Per the statewide policy, only the Governor has the authority to close state buildings and allow employees to be absent without charge to leave credits. This does not happen very often and in fact, has only happened once in recent memory. At this point, the campus is expected to remain open for the rest of the week. In the last year, the NYS Office of Government Employee Relations has approved a telecommuting policy. Thus, if you have the opportunity to work remotely, you can exercise that opportunity in discussion with your supervisor during predicted bad weather events. For those who cannot work remotely, and do not wish to travel to campus during weather events, you must charge the absence as appropriate. Again, please work with your supervisor.
Cancellation of Classes
The cancellation of classes follows a different process, which is explained below.
If the situation warrants the cancellation of in-person classes, we will follow our normal procedure, which includes checking current conditions and forecasts, speaking with local municipalities and agencies, and conversations between several campus functions, including University Police, Facilities, Emergency Management, Academic Affairs, and the President. This would result in communication to students, faculty, and staff by approximately 5 am to allow for decisions to be made on travel. The information would be shared on the college website, through RAVE, and shared with local media. It is impossible to predict with accuracy the effect of snow on commutes until this point in the morning, hence decisions are made with as much information as possible while providing notification to the campus in a timely fashion.
Please view our associated policies that pertain to Closing State Offices/Directing Early Departures and Closing State Offices/Directing Early Departures (Severe Weather or Other Extraordinary Circumstances).
We continue to monitor the storm.