Campus Snow Closures
During the winter season, we want students, faculty, and staff to know expectations for teaching, learning, and working if campus is affected by inclement weather.
The past three years, campus experienced several powerful snowstorms, necessitating late starts, early dismissals, and campus closures. As a result, CU Denver revisited its policies, in collaboration with our Auraria Campus partners, to ensure a safe and equitable learning environment for all.
Here’s what you need to know:
Stay up to date on weather-related closures or delays:
In the event of a campus closure, delayed start or early dismissal, you will receive a text message and/or email with current information. You can also call 1-877-556-3637 or visit www.ahec.edu or CU Denver Twitter and other social media channels after 5:30 a.m.
If weather conditions necessitate a closure
Any individual mandatory attendance policies for specific classes are suspended if campus is closed. Faculty should not require students to attend a class when campus is closed due to inclement weather.
If campus is open during inclement weather, we encourage students, faculty, and staff to use their judgment as to their ability to reach campus safely. Students should communicate with faculty, faculty with their department chairs, and staff with their supervisors if they feel unable to reach campus in a safe manner.
Campus Closure
A campus closure is applicable to all students, meaning that both in-person and online classes are canceled for the day. Inclement weather may cause a disruption in communication channels and internet access, and in order to provide a consistent learning experience, all students will follow closure protocols.
Delayed Starts
If a class is scheduled to begin after early dismissal time, it is canceled. If a class straddles release time, it is canceled. For example, if campus is closing at 2 p.m., a class that runs from 1 – 3 p.m. is canceled. The same is true if inclement weather necessitates a delayed start. If the campus will open at 10 a.m. and a class runs from 9 to 11 a.m., it is canceled.
Campus Closure
A campus closure is applicable to all faculty, meaning that both in-person and online classes are canceled for the day. Inclement weather may cause a disruption in communication channels and internet access, and in order to provide a consistent learning experience, all faculty will follow closure protocols.
Delayed Starts
If a class is scheduled to begin after early dismissal time, it is canceled. If a class straddles release time, it is canceled. For example, if campus is closing at 2 p.m., a class that runs from 1 – 3 p.m. is canceled. The same is true if inclement weather necessitates a delayed start. If the campus will open at 10 a.m. and a class runs from 9 to 11 a.m., it is canceled.
Campus Closure
Essential personnel (who are already pre-identified by their departments, such as facilities staff) must report in-person. Staff who ordinarily work on campus do not need to report to campus and do not need to work remotely.
Staff who have a remote work agreement in place also do not need to work that day unless instructed to by their supervisor for critical business needs. The university encourages flexibility and equity.
A campus closure does not mean students, faculty, or staff are unaccountable for any classroom content or work duties that would have occurred on the closure day, but instead, should plan to fulfill those obligations on a different day.
Delayed Starts
For delayed starts, employees who are scheduled to work in-person that day would report for work at the delayed start time. Employees working remote that day would also start their days at the delayed start time. Early dismissal would apply to anyone working in-person at that time. We encourage supervisors to be flexible.
How we determine campus closures
Inclement weather decisions are always made collectively and cooperatively by the members of the Auraria Executive Council (AEC) or their designees, which includes leadership from each of the three educational institutions on campus (CU Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and Community College of Denver), as well as AHEC (Auraria Higher Education Center).
AEC members receive information directly from the National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder and also consult with AHEC Facilities Services and Emergency Management. Before and during a storm, AHEC officials participate in public-safety conference calls with the NWS and consult with campus safety officials. The officials then evaluate the information with Facilities Services to gauge the team’s ability to keep the campus accessible and safe.