Youngstown State University is open year round except for designated holidays. The university will remain open and classes held unless there is clear and substantiated evidence to warrant otherwise, i.e., extreme weather. Generally, such actions fall under three categories:
- Classes Cancelled, University Closed. The university is closed. Classes are cancelled. Non-essential employees should not report to work. Essential employees* should report, unless notified otherwise. All buildings, except residence halls and the dining facilities that support those halls, will be closed.
- Classes Cancelled, University Open: Classes are cancelled, but the university remains open and all employees should report to work.
- Classes Cancelled, University Open, Unscheduled Leave Status. Classes are cancelled, but the university remains open. The president has declared Unscheduled Leave Status**. Under this declaration, non-essential employees are expected to report to work but may use unscheduled leave per university policy 3356-7-16.** Essential employees* should still report to work, unless otherwise notified.
- *Personnel involved in operations that must continue (e.g., Campus Police, WYSU-FM, and some Facilities employees).
Communications
Methods to communicate:
• Penguin Alert text messages and/or e-mails.
• YSU homepage.
• Social media via Facebook and Twitter.
• Radio and TV: Radio and television stations across the Youngstown region. (Note that WYSU-FM 88.5 is the official radio source regarding information about University operations.)
Examples of messages that may be used in the event of a cancellation:
Classes cancelled, University Closed
Classes are cancelled, the university is closed, non-essential employees should not report to work.
Classes cancelled, University closed as of noon
Classes are cancelled at noon and the university is closing at noon. Non-essential employees should leave at noon.
Classes are cancelled, University open
Classes are cancelled but the university is open. Employees should report to work.
Classes are cancelled as of noon, University open
Classes are cancelled at noon, but the university remains open. Employees should remain at work.
Classes are cancelled, University open, Unscheduled leave status declared
Classes are cancelled but the university is open. The President has declared Unscheduled Leave Status. Under this declaration, non-essential employees are expected to report to work but may use unscheduled leave.** Essential employees* should still report to work, unless otherwise notified.
Classes are cancelled as of noon, Unscheduled Leave Status declared.
Classes are cancelled at noon, but the university remains open. The President has declared Unscheduled Leave Status. Under this declaration, non-essential employees are expected to remain at work but may use unscheduled leave.** Essential employees* should still report to work, unless otherwise notified.
Related:
- A note on low temperatures
Youngstown State University rarely closes for low temperatures alone.
The primary factor taken into account in deciding if the campus should remain open is the safety of students, faculty, staff and visitors. After consulting a variety of sources and assessing weather conditions and forecasts, if the university determines that there is a significant threat to the safety of the campus community, the university will act immediately and appropriately.
It also is important to understand that universities are different than schools serving elementary, middle and high school students. YSU students are capable of using their best judgment in deciding if weather conditions warrant changing their schedules. Also, students pay for services offered by YSU. When the university closes, those services are withheld. YSU is committed to providing those services to students as long as conditions do not present an undue threat to the campus community.
- The day after a closing/cancellation
For the day following a closing or cancellation of classes, in the absence of a specific announcement to the contrary, it should be understood that classes and other functions will continue as scheduled and that employees should report for work at their normal starting times.
- Authority
The authority to close the university and/or cancel classes rests first with the President, and then with the Provost, the Vice President for Finance and Operations and the Executive Director of Facilities.