6.16.2 Suspended Operations & Closure

Proposed: 04/05/2016
Adopted: 05/05/2016
Last Reviewed: 07/31/2018
Effective: 06/04/2016

 

 

 

 

 

It is the policy of Middle Georgia State University to be open for educational purposes on all regularly scheduled days; however, the University will occasionally close due to inclement weather or other emergencies such as a power outage.   The Campus Closure Policy applies to all five campuses as well as instructional sites.

General Information:

The President, in consultation with the Executive Vice President, the Police Chief, and the Chief Communications Officer will make the decision to close based on information available at the time. The decision will be made as quickly as possible, and decisions to close for an entire day will be made no later than 5:15am on the day in question. Likewise, if a delayed opening is warranted, the decision will be made no later than 5:15am. In some circumstances, a decision for either closing or a delayed opening can be made the night before.

If circumstances worsen during the day, a decision to close can be made at any time. Once a decision to close has been made, the Communications Department is notified and the Notification Procedures are begun.

Closing announcements can be for the College as a whole, including all five campuses and all Instructional Sites, or the closure can apply to individual campuses or instructional sites.   (Please note that RAFB controls access to the Robins Resident Center and MGA announcements will only involve cancellation of classes at the RRC.)

Notification Procedures:

Closure announcements will be made by a variety of media:

  • Emergency Alert System – student, faculty and staff are automatically signed up for this voice and text-based notification system and must opt out to not receive these notifications. Both a text and voice message will go to all phones and/or emails listed in the system since the Alert System does not identify a phone number to a particular campus.
  • edu – Campus closing announcements will be posted to the MGA.edu homepage.
  • TV and Radio Stations – on all local television and radio stations

* The complete procedural guide for institutional closures related to severe weather can be referenced in the inclement weather portion of the master Emergency Response Plan (ERP).