Faculty, Staff, and Students organize and participate in a wide range of activities and trips to support the mission of the College. Activities/trips may be routine and low risk or high risk and infrequent. Low risk activities/trips may include a job fair or lecture elsewhere. High risk activities may include swimming, zip-lining, participation in a sport, or travel abroad. Most off-campus and domestic travel/trips can be classified as either voluntary field trips or mandatory academic field trips.
Mandatory Academic Activities/Trips Require you to use an informed consent, assumption of risk, waiver and indemnification form. Mandatory academic activities/field trips are a required component of a student's coursework. For Faculty and Staff coordinating a mandatory academic activity/trip, it is required that you use this informed consent and assumption of risk form to make students aware of the risks associated with the activities of the trip as well as the Ursinus practices and/or policies that are in place to promote the safety and well-being of participants. For example, for a field trip to an outdoors location, you may want to include the need for long pants and shirts, hat, boots, insect repellent, medications, water, etc. Voluntary Activities/Trips Require you to use an informed consent, assumption of risk, waiver and indemnification form. Voluntary activities/trips are distinguished from mandatory academic activities/field trips as not being required for academic credit. If you are coordinating a voluntary activity or trip, it is required that you have students sign off on a waiver that provides basic details on the trip and alerts them to the trip's specific risks. Once your request has been reviewed, you will receive a link to the informed consent, assumption of risk, waiver and indemnification form. Please distribute this link to your students to complete and sign the form. Remind them to select your trip name to access the correct form. Note: this link goes through Slate and is accessible only to your students, so you will not be able to view the form yourself.
Description of Activity or Event: Students will see this information when submitting their form. Please provide enough information so students can decide whether they have specific needs or other information related to these activities that they want to share with you.
I understand that Activities may include, but are not limited to the following: [Insert nature of activity with focus on kinds of activities involved and nature of risks involved. Be specific when describing risks. Example: “Hikes and data collection in natural areas (e.g., forests, unmaintained grasslands, streams) and agricultural fields on and/or adjacent to the Ursinus campus as well as sites off-campus. I understand that participation in these Activities exposes me to risks, including, but not limited to the following: Poison ivy, insects such as mosquitos and ticks, exposure to the sun, walking on uneven or sloped surfaces.”]
