District Alerts
Stay Informed for Your Health and Safety
Our top priority is the safety of all students and employees. When weather, fires, smoke, or other hazards create unsafe conditions, Sierra College carefully considers many factors in making the difficult decision to cancel classes or close campus(es).
Should there be a need for communicating an incident, the primary form of communication will be via email, with other methods utilized depending on severity and immediacy.
The Department of Community Safety is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Active Alert
Types of Alerts
These are the levels of notification available:
| EXAMPLE ALERT GRAPHICS | ALERT TYPES | ALERT DESCRIPTIONS |
|---|---|---|
 | Incident Alert | This Incident Alert notification provides initial awareness about an incident. Examples of incidents include a change to campus access, a community safety concern, or instructional modality (i.e., online or in-person/synchronous or asynchronous.) |
 | Incident Update | Once an alert has gone out, Incident Updates will follow as needed, and will provide more information or give notice that the incident has passed. |
 | Campus Closure | The Campus Closure notification will only be used when there is a mandatory closure of a campus. The alert means campus is closed and no one is allowed on campus. |
When Alerts Are Posted
District-wide applicable day/evening classes and closure determination times are as follows:
Day Classes
- Sierra College day classes start between 7am and 3:45pm
- The status of Sierra College day classes is determined by 6am
Night Classes
- Sierra College evening classes start at 4pm or later
- The status of Sierra College evening classes is determined by 3pm
Nevada County Campus (NCC): Additional Alert Considerations
Since NCC is also home to the Ghidotti Early College High School (NJUHSD) and the Child Development Center (part of the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools [NCSOS]), we consider the needs of these students and consult with both entities in the course of making campus closure decisions, including determining the availability of transportation (buses), student lunches and young drivers.
Where Alerts Are Posted
In addition to sending alerts via email, alerts may also be published in one or more of the following places:
District-Wide
- Banner message at top of sierracollege.edu homepage
- Sierra College Facebook page
- Sierra College mobile app
- Digital monitors
- Alertus notifications on campus computer desktops
- Emergency text messaging RAVE system to students, faculty and staff
Rocklin
- Same methods as district-wide alerts
Nevada County Campus (NCC)
- Same methods as district-wide alerts, plus:
- NCC Facebook page
- NCC alert line message: (530) 274-5300
- Alert sent to YubaNet.com, The Union, KNCO 830 and KVMR
Tahoe-Truckee
- Same methods as district-wide alerts, plus:
- Tahoe-Truckee Facebook page
Roseville
- Same methods as district-wide alerts
Snow Day Policies and Procedures
Faculty and Staff Guidelines for District-Initiated Snow Days
- Classes that are canceled during a campus closure do not need to “make-up” lost time as Sierra College is an FTE-funded institution (based on headcount, not daily attendance).
- If campus is open and you are unable or choose not to report to work, it will be considered an absence and should be reported to your supervisor or the Division office, as appropriate. For faculty who need to cancel classes, please report the cancelation to NCC Admissions and Records or Tahoe-Truckee Admissions and Records.
- For further information or questions about the employee impacts of campus closures (i.e., timesheets, working remote, called in during a closure, etc.), please contact your supervisor, the Office of the Executive Dean, or your Division Office. You can also find information regarding campus closures in your respective Collective Bargaining Agreement or by contacting a Union representative.
Road Conditions
For information on road conditions, call CalTrans Highway Information network at (800) 427-7623, or visit their website at www.dot.ca.gov or www.nvroads.com.
Tahoe-Truckee
General “rule of thumb” for campus closure is: Two or more highways leading into the basin under R2 conditions (chains or 4WD with snow tires). In particular, snow days are determined by the status of Highway 89 from Tahoe City to Truckee, Highway 267 from Kings Beach to Truckee, and I-80 from Reno to Truckee.