Operation of the Urbana-Champaign Campus Under Emergency Conditions

Emergencies that cause disruption of services for campus programs and other conditions such as adverse weather may require modifications to normal campus operations. Procedures to address such conditions and temporary staff personnel policies are described herein.

Procedures for Responding to Emergency Conditions

  1. If an emergency condition is restricted to one building or a limited area of campus without widespread impact, the unit administrator in the effected area will determine whether to cancel scheduled activities; notification will be provided to the Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost, and the Executive Director of Facilities and Services. Examples of limited impact conditions are utility outage, substance spill, or building damage effecting one building.
  2. When an emergency occurs or when severe weather conditions are predicted which widely impact the campus, consultation will be conducted by the Campus Emergency Operations Center (CEOC) with representatives of campus organizations likely to be affected, including Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Public Affairs, Facilities and Services, and Public Safety. If conditions warrant declaration of a critical incident as described in the Campus Emergency Operations Manual this action will be initiated.

An assessment of conditions will include consideration for conditions that would severely jeopardize the health or safety of students, faculty, staff, or visitors; or conditions that severely limit the capability of employees to report for work or suggest that employees be permitted to leave work prior to the completion of their assigned schedules.

If it is determined that classes are to be canceled and/or that offices and units providing non-essential services are to be closed, the recommended action will be conveyed to the Office of the Chancellor and the Office of the Provost for a final decision.

Conditions may differ at Willard Airport and the Institute of Aviation or in other units located apart from the campus proper; hence, decisions affecting these units may differ from those affecting the main campus.

If classes are to be canceled or offices closed, those affected will be notified by the customary campus telephone alert procedures and a public announcement over the local radio stations by the Chancellor or his or her representative. Messages will also be placed on the campus emergency telephone message system, (217) 265-8473 ((217) 265-UIPD) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign home page. In the absence of a specific announcement to the contrary, it should be understood that classes and other functions would continue as scheduled.

Essential Personnel

Emergency conditions may occur which are sufficiently serious to warrant the cancellation of classes or public events, or to temporarily discontinue general operations for non-essential and administrative functions. However, the residential and research nature of the institution requires that certain functions continue.

Only employees considered essential to provide critical campus or departmental services should work during emergency conditions. Examples of essential personnel include those that are required to keep critical research and facility (including residential) functions operational. Department heads are asked to carefully review essential functions and inform the affected personnel so that in the event of an emergency, departmental personnel will be aware of the role that they may be asked to assume in a critical incident. These essential personnel should also be advised to turn to WILL AM 580 or another local radio station for information about the incident, and to call (217) 265-8473 ((217) 265-UIPD) for a recorded message.

Essential functions can include:

  • McKinley health care operations
  • Food service and sanitation for individuals housed in University facilities
  • Animal feeding and care
  • Operation of utility systems
  • Power plant operations
  • Research support
  • Locking and unlocking buildings
  • Emergency services (police, fire, medical)
  • Emergency Dean
  • Emergency repairs
  • Snow removal
  • Payroll execution
  • Public Affairs

Further questions concerning this policy statement should be directed to the Executive Director of Public Safety, (217) 333-1216.