Boston-Area Schools Differ in Snow Day Decisions

UPDATED: February 25, 2015, at 4:27 a.m.

Despite shutting down operations three times this semester in what has been Boston’s second snowiest season on record, Harvard has remained open more often than many other area schools, including Northeastern and Boston University.

Northeastern shut down for six days, while Boston University trailed close behind with five days of closures. Like Harvard, Boston College shut down for three days but also had a delayed start at 10:30 a.m. on a day when some other schools suspended operations.

Officials from all schools said that the safety of students and employees played a large role in their decision-making processes. While they acknowledged that the ability of employees to safely commute to campus is a priority, some disagreed about how the availability of public transportation factors into snow day decisions.

Harvard University has cancelled classes three times this semester, fewer than some other area schools. By Zorigoo Tugsbayar

University Executive Vice President Katie N. Lapp said that because many of Harvard’s employees commute to the University by public transportation, MBTA closures make it very difficult for the University to continue operations. As at Harvard, officials at Northeastern said the closure of the MBTA was the primary cause of two different snow days.

“It’s not an issue of whether the students can get to class. We have 4,000 faculty and staff that live all over eastern Mass., some live in New Hampshire, some live in Rhode Island. We need faculty to teach and we need staff to run the institution,” said Michael Armini, Northeastern's senior vice president for external affairs.

Boston College spokesperson Jack Dunn said the school does not heavily consider the running of the MBTA in its decisions because its location in Newton, Mass., is relatively less accessible by public transportation. He said the main safety factors that Boston College considers include the safety of students and employees on campus.

Officials also reported different policies for making up lost class time lost due to snow days. At Harvard, individual instructors dealt with the cancelations in a variety of ways, ranging from holding makeup classes at night to hosting sessions over Skype, according Dean of Undergraduate Education Jay M. Harris. There also exists no formal class makeup policy at Boston College, Dunn said.

Meanwhile, other universities have established a more formal system of making up classes. After six days of class cancellation this semester, Northeastern has now designated two days in April—which were formally school holidays—fully-operating school days. Boston University has assigned two Saturdays, Feb. 28 and March 21, as regular school days, when all classes will meet as if it were a weekday.