To close or not close

The decision to delay the opening of campus operations or close the campus completely rests with Jane. She must make the call based on road condition feedback offered by Campus Safety and National Weather Service reports.  This is not an easy task and canceling classes or finals is a serious step that we are reluctant to take unless it is absolutely necessary. Assessing the weather predictions and forecasts can be extremely difficult and fast changes in conditions can occur. Of all of the days she had to make the call, Tuesday, December 16 was her one regret.

Since the round-about at the Law School was installed in 2002, we had not experienced any major winter storms while classes were in session until this past December. The perils of maneuvering the round-about in ice and snow have taught  us about conditions to consider when deciding whether to open and at what hour. Some have asked why we don’t put sand and gravel on treacherous areas like the round-about. Grounds Supervisor Gabe Bishop checked with the City and was told that if we did so we would be assuming liability for those public areas.

How to define closures

We need an explicit policy defining what it means for the institution to be closed. David Ellis, Tim O’Dwyer and Richard Bettega will meet with Jane to work on such a policy. The policy should distinguish closing the facility from closing institutional business.

Timing of the decision

While storms do not always respect our schedules, ideally the institution should make a decision by 4:45 a.m. to ensure that the announcement is made public by 5:15 a.m. This will allow ample time for non-essential staff with long commutes to be notified. Jane and Tim will do what they can to adhere to this schedule, weather permitting.

In addition, the group discussed implementing a more nuanced set of options than simply closing. For example, if the snow or ice hits after most employees are at work and if it promises to melt before the close of the workday, one option might be to remain open, but cancel classes for a block of time so that students and faculty who are not on campus are not tempted to come during hazardous conditions.

Working from home as an option

David Ellis will review our working from home policy to see how we might refine it so as to enable some staff to remain at home during inclement weather. He will also examine ways to dismiss certain categories of employees who may not be needed on campus if a storm happens if classes are not in session.

Communication of decision to the campus community

Currently, Public Affairs and Communications uses the Lewis & Clark web site and snow line to communicate delay and closure information.

The group recommended that PubCom resume notifying the media about closures so that external constituencies (e.g. visitors, prospective students, clients for Campus Events) will be informed about our status. PubCom representative Jodi Heintz emphasized that the institution will not be listed on television tickers or have the option of verbal announcements on television or radio. Timely, detailed and accurate information can only be guaranteed at lclark.edu and the snow line but PubCom will resume sending announcements to select media outlets.

The shuttle service does not run when the campus is closed. This policy is stated on the Parking and Transportation website, but not everyone knows to look there. What is more, if the power is out, people can’t check the website. Jodi will include communication about the shuttle in the snowline and web page messages.

The three academic deans’ offices and the Dean of Students Office will continue to send emails to their respective constituents with details relevant to activities in their areas.

Contingency plans

One of the biggest challenges faced during the snow closures and hazardous road conditions was allowing law school students to finish exams. Emailing exams to students poses security issues and cannot guarantee that students complete an exam within a set time parameter. The Law School is considering the possibility of using its learning management system to deliver exams on-line and CAS may wish to investigate using Moodle more extensively for this purpose. Some undergraduate faculty are doing so already.