Webster University -- Study Abroad

**THAILAND UPDATE**

The Webster University Thailand campus was not affected by the recent earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Southeast Asia. We expect that our campus will reopen as scheduled on Monday, January 3 2005. All students scheduled to travel to Thailand for the spring semester should continue with their already-established travel itinerary.

As usual, we remind students to confirm their flight plans with their airlines at least 24 hours in advance of the planned departure, and arrive at the airport at least 2 hours ahead of your departure time. If the situation in Thailand changes, this Web site will be revised to provide information on any new developments.

Contact Us

A letter from the director of Webster Thailand...

Thankfully, Webster University Thailand remains unscathed by the recent disaster caused by the earthquake in Sumatra. Our campus resides on the northern most part of the Gulf of Thailand (the Eastern coast) and neither saw nor felt any portion of the tsunamis or the quake. Our students, staff and faculty were unaware of the incident until news reports and word-of-mouth reached them. As of today, we do not know any Webster community member or family member to have been injured in the south. We have contacted several students and families we knew were going south and all are well.

Concerns for sanitation or airborne disease will not touch us as we are so far away from the devastation—a 10-hour bus ride south of us. It’s similar to the devastation that a hurricane wrecks in Florida—life is not much affected in St. Louis as much as we sympathize with the victims. Only a small part of this country has been affected.

The Prime Minister of Thailand has pledged relief for the stricken areas and reassured the nation that life will continue as normal. While a developing country, Thailand has advanced medical facilities and solid infrastructure. Telephone lines, food delivery and medical services, for example, are all in order. According to the Thai media, the areas are now stabilized. There is much work to be done to recover, but the rebuilding has begun.

In the meantime, school will reopen for the spring semester on time at Webster University Thailand.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have suffered.

Kit Jenkins
Director
Webster University—Thailand Campus

Emergency Preparedness and Response:

a response to the current international situation. (updated 3/18/03)

What kind of security precautions is Webster taking in the US & overseas?

If the U.S. declares war, will Webster cancel its programs?

What happens if Webster must cancel a program?

How can I contact Webster in case of an emergency?

Security measures at home and abroad.
Webster staff in the U.S. and overseas maintain constant watch over
events occurring throughout the world. We receive daily updates from
the U.S. Department of State, the Overseas Security Advisory Council,
American Embassy and Consular notices, and from students, faculty and
staff members around the world. Webster's international campuses have
long, established relationships with local authorities as well as U.S.
American Embassy and Consular officials. We remain in regular and close
contact with these agencies to ensure we have the most update-to-date
information.

Before our students leave for their respective programs, we provide them
with complete pre-departure orientation materials (and pre-departure
orientation program when available). This information includes U.S.
Consular sheets (http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html) for their
destination, guidelines for safe travel from the U.S. State Department
(http://travel.state.gov/studentinfo.html), and information from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov).
Once overseas, students participate in orientation programs to acclimate
them with their new surroundings and introduce policies and procedures,
which include health and safety matters.

Webster study abroad staff meet regularly to discuss these safety
precautions and revise our emergency response and preparedness
procedures. At the current time, Webster has no plans to cancel any of
its study abroad programs. Should international situations warrant,
Webster's international staff will collaborate to employ a thorough response plan.

We encourage all students to maintain regular contact with family and
friends via e-mail or phone calls. We advise students to travel in
small, inconspicuous groups, to be aware of their surroundings and
destinations, and keep in touch with roommates, friends and Webster
staff members. In this time when tensions are high, we also remind
students to keep open minds and be respectful of viewpoints that may
differ from their own--while this is an intensive time in the world, it
is tragic if our students do not grow and learn from this experiences.

If the US declares war, will Webster cancel programs?
In the event of war, Webster will maintain close contact with the State Department and will continue to monitor advisories.
At this time, we have no reason to believe that even in the event of a war there will be any immediate danger to our students in any of study abroad program locations.

If war occurs, we will discuss the situation with our students, and also encourage them to contact home.

Canceling a program
While we see this as an unlikely course of action, Webster will follow the advice of local U.S. State Department authorities in the event of a program cancellation. Our overseas directors are in regular contact with U.S. Embassies, and our U.S. staff receive regular updates from U.S. authorities.
We will notify all emergency contacts and study abroad advisors in the event of a program cancellation.

Academic Continuity
In the event of a program cancellation, Webster will work with professors, advisors, and home schools to see that coursework in progress may be completed back at the home campus. While we cannot ensure that it will be possible to complete all credit hours begun overseas, we will work to the best of our abilities to maintain academic continuity.

Refunds
Webster will refund any recoverable tuition and fees to students in the event Webster cancels a program. This amount will be calculated at the time of cancellation. Transportation and evacuation costs back to the United States will be the responsibility of the individual student.

If a students leaves and a program has not been canceled, no refunds will be given.

Contacting the University
Prior to departing, students are given a list of contact names and phone numbers in the event of an emergency. While overseas, further information is given to the students. If an emergency occurs, Webster's overseas staff will contact students to provide additional information on how to proceed.

During our regular office hours (8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. CST), please contact us at 800-984-6857 or (314) 968-6988. Our e-mail address is worldview@webster.edu.

After hours, please contact the University switchboard at (800) 981-9801. Please reference the University's Office of Study Abroad.

Update your contact information
Family and friends are encouraged to provide current email addresses in the event of an emergency. The Office of Study Abroad (OSA) does not plan to provide regular updates, but will contact family members in an emergency.
OSA Contact Update Page