“Based on the snow we received along the lakeshore as well as the temperatures, it was deemed classes should be canceled,” said Brandon DeHaan, assistant director of public safety at Grand Valley State.

After initially delaying all morning classes, severe weather coordinators at Ferris State University informed students that all classes, activities and events for the day would be canceled, university spokeswoman Leah Nixon said.

“The icy conditions just made it difficult for students to get to classes,” Nixon said.

At MSU, school administrators said they have considered suspending classes due to snow a handful of times during the past several years.

Fred Poston, vice president for finance and operations, contacts either the president or provost, depending on their availability, and coordinates the decision process for severe weather situations.

“It’s sort of a balancing act,” Poston said. “On the one hand, first and foremost, is safety. On the other hand, you have to consider how it affects programs and operations.”

Poston said he considers windchill figures provided by the National Weather Service and receives other information. In his nine-year tenure, talk of cancellations has happened twice, he said.

Neither incident resulted in a full-scale cancellation.

“It’s rare for us to actually cancel classes. It would have to be a pretty overwhelming scenario,” said Kathy Lindahl, assistant vice president for finance and operations.

Students said they had mixed feelings on school cancellations Wednesday.

“I don’t think they necessarily should have been canceled, but I think it sucks to have to walk in the cold from all over campus,” said Andrea Dashe, a Spanish sophomore.

Sandy Draggoo, CEO of Capital Area Transportation Authority, said the bus system rarely cancels its services.

Staff writer Kelly House contributed to this report.