Weather-Related Information for Faculty and Staff

In the case of snow or ice, the Penn State Beaver Chancellor will consult with the Director of Academic Affairs and the Director of Finance and Business before making any decisions about the status of the campus. Please note that closures or delays are rare for Beaver campus and are not tied to the local school districts’ announced delays or closures. Remember that school districts are running buses very early in the morning and have the ability to make up lost days at the end of the year. Beaver campus does not have this ability, so it is important for us to minimize the number of classes lost due to weather.

Please carefully review the following detailed procedures and policy statements regarding weather-related closings and postponements. Our experiences with announcements given on the identified radio and television stations have been mixed, so all faculty, staff, and students are strongly encouragee to make use of the SNO number (724-773-3766) to determine the status of the campus at any given time. Every attempt will be made to have updated information on the message no later than 6:30 a.m. The status of the campus can also be check by visiting http://www.beaver.psu.edu/. In the event of a weather problem, a notice will be placed on the home page.

In addition, if you are registered for PSUTXT, you will receive an immediate text message on your cell phone if any special campus weather announcements are made. To sign up for PSUTXT, please go to http://live.psu.edu/psutxt and click on the PSUTEXT REGISTER button at the bottom of the page.

For those staff who are uncomfortable driving in the snow, and if your presence is not required for the day’s operations, please note that your supervisor can give you permission to leave work early, arrive late, or not come in at all on a day when the campus is open. However, you must log that day as vacation, your personal holiday, or leave with no pay as stipulated by University Policy HR10.

Faculty members should not cancel individual classes due to weather. Only the Chancellor has the authority to delay the class schedule or close the campus. Faculty are expected to make every reasonable attempt to meet with their class(es). If you are unable to come to campus, please contact Dee Mooney, staff assistant in the Office of Academic Affairs, at 724-773-3571 as soon as possible. Cancelling a class despite the fact that students have driven through inclement weather does not reflect well on our campus, and it is also problematic to hold some classes while others are cancelled.

On days with snow and / or ice, please allow extra time to commute to campus safely. Faculty members need to be aware of the fact that some of our commuter students live in very rural areas and are sometimes unable to reach campus to attend class, even on days when the campus is open. Please take this fact into consideration if you have a required attendance policy.

The campus will not operate on a compressed class schedule for days with delayed starts. For example, if the start of class is delayed until 10 a.m., then the 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. classes will not meet, and the regular schedule will begin at 10 a.m. Campus administration tries to minimize the number of 8 a.m. classes during spring semester (January through May). The administration will use flexibility when needed to determine an appropriate start time if a delay is necessary. A decision about all evening classes will be made by 4 p.m.

Please be assured that the campus always strives to make informed decisions that balance student, faculty, and staff safety with the class time for which our students pay. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

Penn State Beaver Inclement Weather Policy

On occasion, inclement weather might cause the campus to modify its operations. The following is a summary of policies that will be used in the event of operational modifications. The sole responsibility for weather-related decisions rests with the Chancellor. At the campus level, only the Chancellor may authorize free time off for staff members. Any decisions that alter campus status and / or operations will be made only by the Chancellor in consultation with the Director of Academic Affairs and the Director of Fianance and Business. Campus status is usually determined by 6:30 a.m.

Information about the status of the campus will be forwarded to the radio and televisions stations on the attached list. To check the status of the campus, all employees and students should:
1) Refer to these stations for information.
2) Call the campus SNO Line at 724-773-3SNO (724-773-3766).
3) Visit the Beaver campus website at http://www.beaver.psu.edu/.

Weather-related actions usually take one of the three forms below:

Campus Closed

Only employees designated as essential by their supervisor should report to work on campus. Essential employees who work when the campus is closed are eligible for equivalent time off as mutually agreed to by the employee and supervisor, or the employee can receive overtime pay.

Classes Cancelled

No classes will be held, but all campus employees are expected to report to work as usual. Class cancellations can vary, e.g. cancellations might be only for day classes or evening classes or could include both day and evening classes. Evening or campus Continuing Education classes adhere to the same closure recommendations as all Resident Instruction classes.

Delay of Class Start

The start of classes will be delayed until an announced time. The day's regular schedule will be followed once classes start. All campus employees must report to work at the usual time.

Employees are entitled to free time off ONLY in the case of Option 1, i.e. Campus Closed. If employees are unable to report to work due to weather-related concerns under any other circumstances, that time must be charged to the employee's accumulated vacation or personal holiday time. The employee also has the option of time off with no pay. If a supervisor grants permission for an employee(s) to leave work early or arrive late, the work time missed is accounted for as vacation, personal holiday, or no pay. The policies described herein are found in University Policy HRG10 and are available for your review on GURU.

 

 

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