Campus Snow Closures

During the winter season, we want students, faculty, and staff to know expectations for teaching, learning, and working if campus is affected by inclement weather.

The past three years, campus experienced several powerful snowstorms, necessitating late starts, early dismissals, and campus closures. As a result, CU Denver revisited its policies, in collaboration with our Auraria Campus partners, to ensure a safe and equitable learning environment for all.

Here’s what you need to know:

Stay up to date on weather-related closures or delays:

In the event of a campus closure, delayed start or early dismissal, you will receive a text message and/or email with current information. You can also call 1-877-556-3637 or visit www.ahec.edu or CU Denver Twitter and other social media channels after 5:30 a.m.

If weather conditions necessitate a closure


Any individual mandatory attendance policies for specific classes are suspended if campus is closed. Faculty should not require students to attend a class when campus is closed due to inclement weather.   

If campus is open during inclement weather, we encourage students, faculty, and staff to use their judgment as to their ability to reach campus safely. Students should communicate with faculty, faculty with their department chairs, and staff with their supervisors if they feel unable to reach campus in a safe manner.

Campus Closure

A campus closure is applicable to all students, meaning that both in-person and online classes are canceled for the day. Inclement weather may cause a disruption in communication channels and internet access, and in order to provide a consistent learning experience, all students will follow closure protocols.

Delayed Starts

If a class is scheduled to begin after early dismissal time, it is canceled. If a class straddles release time, it is canceled. For example, if campus is closing at 2 p.m., a class that runs from 1 – 3 p.m. is canceled. The same is true if inclement weather necessitates a delayed start. If the campus will open at 10 a.m. and a class runs from 9 to 11 a.m., it is canceled.

How we determine campus closures

Inclement weather decisions are always made collectively and cooperatively by the members of the Auraria Executive Council (AEC) or their designees, which includes leadership from each of the three educational institutions on campus (CU Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and Community College of Denver), as well as AHEC (Auraria Higher Education Center).

AEC members receive information directly from the National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder and also consult with AHEC Facilities Services and Emergency Management. Before and during a storm, AHEC officials participate in public-safety conference calls with the NWS and consult with campus safety officials. The officials then evaluate the information with Facilities Services to gauge the team’s ability to keep the campus accessible and safe.

Contact Information