School/Class Cancellations & Delays

2007-2008 SCHOOL CANCELLATIONS, DELAYED OPENING
OR EARLY CLOSING PROCEDURE
*** September 2007 ***

When it is necessary to cancel school, delay opening or close early because of weather or special emergency, the procedures listed below should be followed:

1. The Dean of Students will consult with Maintenance, Campus Police and Highway/Traffic Departments while the Registrar will consult current weather conditions and extended forecasts.  Based on the information from those contacts, the VP for Academic Affairs will decide to cancel, delay opening or close early.
2. The VP for Academic Affairs will contact the VP/CFO to initiate the call-in announcement on the main switchboard, posting on the website and BlackBoard main pages. The Registrar will contact the radio stations to broadcast an announcement. The Dean of Students will contact Food Services, Maintenance and Housekeeping staffs for support services, as necessary.
3. Staff members and students are responsible for listening to announcements on local radio stations:  WTAG 580 AM, WBZ 1030 AM, WORC 1310 AM, WSRS 96.1 FM, WORC 98.9 FM and WXLO 104.5 FM, on local television stations:  WBZ Channel 4, WCVB Channel 5 and WHDH Channel 7, or calling in to the main telephone number at the College for the recorded message (generally, the earliest form of notification):

(508) 373-9599 - direct

(508) 791-9241; option #7 - through switchboard

(877) 523-2537; option #7 - switchboard toll free 

The decision to cancel day classes will be made by 6:30 a.m. The decision to cancel evening classes will be made by 3:00 p.m. and will be announced on the same radio and television stations.

Announcements will be broadcast as follows:

• “All day classes (for that day) at Worcester and Leicester campuses are cancelled.”
• “First period classes are cancelled.”  (In cases where first period classes are cancelled, another announcement will be aired at 8:00 a.m. regarding the status of classes for the remainder of the day.)
• “All evening classes (for that day) at Worcester and Leicester campuses are cancelled.”

Announcements for Accelerated program cohorts on the Worcester and Leicester campuses will fall into the day and evening announcements as outlined above.  Specific cohorts attending sessions off-campus in various locations will be notified at the direction of the Dean for Accelerated and Professional Studies.

Leicester Preschool

If the Leicester Public Schools are cancelled or delayed due to inclement weather, the Becker College Preschool is closed.  Announcements are made on the radio (WSRS 96.1 and WTAG 580) by 7:00 AM (the preschool doesn't open until 9:00 a.m. so the announcement time is appropriate).  A message on the call-in phone is recorded to confirm the cancellation.