuit of global research, education and engagement.

Sincerely,

Karen J. Colley
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Joanna Groden
Vice Chancellor for Research

Matt Riley
Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Chief Information Officer

Jim Hammerschmidt
Interim Vice Provost for Global Engagement

For more information, please contact:
Office of Global Engagement
[email protected]