As a program leader, you should NOT make direct, initial contact with any student's family members without the student's permission. Where possible, the student should communicate with their family members about any critical incidents. If a student is ill or injured, even if it's not an emergency, please contact OSA (during business hours: (517) 353-8920; 24/7 Emergency Assistance Line: (517) 353-3784) so that we are informed in case a family member should call our office (NOTE: a parent is not necessarily the student's emergency contact). OSA will encourage all students to inform their family members, but this disclosure is ultimately up to the student. There are some exceptions to this general rule.
To help decrease parent anxiety and the need/desire to contact you abroad, many program leaders use various electronic outlets to provide parents access to program information and updates. Consider creating the following for your program:
Blogs (e.g. www.blogger.com)
Web pages
Email groups (e.g. Google group – groups.google.com)
Facebook (www.facebook.com), MySpace (www.myspace.com), or Twitter (twitter.com)
Be sure to post regular updates and encourage your students to do the same so that their family members can see that everyone is alive and well!
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