Authorized Closings and Inclement Weather

The safety of the Virginia Tech community is our top priority. In times of inclement weather or other situations, it may be necessary for the university to close or delay opening the Blacksburg, Virginia campus or other campus locations across the state. 

Decisions to alter the normal schedule for the university are made as quickly as possible and are communicated to faculty, staff, students and the community using the following official Virginia Tech information sources:

• University Status page
• www.vt.edu
• Twitter @vtalerts
• Broadcast emails to all vt.edu accounts
• Electronic message boards in classrooms and common spaces
• The weather/emergency hotline (540-231-6668)
  
• Official messages during emergencies and other incidents will come from the following social media accounts:
  
  • Virginia Tech
    • Twitter: twitter.com/virginia_tech
    • Facebook: facebook.com/virginiatech
  • VT Alerts
    • Twitter: twitter.com/vtalerts
  • Virginia Tech Police
    • Twitter: twitter.com/vatechpolice
    • Facebook: facebook.com/VirginiaTechPolice
  • Virginia Tech Emergency Management
    • Twitter:  twitter.com/behokieready
    • Facebook: facebook.com/BeHokieReady

Note: These are the only official Virginia Tech information sources for authorized closings and delayed openings for the Blacksburg campus and facilities in the immediate Blacksburg area (excluding off-campus extension offices). As a public service, information will be sent to local media outlets; however, Virginia Tech is not responsible for inaccurate reporting of information on local media outlets. Employees are strongly advised to check the University Status page, or other official Virginia Tech sources listed above for information regarding closings or delays for inclement weather.

Extended locations

Off-campus offices, including the graduate centers, extension offices, and research stations, may operate on different closing schedules. Directors of off-campus facilities will use the University Status page as well as local media to communicate closing decisions to their employees and the public according to their emergency communications plans. The university's video-conferencing classes will be cancelled when the Blacksburg campus is closed; with the exception of video conference class lectures originating from the Falls Church, Northern Virginia Center.

In the event of a Blacksburg campus closing, Northern Virginia Center faculty will have the option to either record their lecture in their regularly scheduled time slot or request a makeup recording of the class at a later date. Requests to record during a Blacksburg campus closing will be handled at a reduced level of service by Digital Media Services on site at the Northern Virginia Center. Class recordings will be processed for video on demand and posted to the Digital Media Services servers within two business days after the Blacksburg campus resumes normal operations.

Directors of off-campus facilities will communicate closing decisions to employees of their respective facilities according to their emergency communication plan.

Authorized closings

The following rules will apply unless otherwise stated in closing announcements:

• For a delayed opening, the university will close beginning at 12:01 a.m. of that day until the stated opening time.
• For an all-day closing, the university will be closed beginning at 12:01 a.m. of that day and will re-open at 12:01 a.m. of the next work day.
• For an early closing, the university will be closed from the stated time of the day until midnight of that same day.

The Division of Human Resources will provide specific instructions to department leave representatives following each authorized closing. All authorized closing leave and time worked must be recorded in the university's leave system.

Note: Authorized closing applies to the Blacksburg, Virginia campus or other specific campus locations across the state. During an authorized closing:

• Designated emergency personnel are required to work, as needed, and will receive authorized closing leave. Time worked should be reported as Authorized Closing Worked (ACW).
• Personnel who wholly perform their duties at the employer’s central workplace are not required to work and will receive authorized closing leave. Such periods of leave should be reported as Authorized Closing (AC).
• Personnel who work fully remote or hybrid schedules are expected to continue working their normal schedule at their alternate work site and will not receive authorized closing leave. If employees who telework on authorized telework arrangements are not able to do so due to a power outage or other condition preventing the ability to work during an authorized closing, they should consult immediately with their supervisor. 

Delayed/early closings

University Relations will notify the university community by VT Alerts in the case of a delayed or early closing. Once notified by University Relations, employees should follow their departmental or unit communication plan to ensure that each of their areas has received the information about the closing, including those who may be working in labs, classrooms, or other areas of their buildings.