UA is about to create an online system to make it easier to find and access all universitywide policies in one central location.
The UA Policy Development and Management System will provide the University’s first central system for organizing and publishing policies for all aspects of life on campus.
The first step in the process involved developing a policy specifically for creating, approving and managing policies, or a Policy on Policies.
“This new policy clearly defines the process of submitting a policy draft for consideration and the steps for review and approval,” said Lorne Kuffel, executive director of Institutional Research and Assessment and a member of the group working on the system. “Most importantly, it provides a consistent step-by-step outline that applies to everyone.”
The Policy on Policies sets the framework for handling all University policies and lays the groundwork for the working group to develop and implement an online policy management system to house a unified UA management process and platform that will standardize formats and simplify the process for creating and publishing policies.
Initially, the system will house all Universitywide policies, or those that apply to the entire campus. However, unit- or department-specific policies will eventually have a place in the system as well.
The new system will provide a standard required policy template and website for posting all University policies. Once the system is completed, all existing policies must be revised, updated and converted to the new template within one year and captured in the new Policy System; otherwise the policies will not be recognized as official University policies.
To create new policies, administrators in each division will select a policy manager to guide new policies for approval by the division vice president. If the new policy is approved, the policy manager will enter it in a standardized, online format into the system.
A Policy Advisory Review Committee, which will consist of policy managers, a representative from the Office of Counsel and other officials, will review suggested University policies and possibly recommend revisions. Once suggested policies clear the committee, they will be forwarded to the president and executive administrators for official approval and posting to the Policy System.
“We hope the system will clarify the policies with which the University is governed and provide guidance for all faculty, staff and students in making UA a more dynamic place of learning,” Kuffel said.
More information will be provided as the system is developed and policy templates become available.