General Guidelines for Severe Weather, including Snow Days

As the dusting of snow told us last week, winter is just around the corner.  We wanted to remind you of the different levels of weather responses, with of course a focus on snowstorms. (Note:  the following pertains to Grafton campus and Tufts at Tech only.  The Woodstock campus will make its own decision.)

We will send out email notices (Grafton, DVM students, and graduate student e-lists) around weather events, post notices to our website (https://vet.tufts.edu/weather-update/), and put out a phone message that can be reached by calling 508-839-6124.

There are people who come from areas distant from the Grafton campus.  If your local conditions prevent you from coming to campus, notify your supervisor and/or course or rotation director.

Please note that there may be full-day campus closures, delayed openings, and early closing. When possible, we will align partial day campus closures with major shift changes on campus. Like last year, we will have campus and/or hospital (FHSA/HLA) closures, but given the new remote and hybrid work environment, a campus closure does not mean a school closure – many activities will continue, including lecture classes.

When the campus or hospitals are closed, only essential workers report on-site.  If you are not sure if you are considered essential, please consult with your supervisor.

If you are home during campus and/or hospital closure (whether you are routinely working remotely or hybrid, or only home because you are non-essential), you are expected to continue to work because school activities will continue.  We recognize that under some circumstances (e.g., power outages, childcare) individuals may not be able to work during campus closures. If your routine work cannot be done from home because of the nature of work, please take the opportunity to engage in continuing education or professional development activities, or any of the many other work-related activities we don’t find time to accomplish during our regular days.

Campus Closure Levels

Here are the different levels of campus closures that may be announced.  We will try to be proactive in calling closures, but often they will be made early on the day of the snowstorm.

• Level 1: Pre-emptive Shift to Remote Lectures; campus remains open

• • In-person lectures or small group non-lab teaching will be pre-emptively shifted to remote teaching when a severe weather event is anticipated. A decision on campus closure (see next bullet) may still occur, but that decision will be made closer to the event (i.e., once we have greater certainty).
  • Faculty members will deliver live, synchronous lectures via zoom (which must be recorded at the time of delivery), or they may pre-record a voice-over PowerPoint or zoom lecture to post to Canvas prior to the scheduled lecture time.  If synchronous delivery is not possible due to power outages, a recording should be made and posted as soon as possible.
  • When there is pre-emptive cancellation of lectures, remote proctoring for exams is not available because of unreliability of internet connections. Therefore, exams should be delayed or converted to take-home exams.
  • The campus is not yet closed, and all on-campus employees are expected to report to work unless local conditions prevent travel.

• Level 2: Campus Closure; Hospitals (FHSA/HLA) Open
  • The campus is closed and only essential workers report to work, except in the hospitals which remain open. FHSA/HLA scheduled employees and fourth-year students report as usual.
  • Lectures are remote. All in-person laboratories/hands-on classes are canceled. All parts of the campus except for the FHSA/HLA are closed.
  • PhD students, PDF, and other research employees should only come to campus during a campus closure if it is considered essential for research continuity.
• Level 3: Campus Closure; Hospitals Partial Closure

• • All conditions of campus closure apply, as described above.
  • FHSA/HLA are under partial closure. In-patient care and essential appointments continue. Non-essential appointments are canceled.  Emergency services are open. All essential employees should be prepared to come to the hospitals. All residents and technicians should check with their section chief in each service to determine if they need to come to campus. Fourth-year students are considered essential for the purposes of clinical rotations and are expected to attend unless they have specific permission from their rotation director. Any hospital employees at home, as for other employees, are expected to work remotely when possible, including, for example, pursuing CE or professional development, etc. 

• Level 4: Campus Closure; Hospitals Full Closure

• • This only happens with severe winter blizzard conditions.
  • All conditions of campus closure apply, as described above.
  • FHSA/HLA are under full closure. Only core essential employees are on campus for the hospitals. Shift changes are not expected and workers who are in the hospitals may be expected to stay to care for in-patients. The section chief will work with supervisors to determine which members should stay in the hospital to maintain patient care. Please consult with your section chief and/or supervisors to understand the plans for your section or area.