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Fieldtrips

Purpose:

Field Trips can be an important component of a student's educational experience and the use of such out-of-classroom experiences is encouraged when appropriate. College sponsored field trips shall be education-related and conducted with a focus on the safety of students and staff, fiscal responsibility and academic responsibility.

Definitions:

Field Trip: any activity which normally involves off-campus travel for one or more students enrolled in the college or Adult Education program. Independent study, internships, class meetings, and off campus work on an individual project are not considered Field Trips.

Section 504 Coordinator: an individual designated by the president of the college to ensure compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as Amended, and any other state and federal regulations governing disabilities; the responsibilities of the 504 Coordinator will include, but may not be limited to evaluating students requesting accommodations for a disability and ensuring equal access to facilities, services and programs.

Sponsor: an employee of the college who is organizing a field trip and/or accompanying students on a field trip.

Procedure:

  1. Driver Qualifications/Transportation
    1. Any employee who operates a vehicle for field trip activities must be in compliance with the TCSG Driver Qualification Procedure.
    2. Savannah Tech will ensure that any state owned vehicle offered for transportation is properly maintained and insured in accordance with Georgia Department of Administrative Services regulations.
    3. If chartered transportation is utilized for field trips, Savannah Tech must ensure that the provider has the appropriate liability insurance and is utilizing properly licensed professional drivers.
    4. A person renting a car should not allow others to drive the vehicle unless such use has been authorized by the rental agency.
    5. The President may determine that personal vehicles will not be used by any employee or student for the transporting of students on field trips.
    6. Any traffic and parking citations received during the course of a field trip are the responsibility of the driver, and must be immediately reported to the employee’s supervisor.
    7. Savannah Tech transportation for field trips must be provided and must depart from and return to the Savannah Tech campus.
  2. Students participating in field trips are required to sign the at “Behavior Standards for Off-Campus Activities and the Travel Consent and Disclosure form”; if the student is under the age of 18, the form must be executed by a parent or legal guardian.
  3. Savannah Tech must provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities to enable them to participate in field trips. Questions regarding accommodations may be addressed to the college’s Section 504 Coordinator or the Office of Legal Services.
  4. For each field trip, the technical college must have a designated contact person on campus with information about the field trip in the event that emergency communication is necessary. Information should include the purpose, location, duration, mode and route of transportation, and emergency contact information for each participating student or sponsor. Field trip sponsors should have access to communicate with contact or emergency personnel at all times and are required to maintain a copy of the emergency contact information for each participant during the course of the trip.
  5. Whenever possible, field trips should be clearly identified in the course syllabus (including location, time, and mode of transportation). The syllabus should also identify the field trip as “required” if student participation is mandatory. The sponsor should discuss in appropriate detail with students the risks associated with the activity, relevant emergency preparedness information, as well as expectations for behavior during the activity (including transit to and from the location(s)).
  6. Sponsors will be subject to all policies and procedures, including the Ethics and Standards of Business Conduct during the course of a field trip.
  7. Students are subject to all policies and procedures, including the Student Code of Conduct.