Monday, September 02, 2019

The following message was issued by the Office of University Relations on behalf of Chancellor Jose V. Sartarelli; Environmental Health & Safety; and the Divisions of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs.

Dear Campus Community:
 
Based on National Weather Service forecasts concerning potential impacts of Hurricane Dorian, the university has canceled classes for the remainder of this week (Sept. 3 through Sept. 6). The university has also issued a mandatory campus evacuation for students. All students must be evacuated from campus by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3. Students who are currently out of the area for the holiday weekend are advised to remain where they are. Students who are on campus should begin to prepare for their evacuation; they are not required to evacuate today, but must depart campus by 5 p.m. tomorrow. Please see additional details below, under STUDENTS.
 
All university-sponsored and athletic events are canceled as of 5 p.m. tomorrow. Grading and attendance policies are suspended until classes resume. Campus will operate on regular hours tomorrow (Tuesday, Sept. 3) and employees should report for duty as scheduled. Please see below, under EMPLOYEES, for additional information.
 
STUDENTS
All messaging regarding storm response and academics applies to undergraduate and graduate students. Residence hall advisors will schedule floor meetings as soon as possible to share all pertinent information and instructions. All available updates from Housing and Residence Life can be found here. The Office of the Dean of Students will assist students who wish to evacuate but do not have an evacuation location. There is not a need for community hosts at this time. As always, you must make the best decision for you personally, in terms of whether to travel back to Wilmington and then evacuate campus, if you are currently out of the area. Your safety is our primary concern, but you know your circumstances better than anyone. Consult with your families and proceed with the course of action you believe is right for you. If you plan to evacuate, be sure to share your evacuation location with your family and keep in touch with them before, during and after the weather event, to the best of your ability. If you do evacuate and plan to travel by car, be sure to have a full tank of gas, a paper map in the event of mobile service outages, and cash in the event of ATM outages.
 
Information regarding adjusted operating hours for campus services including the Fisher Student Center and University Union, campus dining, the Student Recreation Center, WAVE transit and parking, Randall Library, the Student Health Center and the Counseling Center will be available on the website for each of these services/locations. Rescheduling information for athletic or cultural events will also be available on the relevant websites.
 
EMPLOYEES
Campus will operate on a regular schedule on Tuesday. Employees should contact their supervisors, per standard operating protocol, if they cannot report for duty for any reason. As of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, the campus will be closed and Condition 3 of the Adverse Weather Policy will be in effect until 5 p.m. on Friday. Employees should not report to campus unless instructed by supervisors. If there is a change in condition, employees will be notified right away, via email, the UNCW homepage, and social media feeds.
 
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
It is imperative that you continue to monitor your UNCW inbox, the UNCW homepage, and social media feeds (Facebook and Twitter), as well as local weather reports. These communication channels are updated as simultaneously as possible, but please continue to pay close attention to your UNCW inbox and Facebook as they are the sources of information that will likely be updated first in the case of developments.
 
The weather hotline (888.657.5751) has been activated, but please remember the hotline features the information that has already been disseminated via these other channels; it is in operation for those who may not have internet service for access to the homepage or email. Student phone numbers are automatically registered to receive UNCWAlert emergency notifications by voice and text message. Students should follow these instructions to review or update their contact numbers. UNCW strongly encourages faculty and staff to register for these alerts; please see these instructions (PDF) to register for the service. All students and employees should keep cell phones charged and powered on.
 
ACADEMICS
All classes are canceled, including online courses. Grading and attendance policies are suspended until classes resume. Faculty may reach out to students via Canvas regarding individual class instructions. Students will be notified of plans to make up for lost instructional time.
 
A LOOK AHEAD
The university will continue monitoring the situation in close collaboration with the National Weather Service and state and local agencies and will share any new available information with the university community as soon as authorities are confident in its accuracy. We will announce the date of the resumption of classes and the reopening of classes as soon as a decision is made. Students and employees outside of the area will be given as much notice as possible to return to Wilmington. Thank you for your continued attention. Other resources are available here:
https://www.weather.gov/ilm/

National Hurricane Center