Policy & Procedures

All OSU faculty, staff and students traveling internationally on official OSU business are required to request travel approval via OSU procedures. This includes travel funded fully or in part by OSU. Students traveling on a study abroad program or course are registered separately through their program application.

International visitors whose visit is being funded by OSU should also have an international travel request submitted on their behalf.

OSU INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL POLICY 1-0134

Out-of-Country Travel Request

Once the completed form has been signed by the traveler and two appropriate departmental supervisors, the form is submitted to the School of Global Studies and Partnerships (SGSP) in 107 Wes Watkins Center. TO AVOID THE FORM BEING RETURNED TO YOU NOT PROCESSED, please make sure to specify the purpose of your travel, cities to be visited during your trip and the dates when you are going to be in each city. It is important that the dates and cities be specified to comply with insurance and security regulations. If the traveler is taking personal time right before or after the official OSU travel please make note of it on the travel request. We do not need to know the specifics of the traveler’s personal time but we do need to know the traveler is still abroad should an emergency occur.

OSU Global reviews travel requests daily and routes all approved international travel to the OSU Board of Regents each Friday for final approval. The purchase of airline tickets and international travel that occurs before the traveler’s department receives the approved request with the stamps “Transmitted to OSU Board Office” and “Dean, School of Global Studies and Partnerships” is a violation of OSU travel policy and can result in reimbursement for any incurred expenses associated with the trip being denied.

We encourage students, staff, and faculty to register themselves on the US Department of State online travel registration system (STEP) to help ensure their health and safety while abroad should an emergency occur.

An approved travel request is returned to the person who prepared the travel request for tracking and return to the traveler via email that may include:

A PDF of the approved international travel request
A PDF of the international travel insurance certificate (Coverage is provided by OSU via ACE Executive Assistance Services. Please be aware this insurance does not apply in some countries.)
International Travel Letter
AlertTraveler flyer

Please be sure to leave appropriate contact information with your department head or direct supervisor. In case the need arises, it is important for OSU to have emergency contact information for you while traveling.

AIRS

US Department of State Travel Advisory: Level 3 or 4

As of January 18, 2018, the US Department of State implemented a new Travel Advisory process that replaced the former travel warning system. In this new advisory system, countries are individually assigned a Travel Advisory Level and in many countries regions of instability or greater risk are also assigned an advisory level that may be different from the assigned level for the overall country. View Department of State Travel Advisory Levels and detailed information on individual countries here.

All travel requests are reviewed for travel advisory risk upon submission to SGSP as of the date received for processing. If the request for travel is for a destination with US Department of State Travel Advisory of 3 or 4, SGSP will route the request to Risk Management for review and will request additional information from the potential traveler. Completion of these additional forms helps ensure that the traveler is aware of and prepared for possible risks in the travel advisory area and that precautions have been taken. Each traveler is required to complete these additional documents individually and may not have an office assistant, study abroad course leader or other individual complete these required documents for them.

The Office of Risk Management and the International Travel Risk Assessment Committee will review the forms and determine whether or not to waive the policy that prohibits travel to a travel area with an Advisory Level 3 or 4 (formerly identified as a Travel Warning Country). The travel request will be returned to the traveler’s department as approved or denied, pending the committee’s decision. Any further processing for approved travel is then completed. It is the traveler’s responsibility to monitor updates to the Department of State Advisory Level for the countries in which they are planning to travel and to contact OSU Risk Management should the advisory level change to a higher level of caution.

Mandatory Student Travel Insurance

OSU Board of Regents and the OSU Risk Management Office require that any student traveling abroad under the auspices of the university participate in the Mandatory Health and Safety Program. “Under the auspices” of OSU means any student receiving funding from OSU or a sponsored grant for their trip, receiving academic credit as part of their time abroad, or participating in a program that requires the submission of an international travel request to participate. This requirement includes students presenting at international conferences, traveling abroad with a faculty member, conducting research or data collection abroad, undertaking an international internship or service-learning program, participating in study abroad, or any other reason to travel abroad through OSU.

Students traveling internationally are covered by a separate insurance policy from employee or graduate assistant health insurance policies. Student insurance is billed to the student directly, or to the OSU sponsoring department or grant in many cases. Insurance cost information is provided to each student within their online travel registration since costs vary by program or trip type. Further information on the Health and Safety Program and the mandatory insurance coverage can be found at this link.

Students able to demonstrate their international travel is official university business as part of their employment at OSU, can choose to be covered by the ACE Executive Travel Insurance mentioned above. However, students opting out of the student policy for this reason must sign a waiver acknowledging they are forfeiting the services and specialized coverage provided within the student insurance policy.

Questions on the Mandatory Health and Safety Program and/or the student insurance policy specifically should contact safetravel@okstate.edu.

OSU STUDENT INSURANCE POLICY

Additional Resources

Visa service: OSU does not provide visa assistant services for employees. It is the responsibility of the traveler to obtain the appropriate entry visa for their nationality to the destination.
Immunizations and prescriptions for your international travels: Please obtain information and advice by visiting OSU University Health Services and Payne County Health Department. Please visit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Travelers Health to receive up-to-date notices regarding disease outbreaks, vaccinations and health advice.

Export and intellectual property controls

Please also be aware that the United States government has adopted export control regulations that occasionally impact academic activities overseas. You can review those policies through University Research Services. It is the responsibility of the OSU employee to maintain compliance with current export control regulations.

Questions?

We hope that you have an international travel experience that is both professionally rewarding and enjoyable. If OSU Global can be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at itravel@okstate.edu or (405) 744-6606.

FAQs

Do I need to provide my personal trip information before or after my business trip?

If you are taking a personal trip before or after an OSU business trip abroad, it is required by the Department of State and OSU that information is provided about the place and dates you will be spending to ensure safety in case of emergency while there.
What is the normal processing time for an international travel request?

Depending on the volume of travel requests received per day, please allow a minimum of two business days for your travel to be processed once the trip is approved.