Guilford College

The following summarizes Guilford College’s response in the event of a weather emergency:

Definition

Guilford College defines a “weather emergency” as a change in local weather conditions that disrupt the normal course of business and other College activities.

Winter weather emergencies occur when Guilford College declares that heavy snow and ice make roadways and walkways on the campus impassable and employees and students are prevented from traveling to or traversing the campus in order to work or attend classes.

Other weather emergencies can include sudden, dangerous wind, rain and other conditions related to tornadoes, hurricanes and other extreme weather events.

Decision

In the event of a winter weather emergency, the College ordinarily will make a delay/closing/class cancellation announcement by 9 p.m. for the following day or by 6 a.m. the day of the emergency. However, developing weather conditions may require that the decision and announcement be made later than 6 a.m. If the College is closed, only essential personnel in open departments (detailed below) need report to work. If inclement weather exists in late morning or early afternoon, the College ordinarily will make a closing/cancellation announcement for afternoon and/or evening classes by 3 p.m.

In the event of other weather emergencies, the College will make decisions about schedule changes and safety measures based on weather forecasts and warnings and as conditions develop.

Notification/Coordination

In the event of a winter weather emergency, once a decision to delay opening or close the College and delay or cancel classes has been made, the college will:

• post an announcement on 316-CLOS (this is the primary means of employee notification and should be checked for updates when weather conditions are deteriorating)
• alert the commercial media
• post an announcement on the front of the College’s website
• post an announcement on the College’s main Facebook page and Twitter feed

Campus Areas and Departments

The following pertains to various campus areas and departments once a decision to close the College and cancel classes has been made:

Academic Affairs

Classes will not meet and faculty need not report. All academic support offices (Academic Skills Center, International Center, Multicultural Affairs, Career & Community Learning, Registrar, Correspondence Center) will close. Hege Library may open on a full or limited basis as conditions permit.

Excerpted from the faculty handbook:
3.152 Bad Weather Procedures (abbreviated)

“Classes can be canceled for the entire institution only by the vice president and academic dean. …Only very rarely will daytime classes be canceled because of bad weather.

“Individual instructors can cancel their classes if they reasonably believe they are unable to come to public safely. In such cases, the Correspondence Center (ext. 2274) shall be notified … and individual faculty should put a message on their voice mail. It will normally be necessary to make arrangements to make up work missed on such occasions later in the term.

“If commuting students reasonably believe that safety considerations prevent attendance at classes which are not canceled during bad weather, they should refrain from undue risk and will receive an ‘excused absence.’ Whenever possible, students should leave a message on voice mail for the relevant faculty person.

“These procedures regarding bad weather days should be announced to the students at the beginning of the semester by the faculty member.”

Dining Services

Dining services will operate on its weekend schedule. In the case of a delay in opening, dining services will operate on its regular schedule.

Financial Administration

Public Safety will remain open. The Business and Financial Aid Offices and Human Resources will close. The bookstore will close. The P.E. Center will close.

On-Campus Events

Weather emergencies may affect the presentation of some on-campus events. Student-sponsored events may proceed even if lectures or performances with off-campus participants or attendees are cancelled. The College will make appropriate announcements as needed and as soon as possible.

Essential Personnel

Essential personnel include those responsible for aspects of the residential program that must continue to operate while students are in residence. Certain administrative functions may also be designated as essential. When the college is closed for weather emergencies, senior staff have designated specific essential personnel who must report for work. Offices include, but are not limited to, maintenance, housekeeping, and Information Technology and Services (IT&S). All other employees shall be granted leave with pay for hours which they would normally work during a weather emergency. All hourly-paid employees properly authorized to work shall receive additional pay for hours worked during the official closing. When the institution remains open during inclement weather, employees unable to report to work may either: (1) use earned vacation time or emergency leave; (2) make up the time on other days within the same week; or (3) take leave without pay.

Guidelines for Staff

Excerpted from the staff handbook (with modifications):
3.610 Inclement Weather, Natural Disasters and Any Unusual Work Interference (abbreviated)

“Departments, academic or administrative, may not declare themselves closed on days when school is open unless there is an unusual work interference. The decision to close a department or building will be made by the department manager after consultation with the vice president and academic dean.
“In cases where an employee is unable to come to work or needs to leave early, the employee may do so by using emergency or vacation leave time. It is important that the employee communicate with the manager regarding these emergency circumstances if she or he will be unable to work the standard work day.
“Certain departments must remain open, regardless of the work interference. … It is the manager’s responsibility to plan and implement a program to assure that necessary coverage is always in place.”

When the College is closed for a weather emergency, all essential personnel in open departments must report for work as scheduled. Other employees scheduled to work need not report for work but will receive their regular pay. If an employee is on vacation or emergency leave during a weather emergency, any time off is still considered vacation or emergency leave.

Employees required to work overtime during a weather emergency will receive overtime pay according to normal practices.

If Guilford does not declare a weather emergency, an employee, after checking with his or her supervisor, may choose not to travel or decide to leave work early because of concerns about the weather. In such cases, he or she may (1) use earned vacation time or emergency leave; (2) make up the time on other days within the same week; or (3) take leave without pay.

The following table summarizes employee responsibilities in case of severe weather:

If a Weather Emergency

Supervisors may require temporary employees to report for work during weather emergencies if their jobs are considered essential. However, these employees are only paid for hours worked. Paid time off for staff not required to work during a weather emergency is counted as time worked in calculating overtime.