News release from the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety
Reminder: Preparing for Extreme Weather
With winter weather returning to Iowa City, it’s important for the campus community to get reacquainted with the University of Iowa’s Extreme Weather Plan.
The university is never fully closed. The residential, health care, research, and overall public safety aspects of the university make this a necessity. The university continues to function, to the extent possible, during inclement weather and employees are expected to make every reasonable effort to report for work and perform their job duties. As long as students and their instructors are able to travel to and from campus safely, regularly scheduled classes will continue to meet in person.
If classes are canceled or operations are reduced, the university will issue a Hawk Alert and post the information to the UI Homepage, the UI Emergency website, and the UI X account.
Add a cell phone number to the Hawk Alert system. Text message is the fastest way to receive an alert, and redundancy is important to ensure you receive important safety information.
Individuals should use good judgement and avoid serious risks when traveling to campus or attending classes. Employees are encouraged to actively communicate with their supervisors, and students should do the same with their instructors regarding their specific circumstances.
To learn more about the process for special event cancelations, postponements, and building closure requests, review the Winter Weather FAQ and Extreme Weather Plan.
New this year
The National Weather Service has updated its terminology for very cold weather conditions. Conditions previously referred to as a “Wind Chill Warning” will now be called an “Extreme Cold Warning.” This change will impact the terminology used in Hawk Alerts when temperatures and/or wind chills of –30 °F or colder are expected.
Employee attendance
University employees will be expected to make every reasonable effort to report to work as scheduled, even in severe weather conditions.
When extreme weather conditions are forecasted for our area, employees are expected to anticipate difficulties and delays in transportation. Upon evaluation of their individual circumstances, employees are expected to make reasonable judgements to avoid serious risks when traveling to and from work.
Employees are encouraged to actively communicate with their supervisor or other proper authority regarding their timeliness and attendance during extreme weather conditions, in order to ensure proper staffing. When delayed, employees may be expected to report to work as soon as they become available, unless otherwise excused by their supervisor, in order to meet operational needs. Supervisory staff are expected to utilize their discretion reasonably and humanely in relation to this policy.
Absences due to severe weather conditions may be addressed in the following manner, as applicable:
- Employees may be authorized to perform work at home or an alternate location, to the extent such is available, practical and feasible, and provided appropriate accountability.
- Employees may be authorized to make up the time absent through an alternate work schedule within the same work week.
- Employees may utilize accrued compensatory time (merit) or accrued annual leave (vacation), if available, to remain in pay status, or be placed on leave without pay.
UI Health Care employees
The need for health care and essential operations does not stop, even during inclement weather. Several additional resources—including reduced rates at local hotels, parking and transportation assistance, and more—are available for UI Health Care employees to ensure that faculty and staff are present so patient care may continue uninterrupted. More information can be found on The Loop.
Additional Winter Weather Resources
- Consider monitoring the National Weather Service and local media outlets for timely weather updates.
- GPS-based, real-time Cambus passenger information is available through the Transit app. It is recommended to “favorite” routes you most frequently ride so you can receive notifications of any weather-related detours or delays. This information system can help you determine when a bus from Coralville, Iowa City, or the university transit systems will reach a bus stop near you so you can plan accordingly.
- UI Parking and Transportation offers free jump-start service for employees, students, and visitors parked on the university’s main campus. Motorist assistance is offered on an as-available basis from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The service is not offered on university holidays. To request service, call 319-335-8312.
- UI Campus Safety offers safe, late-night transportation for students and employees from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. via Nite Ride. To request a ride, use the ride request app.
- Current UI students can claim two $5 Uber ride Vouchers which are valid from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. daily during the fall semester. Visit the HawkVouchers page to claim yours while supplies last.