Subject: Message from the Provost reInclement weather announcements 11/19/2013
Colleagues,
Winter is settling in, so I want to remind you of our procedures for school closures and delays.
We take decisions regarding closures or delays very seriously. We make the decision only after reviewing weather forecasts and checking with local agencies and our own police and physical plant departments. This is not an exact science, but our goal is to continue to provide an outstanding educational experience while working to ensure everyone’s safety.
For a list of all our severe weather announcements, go to:
When possible, we will announce decisions regarding morning classes by 5:30 a.m. and decisions regarding evening classes by 3 p.m.
We will provide school closing information in a variety of ways. The easiest way to receive the information is by signing up for UofL Alerts, which will send a text message to your phone and an email to your university account. Sign up for alerts at:
We also will announce the closing in the following ways:
A notice on the university home page,
A recorded message at 502-852-5555
A notice on university telephones
These are the only venues through which we can guarantee accurate information. They also are the first methods by which we will communicate. We will continue to announce our decisions through the media, but those notices can sometimes be delayed or incomplete due to the volume of calls they receive. While we also will communicate through Facebook, only the announcement as posted on our web site or in our UofL Alert messages should be considered official.
I also want to remind you about some of our policies regarding classes.
Our delayed classes policy remains the same.
In instances where we announce a delayed schedule, we will cancel classes up to a certain time and begin with our full class schedule at that point. For instance, if we delay opening until 10 a.m., classes that end before 10 a.m. will be canceled. Students who normally would be in class at or after 10 a.m. should go wherever they would be at that time unless they have received other instructions from their instructor in advance, which should be included in the course syllabus. So if we delay classes until 10 a.m. and your class usually runs from 9:30 to 11, you would go to that class at 10 a.m.
In cases of severe weather, evening classes will be defined as classes beginning at or after 4:15 p.m.
Thank you. Let’s hope we don’t have to use these announcements often. But if we do, we’re prepared.
Shirley Willihnganz
University Provost