International Health, Risk, & Safety

Travel to High Risk Areas

The quality of the educational and professional experiences and the safety of students, faculty, and staff are paramount to UT Health San Antonio. Per the University of Texas System (UTS) Policy 190, any faculty or staff member, student, postdoctoral fellow, medical resident, clinical fellow, and person in any other role officially associated with the university who is traveling pursuant to university business (regardless if funding is provided) or on a university sponsored program to a country with a U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory Level 3 or higher must submit a waiver to the Office of International Services for the International Oversight Committee (IOC) to review and approve prior to travel. In some cases, certain areas within countries classified as Level 2 have regions of elevated risk (at a Level 3 or 4). Thus, UT Health San Antonio may also require international travel waivers based on the specific locality of travel.

Department of State Travel Advisories List

How to apply for a travel requisition

To ensure that your travel requisition or education abroad program is approved in a timely manner, please adhere to the following instructions:

  1. Check travel warnings on the United States Department of State travel page. If  your destination country is listed as Level 3 or higher, complete Steps 2-6.
  2. Register your profile in the Travel Registry System (ETR)
  3. Download the International High Risk Travel Waiver packet from My UT Health.
  4. Complete the required information and obtain the necessary signatures of approval. Attach any additional relevant information not mentioned in the form.
  5. Contact the Financial Service Center to arrange your travel. If you should have any questions, please direct those questions to the Financial Service Center.
  6. All travel needs to be submitted at least 30 days of proposed travel
  7. ETR will forward your travel waiver request to be reviewed by the Director of International Services and the International Oversight Committee (IOC).
  8. Response from the IOC will be within 3-5 days after the Director of International Services submits the completed request to the committee. Note: In the event that international travel should be suspended, the response times from the IOC may be delayed.
To help expedite the travel approval process, the travel approver must register their profile in ETR, and the waiver request must be submitted at least 30 days prior to departure. If you have questions about whether or not a travel waiver is required, please contact OIS at 210-567-6241 or email abroad@uthscsa.edu.
mage of a string of national flags

Information Security

The risk of data breaches while traveling abroad is great. In addition to the possibility of physical loss of devices, factors such as digital espionage, Customs & Border Protection’s ability to copy the contents of laptops, and limits to traveling with encrypted devices, increase the possibility of exposing sensitive data. For more information on this, please visit the International Travel Guidelines page.

Security risks continuously evolve, and it is recommended that you contact Information Security for guidance specific to the location you are visiting.

Sensitive data includes:

  • Protected health information (PHI)
  • Student identifiable information (SII)
  • Personally identifiable information (PII)
  • Social Security numbers (SSNs)
  • Credit card information
  • Sensitive research data

To protect this data, the best option is to leave your laptop at home. If this is impossible, explore the option of a loaner device, use Self-Encrypting Devices (SEDs), a new hard drive, etc. Upon returning home, it is best to assume that your device has been compromised until proven otherwise.

For more Information Security Assistance

For more information on how to handle these situations, contact Information Security at 210-567-0707 or infosec@uthscsa.edu, and read the International Travel Guidelines provided by the Information Security Department prior to departure.