2020-2021 Catalog

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Cancellation of Classes

Classes will be held at Rhode Island College except in cases of emergency following consultation among appropriate college officials. Consideration regarding cancellation includes factors such as the college’s ability to clear parking lots and walkways, official state-issued advisories regarding vehicular travel, actions of other area higher education institutions and local school districts and the availability of public transportation.

If conditions warrant cancellation of classes, said classes may be canceled for the morning, afternoon or evening time periods, or for a combination of two or more of those specific time periods. Morning classes are defined as those beginning prior to noon; afternoon classes are defined as those beginning from noon through 3:59 p.m.; and evening classes are defined as those beginning from 4 p.m. through the remainder of the day. In consideration of the commuting time necessary for many students, faculty and staff, every effort shall be made to provide notification of cancellation at least three hours prior to the start of each time period.

Notification of Class Cancellation

  1. The Rhode Island College website (www.ric.edu) will feature an announcement on the home page.
  2. The announcement will also be featured on the college’s website at www.ric.edu/alert. This webpage will feature updates to any announcements and any details specific to segments of the college community, whether at the Mt. Pleasant campus or the RINEC campus.
  3. The announcement will be featured on the college’s social media channels that may be accessed as follows: Facebook at facebook.com/rhodeislandcollege/; and Twitter at twitter.com/RICNews.
  4. A text message will be sent through RICalert (the Rhode Island College Emergency Notification System). RICalert text messages are sent to all cellphones and PDAs registered in the system. Students, faculty and staff may register for this service through MyRIC.
  5. A campus-wide email notification will be sent to all faculty and staff as well as to the college email addresses of all students registered for that semester.
  6. Local radio and television stations will broadcast cancellation announcements through the Rhode Island Broadcasters Association consortium. These announcements may be accessed directly from most major television and AM and FM radio stations in the area. Many broadcasters also post cancellation announcements on their websites.

Emergencies—Information for Students, Parents and the General Public

  1. The college switchboard will remain staffed during the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The college’s recorded information line will be available 24 hours a day at (401) 456-9500.
  2. Provision will be made to meet the dining needs of residence hall students.
  3. During emergencies, regardless of whether or not classes are canceled, other activities scheduled on campus may be canceled. Contact the sponsoring organization for information.
  4. During any period of locally inclement weather that does not warrant college-wide cancellation of classes, a student unable to get to class shall be allowed, at the first opportunity, to make up any in-class examinations and to submit any assignments that require the student’s physical presence on the campus.

Emergencies—Information for Employees

In the event of cancellation of classes, nonteaching employees are still expected to report to work. Employees who are unable to report to work or to complete their work schedule due to adverse weather conditions may, with the approval of their supervisor, use personal leave, annual leave, salary-deferred pay or leave without pay to compensate for their absence. The use of sick-time is not allowable for this purpose.

Parking lots K (Student Union loop), D (south of Roberts Hall and ALEX AND ANI Hall) will be given priority for clearing during snow emergencies that result in class cancellation. This arrangement facilitates access to the dining center for resident students and provides a cleared parking area for nonteaching employees.

In extreme circumstances, when the governor officially orders a complete or partial shutdown of state services and/or orders the closure of state highways, the pay status of employees will be in accordance with the appropriate collective bargaining agreement or as agreed upon between the Rhode Island Board of Education and the unions representing the several bargaining units.