College Closing Procedure
Below are the procedures that will be followed in relation to the College’s Closing Policy (1.04).
- The President or their designee directs the Campus Chief of Police and/or other individuals to assess current and forecasted weather conditions for the College’s service area, including road conditions in proximity to all KCKCC locations, and to confer with the designated Facilities representatives regarding conditions on KCKCC property.
- Concurrently, the KCKCC Chief of Police, President and/or designee communicates with KCK Public Safety and other area College representatives or School District superintendents and needed.
- Campus Police and the President or their designee share their assessments.
- Based on the shared assessments, the President or their designee determines whether to maintain normal operating hours, close, or implement a delayed opening of the College
- If the decision is made to close, or delay the opening of the College, the President or their designee communicates with Campus Police and/or the Chief Marketing and Outreach Officer to utilize the Emergency Notification System (ENS) to communicate a predetermined communication to faculty, staff and students. Campus Police implements the ENS. The Chief Marketing and Outreach Officer ensures the message is posted to the KCKCC website home page, and predetermined television and radio stations.
- Campus Police contacts the Chief Financial Officer to arrange for snow removal services, or other treatments as necessary.
Daytime Considerations for Possible Afternoon or Evening Early Closings:
When the College geographic area is experiencing or expecting inclement weather conditions that would present travel conditions for students/employees/community members coming to KCKCC locations or leaving College locations at the conclusion of their normally scheduled activities that would make travel unsafe, the College will close earlier than its normally scheduled hours.
At all times possible, a decision to close the College early that would affect night time classes will be made by 4:00p.m. and communicated via the ENS via text, phone and email messages. Messages delivered via these medias are to be considered the only official KCKCC announcement.
Overnight Time Table for Possible Late Start or College Closings:
If forecasted weather conditions are determined to produce unsafe travel conditions for the following day, when possible, a decision to implement a delayed start or to close KCKCC locations will be made the night before. At all times possible the decision will be made in a timely fashion so ENS alerts and announcements to television and radio stations can be made by 10:00pm.
If forecasted weather conditions are still uncertain for the following day, at all times possible, the following schedule is followed.
3:00 - 3:45 AM - Campus Police drive a variety of road types and locations in the metro area and consult with KCK Public Safety and other official sources to best determine weather and road conditions in the Metro Area. Simultaneously, the College President or their designee drive a variety of road types and conditions in the county perimeter to best determine road conditions for individuals traveling to a KCKCC location from a distance.
3:45 AM - The President or their designee and KCKCC Campus Police consult to best determine current and forecasted weather and road conditions.
4:00 AM - A decision is made as to whether the College will be maintain normal operational hours, close for the day, or implement a delayed start.
Methods used to communicate the official College decision is identical to the method described above.
College Closing Additional Information:
For inclement weather, the following are major, but not all, factors to decide whether to close, open regular time, or open with a delayed start.
- Does the storm have a wide breadth or is it a narrow band that will not be over the area for an extended time?
- What time is the storm anticipated to arrive and depart from the area?
- What is the projected outcome and accumulation for the storm, ice and/or snow?
- If it can be determined the night before that it is a large storm or it will continue to impact the area the following day, the decision may be able to be made the day prior.
- If it is not clear the impact the storm will have on the area, the timing is uncertain, and/or the next day forecast calls for clear weather, the decision will not be made until the next morning. (This course of action provides the most accurate and up-to-date information to make an informed decision.)