Closings and Cancellations

Dean Fried, in consultation with senior staff and other Columbia University officials, may choose to close Columbia Mailman School under certain circumstances, including those days when travel to and from campus may be difficult. If Columbia Mailman is closed, the Allan Rosenfield Building (722 West 168th St.) will remain open for essential staff unless otherwise noted. Teaching faculty may also decide to hold classes off campus or via Zoom. 

Remote Learning

In cases where your class may not be able to meet on campus, please determine the appropriate remote learning option to replace in person class time and ensure course continuity. See Remote Learning Plan: Guidelines for Faculty.

The University has made Zoom available to all faculty and teaching fellows who needs to conduct a class remotely. Instructors should contact the appropriate department administrator or academic liaison to receive a link to a specific Zoom classroom meeting. Once the link has been created, instructors should invite students to the Zoom session via Canvas or email.

Class Cancellation Procedure

If the School remains open but faculty must cancel class, they are expected to take these steps:

  • Inform the Office of Enrollment Management of the cancellation: Cancellations and any questions should be directed to Carlos Correa, Director for Enrollment Services (cc3665@cumc.columbia.edu). 

  • Notify the students: If available to the professor, an email should be sent to the class roster, as soon as possible and preferably by 5:00 a.m. to accommodate the needs of commuting students. Faculty may choose other methods of communicating class cancellations.

Closing Updates

When appropriate, timely information will available online, via email, and by calling University Security.

Related CUIMC Resources

Please note that Columbia Mailman School will comply with any advisories issued by the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. CUMC's Facilities Management & Campus Services maintain timely listings of all facilities alerts and outages. To keep up with outages, ongoing improvements, or facilities maintenance please review and/or sign up for facilities alerts.

Please report any unsafe conditions, such as building floods, falling ice, or flying debris from nearby buildings and/or construction sites, to CUIMC Facilities Management immediately at 212-305-HELP (4357), option 3. After-hours, call Public Safety at 212-305-8100. 

Reminders from CUIMC Facilities Management

Before you leave each day:

  • Close all windows to prevent drafts and frozen pipes. If you cannot fully close your window, please call CUIMC Facilities Management at 212-305-HELP (4357), option 3, for support.

  • Turn off computers, lights, and other equipment.

  • Move electrical or valuable items off the floor and away from windows.

  • If your lab or experiments depend on electricity, make sure critical equipment is plugged into outlets that are backed up by emergency power. If you are not sure which outlets are on emergency power, contact CUIMC Facilities Management at 212-305-HELP (4357), option 3.

  • Make sure all faucets are off.

  • Review our winter safety tips to help you stay safe.

For real-time weather information, visit the National Weather Service or sign up for Notify NYC, the city’s official source for emergency information. You may also sign up for campus and building-specific alerts.

CUIMC Facilities Management, Public Safety, and Environmental Health and Safety are available to assist with campus, building, laboratory, or other issues that may arise. For CUIMC Facilities, call 212-305-HELP (4357), option 3. For Public Safety, call 212-305-8100 for routine matters or 212-305-7979 for an on-campus emergency. For problems in research laboratories, call Environmental Health and Safety at 212-305-6780.