Weather and Campus Closures

Everyone loves a snow day, but before you hit the snooze button, read up on Community College of Denver’s inclement weather procedures.

It is important to note that Inclement Weather can be somewhat subjective and vary greatly from one location to another. Therefore, we anticipate four categories of operations: 

  1. Business as usual (sun, light rain, snow or wind);
  2. Delayed opening or early closure (heavy wind, ice with increasing temps, or snow creating unsafe conditions or requiring facility crews to plow roads and sidewalks);
  3. Remote operations (very heavy snow, icy conditions, over a broad geographic area making access to campus challenging and potentially unsafe);
  4. Operations are completely closed; rarely occurs (extreme conditions).

How the Decision is Made

The final decision-making authority to open, delay opening, move to remote operations, or close the Auraria campus resides with the leadership of the Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC), University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver), Metropolitan State University Denver (MSU Denver), and Community College of Denver (CCD).

Due to proximity, decisions regarding the Advanced Manufacturing Center (AMC) follow the decisions made for the Auraria campus.

The final decision-making authority to open, delay opening, move to remote operations, or close CCD operations at the Lowry campus resides with CCD’s president. Community College of Denver relies on its partnership with the Lowry campus facilities and security departments and Lowry campus leadership to inform this decision.  

Decision-making authority to open, delay opening, move to remote operations, or close at CCD’s Career Education Center Early College (CEC) resides with the leadership of Denver Public Schools (DPS) in collaboration with CCD leadership.

When the Inclement Weather Plan is Activated

Scheduled remote/synchronous learning and online/asynchronous learning sections will typically continue as regularly scheduled since these class meetings are not affected by on-campus delays or closures. In the event of widespread power outages, the decision to suspend remote and online courses may occur.

General FAQs

To ensure you receive the latest updates, sign up for the campus emergency notification system. Go to CCDConnect, and on the Dashboard, click on “Update Your Emergency Notification Information” and make sure the box titled “mobile,” next to your phone number, is selected. If you have opted-in to receive these emergency text messages, you will be sent emails and text messages to keep you informed.

In the event of a delay, shift to remote operations, or closure, the information will be posted on the CCD website. We will also post updates on the CCD social media accounts. You can also watch local TV for closure information. For announcements relevant to the CCD campuses, please look for the following nomenclature: 

  • “Community College of Denver – Auraria”
  • “Community College of Denver – Adv Manufacturing Cntr”
  • “Community College of Denver – Lowry”

For timely updates regarding the Auraria campus and AMC closures, call 1.877.556.3637 or visit ahec.edu after 5:30 a.m.

CCD’s Executive Council will text or call their direct reports regarding the College’s decision to activate the Inclement Weather Plan or to continue business as usual.

If an in-person class is scheduled to begin or end before the delayed start time for campus, it is canceled. For example, if a class starts at 8:00 a.m. but the campus is scheduled to open at 10:00 a.m., the class is canceled completely - even if that class is scheduled to end after 10:00 a.m. Students should check their course in D2L for information about alternative delivery of the day’s course content.  Employees should report to their designated work location by the delayed start time unless their supervisor has approved leave or remote work.

If an in-person class is scheduled to begin after the time of early closure, it is canceled. For example, if the Lowry campus closes at 2:00 p.m., classes that start at 2:00 p.m. or later are canceled.  Students should check their course in D2L for information about alternative delivery of the day’s content

If an in-person class in progress is scheduled to end after the time of campus closure, the class session must be dismissed at the campus closure time. For example, if the campus is closing at 2:00 p.m., a class that is normally scheduled to meet from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. will stop meeting at 2:00 p.m. Students should discuss with their instructor or check their course in D2L for information about alternative delivery of the remainder of the day’s content.

Employees should leave campus at the designated time of early closure. Supervisors will ensure all staff have left campus and are accounted for prior to leaving campus.

Any attendance policies for in-person classes are suspended if the campus is closed. Students are not required to attend a class or campus-related event when the campus is closed due to inclement weather.

Students attending online/asynchronous or remote/synchronous course sections are expected to attend class and complete assigned activities unless conditions necessitate canceling these sections.

Recognizing the variability in conditions across the range of locations our students and employees commute from, we encourage both students and employees to use their judgment about safely reaching campus if the campus is open during inclement weather. Students should communicate with faculty and instructors, and employees should communicate with their immediate supervisor if they are unable to reach campus safely.

If a student is unable to travel to campus for a regularly scheduled class meeting, students are responsible for engaging with the course content delivered via an alternate method, if provided, to meet the minimum required course content hours, as applicable and available via the faculty/instructor of record.

Students are responsible for all content and/or assignments if they choose to miss class due to inclement weather when the campus has not closed.

If a class is canceled due to weather, accreditation standards require that minimum contact minutes be met. Faculty and instructors should work with their immediate supervisor and their students to ensure minimum contact minutes are met and that course content is delivered, including but not limited to, utilizing an alternate method. If you have questions, please speak with your department chair/immediate supervisor.

CCD Employee/Work-Study FAQs

Employees are not required to come to campus for work during a campus closure. However, if the College shifts to remote operations, employees are expected to work remotely unless otherwise authorized for personal or administrative leave. CCD considers all current employees as non-essential, regular employees.

Unless the College issues a complete operational closure, employees who can perform their work from an appropriate remote location will be expected to work unless the employee submits and is approved for leave. Employees who are unable to work from an appropriate remote location must communicate with their supervisor and submit an applicable leave request.

Regular employees are required to work from an appropriate remote location in the event the College shifts to remote operations during their normal work hours. Employees who are unable to work from an appropriate remote location must communicate directly with their supervisor and Human Resources.

When the decision is made to close one or more campuses, CCD may grant administrative leave to regular employees for their scheduled work hours during the period of closure. Messaging will be sent out if the day is considered an administrative Leave Day. In most cases, remote work will be appropriate.

During campus closures or remote operations, temporary employees (including retirees hired into temporary positions) and student employees are not eligible for administrative leave. Temporary employees and student employees whose duties and responsibilities can be completed from an appropriate remote location will receive instruction from their immediate supervisor and are eligible for pay for hours worked if approved by the supervisor.

If an employee is on pre-approved leave (sick or vacation) during a closure, administrative leave does not apply to that employee.