The health and safety of our students on First-Year Experience programs is our top priority. We work closely with our travel providers and Education Abroad to prepare our students, faculty and staff prior to travel. While abroad, our students have dedicated onsite staff for assistance with all issues that relate to health and safety, in addition to Leeds faculty and staff leaders. 

We monitor updates on health and safety issues around the world and follow advisories from U.S. Department of State, the CDC, International SOS, CU Boulder’s International Risk Committee, and our program providers to ensure that our programs can mitigate any health, safety, or security concerns to the best of our ability.

Leeds Global Programs works closely with CU Education Abroad and our program providers (CIEE and WorldStrides) to determine if student travel is appropriate. We closely follow the recommendations of the health & safety committees of our partners, in addition to the US Department of State, and Center for Disease Control.

If travel is deemed unsafe due to COVID-19 or other unforeseen circumstances after the start of the spring semester, Leeds faculty and staff will make every effort to provide alternative, virtual engagements with business contacts abroad to supplement the FGX experience.

Leeds will make every effort to recover all program-related costs in the event of a program cancellation. Students should refer to the FGX student contract for more details.

Students will be asked to be fully vaccinated and provide up-to-date vaccination information prior to and during travel. Students who have received a vaccine exemption per CU policy may be subject to additional testing and any associated costs. In some cases, students may be restricted from traveling if a country or program provider requires proof of vaccination. Leeds cannot be engaged in violating local laws or regulations. If a student does not plan to be fully vaccinated prior to the spring semester, they should disclose this to Leeds Global Programs immediately.

Leeds Global Programs understands that personal concerns regarding COVID-19 may vary from student to student. If a student chooses to withdraw from FGX, but the program is not cancelled, the student will be subject to the terms of the withdrawal policy outlined in the FGX enrollment form. The student may lose the $500 deposit and any additional unrecoverable costs.

Leeds Global Programs will contact students directly via their official CU email address. We will ask all students to share updates with their families as appropriate.

Please visit the main campus updates and resources page or CU Education Abroad for more information regarding COVID-19.