EMERGENCY AND SNOW DAY PROCEDURES
At times, emergencies such as severe weather, fire, power failures or tornados can disrupt the normal
business operations of the College, resulting in the closure of one or more campuses of the College. The
authority to cancel all regularly scheduled classes or close the College rests with the President and the
Vice President of Administrative Services.
Regardless of the decisions made, everyone is encouraged to exercise extreme caution when traveling
under hazardous conditions. College officials recognize that road conditions vary from county to county.
Decisions about remaining open or closing are made on the basis of numerous factors, including, but not
limited to, the following:
 General road conditions
 Ability to maintain campus accessibility, e.g. ability to clear parking lots, keep buildings and
grounds safe
 Availability of public transportation
 Actions of other regional institutions
 State-issued advisories
 Weather reports and forecasts tracking the timing of storm conditions
 Condition and availability of heat and other utilities on each campus
If circumstances require closing the campus or delaying class start times, the College will employ the
following procedures:
A. Prior to day classes
I.
If snow begins falling during the pre-dawn hours, the Public Safety Officer on duty (“Officer on
Duty”) will maintain frequent contact with regional emergency radio frequencies, such as
ambulance, fire, and sheriff's departments. A meteorological report will be obtained by the
Officer on Duty from the NOAA/National Weather Service Binghamton, NY, and TV and internet
weather channels will be monitored.
II. The Officer on Duty will keep up-to-date with New York State Police announcements re: travel in
our region; in particular, those announcements restricting road access to emergency situations
only, or that roads are closed.
III. The Officer on Duty will inform the Director of Public Safety the status of items I. and II. by 3:00
a.m. as warranted.
IV. The Director of Public Safety will immediately inform the Director of Physical Plant and the two
will remain in communications throughout the morning to discuss meteorological reports and
local weather conditions.
V. If required, the Director of Physical Plant will call in the snow-removal crew by 3:30 a.m.
VI. The Director of Public Safety will inform the President by 5:00 a.m. of the status of road
conditions and the recommendations of Public Safety and Physical Plant. The President and the
Vice President of Administrative Services will determine whether to close the College, delay the
start of classes, or to continue with the usual schedule.
VII. If the decision is made to close or delay, the Vice President of Administrative Services will
contact the Executive Director of Institutional Advancement to execute the College’s
communication plan, section D. Note: every effort will be made to complete the
communications plan by 5:30 AM.
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VIII. Note: If closed, scheduled athletic events will be cancelled unless approved to continue by the
VP/Dean of Enrollment Management.
B. During the day
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
The same procedure will be employed as in section A. to determine whether to close the
campus during the day.
In the event of closing, Physical Plant will retain enough staff to sand and clear roads until
students, faculty, and staff can leave the campus.
If the decision is made to close or delay, the Vice President of Administrative Services will
contact the Executive Director of Institutional Advancement who will execute the College’s
communication plan, section D, as well as:
a. Providing notification to administrative personnel at all College locations and division
secretaries for posting on all building doors
Public Safety will work with the New York State Police and the Corning City Police Department to
control access on Spencer Hill. Students, faculty, and staff are cautioned to remain on campus
until they are notified that Spencer Hill is safe for travel.
a. Note: It is recommended that Spencer Hill Road be used to exit the campus as this road
has snow removal and sanding priority from campus and county crews. Powderhouse
and Bailey Creek Roads are generally in poor condition during snow evacuation.
Students waiting for transportation at the Spencer Hill campus must report to the lobby of the
Commons; students at all other sites must report to the main lobby of their building.
If closed, scheduled athletic events will be cancelled unless approved to continue by the
VP/Dean of Enrollment Management.
C. Prior to evening classes
I.
For the purposes of this procedure, day classes are defined as any class starting between 5:00
a.m. and 3:59 p.m.; evening classes are defined as any class starting between 4:00 p.m. and 4:59
a.m.
II. The same procedure will be employed as in section A. to determine whether to close the
campus during the day.
III. Decisions affecting any particular late evening classes will be reached by 3:00 p.m.
IV. If the decision is to close, in addition to the communications plan in section D., attempts will be
made to contact evening staff and instructors by the VP/Dean of Academic Affairs.
D. Communication Plan
I.
II.
III.
Public Safety will immediately post the "CCC Closed" signs at appropriate downtown locations on
Chemung Street, Powderhouse Road, and Bailey Creek Road.
The Executive Director of Institutional Advancement will initiate the College’s communication
plan: a text message will be sent to those who have registered for the service, an alert will be put
on the website, a message will be sent through Informacast, and social media accounts will be
updated.
a. Note: all College students and employees are encouraged to sign up to receive text alerts
about closings and emergencies: TXT “CCC” to 31996
The Associate Director of Communications will contact the following media. Column A will be
contacted first via email; Column B will be contacted via phone:
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Column A (Email)
Finger Lakes Radio Group
WFLR
WZKZ
WVIN
WPQK
Community Broadcasters
WENY-TV
WATS
WDNY/WMRV
Cayuga Radio Group
Column B (Phone)
WCBA/WCLI/WGMM/WENY/WENI
WNBT
WHGL
YNN (Time Warner)
WLVY/WOKN/WELM/WEHH
WETM-TV
WHWK/WAAL/WNBF/WWYL
When calling these media outlets, the assigned caller will identify themselves, give the "code"
word where applicable and specify the intended message. Similar messages will be called in
regarding evening class cancellations. Any class scheduled in public school buildings will be
canceled if that school district closes its schools.
E. Other
I.
II.
III.
IV.
In case of absences of key personnel, the following will apply:
a. In the absence of Director of Public Safety, responsibilities will transfer to the Vice
President/Dean of Enrollment Management.
b. In the absence of Vice President/Dean of Enrollment Management, responsibilities will
transfer to the Director of Public Safety.
c. In the absence of the Vice President of Administrative Services, responsibilities will transfer
to the Director of Physical Plant.
d. In the absence of Director of Physical Plant, responsibilities will transfer to the Assistant
Director of Physical Plant for Trades.
e. In the absence of Executive Director of Institutional Advancement, responsibilities will
transfer to the Associate Director of Communications
When the College is closed and Perry Hall remains open, Physical Plant will ensure that walkways
between Perry Hall and the Commons are clear, so students can safely obtain food.
Reasonable attempts will be made to keep the Academic and Workforce Development Center
open to support our community partners located in the building. Public Safety will report for
duty unless weather conditions are deemed unsafe. Snow removal will be coordinated by
Physical Plant.
Note: all overnight vehicle parking is restricted to Lot H. Vehicle owners, whether resident
students or any others, must comply with this restriction.
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