Policies – Weather Cancellations

Up to the minute Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC) Campus Closing information may be viewed at:

With a forecast for snow 9 months of the year in Minnesota, RCTC would like to remind all campus community members of the policy/procedures for the delay, cancellation or closing of the campus. (For a complete listing of policies/procedures related to Campus Closings or Cancellation of Classes or Activities Due to Inclement Weather or other Emergencies, please refer to Policy 4.4 Weather/Emergency Closings).

The following articulates the procedures that are followed by Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC) when it becomes necessary to close the campus or cancel academic or non-academic activities due to inclement weather or other emergency conditions, along with procedures that describe Minnesota State work conditions that prevail during the time that the campus is closed.

DEFINITIONS:

  • CLOSING THE CAMPUS:  Closing the campus means to cease all operations on campus, other than those operations deemed essential to the protection of life and property. Closing the campus results in the cancellation of classes, student and staff activities and meetings.  All general offices are closed.  Only essential employees (as defined below) must report to work during their regularly scheduled shifts. All other employees (faculty and staff) are excused from work with pay.
    For instance, if the campus closes early, all classes that start before the closure time will begin to meet at their regularly scheduled time but must conclude at the closure time.
  • DELAYED OPENING:  Delayed opening refers to opening of all operations at a later time, other than those operations essential to the protection of life and property.
    For instance, if the College announces the campus will open at 10:00 am, all classes with a start time before that time will NOT meet.  During the time of the delayed opening, only Essential Employees must report to work during their regularly scheduled shifts. All other employees (faculty and staff) are excused from work with pay during the time the campus is considered closed.
  • CANCELLATION OF CLASSES:  Cancellation of classes (off-campus or on-campus) means to cancel one, several, or all classes, in the absence of officially closing the entire campus.
  • CANCELLATION OF NON-ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES:  Cancellation of non-academic activities refers to the cancellation of an event such as athletic events, theatrical productions, concerts, or workshops.
  • ESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES:  Employees designated by the President for the purpose of providing essential services to the College/Campus.

 

PROCEDURE:

In times of weather or other emergencies, the assessment of conditions and determinations of closures, delays or cancelations for the RCTC Campus is the responsibility of the RCTC President, or his/her designee in the absence of the President. Personnel at the regional office of the Minnesota State Patrol in Rochester, Minnesota Department of Transportation in Rochester, and the Olmsted County and City of Rochester Law Enforcement and Highway Maintenance Centers may be consulted regarding existing travel and safety conditions prior to any decisions effecting cancellation and or closure.

Whenever possible, the decision to close the campus, have a delayed opening or cancel day classes will be made prior to 6:00 a.m. Whenever possible the decision to cancel evening class will be made by 3:00 p.m.

COMMUNICATION PLAN:

During an emergency, an emergency alert e-mail will be sent to all RCTC students and employees, and a phone call/text message will be made to all subscribers of the RCTC Emergency Alert system. All campus community members are encouraged to sign-up for the RCTC Emergency Alert system.

In addition, RCTC’s Facebook, Twitter, and website (www.rctc.edu) will have up-to-date information, the College’s main switchboard will have a recorded message with the status of any campus closing (507-285-7210) and the following media outlets will be notified:
Television: KTTC-TV, FOX 47-TV; and KAAL-TV
RCTC EMPLOYEE WORK RESPONSIBILITIES WHEN CLOSED OR CLASSES/NON-ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES ARE CANCELED

  • When the campus is closed due to an emergency which threatens the health and safety of individuals, employees not deemed essential for the safe operation of the campus may be excused from duty with full pay. In regard to such closure the following additional guidelines will prevail:
  • When the campus is closed, Minnesota State employees are excused from work with pay. The declaration of a campus closure shall, whenever possible, clearly identify the timeframe when employees are excused from work. The campus closure applies to all employees without regard to labor contract. Essential employees who are not excused from work will be paid their regular rate of pay, during the weather or other emergency situation.
  • Employees who reported to work and were sent home should not be paid for more than their regular scheduled hours. Employees shall not be enriched through additional compensation, including compensatory time, or increased benefits as a result of an emergency situation.
  • Essential employees who were required by their appointing authorities to remain at work should not be paid for more than their regular scheduled hours or the actual hours worked inclusive of any overtime.
  • Employees on approved sick or pre-arranged vacation/leave shall not have such leave time restored to their balances.
  • Employees on any approved leave without pay shall not be paid for this emergency leave time.
  • Employees who are called in, on the day of an emergency, from vacation time, compensatory time or leave without pay will be credited with emergency leave from the point of the declaration of the emergency to end of the scheduled shift, if the appointing authority ceased operation during their regular shift.
  • Employee uniform time reports should indicate the number of emergency hours utilized in the remarks section on their report.
  • When classes are canceled but the campus is not closed, appropriate curricular adjustments shall be made by the faculty on an individual basis. Cancellation of classes does not excuse any employee from work. Employees, including faculty, may take personal leave, vacation leave or use earned compensatory time when classes are canceled, and they chose to be absent from work.
  • When non-academic activities are canceled, the activities shall be rescheduled when appropriate and possible.
  • Due to personal circumstance during inclement weather, such as place of residence, employees might find it necessary to leave work early even through the campus has not been closed. Further, employees might be unable to get to work even though the campus is open. In such cases, emergency/personal leave or vacation leave may be granted.

Updates: 11/2/22