Grand Rapids Community College Procedure for Closing Due to Severe Weather Conditions for 2007 Untitled Document

Grand Rapids Community College Procedure for Closing
Due to Severe Weather Conditions for 2007-08 (updated 11.12/07)
[View the Status of Classes by Location]

Grand Rapids Community College rarely closes because of winter weather conditions. If and when the College does close, students and employees need not report. Employees will be paid for their regularly scheduled work hours.

Procedure to close the College:

  1. Chief Kennell assesses roads and any additional information from city, county and state resources as needed.
  2. Chief calls President Olivarez and a decision is made.
  3. If a decision to close is made, Juan contacts Bob Partridge (alternate: Pat Cwayna).
  4. Bob Partridge contacts both Tom Smith (Facilities) and Nancy O'Brien (Communications).
  5. Tom Smith and Nancy O'Brien contact their staff people.

Note: Whenever bad weather seems imminent, the above listed people, will decide who the appointed contact people will be for that event ahead of time to avoid confusion and duplication of efforts.

Communicating with employees:

  • The decision to close the GRCC or a part of GRCC will be made before 5 AM , and employees will be notified as quickly as possible through various communications methods..
  • If the College does not close in the morning, and weather conditions and circumstances worsen, a determination to close will be made by 1 PM .
  • Communications Office staff will notify the media as early as possible; however, they do not control what time the information will be broadcast. The Communications Office will notify employees directly if the college closes during the day.
  • The message “College Closed” means all employees need not report to work, with the exception of designated personnel necessary to keep the College operational and secure.
  • If a particular campus is closed, all activities on that campus are cancelled. Please read the specifics below.

KENT COUNTY :
The message “College Closed” means cancellation of all GRCC and Ferris State University classes and activities on the downtown main campus as well as at the Tassell M-TEC, the Regional Centers and the Learning Corners.

KENT COUNTY REGIONAL CENTERS AND LEARNING CORNERS:

If the building where an off-campus GRCC class is being held is closed, then the class is cancelled.
(An example: If there is a GRCC class at Kentwood High School and Kentwood High School is closed for any reason, that class is cancelled. If the entire GRCC main campus is closed, all GRCC classes anywhere in Kent County are cancelled.

OTTAWA COUNTY :
Closure of the THOMPSON M-TEC in Ottawa County will be decided and communicated separately. The Thompson M-TEC's distance from the Grand Rapids downtown campus and its proximity to Lake Michigan can make weather conditions there quite different from those in downtown Grand Rapids . When watching or listening for weather information , remember that the Thompson M-TEC will not be included under Kent County ; it will be listed under Ottawa County.
Note: If our Thompson M-TEC is open for our classes, the Career Line Tech Center is open for our classes.

Closing will be communicated via:

  • An “allstaff” e-mail to your GRCC mailbox
  • Our website - www.grcc.edu  (view the status of classes by location: www.grcc.edu/locationstatus)
  • Local media : In an effort to have one consistent media outlet where employees can be sure to find our message, GRCC will first notify WOOD-TV, Channel 8 . Following that, we will contact the GRAIL system, which, in turn, notifies most other area broadcast media, but not necessarily all media.
  • The recorded phone message at the college main phone line - 234-GRCC
  • Text messages to mobile phones and e-mails to students who have signed up for the ClearTxt service through Blackboard. Click here to sign up or learn more.
  • Classroom phone tree if classes are in session when decision to close is made..

Evening and weekend closures follow the same process and communications, including the following additional steps:

The Campus Police, deans and CEBA building managers will notify all classes and instructors on each particular campus that the College is closed. Office personnel will post the notification of College closure in and around their offices.

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Updated on 07-MAR-08
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