December 04, 2017

Reminder: Prepare for Inclement Weather

Faculty and staff should take two important steps to prepare for inclement weather: review the campus policy and ensure that the university has your accurate cell phone number if you want to receive emergency text alerts. 

Decisions to close any or all parts of the university, cancel classes or issue a university weather advisory will be made at the chancellor level and not the departmental level. Individual department heads are not granted authority to close departments. 

The decision to close the university or cancel classes due to weather or other emergency conditions will be made before 7 a.m. and communicated through text messages, mass emails and area radio and television stations. In addition, the university’s home and Facebook pages will include information regarding administrative closures. 

Unless there is an official administrative closure, employees scheduled for work who do not report to work due to weather conditions should request vacation time or absence without pay. (Note that administrative and civil serve employees work when the university is open regardless of whether classes are in session.) Employees may want to familiarize themselves with the winter pathways map, which identifies roadways, parking lots and sidewalks that have priority for snow removal. 

Employees who want to receive text messages about closures, tornados, winter storms and other emergencies should provide a current cell phone number through the Human Resources self-service system. Once logged on, employees should click on SIUC Employee Online Services, then click on “Personal Information” so you can enter or update your cell phone number. Your SIU email address already is automatically entered into the university’s Rave Mobile Safety alert system.