College Closings

Weather-related Closings

When severe weather and other emergencies occur that impact classes or other campus activities, announcements are made on local radio and TV stations, posted on the College website [1], posted on the official college Facebook [2] and Twitter [3] pages, and noted on the College switchboard recording.

Students and others who have business at HCC are cautioned to listen for specific mention of HCC being closed, since the College does not always close when weather conditions make it necessary for the Washington County Public Schools to close.

Off-Campus Locations

HCC holds classes at various community locations, including its Valley Mall Center, Commercial Vehicle Transportation Center at Volvo Powertrain, area high schools, and hospitals. Classes held at off-site facilities are subject to the following cancellation or delayed start procedures:

• If HCC is closed or has a delayed opening due to inclement weather, classes scheduled at off-site locations are also cancelled or delayed.
   
• If HCC is closed or has a delayed opening due to an emergency situation which affects only its main campus, classes held at off-site locations will run as scheduled unless specified otherwise.
   
• If HCC is open and the off-site facility has issued a closing or schedule change, then HCC classes held there will follow the schedule change issued by the off-site facility.

Externships/Clinicals & Internships

Students involved in internships or externships /clinicals at off-campus locations should adhere to the following procedures:

• Nursing Clinicals
  The HCC Nursing Division will notify students in a timely manner of any class, lab, or clinical affiliation cancellations due to inclement weather.
  
  Procedure           
  1. In the event of severe weather, delays in opening the college, or cancellation of classes, it will be communicated via the procedure established by the college.  Students should refer to the college student handbook for more detailed information.
  
  2. If the college opens late on a class day, nursing students will report to class at the delayed time.
  3. If the college closes before the start of a clinical affiliation, the scheduled experience is cancelled.
  
  4. If the college closes during a clinical affiliation, clinical faculty will make the decision about whether to remain at the clinical site or send students home.
  
  5. If the college has a delayed opening and reopens before the start of a clinical affiliation, students are expected to report to the clinical facility unless otherwise directed by their clinical instructor.
  
  6. If the college remains open, but nursing faculty determine that the clinical affiliation should be delayed or cancelled, students will be notified by their nursing instructor via an established phone tree.
  
  7. Class or clinical time may be made up at the discretion of the faculty.
  
  For more information, contact the Nursing Division at 240-500-2380 or email jmmclaughlin@hagerstowncc.edu [4].
   
• Health Sciences Externships
  Health Sciences students are not permitted to be at a clinical or externship site when the College is closed. When the College opens, you are expected to arrive at your clinical site.  If you arrive at a clinical site before the College announces a delay in opening, please contact your instructor.  It is always important for students to contact and leave a message for their clinical/externship instructors. These instructors will respond to your message. 
  
  For more information, contact the Workplace Learning Advisor for Externships/Clinicals at 240-500-2606 or email cakeller@hagerstowncc.edu [5]
   
• Internships
  During times of inclement weather, interns should contact their site supervisor for information on whether the site will be open, delayed, or closed and adjust their schedule accordingly.
  
  For more information, contact the Coordinator of Internship and Job Services at 240-500-2260 or email basaunders@hagerstowncc.edu [6].

College Policy

The College does everything it can to keep the campus safe and productive during inclement weather. During periods when serve weather is forecasted, HCC officials are in regular contact with weather specialists and county and regional roads departments.

Since travel conditions are not the same for all students in the tri-state area, the College policy is to remain open, if possible, for those students who can attend during inclement weather. However, when weather conditions are so severe, HCC does close and all classes and campus activities are canceled.

It is College policy to treat student and employee tardiness and absences very liberally on inclement weather days. All faculty and staff understand that on challenging weather days, students are not to be penalized if they are unable to make it to class or are late to arrive. In such cases, students need to contact their faculty members (preferably through email in advance of the scheduled class) indicating that they have special weather-related circumstances that prevent their attendance.

Inclement Weather Announcements

Inclement weather closings will be posted on the homepage of the HCC website, as well as on the official college Facebook [2] and Twitter [3] pages. HCC also contacts several local television and radio stations. The following electronic media outlets are contacted with schedule-related announcements:

• WHAG-TV (NBC-25)
• WARK – 1490 AM
• WWEG – 106.9 FM
• WAYZ – 104.7 FM
• WCHA – 800 AM
• WCRH – 90.5 FM
• WDLD – 96.7 FM
• WFMD – 930 AM
• WHAG – 1410 AM
• WIKZ – 95.1 FM
• WJEJ – 1240 AM
• WLTF – 97.5 FM
• WQCM – 94.3 FM
• WPPT – 92.1 FM
• WBHB – 101.5 FM  

Emergency Alert System

Students, staff, and faculty can also sign up for HCC's emergency alert system e2Campus. e2Campus is an automated messaging system that sends messages to your cell phone and college email account in the event of a college closing or weather-related delay. To sign up, go to the emergency alerts sign-up page [7].

Community Organizations

The following organizations have directed members to follow HCC’s decision with regard to closing and delays for their events and activities:

• Greater Hagerstown Committee
• Hagerstown-Washington County Chamber of Commerce
• The Washington County Recreation Department
• GED Testing, MSDE

For more information about weather-related closings, contact the Office of Public Information at 240-500-2265, or email elkirkpatrick@hagerstowncc.edu [8].