Winter weather and safety December 21, 2022

Colleagues,  

We are monitoring a potential weather event that could impact our region over the next 24 to 48 hours.

As is often the case this time of year, the forecasts and weather models are fluid in terms of how significant the impact will be to our Lexington campus location.

While our goal is to always keep campus fully operational and sustain our critical missions of education, research, service and patient care, there are rare occasions when we must alter our normal schedule or close the portion of our campus outside of UK HealthCare to ensure the safety of our community. Find more information on our winter weather plan below.

If there is a change in the university’s status, in terms of delay or closure, the university will send a UK Alert. Any additional updates – including major changes regarding facilities, operations and our weather efforts – will also be shared via email, UK’s social media accounts and at uky.edu/alerts.

While we are monitoring potential severe weather that could impact our campus in the coming days, this is also a good time to remind everyone of the university’s winter weather policies.

Winter Weather Policies

The university has worked with emergency management officials, faculty and staff on the following policies with respect to inclement weather.

Information for UK HealthCare employees

UK HealthCare employees shall follow the procedures and policies outlined in UK HealthCare Policy and Procedure #A09-055 UK HealthCare Plan B Staffing During University Emergencies.

Information for faculty

Per University Senate Rules, students enrolled in online classes (or hybrid classes in which the schedule for the day of closure or delay was to be virtual or online) would continue course work and meetings virtually, regardless of an emergency closure, unless canceled at the discretion of the course instructor.

When there is an unscheduled closing, all in-person activities during the closure time are cancelled. Asynchronous activities may be held; asynchronous activities may replace a scheduled synchronous activity if they can be completed in the same amount of time. Synchronous activities may be held only within the scheduled time slot and only if the instructor also provides an asynchronous option that can be completed in the same amount of time. Asynchronous activities may be attended or performed at a time of the student's choosing, subject to reasonable constraints.

The Senate Council and the Office for Faculty Advancement recommend faculty members include syllabus language during the winter intersession and spring semester that provides guidance for students regarding such winter weather closings, inclusive of the method of conducting class in the event of a closure or delay and definition of an excused/unexcused absence in the event of a delay or closure. 

Information for staff

Employees who have received approval for remote work will work as normal during severe weather events causing delay or closure unless other accommodations are made by an employee’s manager (see item 7 on the FAQ page). 

The Human Resources newsletter, Supervisor Solutions, will include guidance to managers to consider their current operating needs and, based on that consideration, to communicate status of designated, designated to work remotely and non-designated to each employee for whom they are responsible.

For more information on employee designation and procedures on Plan B days or other university emergencies, please review HR Policy and Procedure #71. 

The three designations for employees under Plan B are:  

• Designated employee: Regular on-site attendance is required when Plan B operations are in effect. 
• Designated employee via remote access: Employee may work remotely during Plan B operations. 
• Non-designated employee: Employee should not work unless specifically contacted by a supervisor and asked to do so.

Should non-designated employees work during Plan B, they will not receive emergency closing time off to be taken at a later date.

For anyone reporting to campus, Human Resources has information on how to navigate campus safely, including maps showing the first sidewalks to be cleared during winter weather.

Utility outages local to the employee who is working remotely are not a reason to use emergency closing leave. Instead, supervisors should discuss with employees what work they can do during the (hopefully short) period of utility outage, how to flex the schedule later in the work week and availability of applicable leave, etc. If solutions are not sufficient for the period of the outage, the supervisor should contact HR Employee Relations.

Now is a good time to review and update your UK Alert account. UK Alert, the university’s emergency notification system, is activated in times of university closings, delays, early dismissals due to weather and other major emergencies on campus that require immediate action. Log in to myUK and click the UK Alert tab under Employee Self-Service to update your account. 

The president, in consultation with senior staff, will make any decision about closing a department, unit, college or the university.

(Please note: Due to the nature of operations in a health care environment, UK HealthCare employees will follow the procedures and policies outlined in UK HealthCare Policy and Procedure #A09-055 UK HealthCare Plan B Staffing During University Emergencies). Given our continued responsibility for uninterrupted care for patients and their families, UK hospitals and clinics will remain open even when classes are canceled and academic and other non-health care offices are closed.

You can also find the most up-to-date information during emergencies in the following places:

• UK home page
• UK Alert website
• UKNow
• UK’s official social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter
• The UK Infoline at 859-257-5684
• UK cable channel 184
• Other local media outlets

Thank you for all you do. 

Sincerely, 

Eric N. Monday 

Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration