Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:
University officials are closely monitoring weather conditions throughout the weekend and the campus continues to operate as normal. Winter weather will move into the area Saturday night into Sunday morning and could potentially affect the University’s operating status for Sunday and Monday, Dec. 9 and 10.
Semester exams are currently in progress. If the University moves to Condition 1, semester exams will be held as scheduled. However, faculty are encouraged to use their own discretion and work with their students if they need to make accommodations for students who may be unable to travel to campus and need to reschedule. If the University is in Condition 1 on Sunday, Davis Library will close at 11 p.m. and reopen at 8 a.m. Monday. The Undergraduate Library will remain open 24 hours, as scheduled. Changes to regular library schedules will be posted on the Library’s website.
If the University moves to Condition 2, all exams for Monday, Dec. 10, will be rescheduled to Wednesday, Dec. 12. The revised exam schedule will be available on the Registrar’s website. All libraries will be closed.
Any changes to parking and transportation will be posted on the Transportation and Parking website.
The University will continue to monitor the forecast and current road conditions and communicate any change to campus operating status as early as possible.
Your safety is our number one consideration. We rely on information from our grounds, public safety and transportation staffs, Chapel Hill Transit, law enforcement agencies, the National Weather Service, and other sources when deciding how the campus will operate during winter weather events. Please refer to alertcarolina.unc.edu for more information on how these decisions are made and communicated.
Unless a change in operational status is announced, the University always operates on a regular schedule. Based on a 2016 University of North Carolina system adverse weather policy for all UNC campuses, UNC-Chapel Hill may activate three adverse weather operating conditions: Condition 1 – Reduced Operations. (University is open); Condition 2 – Suspended Operations. (University is open only for mandatory operations); and Condition 3 – Closure (classes are cancelled; offices and facilities are closed).
Following is a brief summary of what those three conditions mean for you:
Condition 1 – Reduced Operations. The University is open.
- Classes will operate on a regular schedule.
- Individual faculty may use discretion to adjust class schedules and arrange make-up work for students unable to report to class due to the weather event.
- Non-faculty (staff) non-mandatory employees, after informing their supervisors in a timely manner, have the option to report to work late, leave early, or not report to work. These employees must use available personal leave time to cover any time away from regular work hours.
- Alternatively, and only with supervisor approval, non-mandatory employees may work from home or an alternate site.
- Mandatory employees must report to or remain at work unless otherwise notified.
Condition 2 – Suspended Operations. The University is open for only for mandatory operations.
- Classes are cancelled.
- All non-mandatory operations are suspended; only mandatory employees must report to or remain work.
- Non-faculty (staff) non-mandatory employees must not report, or must leave campus. These employees use leave time if not working or can use make-up time subject to applicable rules.
- Alternatively, and only with supervisor approval, non-mandatory employees may work from home or an alternate site.
- Mandatory employees must report to or remain at work unless otherwise notified.
Condition 3 – Closure. The University is closed.
- Classes are cancelled.
- Offices and facilities are closed.
- Only mandatory employees must report to or remain at work.
The condition descriptions above are only summaries. Please visit “Adverse Weather and Emergency Closing” posted on the Campus Safety and Office of Human Resources websites to view an easy-to-read chart describing the three conditions in greater detail along with a summary explaining the key factors in the decision-making process.
Please note that under the UNC System policy, Condition 3 would be an extremely rare event. Also, general notices about state government agency delays and closings do not automatically apply to UNC-Chapel Hill or the UNC system. Under the UNC system policy, neither do “state of emergency” declarations from the governor or travel advisories from the State Highway Patrol.
As a general rule, students, faculty and staff must use their own best judgement about whether they can travel safety to and from campus.
Information Sources
If winter weather changes the University’s operating status, campus communications will include:
- An email, website post and, if conditions warrant, a text message from Alert Carolina, https://alertcarolina.unc.edu/. You must be signed up to receive an Alert Carolina text message.
- Posts on the University’s homepage, www.unc.edu, amplified via official social media accounts including @UNC, @Alert_UNCCH (for parents, family, Chapel Hill residents and friends) and @UNC_HR on Twitter.
- Adverse Weather and Emergency Phone Line: (919) 843-1234. You may call this number to hear recorded announcements about campus operations.
- UNC Transportation and Parking for information including parking lot conditions and the status of Point-to-Point shuttle operations, which may cease at any point when travel becomes hazardous for drivers and passengers. Refer to https://move.unc.edu. Transportation and Parking updates are also posted on Twitter at @MoveUNC.
- Area news media websites.
- Chapel Hill Transit also posts adverse weather news and routes and schedules. Refer to http://www.townofchapelhill.org/government/news-events/emergency/adverse-weather-updates
Many University units – including Carolina Dining Services, Campus Health Services, performing arts and cultural venues, the Department of Athletics and School of Dentistry patient clinics – plan to post updates about the status of their operations and events on their individual websites and social media accounts.