Penn State recently shared this year's procedures for winter weather closures, which include the return of "snow days" for some employees.
The Nov. 11 release said non-essential employees are not expected to work from home when a storm accompanied with hazards like "heavy snow accumulation, icy roads, flooding, etc." leads the university to close a campus. They will now be paid whether or not they work during a closure.
That's a change from COVID times, when non-essential workers were expected to work remotely or use vacation time when a campus was closed.
"It's just a return to the university's normal, pre-pandemic procedures," said a university spokesperson.
Essential workers are still expected to work during a weather closure, but they'll receive compensatory time for the hours worked.
According to the release, "Employees should clarify their status as essential or nonessential with their supervisor before inclement weather strikes."
The Applied Research Laboratory, or ARL, has its own separate policies for weather closures.
More information about how the university handles weather day closedowns is in Penn State's Human Resources Guideline 10.
Procedures for classes remain the same.
For in-person and hybrid classes, instructors can cancel them or give asynchronous work, like videos or assignments for students to work through on their own time. Web classes will continue as usual.