Emergency Closures

Members of the CSU Pueblo Operations team gathers information and makes a recommendation to the President regarding whether to stay open, delay the start of classes, close mid-day, cancel evening events and classes, or cancel all activities.

The President and representatives from Operations will consider the following information:

• Local school district status. CSU-Pueblo does not automatically close if local school districts close. K-12 students are not adults and have different safety considerations than college-aged students and university employees.
• The status of the City of Pueblo and Pueblo County offices and operations, including the operating status of the city bus system.
• Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Management recommendations.
• Road conditions to and from campus from within the city and county, as well as road conditions on campus.
• The condition of campus parking lots and sidewalks, including if Facilities Management has been able to adequately clear most areas.
• Assessments by the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office @ CSU-Pueblo and CSU-Pueblo Facilities Management of safety on campus such as tree damage, sidewalks, etc.
• Personal assessments. Members of the Campus Safety Team actually get out on the streets, even during early morning hours, and drive their neighborhoods or to campus.

When overnight storms are a factor, Operations employees will start gathering information in the early hours of the morning and generally have a recommendation to the President or Point of Contact by 5 a.m. for review.

Administration aims to make the decision by 5:30 a.m. for overnight storms. On rare occasions, some circumstances push the decision to a later time.

During daytime storms or emergencies, safety officials keep tabs on conditions throughout the day and continually assess conditions. If conditions deteriorate to merit a closure discussion, a conference call is scheduled for as soon as possible to discuss an early closure or other options.

Students are encouraged to exercise caution while driving during inclement weather.

Residential halls will remain open even though class and administrative offices may be closed.

Meal options and service times for residential students may be limited during campus closing periods. The Housing Department staff will notify campus residents of meal times and options.

In the case of power outages, university police and the Housing Department will assist students to designated locations. Residential students should be in contact with residence advisors and hall managers for guidance.

The university notifies employees and students through a variety of means:

• CSU-Pueblo official social media sites including CSU-Pueblo main university sites
• An all-campus email (This email is sent to all employees and students; individuals cannot opt out of this email. Distribution may take several minutes to hours, depending upon demands on local technology, but generally reaches all subscribers within 15-20 minutes)

• Local news media

**Please note that it may take 10-15 minutes for all news media and other notification methods to be updated once the decision is made.

• An all-campus text alert
  • Employees may sign up via the CSU-Pueblo Employee Portal. Log in and Click on “emergency text” under the “Your Services”
  • Students can sign up via PAWS
  • Contract Staff and Campus Visitors can sign up by texting PACKALERT to 67283. You can unsubscribe at any time by typing STOP.

University employees with emergency duties should check with their supervisor about whether they are expected to report to work even if the university is closed.

In a delayed start, any class that is scheduled to start before the campus is open is cancelled. For example, with a 10 a.m. delayed start, any class that starts at 9:25 a.m. is cancelled for the day. A delayed start also provides essential staff an opportunity to clear campus roads and sidewalks before the university officials opens. Early arrivals on campus may delay that process as critical needs are being addressed.

In an early close, class is permitted to go until the close time.

When the campus is closed, buildings are locked and secured, and only essential staff remain on campus for critical service delivery. Additional cars in parking lots add time for crews to plow snow. If employees or students request access to a building while the campus is closed, anticipate delays as CSU-Pueblo Campus Safety and the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office at CSU-Pueblo will likely be assisting with requests for service.

If you are a student, it is your responsibility to make accommodations with all of your professors and instructors to be excused from class prior to your absence.

If you are an employee, it is your responsibility to make timely accommodations with your supervisor. Employees who cannot safely travel to work during adverse weather and who are not authorized to work from home or who cannot work from home should use annual leave or leave without pay if annual leave is not available.

Facilities Management strives to remove snow from sidewalks, parking lots and streets by 7:30 a.m. after an evening or early morning storm when the university is open. If a storm is moving in during operating hours, Facilities Management crews regularly shovel routes during the day. Snow is removed and ice melt is applied according to priority routes across campus, including vehicle, pedestrian, bike and transit routes, with a focus first on the most traveled sidewalks and streets. Some routes may be more clear of snow than other routes in the morning hours, particularly if snow falls during business hours and crews are making their rounds. Please use caution when walking and driving to campus, and wear appropriate clothing and shoes.

Areas of concern, including accessibility issues created by snow, should be reported to Facilities Dispatch at 719-549-2211. Please do not contact the university grounds crew or other Facilities Management employees directly; they may be away from their phones working to clear campus of snow.

Some employees may be required to report to work because their job functions include maintaining or protecting the health, safety, or physical well-being of campus and students, faculty and staff, such as some facilities employees, those caring for certain research laboratories, or employees providing dining services to students. Employees should ask their supervisor for information about their designation.  The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office will report to campus

All other employees should please leave campus in a timely fashion. In many cases, this is essential so that snow crews and others can clear lots and address safety concerns needed to get the campus open again.

Campus closure:

• When campus is closed, administrative leave is granted to regular employees for their scheduled work hours during the period of closure.
• Regular part-time employees who are normally scheduled to work when a closure occurs are given paid administrative leave for the scheduled work hours.
• Temporary (including retirees hired into temporary positions) and student employees are not eligible for paid leave during a closure.
• Employees who are already on approved annual, sick, or other type of leave when a closure occurs are not eligible for paid administrative leave for their scheduled work hours during a closure.

Employees who are required to work are:

• Required to work during a campus closure are to be paid at the regular rate for hours worked.
• Required to work during a campus closure but do not report to work or leave work early without authorization will not be granted administrative leave and must use annual leave or leave without pay to cover the absence.
• Not required to work or are released early during a campus closure will be granted paid administrative leave.

Early closure:

• Regular employees are granted paid administrative leave and released under the guidance of the department head or supervisor.
• The amount of administrative leave granted for sequential/staggered release or early closure is based on the official time of release authorized by the President.
• Regular shift employees are granted paid administrative leave for their normally scheduled work hours occurring after an official campus closure.
• Early release time not authorized by the President is charged to annual leave or leave without pay, unless alternate work arrangements or options are approved by the appointing authority.

Delayed start:

• Regular employees are granted paid administrative leave if the delay occurs during their scheduled work hours.
• Regular employees who arrive late to work beyond the delayed opening due to extreme weather conditions may be granted administrative leave if their supervisor determines that the lateness was reasonable.

A supervisor may determine that an alternate work arrangement, such as telecommuting, could be used during extreme weather conditions. Alternate work arrangements must be approved by the supervisor.

For more information please contact your supervisor or Human Resources at 719-549-2441.

 
Announcements of class cancellations beyond an overall campus closure are the responsibility of individual instructors. 
The campus subscribes to Flashnet Media Service, which provides closure information to the media outlets that follow. If you don't hear an announcement on the radio, campus is open.