Fayetteville Policies and Procedures  211.0 

Weather Emergency Procedure

General Procedures

The University of Arkansas operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the year in order to meet the needs of students, the requirements of ongoing research, and its obligations for the safety and security of the campus community. The university’s procedures for responding to inclement weather events necessarily apply whatever time of day or night these events occur.

The university may respond to inclement weather events by changing its operating status in one of three ways:

  1. Cancellation of classes and closing of non-essential offices and services
  2. Delayed start of classes and delayed opening of non-essential offices and            services
  3. Early dismissal of classes and early closing of non-essential offices and services

The safety of students, faculty and staff and the integrity of university operations are the primary concerns when deciding on a response to inclement weather.

In all cases, when inclement weather is forecast by the National Weather Service and/or local meteorologists, university officials designated as part of the Inclement Weather Group will begin monitoring weather conditions.

The Inclement Weather Group will be led by the Provost. Members of the Inclement Weather Group will include the Executive Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration (who will lead the Inclement Weather Group in the Provost's absence), the Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities, the Director of University of Arkansas Police Department (UAPD), the Director of Transit and Parking, the Associate Vice Chancellor University Relations, the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the Chair of the Staff Senate, and the President of the Associated Student Government, or their designated alternates. UAPD will maintain a current list of contact information for all group members and alternates.

When inclement weather conditions approach the area, UAPD will begin monitoring road conditions on campus, in town, and in the region; Facilities Management supervisors will monitor conditions of campus streets, sidewalks and parking lots to determine if they need to be cleared or de-iced; Razorback Transit supervisors will begin to check road conditions to determine if bus services can be operated safely. Supervisors of weather essential personnel will schedule employees to meet inclement weather duties.

Supervisors from UAPD, Facilities Management and Razorback Transit will keep the director of UAPD updated on campus conditions, and the UAPD director will make regular reports by phone, text, and/or email to the Inclement Weather Group.

If police, facilities and transit supervisors report that weather conditions are deteriorating and travel is becoming potentially hazardous, the UAPD Director will initiate a conference call with the Inclement Weather Group. The group will consider all available information regarding safety, weather and travel conditions.

Following this meeting and depending on these conditions and the time of day, the Provost or alternate may decide to take no action, with the option of revisiting that decision if conditions change.

Following this meeting, if it is determined that conditions warrant, the Provost or alternate may decide to implement the following, as described in more detail in Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 210.0:

1. Delayed Opening (delay starting classes and delay opening non-essential           offices);

2. Early Dismissal (dismiss classes early and close non-essential offices early);
 or

3. Campus Closure (cancel classes and close non-essential campus offices).

Any decision to change the university’s operating schedule should be made and communicated to students, faculty and staff as early as possible, with as much lead time as possible. The Inclement Weather Group can revisit and modify a decision if weather conditions worsen. Again, this decision should be communicated to the campus community as quickly as possible.

Communication

University Relations staff will have primary responsibility for communicating the inclement weather decision. Immediately following the decision, the director of strategic communications will contact staff members and begin to:

  • send an Inclement Weather message through the emergency alert system to all members of the campus community via text, email and voice messages
  • post an inclement weather message to the university homepage and emergency website
  • contact the manager of telephone services to send the message to the university switchboard and campus voicemail addresses
  • send messages via social media (Twitter and Facebook)
  • post the message on the campus weather Hot Line (575-7000)
  • contact campus media (KUAF, UATV, and KXUA)
  • contact local and state broadcast and online media


Razorback Transit bus route information will be updated as often as possible and inclement weather messages will direct the campus community to the university homepage where updated transit schedules will be posted.

Facilities information will be updated as often as possible and posted to the university homepage to inform the campus community regarding street, sidewalk and parking lot conditions.

Supervisors may notify employees in their unit, or employees may call supervisors for instruction.

Faculty members may also arrange to contact their students to cancel a specific class. All class cancellations must adhere to Academic Policy 1858.10 and Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 210.0.

If the university remains operating on a normal schedule with no disruption of transportation services, generally no announcements will be made.

Please refer to Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 210.0 regarding the inclement weather policy.

Revised April 3, 2023
Revised January 22, 2018
Reformatted for Web October 22, 2014
Revised October 20, 2014
Revised January 18, 2012
Revised December 15, 2010
Revised April 12, 2010
Revised February 2, 2010
Revised October 9, 2009
Revised November 5, 2008
Revised September 18, 2008
Revised November 30, 2006
Revised February 24, 2006
Revised December, 2003
Revised March 6, 2002
Revised February 19, 2002
Revised December 4, 2000
Revised October, 2000
Revised October, 1998
Revised November, 1996
March 1, 1994