On June 17, all Tufts faculty, staff and students received an email announcing new changes to the Tufts International Travel Policy, which went into effect July 1. While staff and students have long been required to register all Tufts-related travel in the registry, the new policy now makes registration mandatory for faculty members as well.
These changes stem from new federal regulations, largely concerned with the safety and funding of travel and research.
“There are federal requirements, particularly [through] National Presidential Memorandum 33, for institutions that receive federal funding for research, like Tufts, to establish a research security program,” Theodore Myatt, associate vice provost for research integrity, wrote in a statement to the Daily. “The goals of a research security program are to protect U.S. scientific research from concerns like intellectual property theft.”
Derek Smallwood, Tufts’ assistant director of international health and safety, detailed how the registry works in practice and what information travelers are asked to provide in a statement to the Daily.
“Faculty and staff travelers respond to a handful of questions collecting their logistical information and emergency contacts,” Smallwood wrote. “If the travel is highlighted for safety or security risk or export control concerns, additional pre-travel guidance is provided.”
This system allows the university to better support members of the Tufts community as they travel abroad.
“As a global institution, Tufts supports and encourages international travel for purposes intended to advance the mission of the university,” Smallwood stated. “We are also committed to the health, safety, and security of all members of the university. The information is largely used so that we can support our constituents during emergencies abroad and so that the university can capture the scope and impact of its work globally.”
In the face of increased oversight, the university has taken the privacy of travelers into consideration and put several measures into place to ensure it.
“The Registry and the systems used by our global assistance provider have been vetted by Tufts Technology Services for data and information security,” Smallwood wrote. “The information stored is used only for compliance with reporting mandates and emergency support. If reporting in aggregate or to external parties, [personally] identifiable information (PII) is removed and the itineraries are anonymized.”
Diana Chigas, professor of the practice of international negotiation and conflict resolution at The Fletcher School, clarified that the registry does not give Tufts the authority to reject anyone’s travel plans. She acknowledged that faculty might have concerns about the new requirement but stressed the potential benefits.
One advantage for faculty and staff who use the travel registry is automatic enrollment in the Tufts Global Assistance and Medical Coverage program.
“This includes access to pre-travel health, safety, and security information; insurance and support for eligible medical care and expenses; trip interruption and other travel related assistance; and insured evacuation services, among other benefits.” Myatt wrote. “Along with our assistance provider, Global Operations monitors world events around the clock and will make contact should situations arise that affect traveler safety.”
Although the registry was previously open to faculty, the program and its services remained relatively unknown, according to Chigas. The registry also helps Tufts meet financial compliance obligations.
“All business related faculty and staff travel funded through the university must meet our internal financial controls, as well as the compliance processes assigned by partner funding agencies,” Smallwood stated.
Failure to register travel may leave faculty, staff and students at a greater risk when traveling. It also allows for the possibility of expenses not being reimbursed by the University International Travel, of a sponsor rescinding funding for a project or the traveler’s eligibility to be a Principal Investigator on a project could be revoked.
In addition to the email sent out on June 17, information about the changes to the Tufts International Travel Policy can be found in several editions of the Monday Minute, as well as various other faculty and staff email distributions. The new policy is also being embedded into university-wide administrative processes, according to Smallwood.
