EMERGENCY CLOSING/CANCELLATION POLICY – Weather Related
Purpose: To define the process to be used in determining when the university will cancel classes or
close due to emergency weather conditions.
Policy: Only under extreme circumstances which will the university close.
It is the policy of Clarion University to maintain services on a normal basis throughout the year. In
some instances weather related emergencies arise which require the university to determine if it is
prudent and reasonable to offer classes or require employees to report to or remain at work. In those
instances a management team, headed by the Vice President for Finance and Administration, will
follow the process as outlined in order to provide a recommendation to the President or designee
regarding the need to cancel classes or close the university and whether nonessential employees are
to report to work.
This management team will consist of the following individuals:
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Provost
Vice President for Student Affairs
Vice President for University Advancement
Executive Dean of the Venango College
Associate Vice President for Finance & Administration
Director of Marketing and Communication
Director of Facilities Planning and Management *
Director of Public Safety/Chief of Police*

*as needed based on determination of Vice President for Finance and Administration
Since the Clarion Campus is a residential campus, special consideration will always be given to the
fact that a majority of students live on or in close proximity to the campus. This always requires that
the university be certain that regular services, outside of classroom instruction, are provided for
resident students in the event of an emergency.
Cancellations and closings at the Venango Campus will be handled by the management team as a
separate recommendation. This is due to the fact that the Venango Campus is a commuter campus
and the fact that conditions can vary between the two campuses. Due to this variation in conditions,
the Vice President for Finance and Administration will be responsible for establishing a contact person
from the Venango Campus who resides in close proximity to the campus or for establishing a means
of communications with personnel present on the campus.
The management team must work to ensure that recommendations to the President are provided in a
time frame which assures adult and commuter students are aware of cancellations or closings prior to
leaving home for the university. (See procedures sections which follow this section.)
Faculty members unable to meet a class because of weather conditions must notify their department
chairperson or Dean (except in instances in which classes are cancelled or the University is closed).
Additionally, if the class is held at the Venango Campus, the faculty member must notify the Executive
Dean of the Venango Campus. This notification may be oral or in writing, however, within one week of
the cancelled class, the faculty member must provide the department chairperson with a written
confirmation of the cancellation and a plan for making up the class.