University Park, Pa. – The second part of a winter storm that delayed until Thursday (Feb. 3) a visit to Penn State’s University Park campus by President Barack Obama is bearing down on the region, expected to dump an icy mix of snow and rain overnight.
Penn State's Office of Physical Plant has been monitoring the storm, and crews are already in motion (http://live.psu.edu/story/51117). In years past, weather events caused a delay in the start of activities and classes on campus. When a delay is announced at University Park, employees who perform nonessential services are to report at the announced time. Classes and activities that begin before the announced time are canceled.
Those classes or activities beginning at or after the announced delay time will be held as originally scheduled. For example, a two-hour delay until 10 a.m. due to snow or ice would mean that all classes that begin before 10 a.m. are canceled and will not be held. Classes beginning at 10 a.m. or after, will continue on their regular schedule.
The Penn State community should check WPSU-FM, Penn State Live and Penn State Facebook -- all official sources for weather-related delay or cancellation advisories for Penn State's University Park campus. In addition, advisories will be sent directly to cell phones via PSUTXT. University officials make delay and cancellation decisions based on the best information available from meteorologists, the National Weather Service, Pennsylvania State Police, PennDOT and other sources.
Employees in essential services and operations are expected to report for work in most circumstances, and should contact their supervisors with any questions they may have about their status.
"The safety of the individual is paramount and we repeatedly advise students, faculty and staff to put their own safety first," said Albert G. Horvath, senior vice president for finance and business. "People should use their own best judgment when considering traveling to campus or the need to leave early during times of inclement weather."
"Supervisors should work to accommodate employees who wish to alter their work schedules because of the weather," said Horvath. "Staff may charge their absence to vacation time when weather conditions cause a concern for personal safety."Faculty and staff also should review "Handling Weather Day Absences" (Human Resources Guideline 10) on the Web at http://guru.psu.edu/policies/OHR/hrg10.html for specific information on how time missed for weather situations is handled.