Parents & Supporters

Parents and supporters often play a key role in the success of students abroad. At the University of Denver, the OIE wants to be a responsible partner in working with you to ensure your student’s study abroad experience is a success. To that end, it is important to remember that at the Office of International Education, we focus on making study abroad a student-centered experience and therefore we strongly encourage families to communicate with your student first and foremost before contacting our office with questions. Furthermore, we strongly believe that a student must take full responsibility for making all arrangements and details in preparation for their time abroad. Their involvement, from the start, will ensure that they are informed about their program and will help with their adjustment to their new environment.

DU’s Office of International Education works hard to create a safe and academically sound experience for your student; that said, we guarantee that there will be times that your student will be uncomfortable and will struggle. Allow your student to grow outside of their comfort zone. Feeling unsettled is normal, and it is usually temporary. Listen and give space for them to work through difficult and challenging situations. That is part of the process of growth, one that you have been building toward for many years.

• Steps to Study Abroad & DU Abroad Policies

  To gain an understanding of the steps in your student’s study abroad process, visit our website here to learn more about what needs to be completed in order to study abroad.

  Additionally, we encourage you to review our DU Abroad Policies to learn about what to expect throughout the study abroad process.

• Health and Safety

  DU's Commitment to Health & Safety

  We are pleased that you or your student are studying abroad with DU. Our students' health, safety, and security is our highest priority, and we take numerous steps to help ensure student safety abroad. Our philosophy is that by proactively providing students with information and resources regarding potential risks, we can educate and prepare students to make good decisions regarding their own well-being while abroad. Because we cannot mitigate all associated risks with international travel though, we have extensive protocols in place to respond to student emergencies or crises.

  Our office encourages and manages safety by:

  • Consulting with DU's full-time International Travel Risk Analyst, who monitors world events along with OIE staff and reaches out to students, when appropriate, to either share information or check-in with students.
  • Evaluating on-site support and program options available to students.
  • Partnering with International SOS (ISOS)  a medical and travel assistance provider, who facilitates pre-departure travel consultations, sends email alerts regarding in-country issues, delivers 24/7 emergency response assistance, and provides evacuation and repatriation coverage for all students.
  • Requiring preparatory measures including a Study Abroad First Step Session, appointments with OIE advisors, and several orientation sessions while providing online information and resources in DU Passport and information on our website including general and country-specific handbooks.
  • Registering students with ISOS, which allows DU staff to track students' travels. (Students must update side travel for weekend or mid-term break trips).
  • Creating crisis management protocols in conjugation with the International Travel Risk Analyst and the International Travel Committee, a committee designed to assist with international travel guidelines, procedures, and crisis response efforts.
  • Asking students to visit a health care provider prior to departure to discuss health and mental health concerns;  DU's Health & Counseling Center (HCC) can provide these services.
  • Requiring students to enroll in the U.S. Department of State's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive important information from the local embassy about safety conditions in the host country.
  • Collecting emergency contact information should we need to communicate information about an affected student to family and friends.
• FERPA Release for Study Abroad

  We understand that as a parent or family member of a University of Denver student, you would like to be involved in your student's study abroad experience. We encourage you to support your student throughout the process. Considering this, the DU Office of International Education staff and overall University of Denver staff abide by state and federal laws regulating student privacy and access to education records and information.

  Unless otherwise stated in official paperwork by the student, academic records are confidential and therefore we cannot disclose specific information about your student's study abroad status. We abide by these laws out of respect for the student's rights, and ask that you please respect our limitations when discussing your student’s case. If your student would like to allow you access to their educational records, they may fill out a FERPA form found on the DU Registrar's website.

  What is FERPA?

  Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a student's educational records are considered confidential. A FERPA release is required for DU staff or faculty to discuss a student’s educational records with anyone other than the student. The University is bound by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regarding the release of student education records and, in the event of conflict with the University Policy, FERPA will govern. The full text of the University's policy with regard to FERPA can be found at the Registrar's FERPA page.

  Why is it a good idea to sign a release before going abroad?

  We recommend that all students going abroad complete a FERPA release for a parent or family member, as it can sometimes be difficult to contact DU directly while in another country. Having a FERPA release on file will allow the individual(s) designated in your FERPA release to obtain and discuss information on your behalf (such as billing issues, account holds, etc.). This can also be helpful in the case of an emergency.

  Where can I sign a release?

  Complete a FERPA release here.

• Supporting your Returnee

  You may find that your student struggles upon returning from abroad. Sometimes this struggle may be immediate, other times, it may come after being home for a while, once the excitement of the return home to all things familiar has worn off. Seeing your student out of sorts in their own home and in their own routine can be surprising; however, reverse cultural adjustment is very much a part of the cultural adjustment cycle, and can be even more difficult for some students than the cultural adjustment experienced while abroad. It's important that you provide your student space to reflect on and process (not to mention be nostalgic about!) their time abroad, as well as the opportunity to share their experiences with you (though you may find they don't expect you to be able to fully relate to what they've experienced). It may also be helpful for you to encourage your student to take advantage of the resources available at DU through the OIE and other units on campus, including the Health and Counseling Center. And review the resources for Returnees and Alumni here.