
Emergency Information
Public Safety Status Report
- For information regarding HCC's current status and its response to COVID-19, visit howardcc.edu/coronavirus
- For the status of Laurel College Center, check the status of Prince George's Community College.
- For emergencies, call HCC Public Safety at 443-518-5555; for non-emergencies, call 443-518-5500.
- To receive immediate notification of HCC emergencies and closing/delayed openings, subscribe to the free Mobile Alert System detailed below.
- For the status of performing arts events on campus, call the Horowitz Center Box Office hotline at 443-518-4030.
- Students and employees, please be advised of traffic and parking changes due to the Howard County vaccination clinic.
Definitions for Operations Status
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Code Yellow
If conditions are such that the college might typically close early or open late, then:
- All hybrid classes will move to remote instruction and remote or online classes will continue as planned. For hybrid labs and clinicals, please check Canvas for further direction from your instructors.
- Scheduled remote classes will continue as usual.
- Hybrid classes will move to scheduled remote.
- Online courses would continue as usual.
- The college is open, but employees should telework and not come to campus during the code yellow period of time. If an emergency situation occurs and a non-facilities employee needs to come to campus, they should park in one of the garages.
- Cafe on the Quad will not open.
- All hybrid classes will move to remote instruction and remote or online classes will continue as planned. For hybrid labs and clinicals, please check Canvas for further direction from your instructors.
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Code Red
If conditions are such that the college would typically close, then:
- All scheduled remote, and hybrid classes are canceled, however, online (asynchronous learning) may continue as needed, but a “snow day” is announced for students.
- The college is closed, including office operations. The campus is closed to employees. No one should come to campus other than designated facilities staff and designated public safety personnel. A “snow day” is announced for college employees and should be recorded on time sheets, accordingly.
- The Cafe on the Quad will not open.
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Information for Employees
During inclement weather days, the following scenarios could occur for employees:
Power or Internet outages
If a power outage occurs at your remote worksite during a Code Yellow and is two hours or less, notify your supervisor and you will not have to make up the time. If the time extends past the two hours, you can feel free to make up the time you were unable to work over the two hours in the evening or longer hours the next day.
However, if the power outage extends more than a day at your remote worksite when the Code Yellow weather protocol has been activated, you will need to use leave.
If the power outage extends more than a day at your remote worksite with no inclement weather emergency, you will need to come to campus to do your job or use leave.
Different weather conditions in your area
All weather closings and Code Yellow and Red decisions are made based on the college campus in Columbia.
If it is a Code Yellow, you are expected to work remotely. If you live in an area that has weather conditions that are significantly worse than the Columbia campus, you can ask to take leave (personal or vacation) to clean your driveway or take care of other emergency situations at your home. You can also request to make up the time off later in the day. In all circumstances, you will need to notify your supervisor.
If it is a Code Red, no one but designated Facilities level 1 essential personnel and designated Public Safety personnel will be expected to work.
Unexpected Weather Events
If an unexpected weather event occurs while employees or students may be on campus. A Code Yellow or Red decision will be announced as soon as possible.
Emergency Closing Policies
There are several ways to check on the status of an HCC emergency or weather-related closing/delayed opening:
- The HCC website homepage is updated with an announcement and will link to this page if there are details.
- Subscribers to the HCC Mobile Alert System will receive a message on their designated device, if the Closings & Delays option was selected. Click here for more information on how to subscribe to this free, optional service for students and employees.
- The HCC switchboard number (443-518-1000) has a recorded message about the status.
- Many radio and television stations in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area are notified. However, for the most timely and accurate updates, please check one of the official college sources listed above.
- When the radio/TV stations announce that Howard County Public Schools are closed, Howard Community College Continuing Education classes held at those schools will be canceled.
Late Opening Policy
If the college has a late opening and there is 30 minutes or more of time left in a scheduled class at the late opening time, that particular class will meet for the remainder of the class time. For example, if your class runs from 11 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. and the college opens at 12 p.m., then your class would still be held.
Early Closing Policy
If the college will be closing early and there will be 30 minutes or more of time available for a scheduled class before the college closes, that particular class will meet during the available time. For example, if your class meets from 4:30 to 5:50 p.m. and the college closes at 5:30 p.m., your class would still be held.
Laurel College Center Policy
The Laurel College Center follows the closings and delays of Prince George's Community College. In the case of inclement weather, please watch for announcements for Prince George's Community College, or, call: 1-866-228-6110, or 443-518-4162. These phone numbers are continually updated with information about closings and delays.