Emergency Closings Procedure

Administrative Procedure 3.809

College Closing Due to Severe Weather Emergencies

Making the Decision to Close

The President or the Administrator in Charge can decide to close the college due to severe weather that may pose a threat to the safety or welfare of the students or staff. The Vice President of Business and Finance or Vice President of Teaching, Learning, and Student Development (TLSD) (or designees) makes the recommendation to the President to close the college based on the following information:

  • Conditions of campus - The Superintendent of Grounds and Chief of Police will provide information regarding the conditions of roads, parking lots, and sidewalks on campus, as well as road conditions throughout the district.
  • Scheduled classes and activities at ECC - The Vice President of TLSD will provide information regarding scheduled classes and activities that could be affected by closing, including the Arts Center, Athletics, and Continuing Education.
  • Closing status of local school districts and area colleges - The Senior Director of Emergency Management and Professional/Organizational Development (referred to as Senior Director of EM) and the Executive Director of Communications will provide information regarding the closing status of local school districts and area colleges.
  • Area weather conditions – The Senior Director of EM will provide information regarding current area weather conditions and warnings issued for District 509.

Guidelines for Closing

After reviewing this information, the Vice President of Business and Finance or Vice President of TLSD will make a recommendation regarding closing to the President or the Administrator in Charge. The decision to close will be made in accordance with the following guidelines:

  • The decision to close the college for day classes will be made by 5 a.m., if possible.
  • Administrators and members of ECCFA, SSECCA, and IBEW, including scheduled part-time employees, are not expected to report for work and will receive normal pay. Employees who are required to work should refer to their union contracts.
  • Grounds, Campus Police and other necessary personnel will be expected to report for work in accordance with emergency work schedules established by their offices.
  • The decision to close the college for evening classes that begin at 6 p.m. will be made by 3 p.m., if possible. The college will remain open for staff until 5 p.m. unless otherwise communicated. If the college is closed during work hours, employees should confirm with their supervisor before leaving for the day and ensure that all obligations to or appointments with students have been handled or rescheduled. Employees who are required to work will receive compensation based on their contract and/or board policy and procedure. If an employee chooses to leave before the scheduled closing, they may do so, but must use personal or vacation time.
    • For classes scheduled between 3 and 6 p.m. or those classes already occurring when the closing announcement is made, the decision to cancel class or release students early will be made by the appropriate Dean in consultation with the Vice President of TLSD as necessary. If the weather situation is judged to be too severe, these classes will be canceled, and students and instructors will be sent home.
  • The decision to close will apply to all college locations, and all classes and activities will be cancelled

College Closing Due to Facilities or Other Emergencies

Making the Decision to Close

The President or the Administrator in Charge can decide to close the college due to facilities emergencies or other situations that may pose a threat to the safety or welfare of the students or staff. The Vice President of Business and Finance or Vice President of TLSD (or designees) makes the recommendation to the President to close the college based on the following information:

  • Conditions of buildings or college locations - The Managing Director of Facilities will provide information regarding the facility emergency and how it affects the conditions of buildings and/or college locations.
  • Information regarding environmental, health or safety issues - The Chief of Police, the Senior Director of EM, or other appropriate employees will provide information regarding safety or health issues associated with the emergency.
  • Scheduled classes and activities at ECC - The Vice President of TLSD will provide information regarding scheduled classes and activities that could be affected by the closing, including consulting with the Arts Center, Athletics, and Continuing Education.

Guidelines for Closing

After reviewing the above recommendations, the Vice President of Business and Finance or Vice President of TLSD will make a recommendation regarding closing to the President or the Administrator in Charge. The decision to close will be made in accordance with the following guidelines:

  • The decision to close the college for day classes will be made by 5 a.m., if possible.
    • Administrators and members of ECCFA, SSECCA, and IBEW, including scheduled part-time employees, are not expected to report for work and will receive normal pay. Employees who are required to work should refer to union contracts.
    • Grounds, Facilities, Campus Police and other necessary employees will be expected to report for work in accordance with emergency work schedules established by their offices.
  • The decision to close the college for evening classes that begin at 6 p.m. will be made by 3 p.m., if possible. The college will remain open for staff until 5 p.m. unless otherwise communicated. If the college is closed during work hours, employees should confirm with their Vice President or direct supervisor before leaving for the day and ensure that all obligations to or appointments with students have been handled or rescheduled. Employees who are required to work will receive compensation based on their contract and/or board policy and procedure.
    • For classes scheduled between 3 and 6 p.m. or those classes already occurring when the closing announcement is made, the decision to cancel class or release students early will be made by the appropriate Dean, in consultation with the Vice President of TLSD as necessary. If the emergency situation is judged to be too severe, these classes will be canceled, and students and instructors will be sent home.
  • The decision to close will be based on the severity of the emergency and will apply to the location affected by the emergency, unless otherwise specified by the President or the Administrator in Charge. All classes and activities scheduled for this location will be cancelled.

Communicating the Decision to Students and Staff

  1. The Executive Director of Communications will work with the President, Vice President of Business and Finance, Vice President of TLSD or the Administrator in Charge to draft a message regarding closing the college. This message will be communicated to students and staff and may include the following methods:

    Everyone E-mail & Web site (www.elgin.edu)

    • Emergency notification system
    • Gateway signs, infoscreens, and desktop monitors
    • Switchboard
    • Local media outlets
    • ECC online communication channels, such as Facebook and Twitter

  2. For closings that occur during normal business hours, the Business and Finance Office will coordinate with key staff members to post signs on doors at the following locations: the main entrances of Buildings A, B, C, E, F, H, K, and O, as well as the main door and walkway doors of Buildings J and M.

  3. Message priority: During an emergency closing, messages regarding personal safety, such as shelter-in-place or lockdown, will take priority over closing messages, to provide clear direction to people on campus who are most directly affected by the emergency.

  4. ECC employees who are the direct contact or responsible party for an outside agency on campus are expected to notify those agencies directly when there is a closing on campus. (ex. in-residence ensembles, Youth Leadership Academy).

Identified Locations for Students Waiting for Rides

During an emergency closing, the college will have several locations that may remain open (if the emergency allows) where students and/or staff can wait for rides. Those areas are the Building A atrium and the lobby in Building H. Students and staff waiting for rides are asked to remain in those areas and follow directions given by ECC Police.