Class Information During Bad Weather

This article contains important information about how INCLEMENT WEATHER will affect classes at RSCC, and it generally refers to the procedure that RSCC will follow when bad weather occurs during the night. Please keep this article throughout the semester so you can refer to it during those times.

DAYTIME vs. EVENING CLASSES

A clear distinction will be made between day and evening classes in any announcements that are broadcast, and they will be treated separately. An evening class is defined as a class that begins at or after 4:30 p.m.


DAYTIME CLASSES

When bad weather occurs, one of the three following decisions will be made:

1. Classes will be held as scheduled, or
2. Classes will start at 9:30 a.m., or
3. Classes will be canceled

DEFINITION OF 9:30 a.m. LATE START SCHEDULE

If an announcement is made that RSCC will open at 9:30 a.m., this means that 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. classes will not be held, and all classes starting at 9:30 a.m. or later will be held.

Classes that begin before 9:30 a.m. and run until some time after 9:30 a.m. will start at 9:30 a.m. on such days and will then end at the regularly scheduled time.

To eliminate any confusion, at the beginning of each semester, instructors of early morning classes, morning labs, and morning clinicals will give instruction for that class in the event of a 9:30 a.m. LATE START SCHEDULE.

When the LATE START SCHEDULE goes into effect, early morning classes that are not held will be made up later; arrangements for make-up will be made and announced by the course instructor.

The 9:30 a.m. LATE START SCHEDULE applies to classes on Eastern Standard Time and Central Standard Time. Therefore, classes at the Cumberland and Fentress County Centers will begin at 9:30 a.m. CST that is 10:30 a.m. EST. Interactive classes that start at 9:30 a.m. EST will not be on-line with Cumberland or Fentress County until 10:30 a.m. EST that day, and 9:30 a.m. classes will be rebroadcast to them at a later time.

EVENING CLASSES

Evening classes (those beginning at or after 4:30 p.m.) will either be canceled or held at the regular time. Generally, a decision about evening classes will be made by noon that day so that an announcement can be made on mid-day news shows.

DIFFERENT WEATHER AT DIFFERENT CAMPUSES

In general, when decisions about school closings are made, one decision will be made for all eight Roane State campuses. In the event that one campus experiences extreme weather that the other campuses do not (likely to happen in Cumberland or Scott counties), a decision to close or start that campus late will be made. On those occasions, an announcement about the one closing will not be made on Knoxville radio and TV stations so as not to confuse the public; at those times, students should tune in to the local radio station for current information.

CLASS MAKE-UPS

Instructors of classes that do not meet or start late due to inclement weather will announce arrangements for making up work as soon as the class resumes.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF CLOSINGS AND LATE-STARTS DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER

Decisions about closings are made early enough so that announcements can be made on the 6:00 a.m. local news shows. Also by 6:00 a.m., tape-recorded messages about the status of Roane State can be heard by calling the main number at all Roane State campuses with the exception of the Knoxville campus; students in Knoxville should call another RSCC campus to hear the message. Students with web access at home may also get current closing information by going to www.roanestate.edu

WEEKEND CLASSES

The same procedure will be followed for weekend classes.




Revised: January 2009