Winter weather update: No classes on location or exams on Wednesday, 7 January

Utrecht University has decided that there will be no classes on location on Wednesday 7 January, and that exams will be cancelled. In addition, staff are asked to work from home where possible. The decision was made because tomorrow the KNMI has announced a code orange weather warning for the entire country.  In addition, there will be no buses running in Utrecht, at least for part of the morning. Also Rijkswaterstaat advises people to work from home due to the poor visibility predicted as a result of the winter weather. 

On Tuesday afternoon, the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) announced that a code orange warning applies to the whole country on Wednesday morning external link external link (with the exception of Limburg and the Waddeneilanden). U-OV has announced that no buses will run on Wednesday 7 January until at least 10 a.m. external link external link In addition, Rijkswaterstaat has asked people external link external link to work from home if possible, as the KNMI is forecasting 3 to 7 centimeters of snow and poor visibility during the morning rush hour. 

Exceptional circumstances
The combination of these factors has led Utrecht University to decide that there will be no classes on location on Wednesday either, to cancel exams, to close several educational buildings, and to ask staff to work from home where possible.

“We realise that this is a far-reaching measure, for example for students who have prepared for an exam,” said Wilco Hazeleger, Rector Magnificus. “And that we are also asking teachers to be flexible and look for online alternatives for their lectures for the third day. It is not usual for us to take such measures for code orange, and we have therefore not taken this decision lightly. Due to the impact, we will continue to look at the situation on a daily basis and not for the whole week.”

Hazeleger added: “We see that many students and staff are unable to reach the university due to these exceptional circumstances. In order to avoid uncertainty among staff and students about whether they should come to the university in the afternoon for classes/exams if code yellow is expected to apply again, this decision applies to the whole of Wednesday and not just to the morning.”

“Many lecturers have provided online teaching yesterday and today, thereby offering students alternatives to on-campus education,” Hazeleger said. “We would like to thank them for their efforts, and we understand that many faculties are currently making preparations for online education.”

Staff should consult with their line manager about whether they will work from home or from the office. Students are asked to keep an eye on their digital learning environment (Brightspace) for updates from lecturers regarding any replacement online teaching. Students are informed by their own department when exams are rescheduled or can be rescheduled. 

Some educational buildings closed
As there will be no teaching on location on Wednesday 7 January, several educational buildings will be closed. These are:

Janskerkhof 15a
Israëlslaan 118
Educatorium
Marinus Ruppert Building
Daltonlaan 500

Utrecht University will provide an update each day this week by no later than 10.00 pm regarding teaching on the following day. Please keep an eye on the intranet, the Student Site, or uu.nl for further information.