Frequently Asked Questions

University policies support the teaching, research, and administrative work of the University; communicate expectations and responsibilities of community members; and help ensure ongoing compliance with state and federal regulations as well as accreditation and other official standards.

A policy is a principle that mandates or constrains certain kinds of actions. Typically policies will not include procedures, operations, processes, or forms that support implementation of the policy, though for the convenience of University community members, those types of operational details may be included in a link or as a section or an exhibit to a policy.

Every new University policy or major revision to an existing University policy must undergo a formal review and approval process. Typically, the review and approval process will include:

• Notification / consultation with the Office of Planning and Policy
• Stakeholder review, including but not limited to review processes outlined in shared governance documents and existing University policies.
• Review by President’s Cabinet (and Academic Cabinet for academic policies)
• Review and approval by the Responsible University Official (usually a VP or EVP)

For more information, see here or contact the Office of Planning and Policy.

When an office identifies a need to draft a new policy, the policy sponsor should contact the Office of Planning and Policy. Planning and Policy will provide the standard policy template, can advise on existing policies or stakeholders that may be relevant, and offer drafting assistance if that would be helpful.

Once a policy is drafted, the review and approval process will include:

• Stakeholder review, including but not limited to review processes outlined in shared governance documents and existing University policies.
• Review by President’s Cabinet (and Academic Cabinet for academic policies)
• Review and approval by the Responsible University Official (usually a VP or EVP)

For more information, see here or contact the Office of Planning and Policy.

Once a policy is drafted, the review and approval process will include:

• Stakeholder review, including but not limited to review processes outlined in shared governance documents and existing University policies.
• Review by President’s Cabinet (and Academic Cabinet for academic policies)
• Review and approval by the Responsible University Official (usually a VP or EVP)

For more information, see here or contact the Office of Planning and Policy.

To support consistency and ensure accessibility of policies on the web, the University has adopted a standard format for all policies. The template can be found here. If you need assistance with the template or have questions about the process for including policies in the University Policy Library, please contact the Office of Planning and Policy.

This University Policy Library is a work in progress. To date, the focus has been on creating a collection of existing University-wide policies, but not all University policies have yet been included. More policies will continue to be added to the library throughout the year. If you are looking for a policy and cannot find it or are responsible for a policy that should be included in the library, please contact the Office of Planning and Policy.

If you are looking for a policy and cannot find it or are responsible for a policy that should be included in the library, please contact the Office of Planning and Policy.

Please contact the Office of Planning and Policy. We will work with you to put the policies into the standard template and include your department’s policies in the Policy Library.

Please contact the Office of Planning and Policy. We will work with you to put the policies into the standard template and include your department’s policies in the Policy Library.

If you see two different versions of the same policy, notify the Office of Planning and Policy, which will work with the Responsible Office to reconcile the different versions and make sure that the most current one is posted in the library and that all University websites that post the policy are linking to the official version.

In order to ensure that your website displays the most current policy and is automatically updated if the policy is changed, policy content should be drawn from the Policy Library through Cascade. Please contact the Office of Planning and Policy if you have trouble accessing and displaying the policy that you need.

Each policy has a Policy Contacts section that lists the individuals who have day-to-day responsibility for that policy. Policy contacts should be able to provide clarity and answer questions about the policy. If you have further questions, reach out to the Office of Planning and Policy and we will help connect you to someone who can assist you.

The Office of Planning and Policy can work with you to draft your existing policies and, once approved, post them in the Policy Library.

Some policies are most appropriately viewed by members of the University community and are not needed by prospective students or others. If a policy is only needed by members of the University community, the policy owner may choose to put it behind the University login. Everyone with a University ID and password will be able to see all of the policies in the library.