Education abroad professionals need to know as much as they can about critical incidents and deaths occurring abroad so that they can make informed decisions about what they can do to try to keep students safe. The Forum’s latest data reporting efforts contribute to that goal.
“Comparing U.S. College Student Mortality Rates in the U.S. with Mortality Rates while Abroad” was released last week at The Forum’s Annual Conference in Boston. The report analyzes insurance claims data from two major insurance companies in the field, insuring over one million education abroad participants over seven calendar years, to determine an approximate mortality rate for U.S. students participating in education abroad and compare that with domestic mortality rates. The results suggest that students are no more likely to die while participating in education abroad than they are while studying on their domestic campuses. Additional information about geographical region and cause of death is also provided in the study.
