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The heart of Appalachian State University's campus — including Sanford Mall, Plemmons Student Union and Belk Library — is pictured in a blanket of snow in 2021. Photo by Marie Freeman

When inclement weather is in the forecast, an App State team springs into action

By Megan Hayes
Posted Dec. 20, 2021 at 2:41 p.m.

BOONE, N.C. — When bad weather is in the forecast, approximately 24,000 Appalachian State University students, faculty and staff begin checking their email accounts, refreshing the university homepage and monitoring social media. Academic and work deadlines weigh heavily on their minds. Many have to balance these with work or local school system schedule changes as well. How will they know what to do? When will they know what to do?

According to Jason Marshburn, App State’s director of environmental health, safety and emergency management, it’s a complex and highly orchestrated process.

The decision begins within the university’s emergency management system. App State has a large team called the Emergency Management Task Force, led by the Department of Environmental Health, Safety and Emergency Management (EHS&EM). This team is made up of representatives from across the university, including the Chancellor’s Office, Academic Affairs, Human Resources, Facilities Operations, University Communications, Student Affairs and App State Police. These individuals are trained to respond in the event of anything from a minor weather event to a major, universitywide emergency.

The team represents a larger group of staff and administrators who are responsible for ongoing preparation for incidents — from minor weather issues to catastrophic events — that could impact normal campus operations.

What goes into making this decision?

  • A small team of representatives from Emergency Management, App State Police, Academic Affairs, Human Resources, Facilities Operations, Student Affairs and University Communications, led by Marshburn, considers weather forecasts, road conditions, public transportation schedules and campus operations. This team makes a recommendation about campus operational status to Chancellor Sheri Everts. Marshburn emphasized that the safety of the campus community is always the primary concern.
  • Once the final decision is made, campus is notified via email, website postings to the university homepage and appstatealert.com, the university’s emergency messaging website. The university also records the decision on its snow line (828-262-SNOW), posts notifications on its Facebook and Twitter pages, and distributes messages to local media outlets. Marshburn said, typically, it takes about 30 minutes to complete this process.

What decisions are made and what do they mean?

When a weather event causes the university to not operate regularly, two key decisions must be made and communicated to campus:

  • Whether to cancel in-person class meetings, and if so, for how long.
  • Whether to require employees to come to work, and if so, which ones.

The key decision in both cases, said Marshburn, is safety — for students and for employees, many of whom are also students.

When classes cannot be held on campus due to inclement weather, faculty are encouraged to shift to online teaching methods. Each college or school at App State has a consultant assigned by the university’s Center for Academic Excellence, who assists faculty in utilizing technology so students’ learning can be continued, even if face-to-face class meetings cannot take place.

Even when weather events lead to classes not meeting on campus, key designated personnel must report to work or remain at work in order to keep essential operations running smoothly.

Under the campus Adverse Weather and Emergency Closing Policy, a list of operations designated as “mandatory operations” must be maintained during adverse weather events. Generally, employees whose work is necessary to maintain these mandatory operations are designated as “mandatory.”

App State Police, Campus Dining, Telecommunications, Facilities Operations (which is responsible for clearing roads, sidewalks and parking areas), University Housing and Student Health Service are all among the teams classified as mandatory. Other areas include University Libraries, the Student Recreation Center and Plemmons Student Union.

Under special conditions such as adverse weather, mandatory employees are focused primarily on performing their critical functions and duties so the university can resume normal operations as soon as possible.

Marshburn said when he talks to people about the process of managing the logistics of the special operations conditions caused by inclement weather, many are surprised at how complex it is. Perhaps, counterintuitively, this is how he likes it. “When people don’t notice, it means we are doing our jobs well,” he said, “and that’s exactly what we want.”

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

When will I know if classes are affected?

Updates concerning any class changes are typically communicated by 6 p.m. the day before adverse weather is anticipated, to allow time for faculty to shift classes online.

Weather and operational responses are continually monitored and reviewed, and the campus community is advised of any changes to normal campus operations should they change during the day.

The latest updates for class changes and university closures will always be posted to appstatealert.com, and students, faculty and staff are also alerted via email, Facebook and Twitter. The university also maintains a snow line at 828-262-SNOW (7669) for recorded, adverse weather updates.

Who comes to work when?

When the decision is made not to hold classes on campus, the university must also indicate direction to employees. Nonfaculty employees are subject to operational status conditions under the campus Adverse Weather and Emergency Closing Policy.

Operational status is standardized for all campuses in the University of North Carolina System, and each chancellor has the discretion to determine the operational status appropriate to maintain essential operations and provide for employee safety, based on winter weather conditions. These options include:

  • Condition 1 (reduced operations), under which the university remains open, but certain nonmandatory operations may be reduced due to more limited staffing.
  • Condition 2 (suspended operations), under which the university remains open on a very limited basis but has formally suspended all but mandatory operations due to minimal staffing levels.

Only under direction of the UNC System president or by executive order of the governor can a UNC System campus close — an option that is reserved for extreme or sustained weather events.

Light dusting or full-blown blizzard, snow spurs a chain of actions at Appalachian State University
Light dusting or full-blown blizzard, snow spurs a chain of actions at Appalachian State University
Feb. 14, 2017

This has been an atypically mild winter, but it’s not over yet… Learn how the white stuff impacts our campus, engages researchers and inspires art.

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App State faculty champions help colleagues transition to virtual platforms, settle into online instruction
April 17, 2020

Appalachian State University’s approximately 50 faculty champions, including Dr. Ellen Key and Dr. Jason Xiong, are providing technical and instructional support for faculty members during the university’s mid-semester transition to online instruction due to COVID-19.

Read the story
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Student success depends on effective teaching and learning. Appalachian’s Center for Academic Excellence keeps faculty at the top of their game.

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About AppState-ALERT

AppState-ALERT is the Appalachian State University 24/7 emergency messaging system. Using a combination of text messaging, voice messaging, the siren warning system, email and web technologies, AppState-ALERT is designed to provide Appalachian students, faculty and staff with timely information in the event of a campus emergency. Cell phone, text and voice messages will be sent by the university only when an emergency exists that is considered an "imminent threat." An imminent threat is defined as a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving an immediate threat to the life and safety of the campus community. Learn more at https://emergency.appstate.edu/appstate-alert.

About EHS&EM at Appalachian

The Department of Environmental Health, Safety, and Emergency Management (EHS&EM) at Appalachian State University works in coordination with other departments across campus to build a safe and prepared campus in support of the university’s commitment to campus safety. The department’s primary responsibility is environmental health, safety and emergency management functions across campus. Learn more at https://ehsem.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.

When will I know if classes are affected?

Updates concerning any class changes are typically communicated by 6 p.m. the day before adverse weather is anticipated, to allow time for faculty to shift classes online.

Weather and operational responses are continually monitored and reviewed, and the campus community is advised of any changes to normal campus operations should they change during the day.

The latest updates for class changes and university closures will always be posted to appstatealert.com, and students, faculty and staff are also alerted via email, Facebook and Twitter. The university also maintains a snow line at 828-262-SNOW (7669) for recorded, adverse weather updates.

Who comes to work when?

When the decision is made not to hold classes on campus, the university must also indicate direction to employees. Nonfaculty employees are subject to operational status conditions under the campus Adverse Weather and Emergency Closing Policy.

Operational status is standardized for all campuses in the University of North Carolina System, and each chancellor has the discretion to determine the operational status appropriate to maintain essential operations and provide for employee safety, based on winter weather conditions. These options include:

  • Condition 1 (reduced operations), under which the university remains open, but certain nonmandatory operations may be reduced due to more limited staffing.
  • Condition 2 (suspended operations), under which the university remains open on a very limited basis but has formally suspended all but mandatory operations due to minimal staffing levels.

Only under direction of the UNC System president or by executive order of the governor can a UNC System campus close — an option that is reserved for extreme or sustained weather events.

Light dusting or full-blown blizzard, snow spurs a chain of actions at Appalachian State University
Light dusting or full-blown blizzard, snow spurs a chain of actions at Appalachian State University
Feb. 14, 2017

This has been an atypically mild winter, but it’s not over yet… Learn how the white stuff impacts our campus, engages researchers and inspires art.

Read the story
App State faculty champions help colleagues transition to virtual platforms, settle into online instruction
App State faculty champions help colleagues transition to virtual platforms, settle into online instruction
April 17, 2020

Appalachian State University’s approximately 50 faculty champions, including Dr. Ellen Key and Dr. Jason Xiong, are providing technical and instructional support for faculty members during the university’s mid-semester transition to online instruction due to COVID-19.

Read the story
Appalachian’s new Center for Academic Excellence becomes one-stop shop for effective teaching and learning
Appalachian’s new Center for Academic Excellence becomes one-stop shop for effective teaching and learning
Jan. 27, 2017

Student success depends on effective teaching and learning. Appalachian’s Center for Academic Excellence keeps faculty at the top of their game.

Read the story

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Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian

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Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
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  • Videos
  • Galleries
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