Saturday classes, exams still on as winter weather heads towards Nashville

By Bridgette Begle, Brianne Welch and Cory Woodroof Students with Saturday classes or exams should prepare for tomorrow’s lectures and tests, as Lipscomb University is continuing business as normal. In an email sent to the student body, Assistant Vice President of Communication and Marketing Kim Chaudoin wrote that, as the university continues to watch the weekend’s weather reports, all Saturday events will continue as planned. “As you may be aware, winter weather —  including ice and freezing rain — has affected areas in the western part of Tennessee,” Chaudoin wrote. “We continue to monitor the weather patterns as it relates to the Nashville area. “The latest update from the Nashville bureau of the National Weather Service is that we can expect rain and temperatures in the mid 30s through early evening. Tonight a mixture of rain and sleet is possible and will move out around midnight, with lows dropping into the mid-20s. Saturday will be cloudy with lows in the mid-30s with the possibility of rain. “As a result of this updated weather forecast, university offices, classes, exams and other events will operate on a normal schedule. Students and employees are expected to follow their normal schedules and routines.” A winter weather advisory has been issued for Davidson County from 4 p.m. Friday until midnight. Chaudoin notes that in the event of inclement weather, the university will follow the schedule disruption policy. The university also has a plan in case of an emergency, campus-wide power outage. “The safety of our students is our top priority,” Chaudoin wrote. “We have an emergency plan in place that we continually refine and practice to...

Blackboard sets downtimes for 2013-14 school year

Stephen Kerstiens, Lipscomb’s Blackboard Technical Admin, announced Friday that the university has officially set three times during the school year for regulated site downtime, with the first of these sets starting on Sunday. During the planned downtime, both the Blackboard site and phone app will be unavailable for student use while upgrades are being installed. “As part of our continued commitment to provide an up to date Blackboard environment, the Provosts Office along with the Information Technology Department has scheduled maintenance windows to accommodate the necessary upgrades,” Kerstiens wrote in an email to the Lipscomb community. The first of the temporary shutdowns will begin on Sunday, Aug. 4, at 6 p.m. The site will commence running on Tuesday, Aug. 6, at 12 a.m. Other times are scheduled for winter (Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. through Dec. 22 at 12 a.m.) and early 2014 (March 16 at 6 p.m. until March 18 at 12...