Summer & Fall 2022 Health & Safety Policies

• IES Abroad will continue to monitor and consider CDC Warning Levels along with other sources but will not make decisions regarding running programs based exclusively or primarily on CDC levels. IES Abroad will take a more nuanced approach to these issues, consulting multiple sources. CDC warning levels are not necessarily indicative of the current conditions on the ground at many of our study abroad program locations. IES Abroad will make decisions about running programs based on a number of factors, including but not limited to: US and other countries’ consular, travel and health and safety information and requirements; travel restrictions by sending and receiving countries; the feasibility of obtaining student visas in a timely manner; and the conditions on the ground at each of our center and program locations.
• IES Abroad will inform students, schools, and parents of any on-site program closure for 2022 in a timely manner (we will strive to make this at least four weeks in advance of the official program start date to the extent reasonably practicable). Students will be eligible for a full refund of program fees for any program cancelled by IES Abroad prior to the official program start date.
• IES Abroad has specific protocols, plans and guidelines in place on the issue of pandemics and program closures. We continuously monitor many private and public alerts and media sources to help facilitate our students, their parents and home campuses having ready access to important and relevant health advisories, alerts and travel information. Some of the sources we monitor for information include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the U.S. State Department, host country government sources, and private sources regarding health, safety and security matters. In the present environment, all of this is undertaken with special attention to COVID-19 and its variants.
• IES Abroad complies with applicable laws, regulations and government requirements and directives relative to COVID 19. For nearly 20 years, IES Abroad has had its own tested global pandemic protocols to help guide our preparation, program planning, program delivery and response to emerging infectious diseases like COVID 19. We strive to assist and encourage students, faculty and staff to adhere to best practices, such as social or physical distancing, best hygiene practices, avoiding public gatherings, following mobility restrictions, complying with all applicable directives and laws, avoiding independent travel when and where it is restricted and more.

• IES Abroad will continue to monitor and consider CDC Warning Levels along with other sources but will not make decisions regarding running programs based exclusively or primarily on CDC levels. IES Abroad will take a more nuanced approach to these issues, consulting multiple sources. CDC warning levels are not necessarily indicative of the current conditions on the ground at many of our study abroad program locations. IES Abroad will make decisions about running programs based on a number of factors, including but not limited to: US and other countries’ consular, travel and health and safety information and requirements; travel restrictions by sending and receiving countries; the feasibility of obtaining student visas in a timely manner; and the conditions on the ground at each of our center and program locations.
• IES Abroad will inform students, schools, and parents of any on-site program closure for 2022 in a timely manner (we will strive to make this at least four weeks in advance of the official program start date to the extent reasonably practicable). Students will be eligible for a full refund of program fees for any program cancelled by IES Abroad prior to the official program start date.
• IES Abroad has specific protocols, plans and guidelines in place on the issue of pandemics and program closures. We continuously monitor many private and public alerts and media sources to help facilitate our students, their parents and home campuses having ready access to important and relevant health advisories, alerts and travel information. Some of the sources we monitor for information include the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the U.S. State Department, host country government sources, and private sources regarding health, safety and security matters. In the present environment, all of this is undertaken with special attention to COVID-19 and its variants.
• IES Abroad complies with applicable laws, regulations and government requirements and directives relative to COVID 19. For nearly 20 years, IES Abroad has had its own tested global pandemic protocols to help guide our preparation, program planning, program delivery and response to emerging infectious diseases like COVID 19. We strive to assist and encourage students, faculty and staff to adhere to best practices, such as social or physical distancing, best hygiene practices, avoiding public gatherings, following mobility restrictions, complying with all applicable directives and laws, avoiding independent travel when and where it is restricted and more.

Required Quarantines upon Entry to Host Country

• IES Abroad will incorporate any required quarantine period(s) into the existing program calendars to the extent reasonably practicable.
• Students may be able to self-quarantine in their IES Abroad housing or—if necessary, because of specific quarantine regulations or living with others who have not been exposed—in alternative short-term housing (apartments/hotels/hostels, etc.) provided by IES Abroad.
• IES Abroad local staff will assist students in purchasing food during the quarantine period if no meal plan is provided as part of the program and to help students to receive food so they will not need to break quarantine.
• Orientation sessions and the first sessions of the IES-taught courses will be conducted virtually until the quarantine period is over and in-person learning can begin.
• IES Abroad local staff will work with local university partners—if necessary—to help minimize the impact of the quarantine period upon students to the extent practicable.
• Students who violate the mandatory quarantine regulations may be subject to IES disciplinary procedures and it may jeopardize their future participation in the program.
• Early arrival and pre-program international travel are strongly discouraged. Students should plan travel to arrive on the program Arrival Date as outlined in their arrival instructions. Students who travel before the program arrival date do so at their own risk and with the knowledge that travel and border restrictions and requirements may change at any time and without notice, possibly causing delays, testing, limitations of activities, free movement and the need for quarantine.
• It is the student’s responsibility to understand their host country’s criteria for entry when traveling before their program. Students who arrive early to their program location are required to find their own housing at their own cost until their program starts and cannot move into IES Abroad housing early. Where quarantine is required due to early arrival or pre-program international travel, students may be prohibited from moving into IES Abroad housing on the arrival date and may not move into IES Abroad housing until any applicable quarantine requirements have been met.
• No IES Abroad housing fees will be refunded, and time spent in independently booked accommodations will be fully at the student’s expense. Students would be required to cover any costs related to being detained if denied entry into their program country due to early arrival or pre-program international travel.

Quarantine Policies after Initial Program Start

• If a student contracts COVID-19 during the program term or must quarantine because of exposure, IES Abroad will assist the student with their housing meeting quarantine requirements or provide alternative accommodation to help protect both the student and others.
• IES Abroad local staff are available to help assist students with health and personal needs while seeking medical treatment for the virus and under quarantine.
• IES Abroad local staff are available to work with IES Abroad faculty to help facilitate  student academic progress by helping to arrange for virtual class participation, recorded lectures, and other similar educational support.

• Under our global infectious disease protocols, IES Abroad Centers will undergo regular periodic cleaning and disinfection by professional cleaning services.
• To help enhance effective social/physical distancing, IES Abroad is taking pro-active measures in the classroom, too, including limiting class enrollment sizes, adjusting space layout for social distancing, room choice, and requiring student/faculty use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

• Should a program need to suspend on-site instruction due to COVID-19, students will continue their IES Abroad coursework in an online environment to the extent practicable. Partner university coursework may or may not be possible to continue online.
• Students are expected to obtain approval from their home school for any online instruction that may be required.