Policy for the Establishment, Approval and Review of Policies

Policy for the Establishment, Approval and Review of Policies

Sponsor:

 Administration and Finance

Contact:

 Director of Compliance

Category:

 Administrative

Number:

 200.001

Effective Date:

 06/15/2011

Implementation History:

 Updated on 7/07/17, 8/15/12, 8/20/2021, 8/26/2024

Keywords:

 policy, policies, review, approval

Background Information:

The original policy was adopted in 2011. The procedures have evolved with changes in administration.

Purpose

This policy outlines the university’s processes for developing and revising policies.

Definitions

Policy: A statement that governs the operation and conduct of the University’s work. University policies align with the mission and goals of the University.
Policy Sponsor: The division head or division designee who owns the policy. The Policy Sponsor, who is typically a member of the president’s Cabinet, has final approval of the policy before it goes to the Office of the President for final review and signature.

Policy Contact: The person designated by the president or Cabinet member to take the lead in drafting the policy or revision. This person is typically the subject matter expert and/or department head. The Policy Contact is responsible for keeping assigned policies current and in compliance.

Statements

All new and substantially revised University policies will be submitted for review to the appropriate stakeholders, including the shared governance system in matters of academic policy, appropriate department heads, and general counsel.
To provide the University community with an opportunity to submit feedback, drafts of administrative policies will be posted internally via SUNY Empire News by the Policy Sponsor or designee for a 30-day comment period (or one week longer, when applicable, to accommodate faculty no-appointment and reading periods) and academic or student-centered policies follow the governance process for input. A completed draft of every policy is submitted in a standard format (Appendix A) to the Office of the President for final review and edits. Final versions are made publicly accessible via the University’s website.

University-wide policies establish principles and standards aligned with the University's mission. These policies will supersede any other departmental policy. It is the responsibility of the Policy Sponsor and Policy Contact to ensure that the policy complies with University operations.

The president or designee may establish or revise administrative policies to maintain compliance with federal, state and/or local laws, SUNY policies, collective bargaining agreements and related employee handbooks. The Office of the President and relevant stakeholders have the discretion to determine if the approval process can be expedited to maintain University-wide compliance under extenuating or time-sensitive circumstances. Expedited policies will be posted internally to inform the University community of the new or revised policy. The Office of the President will determine the date on which the policy becomes effective.

Applicable Legislation and Regulations

The University is governed by the State University of New York’s Board of Trustees, and University policy is developed in conformance with the University’s Bylaws, Policies of the Board of Trustees (pdf), the New York State Code, Rules, and Regulations, and all applicable federal policies.

Related References, Policies, Procedures, Forms, and Appendices

APPENDICES

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Related References, Policies, Procedures, Forms and Appendices

Procedures

Process for New or Substantially Revised Administrative Policies
Administrative policies are developed, drafted, and substantially revised to comply with the University-wide policy format (Appendix A).
  1. The Policy Contact will draft the new or substantially revised policy and send it to all mandatory stakeholders, which include the director of compliance (DoC) and the offices of the General Counsel and of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
  2. The Policy Contact will determine additional relevant stakeholders, including impacted department heads, and send them the policy draft for feedback. A second draft that incorporates all stakeholder input must be submitted to the Policy Sponsor for approval before moving forward. The Policy Contact should also send the draft policy to the Office of Communications to review for AP style, branding, and grammar.
  3. New or substantially revised policies that assign accountability or specific duties to University employees must be sent to the Office of Human Resources (OHR). OHR, or a designee, will determine if the policy requires further action before the responsibilities can be assigned to an employee(s). OHR will determine if the policy can be accepted as drafted or requires amendments, and communicate said determination to the Policy Contact.
  4. The Policy Contact will then coordinate the internal posting of the draft policy that incorporates edits from all stakeholders, the Policy Sponsor, and OHR for 30 days to solicit feedback from the University community.

Before the draft policy is posted, the Policy Sponsor will notify the corresponding Cabinet member (if different than the Policy Sponsor) that the policy is going to a 30-day comment period. The Cabinet member will add the policy as an agenda item for the next Cabinet meeting and ask all Cabinet members to alert the appropriate staff members within their department(s). Cabinet will review the policy before it is posted internally to SUNY Empire News.

Next, it is the responsibility of the Policy Contact to submit the draft policy to SUNY Empire News using the “suggest a story” link or by emailing the director of communication. When submitting the draft policy, the Policy Contact must include a brief description of the policy, the date comments must be submitted by, and the contact information for the person taking the comments.

It is also the responsibility of the Policy Contact to check SUNY Empire News regularly and respond, when necessary, in SUNY Empire News to comments that may be left on that platform. The Policy Contact will incorporate feedback into the draft policy, as appropriate, upon completion of the 30-day comment period. An updated draft, along with the attached cover letter (Appendix B), must then be submitted to the chief of staff.

5. The chief of staff will review the draft policy and communicate any suggestions with the Policy Contact. The chief of staff will submit the final draft of the policy to Cabinet for discussion and communicate any comments, questions, or suggestions to the Policy Contact. The Policy Contact will make edits, if necessary, and submit the policy back to the chief of staff, who will send the policy to the president for final review, revision, and approval/denial.

If the policy is approved, the DoC will assign it a number and post the policy to the SUNY Empire website. The signed copy will be filed in the Office of the President, and the Office of the President will inform the Policy Contact once the policy is updated online.

If the policy is denied, the chief of staff will reach out to the Policy Contact with the president’s comments regarding necessary changes. The Policy Contact should determine what changes are appropriate to communicate to stakeholders and update the policy. These changes do not require an additional 30-day review and can be sent back to the chief of staff once they are incorporated into the policy, if said policy is determined to be necessary.

Policies with minor edits or revisions of procedures are to be approved by the Policy Sponsor then submitted to the Office of the President with a cover letter (Appendix B) for posting and record-keeping.

Process for New or Significantly Revised Academic Policies
Academic and Student Affairs policies are developed in consultation with the Office of the Provost. Academic or Student Affairs policy actions that fall within the charge of a governance committee are presented for approval by the University Senate. Actions of the Senate are referred to the president, by way of the chief of staff, in compliance with the University-wide policy format, as provided by the Office of the President. The chief of staff will communicate any need for additional formatting or edits. Once in
final draft, the chief of staff will submit the final draft to the president for review and edits, or approval and signature. If the policy is approved, the Office of the Provost will assign it a number and send the policy back to the governance secretary for distribution purposes. The policy is then made publicly accessible via the University’s website by the Office of the Provost.

Process for Retired, Rescinded, or Expired Policies
It is the responsibility of the Policy Sponsor and/or Policy Contact to review and submit a list of policies to be retired or rescinded to relevant stakeholders and the DoC. Once reviewed, the Policy Sponsor and/or Policy Contact will submit a list of policies to be retired or rescinded, along with a cover letter, to the Office of the President for acknowledgment. Elapsed policies that fall out of compliance will be considered invalid. It is the responsibility of the DoC to inform Policy Sponsors when administrative policies integral to the successful management of the University are out of compliance or out of date. The DoC will annually publish a report directly to the president of any policies/policy owners who are out of compliance and follow up with each Policy Sponsor to determine next steps for prompt resolution.