Weather & Power Outage Closures

Weather-Related Campus Closures

The UAS Incident Management Team (IMT) announces weather closures by 7:00 a.m. Notifications will be sent by RAVE alert via text, email and phone call and will be posted on official UAS social media pages and the UAS website.

The IMT assesses weather situations and decides on campus closures based on the following considerations:

• Safety conditions of roads on and around campus.
• City and borough operations.
• School district operations.
• Police department accident reports/warnings.
• National Weather Service weather reports and forecasted conditions.

While IMT monitors the activity of local school districts and community partners, a closure by another organization does not determine whether campus will close.  

Guidance for Weather-Related Campus Closures

Faculty and students

• Online and hybrid classes should continue in their remote format. 
• Classes held in person but able to pivot to an online format should do so at faculty discretion. 
• Students should check their Blackboard and emails for additional details.

Faculty teaching in-person courses: Please discuss with students at the beginning of each semester the process for shifting to online classes in the event of a campus closure.

Employees

Employees with remote work agreements in place and those who can effectively pivot to working remotely should do so. Employees should discuss specific conditions or circumstances that prevent remote work with their primary supervisor. 

Personal Safety Leave

Personal Safety Leave is intended for employees who cannot conduct their work remotely. Use of safety leave must be approved by the employee's supervisor and the chancellor.

Inclement Weather and Campus is Open

Safety and well-being are our primary concerns. While snowy and icy roads do not always warrant a campus closure, we understand adverse road conditions during the winter months make it difficult for some employees and students to travel to campus. 

Please use your best judgment and do not risk your safety when traveling to campus in dangerous weather conditions. If weather conditions prevent safe travel to campus, employees should communicate with supervisors, and students should communicate with professors. Every attempt should be made to work or learn remotely to the extent available.

Power Outages

The UAS Incident Management Team will assess a power outage and connect with the facilities department and the local electric company to estimate the duration of an outage. Campus and service centers will remain open unless the outage will last for an extended period of time. Most outages are resolved within 20-60 minutes.

Operational updates will be communicated by email. In the case of a campus closure, information will be shared by a RAVE alert (text, phone call, and email) and posted on the UAS website and social media.

Faculty have discretion regarding class cancellations and or changes in response to an outage.