Family & Friends

We communicate directly with our students to ensure that they receive the specialized assistance they need to effectively navigate the steps of studying abroad. We are bound by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (commonly referred to as FERPA), "a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records" (U.S. Department of Education). Illinois has established guidelines for the implementation of this law, which are contained in Section X-6 of the Campus Administrative Manual and the Illinois Student Code. Due to these laws and guidelines, we cannot disclose your students' records, even to a parent or guardian, without the student's prior written consent. As such, we encourage you to share your questions and concerns directly with your student.

If your student is an incoming exchange student, we encourage you to review the incoming student pages of our website for more information and resources.

Have Questions About Your Son/Daughter Studying Abroad?

We realize parents have a lot of questions about their students studying abroad. To help dispel some of those concerns, the campus has put detailed information together to let you know what information has been provided to the student studying abroad. While International Programs in Engineering (IPENG) sponsored programs are separate from Study Abroad Office (campus-wide) sponsored programs, information provided to students is standard information required to be given to all students studying abroad.

Please contact the IPENG office should you have an emergency or any other concerns. Please note that we are very limited in the information we can provide due to the FERPA laws (above). We must have approval from your son/daughter to speak with you. Students are asked to provide release of information to parents/guardians for accounting purposes but typically do not provide release of other information.

Helpful Tips:

Talk about finances early

Create a plan for accessing money abroad and how to budget your resources.

Create a communication plan

What platforms will you use to contact them? How often will you be checking in?

Share Logistics

Share your travel itinerary, local address abroad, and the emergency contact numbers of your institution or provider abroad.