System Procedure 1A.10.1 Long-Term Emergency Management

System Procedures
 Chapter 1A - System & Office Operations

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for Board Policy 1A.10

Part 1. Authority and purpose. Board Policy 1A.10 Long-Term Emergency Management governs the operations of the colleges, universities and the system office in the event of a long-term emergency (seven days or more); Board Policy 4.4 Weather/Emergency Closing governs short-term closings (six days or fewer). Each college, university and the system office shall adopt policies and procedures to implement the provisions of Board Policy 1A.10 and this procedure. Declaration of a long term emergency under Board Policy 1A.10 is not subject to appeal.

Part 2. Definitions. The definitions in Board Policy 1A.10 apply to this procedure.

Part 3. All-hazards plan. Each college, university and the system office shall develop and maintain an all-hazards plan that shall be reviewed at least every five years and updated or amended as necessary. The plan consists of the three sections used to respond to, stabilize and recover from any short or long term emergency. The all-hazards plan must address emergency preparedness, continuity of operations and crisis intervention. The plan shall be developed in accordance with guidelines developed and administered by the system office in accordance with state and federal directions. Each college, university and the system office must determine the sections of the all-hazards plan that contain non-public data that shall not be disclosed and shall insure continued proper maintenance of government data.

Subpart A. The system office all-hazards plan shall include:

  1. Guidelines describing the assignment and succession of authority and responsibility when a long-term emergency closure has been declared.
  2. Procedures to address academic and student affairs issues during a long-term emergency closure.
  3. Actions to be taken to safeguard and protect student and staff data needed for implementation of long-term emergency actions. The data will enable the system office to accurately and fairly report the impacts of the declaration and enable return to service as soon as practical. The plan shall safeguard data in accordance with Board Policy 5.23 and applicable state and federal data privacy laws and regulations.
  4. A communications component that addresses information needs of current and prospective students and their emergency contacts, employees, and the community.
    1. The communications component shall identify methods for communicating to and receiving information from the institutional community including information on the nature of the emergency and its impact on employees and students.
    2. Information regarding the college or university action and response to a long term emergency may be made available to students and employees if not protected non-public information.

Subpart B. The all-hazards plan at each college and university shall include:

  1. Guidelines describing the assignment and succession of authority and responsibility when a long-term emergency closure has been declared.
  2. Procedures to address academic and student affairs issues for on- and off-campus students and students enrolled in on-line courses during a long-term emergency closure including graduation and the granting of degrees. The plan must address appropriate procedures for international students (as defined in Board Policy 3.4) in the case of a semester suspension or cancellation including such matters as housing, visa status and travel.
  3. Actions to be taken to safeguard and protect student and staff data needed for implementation of long-term emergency actions. The data will enable the college or university to accurately and fairly report the impacts of the declaration and enable return to service as soon as practical. The plans shall safeguard data in accordance with Board Policy 5.23 and applicable state and federal data privacy laws and regulations.
  4. A communications component that addresses information needs of current students and their emergency contacts, employees, and the community.
    1. The communications component shall identify methods for communicating to and receiving information from the institutional community including information on the nature of the emergency and its impact on employees and students.
    2. Information regarding the college or university action and response to a long term emergency may be made available to students and employees if not protected non-public information.
    3. Colleges and universities shall make best efforts to give students notice of a long-term emergency closure as soon as practical.
  6. Procedures for continuing or suspending the admissions process during times of suspension or cancellation.
  7. Procedures for addressing student financial aid consistent with state and federal laws and regulations.

Part 4. Effects of Long-Term Emergency Closure.

Subpart A. Scope of long term emergency closure. A president or the chancellor may declare a long-term emergency closure in accordance with Board Policy 1A.10 applicable institution-wide, or to a campus, portion of a campus, instructional site, or program of the institution. A president or the chancellor may revise by declaration a short term closure under Board Policy 4.4 to a long-term emergency closure.

Subpart B. Long-term emergency cancellation before completion of two-thirds of the semester. When a long-term emergency cancellation occurs before completion of two-thirds of the semester, the following shall apply:

  1. All registrations for the semester directly affected by the long-term cancellation shall be dropped with no effect on a student's academic standing except as provided in this subpart.
  2. Students registered for off-campus internships, practicum, study abroad, travel study, clinical experiences, research courses, or capstone courses shall comply with directives of host organizations in coordination with the college or university.
  3. The amount of time allowed for completion of existing incomplete grades in courses, from a prior semester, shall be extended twelve months from the resumption of classes. Any extension must be documented in the student's file for financial aid and other purposes.

Subpart C. Long-term emergency cancellation after completion of two thirds of the semester. When a long-term emergency cancellation occurs after completion of two-thirds but before the end of a semester, the following shall apply:

  1. If, after consultation with the faculty, the president determines the semester to be completed and ended, faculty shall award grades to the extent possible based on the portion of the semester completed. If a faculty member determines that insufficient information exists on which to base a student's grade for the completed term, the faculty member may award a grade of "PE," denoting pass under extraordinary circumstances. A grade of "PE" shall not be included in the computation of a student's grade point average.
  2. Students registered for off-campus internships, practicum, study abroad, travel study, clinical experiences, research courses, or capstone courses shall comply with directives of host organizations in coordination with the college or university.
  3. Where a minimum grade in a specific course is required for purposes of satisfying course prerequisites or credential, licensing or similar requirements, the college or university shall allow the student who received the PE in the course to either complete the canceled portion of the course with the faculty member or re-enroll in the course at no additional charge for tuition. The option provided to the student shall be at the discretion of the college or university.

Subpart D. Occupational or professional licensure or certification requirements.When an interruption of learning due to a long-term closure occurs and prevents students enrolled in programs that prepare graduates for occupational or professional licensure or certification from completing requirements, a semester or calendar modification or alternate delivery for affected program courses may be established by the college or university.

Subpart E. Study abroad and travel study programs.

  1. Study abroad and travel study programs may be continued, canceled or suspended in accordance with this procedure, independently from a decision to continue, suspend or cancel campus activities.
  2. In consultation with public health officials, a college or university may limit access to campus by individuals returning from locations affected by serious health concerns.

Subpart F. Admissions. If a student is admitted to begin in a specific semester that is canceled, that admission shall be continued to the next operating semester unless the student requests to further defer the enrollment start.

Subpart G. Employees. In the event of a long-term closure, employees should consult applicable bargaining agreement and personnel plan provisions and directions from supervisors. All relevant terms and conditions of the bargaining agreements and personnel plans remain in effect, unless altered by declaration of an emergency under Minnesota Statutes §12 or changes approved by the agency responsible for the bargaining agreement or personnel plan.

Part 5. Reporting. A college or university that declares a long-term emergency closure under Board Policy 1A.10 shall submit a report to the system office concerning that emergency and efforts to restore operations following resumption of normal activities. The report will be consistent with the guidelines contained in the system All Hazards Planning Guide.

Related Documents:

System Procedure History:

Date of Adoption: 06/02/08
Date of Implementation: 07/01/08
Date of Last Review:

Date & Subject of Amendments:

1/25/12 - The Chancellor amends all current system procedures effective February 15, 2012, to change the term "Office of the Chancellor" to "system office" or similar term reflecting the grammatical context of the sentence.

Additional HISTORY.

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