RISK MANAGEMENT IN STUDY ABROAD: CULTURAL ASPECTS

Globalization has led to increasing migration of students around the world, thus US Open Doors data demonstrate the drastic growth in the number of international students (980,000) in the USA during the 2014-2015 academic year. Likewise, Kazakhstani students studying abroad number started to ascend sharply since 2011, Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan (MES RK) informs that more than 30,000 students acquiring education abroad either self-funded or by international program "Bolashak". Its number will be rising by 20 per cent till 2020. The goal of studying abroad is exchange programs, research assistantship, internships or collaborative research.

Consequently, coordinators and managers working in the field of international cooperation launched new regulations, policies and other governing documents for travel and safety of students. While the administrators are engaged in the program design and collaboration establishment the possibility to encounter travel risks expand with the more students' traveling. Accordingly, Kazakhstan experiences a great number of challenges in internationalizing the universities, faculties and students.

The seminar on risk management in study abroad for Kazakhstani managers revealed that the universities at average send and accept not less than 100 students per semester; although the number is of small scale, there still occur various risk cases. Analysis of responses indicates that there were cases with terroristic acts in France, flight delays, the bankruptcy of the air companies, a death of the international student. One university coordinator highlighted the accident with the visiting scholar who charged the University for the negligence. The size of the outbound and inbound mobility is the one of hindrance of the poor risk management development. The other reason is supposedly Kazakh cultural trait to rely on hope not planning.

In contrast, the USA universities deliberately and carefully devise the international travel programs and provide the travel and safety information on the university websites.

There opens up the issue of cultural approach in analyzing the risk management and its assessment in study abroad.