Participant safety is our number one priority at Barcelona SAE. We know our greatest responsibility is to develop and operate programs with the health and safety of our participants at the forefront of our decisions. We also know that studying or working abroad involves a certain amount of risk. Our job is to mitigate these risks while providing the wonderful opportunities that only life abroad can offer.
In addition to the internal knowledge our company possesses in our team of seasoned professionals, our risk management and health, safety, and wellness guidelines are formulated using the recommendations of the two standards organizations in our field: the Forum on Education Abroad, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission as the Standards Development Organization for Education Abroad; and, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the world’s largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education.
RISK MANAGEMENT TRAINING & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Barcelona SAE is vigilant about staying on top of the latest guidelines and protocols available to us in the field. We employ best practices as defined by the field of international education, are involved in professional discussions and workshops, and also actively work with our staff on an ongoing basis to ensure we mitigate risks and are well prepared to manage situations should they arise.
STUDENT PREPARATION
Barcelona SAE takes extra measures to ensure that participants are fully prepared for any health and safety issues that may arise while abroad.
As part of the pre-departure process, our applicants are asked to disclose if there is anything in their medical history that could impact their time abroad. Our team proactively reaches out to each student personally to discuss how they can successfully prepare and manage their individual needs in their host country - whether that be the use of prescription medications in various parts of the world, if they have any physical challenges we need to take into account, or if we need to be aware of any mental health diagnoses. Students are also required to participate in a virtual pre-departure orientation and an onsite orientation session once they arrive in Barcelona.
We also encourage our students to become familiar with local laws, customs, emergency services, and what to do if an emergency or other health concern arises while abroad.
CRISIS & EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM
Barcelona SAE has a dedicated, appointed Crisis & Emergency Response Team that is trained and at the ready to work with on-site staff, institutional partners and participants in the event of a crisis or emergency. Our members continuously monitor world events through recognized health and safety channels and on-site contacts, and meet regularly and as needed to discuss, and if necessary, act upon issues that may affect our program participants.
The emergency phone is carried by a member of the Barcelona SAE team on-site at all times and should be the first point of contact in case of a true emergency.
In the event of an emergency, Barcelona SAE will coordinate directly with the home institution to ensure that the response is in line with their policies and practices.
TIER SYSTEM & REPORTING
TIER 1: MINOR INCIDENTS THAT DO NOT NECESSARILY AFFECT THE HEALTH OR SAFETY OF THE PARTICIPANTS BUT IMPACT THEIR DAILY ROUTINE/LIFE.
Individual Incident:
- Losing a passport, losing personal items, a student being pickpocketed
- Mental health issues, feeling homesick
- Health concerns with no doctor visit
- Health concerns with a doctor visit for a problem that can be treated easily or is considered minor
- A student missing class, failing or almost failing a course, missing a mandatory orientation
- Death of a homestay, supervisor, professor, or anyone who is in contact with the participant during his/her/their time abroad (that is not close to the participant).
Wide-Scale:
- Non-violent strikes in Barcelona, taxi strikes, metro strikes, security control strikes at the airport, non-violent demonstrations, and marches.
- Severe abnormal weather alerts in Barcelona (heavy snow, heavy rain).
- A power cut in a Barcelona neighborhood
- A toxic gas explosion near Barcelona
TIER 2: AN INCIDENT THAT MAY PUT A STUDENT'S HEALTH AND SAFETY AT RISK, HOWEVER, NOTHING MAJOR HAS YET BEEN REPORTED BY PARTICIPANTS.
Individual Incident:
Any type of reported incident regarding a participant that needs evaluation and investigation by Barcelona SAE staff. This incident may put a student’s health and safety at risk.
- When it is necessary to visit a doctor, medical professional, or mental health professional (psychologist/psychiatrist/rheumatologist/etc…) for a problem that requires treatment or a follow-up visit/s
- Mental health crisis
- When a police report is made
Wide-Scale:
An isolated emergency that affects a small group of people, that happened either in Barcelona or in a large city in Europe, and there is a small likelihood that a participant is in the area.
- A major accident (plane/train) in Europe or Spain with injuries and/or casualties
- A major natural disaster (fire, earthquake) in Europe or Spain with injuries and/or casualties
- A terrorist attack in a European city, violent protests or demonstrations in Barcelona specifically in neighborhoods where we have participants
- Contagious disease in Catalonia but none of our participants are ill (that we know of)
- Robbery in a building where participants are living
TIER 3: INCIDENTS THAT ARE A SERIOUS RISK TO THE INDIVIDUAL OR OTHERS.
- A missing participant for more than 24h
- Missing participant for less than 24 hours, but with suspected danger or death (last seen in deep water/skiing/hiking/very intoxicated)
- The arrest of a participant
- Sexual Assault committed by a participant
- Serious accident or illness (car accident, drug overdose, heart attack, loss of consciousness, severe allergic reaction)
- Psychiatric emergencies (displaying disruptive or psychotic behavior, suicide attempts or threats, disruptive behavior due to drugs or alcohol)
- Assault of a participant leading to serious injury
- Sexual crime against a participant (Rape or sexual assault of a student, violence from an intimate partner)
Wide-Scale:
An incident that has a broad scope within Barcelona and/or Europe and it directly affects our participants’ health and safety.
- A major accident (plane/train/bus) and a participant is hurt
- Natural disasters (earthquakes, flooding, avalanche, severe/dangerous weather where participants are nearby and/or hurt, serious enough for the city/area to go on lockdown)
- Terrorist attack in Europe and we have participants that are nearby, hurt, or cannot travel back to Barcelona
- Violent protests in Barcelona and a participant is hurt
- A terrorist attack in Barcelona or in Spain
- Unrest or violence targeted towards Americans/our participants’ nationality or identity (violent protests or otherwise)
- Loss of electricity/water/resources in the area that requires an evacuation from the city
- Fire/gas leak that requires evacuation of participants (from housing, university…)
- A pandemic
TIER 4: HIGH-PROFILE EMERGENCY CASES RESULTING IN THE DEATH OF THE PARTICIPANT OR WHEN A PARTICIPANT IS ACCUSED OF HOMICIDE.
Individual Incident:
- A participant death
- The arrest of a participant accused of murder
Wide-Scale:
An incident that has caused deaths, such as:
- A major accident (plane/train/bus) resulting in participants’ death
- Natural disasters (earthquakes, flooding, avalanche, severe/dangerous weather) resulting in participants’ death
- Terrorist attack in Barcelona/Europe resulting in participants’ death
- Pandemic and some of our participants are casualties
VIEW OUR RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION
Our Emergency Communication Plan has been developed to protect the safety and well-being of all program participants, protect Barcelona SAE and its partners, and to inform all relevant stakeholders – home universities and families of participants.
Even with the complexity of events happening in multiple time zones, we pride ourselves on our ability to communicate accurately and efficiently with all relevant persons. The following outlines our procedure for reporting, responding and evaluating our response to crises that may impact any of our program locations.
DEFINITION OF A CRISIS/EMERGENCY
A crisis is an unexpected event or situation that requires immediate attention and action. The effects of these crises can often be minimized with proper planning and preparations. This can include anything from a natural disaster, political uprising, and terrorist attack to personal injury. These crises can affect the entire group or an individual, however, individual crises often have an impact on the entire group.
Major Crises
- Natural Disasters
- Terrorism
- War
- Political Emergencies
Individual Crises
- Life threatening accidents or illnesses
- Crimes against a student (rape, assault, mugging, etc.)
- Arrest of a student
- Death of a student
- Missing student
Crises in the U.S.
Events in the U.S. that are not physical threats to participants abroad (individual or major crises).
CONTACT INFORMATION
You can view contact information in the footer of our website for both the U.S. and Barcelona offices.
In Case of Emergency:
Our onsite staff normally work 9am-6pm Monday-Thursday and 9am-2pm on Friday, with some variations.
If you need to reach us urgently outside of office hours, you can call our 24 hour emergency phone at+34 675 23 56 56. Please note that this line is reserved for true emergencies only and Barcelona is typically six hours ahead of eastern time (with the exception of one week in the spring and one week in the fall due to daylight savings).
Our Barcelona office is closed on weekends and on local/national Spanish holidays, and regular office hours are subject to change throughout the year.
COMMUNICATION WITH PARTNERS
For Standard Barcelona SAE Programs:
- For Tier 1-2: The onsite team will communicate the situation with our US team through a detailed incident report. Our UR representative in the US will filter the incidents according to the severity and communicate accordingly in line with the university’s requirements.
- For Tier 3-4: The onsite team will notify the university immediately via email or phone.
For Faculty-Led Programs (CFLPS):
- For Tier 1-2: The onsite team will report the incident to the faculty onsite and open an incident report. The faculty will decide which incidents to communicate with the university.
- For Tier 3-4: The onsite team will notify the faculty immediately, and report the incident to the University.
“The Barcelona SAE staff was AMAZING and did such a good job of looking out for all of us. They were very sweet, attentive and made sure we felt safe and happy during our time abroad."
Julia DeVere | Seattle Pacific University
