Participant desires to be accepted into the College’s overseas and off-campus program. Participant and/or Parent or Guardian understand that for a variety of social, societal, political, legal, and other reasons, there may be inherent risks in any overseas and off-campus program.

Participant and/or Parent or Guardian understand the risks include, by way of example and not limitation, the following: travel by air, train, bus, car, and other modes of transportation, potential political violence, hazardous weather, epidemics and other public health emergencies, absence of reliable and accessible communication, and other unforeseen events. 

Participant agrees it is their sole responsibility to be familiar with the physical and/or mental demands associated with their program. With these demands in mind, Participant represents that they have no physical or mental limitation or medical condition which, to the best of their knowledge, would endanger themselves or others if Participant partakes in this program.

As a condition to acceptance, the parties agree as follows:

1. General Release and Indemnification. Participant and/or Parent or Guardian agree(s) to: defend, release, indemnify, hold harmless and forever discharge Lewis & Clark College and any cooperating institution and their officers, employees, trustees, insurers and agents from and against any and all claims, demands, actions or causes of actions, whether known or unknown, relating to or arising out of or in conjunction with any damage, death or other consequences to real or personal property, any accident, illness, personal injury, death or other consequences that may result from Participant’s participation in the overseas or off-campus activity for which Participant is applying.

2. Related to Safety and Medical Needs. Participant and, if applicable, Parent or Guardian, grant the College and any cooperating institution full authority to take whatever action the College and any cooperating institution, in their discretion, determines to be warranted to preserve the health and safety of Participant while on the overseas or off-campus program for which Participant is applying, regardless of whether Participant is engaged in activities that are organized or self-directed.

We understand that actions the College and any cooperating institution may take include, but are not limited to, prohibiting any activities the College and any cooperating institution deems to be risky and placing Participant in a hospital, or, if no hospital is reasonably available, placing Participant in the care of a local physician, at Participant’s expense. The College and any cooperating institution will undertake to make reasonable effort to communicate with Parent or Guardian before Participant is hospitalized, or subjected to injections, anesthesia, or surgery, if the nature of the medical emergency so permits. If the College and any cooperating institution in their discretion determines that Participant should be returned to the United States for medical treatment, Participant is responsible for all expenses incurred. 

3. Termination or Modification of Program. The College may cancel or alter the overseas or off-campus program at any time if in its discretion it determines that conditions of force majeure (such as natural disasters, epidemics, or other public health emergencies, political and economic crises, etc.), low enrollment, unavailability of a program leader, or any other factor makes it unreasonably difficult for the College to perform the obligations of the College stated in its catalogue and brochures or, in the judgment of the College, makes it contrary to the best interests of students or the College for the program to continue. In the event of cancellation before a program has begun, the College will refund fees previously collected from Participant for the program, minus such amounts that the College reasonably determines have already been spent. In the event of a cancellation after a program has begun, the College will make its best efforts to provide Participant with alternative programming and academic credit, and no refund of fees previously collected from Participant for the program will be provided, unless the College, in its sole discretion, determines that identifiable and unspent funds can and should be refunded to Participant.

5. The College is not able to assist students who break the law in a foreign country and is not responsible for legal fees or other costs incurred in attempts to secure the release of Participant from foreign custody. Lewis & Clark students are subject to the laws of their host country and community. Neither the Overseas & Off-Campus Programs Office nor the US Government has the ability to protect Participant from punishment with respect to drug or other criminal offenses. 

6. Severability. If any word(s), phrase(s), or term(s) of this agreement are declared unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction for any reason, the remaining word(s), phrase(s), or term(s) shall be valid and enforceable and construed as if the invalid or unenforceable word(s), phrase(s), or term(s) were deleted.