From the Office of Global and Community Health Initiatives...

• Reminder: Petitions for travel to restricted destinations in Fall are due June 1
  • Students wishing to travel to a destination on Duke’sRestricted Regions List (RRL) during the Fall semester must petition for a waiver of the restriction by June 1.
     
    Petitions are now submitted online at travel.duke.edu however requirements remain unchanged.  Students should provide the list of items below as part of their petition.
     
    Duke’s Global Travel Advisory Committee convenes in mid-June and if there are changes to the RRL, they will be announced via the travelpolicyupdate@duke.edu listserv.  If new destinations are added and a student’s Fall travel plans are impacted, they will be allowed to petition outside the deadline cycle but would need to do so as soon as possible.
     
    If you are a unit that funds or sponsors student travel – whether Undergraduate or Graduate – you are responsible for ensuring compliance with the University’s International Travel Policy.  To help remind administrators and staff of the policy and other important tips re: travel, my office has developed the attached.  Please feel free to share with others in your unit that work with travelers.
  • A completed petition packet should include the following six items:
    1. The program at Duke University that is sponsoring, giving credit, funding, or otherwise approving the trip;
    2. The specific location or locations that will be visited and the dates of the trip;
    3. The activities in which the student will be engaging;
    4. A personal statement about the reasons for the trip, why it is academically or otherwise justified, and why the traveler believes the risk will not be excessive.  This statement should include any language skills or cultural knowledge the travelers has that is applicable to the proposed destination;
    5. A risk mitigation strategy (students should study their destination, identify risks and note how they plan to handle them if they occur);
    6. Any supporting documentation or statements from relevant personnel (e.g., faculty, program sponsors, people at host institution, etc.
• Tips for Faculty & Administrators Working with Travelers at Duke University