Policy Development
The development, approval, and review of university policies are governed by Establishing University Policies. This allows the university to develop, approve, and issue all university policies using a consistent process and format. All new, revised, and retiring university policies must go through this process prior to being issued or changed. All new policies require the completion of a Policy Plan. Changes to current policies (including comprehensive reviews) require the completion of a Policy Change Form.
The University Policy Process Flowchart (.pdf) provides a helpful step-by-step overview.
North Central University policies are sponsored by a “responsible officer” and owned by a “policy owner.” These individuals are responsible for working with the Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) while developing, updating, reviewing, or retiring a policy.
Policy owners are also responsible for administering, communicating, training, and ensuring compliance with the policies.
PAC approval is required before a policy can be submitted to the President’s Council (PC) for final approval. During the development process, proposed policies may be subject to approval and consideration by other university groups and committees (e.g. Dean’s Council or legal counsel) before they can be submitted to the PAC for review and approval.
Policy Development Process
Plan and propose
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Identify need
The responsible officer and policy owner identifies issues and determines the need for a policy.
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Develop a policy plan
The responsible officer and policy owner drafts the policy plan and submits it to the Policy Advisory Committee.
Important documents
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Get plan approval
The policy owner submits the University Policy Plan to the Policy Advisory Committee for review and approval. Once the University Policy Plan has been approved, the policy owner can move on to drafting the policy.
Important documents
Draft, Refine, and Review
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Draft policy
The policy owner drafts the policy and submits it to the Policy Advisory Committee. The draft policy must be submitted using the simplified policy template.
Important documents
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Refine
The policy owner works the PAC, other authoring groups, and other university stakeholders to refine the policy. This part of the development process can take the most time. Refine a draft may involve several reviews by the PAC or other stakeholders.
At this time, the policy owner should gain the approval of the draft from any other groups that should approve the policy. If these groups have not approved the policy, the PAC cannot accept the final draft of the policy for review.
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Submit
The policy owner drafts the policy and submits it to the Policy Advisory Committee. The draft policy must be submitted using the simplified policy template.
Approval
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PAC Approval
The PAC reviews and approves the final draft of the proposed policy. Typically, the policy owner will attend the PAC meeting to present the draft of the policy ahead of any discussion about the policy.
Once the draft is approved, the PAC chair will transfer the policy to the official university template and will get it on the agenda at an upcoming PC meeting for final approval. The responsible officer or policy may be asked to present the policy to the PC or to be present to answer questions.
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PC Approval
The PC reviews and approves the final draft of the proposed policy.
The policy owner drafts the policy and submits it to the Policy Advisory Committee. The draft policy must be submitted using the simplified policy template.
The PC may approve the draft of the policy as is or may request changes to the policy. If changes are required, the PAC chair will make the edits to the official version. If the changes are substantive, the PAC chair will resubmit the policy to the PC for approval.
Promulgation & Maintenance
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Publish
Once final approval is given, the PAC Chair posts the policy on the university policies website as in effect.
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Communicate
The responsible office communicates and distributes the policy broadly to the university community and key stakeholders. The PAC can guide the responsible office in communicating, educating, and training targeted groups on the policy.
Important documents
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Monitor, measure, and review
The responsible office should monitor compliance, measure the effectiveness of the policy, evaluate feedback, and review the policy regularly. In accordance with Establishing University Policies, each policy will be reviewed by the PAC every four years.
Important documents
Have questions about Policies at North Central University?
Contact us
policy@northcentral.edu