East DFW News

University of Texas - Dallas issued the following announcement on Nov. 17

With the winter season approaching, the campus community is asked to make note of the best ways to stay informed if inclement weather or other events require changes in campus schedules.

The University of Texas at Dallas is open for normal business operations and instructional activities unless indicated otherwise on the University’s homepage. Employees and students are expected to exercise judgment regarding their ability to travel safely to campus when inclement weather is in the area. They are not expected to place travel for work or class attendance above considerations for individual health and safety.

If conditions require suspension of in-person classes, meetings and other activities on campus, every effort will be made to post information on University-controlled sites no later than 6 a.m. Students and faculty are encouraged to make use of eLearning and other means of continuing academic progress if conditions prohibit travel.

Late-breaking weather developments may occasionally require afternoon notifications of evening event cancellations. Students, faculty, staff and community members are encouraged to monitor the University’s communication outlets when threatening weather is forecast.

We respect and greatly appreciate the commitment provided by those designated as essential personnel and who, therefore, must report for duty in times of inclement weather or other campus emergencies. Staff members not considered essential personnel are not required to report for duty on campus during such events. Nonessential staff, however, may be expected to perform their duties remotely. Please discuss with your supervisor the expectations for working remotely or monitoring email and other forms of communication during a campus emergency to be able to respond to business needs. Employees currently working remotely will continue to perform their assigned duties unless instructed otherwise by their supervisors.

If suspension of activities is necessary, UT Dallas will:

• Post closure information on the University website — utdallas.edu.
• Send an announcement via UTD Alert, triggering a text message to all registered cellphone numbers and an email to all students, faculty and staff.
• Post an announcement on UT Dallas’ official Facebook page — facebook.com/utdallas.
• Tweet via the UT Dallas official Twitter channel — twitter.com/ut_dallas.
• Inform local media outlets.

The official and authoritative sources of closure information are the University homepage and UTD Alert messages that members of the campus community should automatically receive. If you are not receiving messages during tests conducted the first Wednesday of every month at noon, please log in to Galaxy and update your cellphone number. When you are updating your cellphone number in Galaxy, make sure it’s correctly added to the field labeled “Mobile.”

Local media are helpful and will be notified but are not the primary source of such information.

The UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders and the Center for Vital Longevity (Dallas campuses) may have different closure situations than the main campus in Richardson.

• At the Callier Center, check for voicemail message advisories at 972-883-3601. Also see the Callier Center’s homepage.
• The Center for Vital Longevity will send direct emails to faculty, staff and students, and post updates on the CVL website and Twitter.

The University’s Center for BrainHealth in Dallas will follow the University’s schedule. Additional updates will be communicated via email.

UT Dallas students attending classes at the Collin Higher Education Center (CHEC) should check the Collin College homepage for updates regarding whether Collin College, and by extension CHEC, are closed due to threatening weather. Students taking classes at the CHEC are encouraged to sign up for CougarAlert so they can receive an email and/or text alert when the Collin College campuses are closing.

UT Dallas employees — whether exempt or nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act — who choose not to report for work when the University is open and inclement weather impedes travel may elect to use vacation time. Those employees who are considered nonexempt may use available vacation time or comp time. Employees may also coordinate an alternate work schedule for the time missed during that workweek in lieu of using vacation or comp time. Such arrangements should be coordinated with and approved by their supervisors.

Students who choose not to report for class when the University is open and inclement weather impedes travel must make up their absences in the manner prescribed by their instructors in the class syllabi or as announced for the entire University.

Original source can be found here.