INCLEMENT WEATHER COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

    Cleveland State Community College has an obligation for the safety of their students, faculty and staff during times of severe weather conditions. The decision to close the college will affect hundreds of people and it is imperative that the decision is made in a timely fashion to ensure the safety of our students and personnel. With that end in mind, the following communications plan has been developed to expedite the closing of the college for any reason.
    Campus security will take the lead in assessing the conditions of the campus and will communicate those conditions to the Vice President of Business and Finance. The Vice President will consider the following issues:

  • Condition of the campus
  • Conditions of the outlying areas
  • Conditions at the Athens and Madisonville sites

        A decision will then be made to close the college or to stay open. Either way, the Director of Marketing and Public Relations will be contacted to begin the process of informing the media of our decision. Please note that the decision to close the main campus will automatically include the closing of the Athens and Vonore sites.
        In the absence of the Vice President of Business and Finance, the Vice President of Academic Affairs will be contacted and the process remains the same.
        Note: If the decision to close the college comes at a later time, for instance 6:30 a.m., the process will be exactly the same as outlined below.
        Listed below is a point-by-point outline of the process:

  • Security will contact the Vice President of Business and Finance by 5:15 a.m.
  • A decision is made to close and the VP contacts the Executive Secretary of Business and Finance to update the switchboard message and the Director of Marketing to begin contacting the media. This happens by 5:25 a.m.
  • The Director of Marketing will update the website weather message by 5:30 a.m.
  • The Director of Marketing will contact the Marketing and Public Relations staff to begin calling all media outlets by 5:35 a.m.
  • The Director of Marketing will call the Site Directors for Athens and Vonore to inform them of the decision.
  • The major TV networks will be contacted first and all media outlets will be contacted by the Marketing and Public Relations Department by 5:50 a.m.
  • The Marketing and Public Relations Department will also contact those schools that offer classes on the Cleveland State Campus.
  • Should the decision be that the school will remain open, the VP will contact the Director of Marketing who will in turn update the weather message on the CSCC website to reflect that CSCC will be in session. This will be done by 5:45 a.m.

NOTE: Should the college need to be closed for a second day, the process to contact the media outlets will begin all over again. The VP and the Director of Marketing  will stay in communication until the weather permits the college to open.
If weather conditions deteriorate at some point after the college is in session, for instance 11:00 a.m., a decision will be made to close no later than 3:00 p.m. in order to have ample time to notify students for evening classes.


ATHENS/MADISONVILLE INCLEMENT WEATHER COMMUNICATIONS PLAN


        There are extreme situations in which the Cleveland State off campus sites may need to close while the main campus is still in session. In order to facilitate the closing of either site and in an effort to keep all locations informed, the following procedures will be followed in our Athens and Madisonville sites:

    • The Site Director for Athens or Vonore will contact the Vice President of Business and Finance by 5:15 a.m.
    • A decision is made to close and the VP will contact the Director of Marketing to begin contacting the media. This happens by 5:25 a.m.
    • The respective Director of the Athens or Vonore Site will change the message on the phone system at their site.
    • The Director of Marketing will update the website weather message by 5:30 a.m.
    • The Director of Marketing will contact the Marketing and Public Relations staff to begin calling all media outlets by 5:35 a.m.
    • The major TV networks will be contacted first and all media outlets will be contacted by the Marketing and Public Relations Department by 5:50 a.m.
    • Should the decision be that the school will remain open; the VP will contact the Director of Marketing who will in turn update the weather message on the CSCC website to reflect that the site will be in session. This will be done by 5:45 a.m.
 
Cleveland State Community College