Introduction: Universities today are not confined to a single campus or city. They are global enterprises – sending students overseas on exchange programs, running satellite campuses in other countries, facilitating field research in remote regions, and supporting traveling faculty and staff. This global reach is exciting and enriching, but it also expands the university’s duty of care far beyond the campus gates. The question facing campus leaders is: how do we protect our people wherever they are, not just when they are within the ivy-covered walls? The answer lies in extending the campus safety net worldwide. With the right strategy and tools, it’s possible to provide a consistent umbrella of protection for your students and staff without regard to geography.
Duty of Care in a Global Era
When a student steps onto a plane for a study-abroad semester or a faculty member travels to a conference, the university’s responsibility to keep them safe doesn’t end – it simply becomes more complex. Different time zones, unfamiliar environments, language barriers, and lack of direct control can all complicate emergency response. Yet, expectations from students, parents, and even regulators are clear: an institution should offer support and guidance no matter where its members are located. In recognition of this, international standards and best practices have emerged to help universities standardize safety for travel and overseas programs. Whether it’s a group of students touring historical sites in Europe or a research team camped in a remote wilderness, the institution is expected to be there for them in a crisis.
The events of recent years underscore why this matters. Terror attacks in cities like Paris and Brussels, once considered low-risk, shocked universities that had students abroad. Natural disasters and political unrest can erupt with little warning in any part of the world. Even routine challenges – a student getting sick while overseas, or a lost traveler needing guidance – call for swift assistance. Without a global safety system, universities historically relied on ad hoc measures (emergency phone trees, asking host partners for help, etc.), which are often slow and unreliable under duress. Clearly, a new approach is needed – one that treats the world as an extension of the campus for security purposes.
Technology That Connects and Protects Everywhere
Modern safety technology is erasing the barriers of distance. A platform like SafeZone enables universities to maintain a direct line of communication and support with their community members anywhere on the globe. How? SafeZone allows safety administrators to create virtual safety “zones” beyond the main campus – whether it’s a study-abroad location for the semester or an impromptu zone around a city where a cohort of students is visiting. Students and staff carry the SafeZone app, and if they need help or information, they can tap it just as they would on campus, instantly notifying the university’s security team. From a central dashboard, campus safety personnel can monitor and support travelers in real time – effectively, the operations center can see incidents “from down the street to across the globe” and coordinate the appropriate response.
Crucially, this global reach is two-way. Not only can someone abroad call for help from campus, but the institution can proactively send out alerts or check on people in a given area if a major incident occurs there. For example, CriticalArc’s SafeZone lets operators quickly geo-fence an area and send targeted messages to anyone within it. One university had students in France during a sudden terror incident; using SafeZone, their security team was able to instantly identify those students’ locations and send them safety instructions, providing real-time guidance until the danger passed. In another case, a university safety team used the system to account for staff during a natural disaster overseas and help coordinate their evacuation. These scenarios show how an institution can be a steady voice in a crisis, even from thousands of miles away.
Advanced platforms also integrate local context to aid travelers. They can provide location-specific information – for instance, up-to-date travel advisories or the contact number for local emergency services if needed. (After all, a student in a foreign country might not know the equivalent of 911 offhand, but the app can bridge that gap.) By leveraging GPS and global connectivity, the best systems ensure that wherever a student is studying or a staff member is working, they are one tap away from assistance and information. As one campus police director observed, SafeZone “provides Safety Everywhere™” – from main campus to satellite locations to overseas programs – “so regardless of whether someone is on campus, studying abroad, or conducting research in the field, they know they can get help right away with the click of a button.”
Peace of Mind for the Whole Community
Extending the safety net worldwide has profound benefits for all stakeholders. Students embarking on international experiences do so with greater confidence, knowing they aren’t on their own – their university has their back, day or night. Parents gain reassurance when they hear that their child’s school has a system to look after students even on the other side of the world. Faculty and staff, too, feel more secure traveling for university business with an immediate link to campus support if something goes wrong.
For the university itself, fulfilling this duty of care globally strengthens its reputation and reduces risk. Institutions that are seen as proactively caring for their community’s safety at home and abroad stand out as leaders. It’s a competitive advantage when recruiting students and faculty who prioritize well-being. Moreover, should an incident occur, the university can respond decisively and show that it did everything in its power to assist – a crucial factor in mitigating liability and reputational damage. In practical terms, many universities that have adopted SafeZone report that it has become a cornerstone of their international programs. They advertise it in orientation sessions and pre-departure briefings: “No matter where you go, if you run into trouble, hit the SafeZone button and we’ll be there to help.”
Conclusion and Call to Action: The world is your campus – and that means campus safety must span the world. Embracing a “without borders” approach to safety is not only feasible with today’s technology, it’s imperative in our globally connected era. As university executives, ensuring the safety of students and staff wherever you have a presence is both a moral obligation and a strategic investment in your institution’s global mission. By deploying solutions that provide Safety Everywhere™, you affirm that distance and borders are no barrier to your duty of care. The result is a more confident, adventurous student body and a more secure, resilient institution. If your university is expanding its global footprint, make sure your safety practices expand with it. Contact CriticalArc to learn how SafeZone can keep your students and staff safe – from the main campus to the farthest field site.
Posted 8th Dec 2025
