Policy Office > Policy and Standard Development and Approval Processes

Policy and Standard Development and Approval Processes

Systemwide policies and systemwide standards each follow a process from development to approval to communication and maintenance. The process for each is detailed in the Operating Procedures for Systemwide Policies and Systemwide Standards. The below steps provide a summary of these two processes.

Systemwide Policy Development Process

  • An individual or unit determines need for policy
  • At least one responsible executive agrees to sponsor policy
  • Responsible executive appoints responsible office(s) to complete needs assessment and develop policy
  • Responsible office consults with University Policy Office (UPO) to ensure need assessment meets definition of policy
  • Responsible office drafts policy in template with editorial input from UPO
  • Responsible office shares policy draft with stakeholders
  • Responsible office/executive incorporate stakeholder feedback into draft as appropriate
  • UPO obtains legal review of policy as necessary
  • Changes are incorporated as appropriate
  • UPO distributes policy draft and needs assessment to University Policy Committee (UPC) for comment
  • Responsible office/executive incorporate UPC feedback into draft as appropriate
  • UPO distributes policy draft and needs assessment to Executive Policy Review Group (EPRG)
  • If within it authority, EPRG may approve policy
  • If approval by President is required, EPRG may recommend policy for approval
  • UPO posts policy to online policy library and issues announcement of new or substantially revised policy
  • Regional campuses disseminate announcement
  • Responsible office delivers additional strategic communication and training as necessary
  • Responsible executive/office establish support systems to achieve compliance
  • Responsible office notifies UPO of routine updates to existing policies
  • UPO initiates review of policies by responsible office at least every five years
  • UPO maintains central repository of superseded or withdrawn policies

Systemwide Standard Development Process

  • An individual or unit determines need for a standard
  • At least one responsible executive agrees to sponsor the standard
  • Responsible executive appoints responsible office(s) to develop the standard
  • Responsible office consults with University Policy Office (UPO) to draft standard in template
  • Responsible office shares standard draft with stakeholders
  • Responsible office/executive incorporate stakeholder feedback into standard draft as appropriate
  • UPO obtains legal review of standard as necessary
  • Changes are incorporated as appropriate
  • UPO distributes standard draft to VPEC
  • VPEC may approve standard
  • UPO posts standard to online library and issues announcement of a new or substantially revised standard
  • Regional campuses disseminate announcement
  • Responsible office delivers additional strategic communication and training as necessary
  • Responsible executive/office establish support systems to achieve compliance
  • Responsible office notifies UPO of routine updates to existing standards
  • UPO initiates review of standards by responsible office at least every five years
  • UPO maintains central repository of superseded or withdrawn standards