Storm closing procedure

Explanation

UW will close automatically if the Waterloo County Board of Education closes all its schools for the day. If the school board closes rural schools only, or cancels school buses but does not close schools, UW is not closed.

UW follows the school board's lead in these cases because the board has a longstanding system for evaluating weather conditions and announcing its decision. UW classes -- including those in the evening -- will be cancelled along with all non-essential services. Non-essential staff will not be expected to come to work.

Examinations that are scheduled on the day or the evening of a closing because of bad weather will be can celled and rescheduled. Deadlines for assignments, job applications and other requirements are postponed to the same time on the next working day.

Radio stations that can be expected to carry announcements include CKGL (570), CKKW (1090), CHYM (96.7) and KOOL-FM (105.3), as well as UW's own student station, CKMS (100.3 FM). The university's news bureau will try to arrange to have UW mentioned explicitly, but staff, faculty and students can assume that if a complete closing of Board schools is announced, UW has also closed.

No one other than the media relations office is authorized to call the media about the closing of UW, and local radio and TV have been asked not to pay attention to other calls.

A campus closing will also be posted electronically by the internal communications office. Look on UWinfo for the Daily Bulletin and for "Flash" on the main menu, or check the newsgroup uw.general.

The storm closing procedure also describes how a decision will be made if UW must close during the day, or for the evening, because of bad weather.

Printed copies of the procedure are available on request from the university secretariat. This text was updated with revised corporate names, 2004.

Text of the procedure

Summary

• The university will automatically be "closed" for the day if the Waterloo Region District School Board closes all its schools for the day.
• This document sets out in detail the procedures to be followed for a closing, and the effects on staff, faculty and students.
• A procedure is provided for closing during the working day, after hours, or on a day when the schools are not open.

Purpose

For the university to be "closed" means that

1. classes are not held,
2. meetings and other scheduled events are cancelled,
3. staff other than those employed in "essential services", as defined in this statement, are not expected to be at work, but are paid for a normal day,
4. examinations are cancelled,
5. deadlines for assignments and other submissions are postponed until the same hour on the next business day on which the university is not "closed".

Essential services

The following are defined as "essential services" to be kept in operation even when the university is "closed":

1. food service in the residences,
2. policing,
3. the central plant (powerhouse),
4. snow removal (grounds crew),
5. emergency repair and maintenance,
6. animal care.

No department can designate any other services as "essential" or require staff to work during a "closed" period without approval from the Provost or delegate.

Classes

Staff employment

A staff member who is on vacation, sick leave or unpaid leave, or who is not scheduled to work, on a day when the university is "closed" is not entitled to equivalent time off later.

Staff members who come to work and find out on arrival that the university is "closed" may leave if they wish.

Morning closing (school days)

When the university is "closed" on this basis, the closing is for a day and a night, ending at 7 a.m. on the next day. (This rule means that staff who work business hours need not come to work on that day. Staff who begin work that evening, for example at 6 p.m. or 10 p.m., also need not come to work.)

Procedure

1. Notify local radio stations and other media that "the University of Waterloo and its colleges are closed, and classes are cancelled."
2. Notify the Manager of Telephone Services, who will make the announcement on the recording that answers the university's main telephone numbers.
3. Notify the Director of Internal Communications, who will have the announcement posted on UWinfo and other computer communication media.
4. Notify the Director of Security and the Director of Custodial and Grounds Services.
5. Notify the Provost.

Individual departments may arrange for staff to be telephoned, but the university has no obligation to telephone staff to notify them that the university is "closed". Individual staff and faculty members and students are responsible for checking local radio stations or UWinfo on stormy days. If there is no specific announcement about UW, an announcement that the Waterloo Region District School Board has closed all its schools may be taken as a statement that the university is also "closed". Staff, faculty and students are advised not to overload the telephone system by calling the university for information about a storm closing.

Morning closing (other days)

The Provost will notify the Director of Communications and Public Affairs and the media relations office, and the "Procedure" described in the previous section will be followed.

Daytime closing

A decision to close during the day will be made by the Provost, in consultation with the Director of Security, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, and Director of Custodial and Grounds Services, or as many of them as can be reached.

A decision to close during the day will specify whether the closing is "immediate" or at a stated hour. Unless otherwise specified, the closing continues from that hour until 7 a.m. on the next day. A class or examination that would continue past the specified closing hour is cancelled in its entirety.

When such a decision is made, it will be communicated as follows:

1. By C&PA, through UWinfo and other computer media.
2. By telephone to department offices. The University Secretariat will coordinate telephoning to ensure that all offices are notified quickly; in general, each department should be notified by a representative of the officer to whom the department head reports. For example, the President's Office or Secretariat will notify Deans' offices; Deans' offices will notify academic departments. Church colleges and commercial tenants on campus will also be notified.
3. By C&PA (media relations office), through local radio stations.

Closing outside normal business hours

If weather conditions justify closing the campus during late evening, so that the night custodial shift is not required to come to work, the decision will be made by the Director of Security (in consultation, if possible, with the Director of Custodial and Grounds Services), who will notify the Provost, the Manager of Telephone Services and the Director of Communications and Public Affairs. Such a closing is effective until 7 a.m., by which time a decision will be made in the usual way about whether the university should be closed for the day.

If weather conditions justify the closing of the campus on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the Director of Security (or delegate) will make that decision and notify the Provost, the Manager of Telephone Services, and the Director of Communications and Public Affairs, who will make such announcements as seem appropriate. Any department (such as the Library) that has scheduled activities, or staff scheduled for duty, overnight or on a weekend day or holiday is responsible for notifying the security department of an emergency contact person. Such a department is also responsible for maintaining its own plan for cancelling activities, notifying staff of a closing, or sending staff home, as appropriate, when the Director of Security decides to close the campus. The principles set out in this procedure regarding payment of staff will apply.

Interpretation

By arrangement between the university and the Church College Heads, a closing of the university under this procedure also applies to the federated and affiliated colleges. College Heads will designate college staff who are responsible for providing essential services. College Heads (or their delegates) have the authority to allow college staff to go home early in case of bad weather, at their discretion.

Department heads are responsible for applying this procedure in an equitable way, bearing in mind the immense variations between departments with respect to services provided, as well as individual human needs. Difficult cases should be reported to the department of human resources, which will keep a record of decisions made.

Weather conditions can sometimes be intimidating even though the university does not officially close. Staff and faculty who live at some distance from the campus can be particularly affected. Department heads are, as usual, entitled to allow individual staff members to take time off without pay, or time to be made up through overtime or vacation time, or paid time off, at their discretion.

Other situations

However, this procedure does not deal with closing of only a part of the campus because of storm damage or unsafe conditions in one area. That situation is governed by the existing policy on "Emergencies".