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E&I Article, July 2024

CTP and the University of Illinois enacted business continuity protocols and supported study abroad students, to get students home in the early stages of the pandemic.

In March 2020, in response to the early stages of the COVID-19 global pandemic, Collegiate Travel Planners (CTP) helped the University of Illinois to get study abroad students home. Most of these students that needed to get home did not even book the original trip with CTP! CTP and the university navigated rapidly changing travel restrictions and public health guidelines.

A Challenge
The first week of March of 2020, the University of Illinois (UI) needed a way to get study abroad students back to their homes. Specifically, UI needed emergency consultation and booking from level 1 and 2 countries impacted by the pandemic, affecting 500 travelers. Additionally, most of these student travelers were not profiled in the university's unmandated travel program, causing extra difficulties for the school.

To address this challenge, CTP immediately enacted these procedures:

  • Established a passcode for traveler authorization and processing, as repatriation of affected students required one-way travel originating overseas into the US, likely within 72 hours or less. This step allowed for these specific bookings to proceed, which would normally be flagged for fraudulent activity review under normal circumstances.
  • Distributed the latest carrier information, capacity updates, and rebooking channels to agent teams to ensure the most availability and best routing options for each student in light of specific country of departure restrictions.
  • Agents handled this situation with sensitivity, directing students, as well as parents and loved ones, to local outlets for information on quarantine processes or regulations specific to the student’s country of departure.
  • Provided students, parents, and loved ones escalation contacts from both the university and CTP team.

In only 48 hours, CTP assisted 267 bookings for returning study abroad students. With this unprecedented global event, UI is reviewing travel policies to increase adoption and visibility for future bookings. 
→ See the full case study by CTP.

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The Most Critical Element of a Modern Travel Risk Management Program in Higher Education

With travel on the rise, risk management is more important than ever. 

Whether it’s enrolling in a study abroad program, working on a research project, or attending a conference (in fact, I’m flying to Newark, NJ for this purpose right now), some of these constituents find their way to modern areas with excellent infrastructure, while others travel to emerging societies where infrastructure and access to emergency services are inadequate.

While the aforementioned travel purposes are a necessity within an institution’s mission, the administration has its hands full when it comes to protecting the traveler from health and security risk, dealing with duty of care expectations, understanding cross-border regulations, and managing reputational concerns. Data is critical.

See Full Article

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E&I Cooperative Has Travel Contracts You Can Access

You received this newsletter because E&I has many contracts that your procurement department has special pricing for. Click below to learn more about a few of them. E&I is your partner in collegiate and K-12 procurement needs. Through our contract portfolio, we help our member institutions make quick and informed purchase decisions.

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E&I Contract Details

Anthony Travel

Your E&I contract with Anthony Travel offers comprehensive travel solutions for teams, athletics, and other university business travel needs. Anthony Travel leverages years of travel coordination at the national and international level, including housing plans, hotel, group air and transport savings.

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E&I Contract Details

ctp (Collegiate Travel Planners)

Collegiate Travel Planners provides travel management to over 130 universities and colleges nationwide. The E&I contract includes air, car, and hotel discount programs, lowest airfare guarantee, unused ticket management, traveler tracking and compliance, and credit card reconciliation.

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E&I Contract Details

Short's Travel Management

Short's Travel Management offers group hotel, group commercial air, ground transport, charter air, and recruiting travel with access to NCAA commercial flight discounts. STM partners with 75+ universities for full-service travel solutions. With your E&I membership you have access to specialized pricing and programs.

Why Members Work With E&I?

6,000+

U.S. member institutions, universities, and K-12

200+

Member solicited buying
contracts you can access

$3B+

Yearly spend of E&I members
means large savings for you

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A 2-Minute Article by E&I

Higher Education Financial and Procurement Management Strategies in a Changing World

Higher ed has been hit with a wave of challenges, including dealing with flat or declining enrollment, rising costs, online alternatives, and shifting attitudes toward the value of a college education. For procurement teams, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster ride since the pandemic disruptions. Even for those colleges and universities that have deep pockets, budget constraints are now the norm. Procurement leaders are increasingly being tasked with finding innovative ways to reduce costs without diminishing the quality of services. It is a significant  job and a challenging one. However, there are proven financial and procurement management strategies that can meet today’s demands and provide savings.

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