POL-U1000.10 Developing, Maintaining and Canceling University Policies

 University policies apply broadly and are on an institutional level. Divisions, departments and other units cannot develop policies outside of the established institutional policy development process. Governing documents such as department requirements, guidelines or processes can be developed by departments, divisions and units. These documents must apply only to the units specified in the documents, may address issues not covered by university policies, and must not conflict with University policies.

Upon approval of this policy by the President, the Director of UPPR will work with department heads and division coordinators of affected units to determine whether departmental policies should be university policies or revert to division/unit level procedure requirements/governing documents. The division, department, or other similar unit utilizing a policy shall immediately or as soon as operationally feasible provide the Director, UPPR with a full text of each of the policies within their units so they can be reviewed and evaluated. Each of these policies shall be reviewed by the Director, UPPR or designee, and a recommendation shall be made to the President through UPRRG regarding its continued status. The President (or designee) shall make the final decision regarding each policy. 

Exception: The President or their designee may designate a particular policy and associated procedures, standards, and forms as a division policy or department policy if it is required for regulatory compliance or for accreditation purposes. Examples include the Lexipol policy, which applies specifically to the University Police Department, and policies required for program accreditation.

All University policies must be approved and signed by the President.

Per RCW 28B.35.120, the Board of Trustees may adopt policies for the governance of the University and for the regulation of the Board. The development or revision of such policies does not require comprehensive university review and only requires the approval of the Board.

The Director, UPPR manages and directs the University policy process by advising on policy development, policy process improvement, developing strategies to enhance implementation of policies, and serves as the subject matter expert on University policy development. 

In addition, the Director, UPPR is the primary facilitator of the University’s policy framework and works collaboratively with policy owners, senior leaders, managers and policy coordinators to ensure university policies and procedures are effectively established, maintained, reviewed, communicated, organized, curated, and aligned with strategic decisions values, and statutory or legislative changes. 

The Vice President of a division designates a Policy Coordinator to support policy owners within their division in the development, revision or cancelation of University policies. Such support includes but is not limited to researching, reviewing, and drafting policy and coordinating policy development. 
          
In cases where policies are co-owned by multiple divisions, the Policy Coordinator of the designated primary policy owner’s division will typically be assigned as the Policy Coordinator for that policy. The Director, UPPR may identify additional policy coordinators when needed and/or assign a different Policy Coordinator when it is determined it would be more appropriate to do so.

 The University policy development process models an efficient and collaborative policy management approach and recognizes the importance of engaging stakeholders and/ or pertinent subject matter experts in the development and review process. In addition to seeking feedback and input from stakeholders, policy drafts are reviewed by the Technical Review Committee, the University community through a 30-day campus review, and the University Policy and Rules Review Group. 

The University Policy and Rules Review Group (UPRRG) is responsible for reviewing policy proposals to determine if a university policy is needed and reviewing final policy drafts to make recommendations to the President. Policy Owners must consult with representatives from groups affected during the development of both new and significantly revised policies (including legislative changes) and proposals for cancellation of existing policies. Legislative changes are statutory changes and/or new legislation where stakeholder input will not change the outcome.

Although a policy may remain unchanged, new supporting documents such as guidelines, procedures and standards may be developed, and existing supporting documents can be amended or revised as needed. 

When developing new standards or revising existing ones, Policy Owners (or designees) must, at a minimum, review sustantive changes to standards with the stakeholders originally listed in the approved Policy Impact Statement and other subject matter experts for their input/feedback. Policy Owners (or designees) must send all records pertaining to stakeholder feedback to the Director of UPPR to maintain a complete policy record.  

Western Washington University adopts the policy-writing style developed by Larry Peabody in the publication How to Write Policies, Procedures & Task Outlines: Sending Clear Signals in Written Directions. 

Exceptions: Policies may be developed in another format as needed to ensure compliance with federal or state policy mandates. Approval to use a format other than the Peabody format requires approval from the Director, UPPR.

Policy Owners (or designees) review existing policies under their purview for relevancy and currency and update as necessary. At a minimum, university policies must be reviewed at least every five years following initial approval. The policy review checklist provides additional information to assist a policy owner in conducting comprehensive review of policies. In addition, the Director, UPPR creates a schedule and plan to promote systematic review of policies.

When policy amendments are proposed, the Director, UPPR shall, in consultation with the assistant attorney general and policy owner (as needed), determine whether a proposed policy amendment is a minor change or a substantive change. Substantive changes require a full review (as described in PRO-U1000.10A). Minor revisions do not require full review and can be completed through an approval of the division Vice President and Director, UPPR (see PRO-U1000.10B). Minor revisions, include but are not limited to:

1. Additional or updated references to relevant law and regulations;
2. Spelling or grammar errors;
3. Revisions to the policy name or number;
4. Changes to attached procedures and/or forms;
5. Position/title changes of personnel;
6. Changes to Policy Owner or Responsible Office;
7. Procedural changes that marginally impact policy implementation, but do not affect policy substance or content.   

The President may adopt interim policies or procedures to meet legal or operational requirement as needs arises. Interim policies are temporary in nature and shall not remain in force beyond one (1) year from authorization. Additionally, when a permanent policy or other formal governing document replacing the interim policy is approved and finalized, then concurrently, the interim policy is retired. 

University policies will be clearly written and be published and communicated in an accessible format to the University community by the Director, UPPR.  In addition, policy owners (or designees) may communicate new or revised policies and supporting supporting documents, such as training, to the operational areas affected by the policy. 

A policy may be cancelled if it becomes inconsistent with legal or policy requirements, it no longer reflects the University's practice, or it is consolidated into other policies, guidelines or procedures. 

Policy owners (or designee) may propose the permanent cancellation of all policies that are not under consideration for revision using FRM-U1000.10C Policy Impact Statement- Canceling University Policy. Policy cancellations will be reviewed and/or approved by the University Policy and Rules Review Group.