This post will be updated as information is available. Last updated on Friday, Jan. 17th at 10:20 p.m.
This message was sent from Amy Gort, Metropolitan State University Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic & Student Affairs:
All classes at the St. Paul, Midway, North Hennepin Community College, and Education MN locations will be held as scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020. Classes at the LECJEC and Minneapolis College locations are canceled. St. Paul and Midway campus locations and services will be open as scheduled.
| Metropolitan State University Campus/Location |
Address | Status for 1/18/20 |
|---|---|---|
|
St. Paul |
700 E. 7thSt., St. Paul, 55016 |
Classes will be held as scheduled. |
|
Midway (MDWY) |
1450 Energy Park Drive, St. Paul, 55108 |
Classes will be held as scheduled. |
|
Minneapolis (MEC) |
MCTC campus, at 13th St. and Harmon Place, 55403 |
Minneapolis College campus is closed and all classes are canceled. |
|
Brooklyn Park (LECJEC) |
Hennepin Technical College Campus, 9110 Brooklyn Blvd., Brooklyn Park, 55445 |
Hennepin Technical College campus is closed and all classes are canceled. |
|
Midway (EPP) |
1380 Energy Ln., St. Paul, 55018 |
Classes will be held as scheduled. |
| Metropolitan State University Courses at Partner Campus/Location | Address | Status for 1/18/20 |
| Education MN | 41 Sherburne Ave., St. Paul, 55103 | Classes will be held as scheduled |
| North Hennepin Community College (NHCC) | 7411 85th Avenue North, Brooklyn Park, 55445 | Campus buildings open at 9:30 a.m.; all classes after 10:00 a.m. will be held as scheduled. |
Please use caution when traveling and plan extra time.
Tomorrow the St. Paul and Midway campus locations will be open as scheduled and employees are expected to report for work according to their schedule. If you are concerned about your travel safety, please consult with your supervisor as quickly as possible to determine your options for work at home or vacation time.
Since our students travel from varying distances to attend our classes, we ask that faculty be as flexible as possible with students who report that their travel to class would be unsafe even when the University has not canceled classes.
Metropolitan State University has a few characteristics that are distinct from other educational institutions: our classes are typically scheduled to meet one time a week so that every missed class session is equivalent to a week of instruction; we offer classes at many locations across the Twin Cities that are far enough apart to experience different weather conditions; and all of our students are commuting to their campus location and travel varying distances.
Decision Timeline
We will typically make decisions about winter weather-related cancelations or closures each day (as opposed to the evening before) and by the following times:
5 a.m. for morning classes
9 a.m. for afternoon classes
3 p.m. for evening classes
Decision Factors
In making the decisions we consider snow accumulation rates, mixed precipitation, wind strength, wind chill, and travel conditions that lead to MnDOT indicating that travel is not advised, or significant public transit disruption/closure. Our threshold for canceling classes or closing the campus is different from that used by local school districts and you should not automatically expect that we will cancel classes or close if K-12 schools are closed.
Various Locations
Please remember that Metropolitan State offers classes at locations throughout the Twin Cities. We will be consulting with our partner campus locations to determine conditions in their area and whether or not they will be open or closed. In general, if a partner campus location is open and offering its classes, we expect our scheduled classes will be meeting also. We will provide information by class location.
Where to find weather related announcements
The two primary modes of communication for weather announcements are your university email and the university’s website, metrostate.edu. We will also provide information to WCCO which you can access on AM-Radio 830, WCCO TV Channel 4, or at https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/school-closings/. Based on feedback about significant time delays last year, we will not use the Star Alert system to notify the campus community about weather-related cancelations or closures.
If classes are canceled, the University is still open and employees are expected to report for work as regularly scheduled. If you are concerned about your travel safety, please consult with your supervisor as quickly as possible to determine your options for work at home or vacation time.
Since our students travel from varying distances to attend our classes, we ask that faculty be as flexible as possible with students who report that their travel to class would be unsafe even when the University has not canceled classes.
Support for Remote Classes and Meetings
If you are interested in learning how to use Zoom to hold classes or meetings remotely when the weather conditions are poor, see the following opportunities. Zoom is a web conferencing application that allows users to host live audio & video interactions with individuals or groups. Zoom can be used on desktops, mobile devices, and laptops, and is available to any Minnesota State staff or students. Introduction to Zoom will teach faculty how to create meetings and explore the recording functions of Zoom.
Tutorial Link: https://services.metrostate.edu/TDClient/1839/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=83266
Faculty have also reported that Voicethread is another useful tool for remote classes. Voicethread is a media player that has discussion elements incorporated into it. Instructors and/or students can upload multimedia objects (pictures, videos, presentations, documents), and others can record comments, engaging in a conversation about the topic. Viewers can record audio, video, and/or text comments on the object, including whiteboard-style drawings. When finished, they can review the recording and submit. All comment submissions can be seen on both a sidebar as well as a timeline at the bottom of the screen.
Tutorial Link: https://voicethread.com/howto/category/creating-web-application/