London, Manchester, Paris, Nice, Brussels, Barcelona. Destinations that are popular with US education abroad students. And sadly, destinations of tragic events. But then, there are also Port au Prince, Kathmandu, Fukushima and Eyjafjallajökull; while not popular destinations for students, these locations have impacted education abroad just the same. One thing all these destinations have in common is that, at some time in the past 10 years, events in these locations caused advisors and administrators to ask two questions: 1) Do I have travelers nearby, or who might be impacted?, and 2) Are my travelers safe?

For each of the events linked to those locations, those two questions generated volumes of emails, telephone calls, faxes, memos, website and social media postings, and more until all travelers were accounted for, once it was determined who should be accounted for. Countless hours were spent by US and onsite staff reaching out to students and travelers, gathering information, and then disseminating any follow-up communication. While absolutely necessary, there has to be a more efficient way.

There is. Terra Dotta's new AlertTraveler. The list of Terra Dotta (TD) clients adding this new solution to their current licenses keeps growing as more and more institutions recognize the value of combining the technology of the new AlertTraveler solution with the power of the data contained in their TD software. On September 1, AlertTraveler went live following a beta testing period during the summer. Already, through their subscribed institutions, almost 40,000 travelers have app registrations available to help keep them safe during the next 12 months. What about your travelers? How will you know if they are safe?

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Cheryl Boeckman is Terra Dotta’s new Senior Vice President of Global Sales. She is responsible for leading the sales team in matching Terra Dotta’s solutions to the needs of our clients managing international student offices, study abroad programs, and risk management. Cheryl directs forecasting, revenue production, the sales process, strategy, and customer relationships.

Cheryl has spent the last 25 years in global technology sales. In the past 15 years she has held executive positions in the EdTech industry, most recently as the Global Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Blackboard Transact. There she led the sales and marketing of solutions for the electronic/mobile campus credential including security, commerce, payment processing and financial aid disbursement. Cheryl was involved in the strategic combination of three acquisitions at Blackboard: CardSmith, Sequoia Retail Systems and HigherOne’s Cashnet business. Prior to joining Blackboard, she served as Vice President of Customer Relationships, responsible for the Recruitment & Admissions and Advancement solutions teams at SunGard Higher Education which later became Ellucian.

When not at work, Cheryl loves the outdoors; living in the Phoenix metropolitan area allows her to participate in activities year-round. Some of her favorites include golfing, playing softball, rollerblading, bicycling, riding motorcycles, and hanging out with her two dogs. She even flies airplanes! Cheryl has traveled the world for the last 25+ years and has visited many countries, meeting many wonderful people. Her favorite destinations include Australia; Phuket, Thailand; and Windsor, UK. One vacation spot she wants to visit is the Sun Kosi River in Nepal to go white water rafting!

When asked about her enthusiasm for joining Terra Dotta, Cheryl replied “My favorite part about working for Terra Dotta is we serve the international EdTech industry with products solving the business issues faced by our client institutions in providing the best service possible to their international and study abroad students. I am excited to join this dynamic team of professionals who are immensely dedicated to improving student outcomes and assisting in an elevated international and study abroad student experience."

Learn how an advisor can quickly take a few simple steps in TDS to initiate SEVIS updates such as terminations, cancellations, and other administrative SEVIS actions that do not originate with a student or scholar. This can also come in handy, for example, if you have an advisee who might not initiate a request online in TDS.

SEPTEMBER 19 11:00 AM EDT

The Terra Dotta software public interface API is a great way to put your development skills to work building all kinds of exciting new ways to present your site's content to its visitors. This presentation will have demonstrations of how to use javascript to interact with your database and create custom program search pages and featured program widget panels on your site. Code examples will be provided to get you started.

SEPTEMBER 27 4:00 PM EDT

Review with our internal expert what the batch certificate is, what it does, and why SEVIS requires it. We’ll also review the steps you must take to purchase, convert, submit to TDS, and install the certificate on SEVIS.

OCTOBER 10 11:00 AM EDT

How can you create the most efficient and streamlined application or registration experience for your site users? Is it possible for someone other than the traveler to submit a travel registration? Join this webinar to take a look at the options for collecting travel registrations in TDS. We will review the difference between a OneStep registration and a standard registration and discuss how to create proxy registrations to increase campus compliance. This webinar will also provide client and Terra Dotta examples of how to use the OneStep functionality to make registering more efficient for everyone on campus.

OCTOBER 11 11:00 AM EDT

Click here for a list of all upcoming webinars.