Inclement Weather Policy

We take decisions regarding closures or delays very seriously. We make the decision only after reviewing weather forecasts and checking with local agencies and our own police and physical plant departments. This is not an exact science, but our goal is to continue to provide an outstanding educational experience while working to ensure everyone’s safety.

In cases in which the university remains open during severe weather, students should make decisions about attending based on their particular circumstances. Faculty are asked to accommodate those decisions when possible.

Faculty should remember that extended closures require that instruction will continue via electronic means. Please see the Continuity of Instruction website for more detail.

For a list of all our severe weather announcements, go to: http://louisville.edu/weather/announcements.

When possible, we will announce decisions regarding morning classes by 5:30 a.m. and decisions regarding evening classes by 3 p.m.

We will provide school closing information in a variety of ways. The easiest way to receive the information is by signing up for UofL Alerts, which will send a text message to your phone and an email to your university account. Sign up for alerts at: http://louisville.edu/alerts

Additionally, we will officially announce the closing in the following ways, if possible:

• A notice on the university home page, http://louisville.edu.

• A recorded message at 502-852-5555

• A notice on university telephones

• Postings on the university’s official Facebook and Twitter sites

These are the only official methods by which we will communicate with the campus community. We also notify local television, radio and other news outlets; information posted on traditional or social media should be verified through one of the official channels.

If no announcement is sent, the university is open and operating on its regular schedule.

I also want to remind you about some of our policies regarding classes.

Our delayed classes policy remains the same.

In instances where we announce a delayed schedule, we will cancel classes up to a certain time and begin with our full class schedule at that point. For instance, if we delay opening until 10 a.m., classes that end before 10 a.m. will be canceled. Students who normally would be in class at or after 10 a.m. should go wherever they would be at that time unless they have received other instructions from their instructor in advance, which should be included in the course syllabus. So if we delay classes until 10 a.m. and your class usually runs from 9:30 to 11, you would go to that class at 10 a.m.

In cases of severe weather, evening classes will be defined as classes beginning at or after 4:15 p.m.