Policy on University Policies

University policies will be:
●    Developed according to the process set out in this policy;
●    Presented and published in a standard manner;
●    Formally approved by an appropriate governance body within the University;
●    Accessible to all parties with an interest in the policy’s subject matter;
●    Kept up to date and current; &
●    Clearly designated as ‘Policies’ and kept separate from related documentation such as procedures, guides and other types of related documentation whenever possible.

Policy Owners are responsible for the drafting of new or revised University policies, ensuring their policies are up to date, consulting with interested parties and for steering draft policies through to approval and publication. 

University policies will adhere to the format set out in the Policy Template. The format may, in some cases, be amended but only to the extent necessary to enhance the clarity of a policy.

●    University policies will be approved, as appropriate, by one of the following:
⮚    Academic Council;
⮚    Governing Authority; or
⮚    University Executive.
For the purposes of this policy only the above will hereinafter be collectively referred to as the relevant ‘Governance Body’. 

●    Policies that have a University-wide scope will be approved by the appropriate Governance Body for that policy. For example, where a policy is within the ambit of the Academic Council its initial approval and any subsequent major amendments must be approved by the Academic Council. Where it is unclear which Governance Body is the appropriate one for a given policy, the Chief Operations Officer (COO) may make a determination.   

●    It is acknowledged that certain university policies, (i.e. on Dignity and Respect, Equality, Health and Safety, Quality, Risk Management, or Treasury etc.) may only be approved by the Governing Authority, after having been firstly approved in draft form. Where policies, or amendments to a policy, are to be proposed to the Governing Authority for approval, they must be recommended by the University Executive or Academic Council. 

●    Policies whose scope is limited to a single Unit of the University (hereinafter ‘unit policies’) may be approved by the Head of Unit. 

●    Draft policies are to be firstly reviewed by the Risk & Compliance Officer for alignment with this policy prior to being forwarded for approval to the relevant Governance Body.   

●    New university policies, or amendments to existing university policies outside of the reserved functions of the Governing Authority, may be brought to the Authority, at the discretion of the President.  

●    Amendments to University Policies shall be categorised as minor or major amendments: 
⮚    Minor amendment: Where an amendment to a policy has no substantive effect on the implementation of that policy, it shall be considered a minor amendment and may be approved by the Policy Owner. Such amendments are typically editorial and encompass corrections or changes to titles, names, references to other documents, weblinks, or changes arising from updated policy templates.  
⮚    Major amendment: Where an amendment to a policy has a substantive effect on the implementation of that policy the amendment must be approved by the relevant Governance Body.  

●    Where an existing University Policy is either replaced by a new version, or repealed in full, the Head of Unit will inform the Risk & Compliance Officer of that decision and the University’s Policies website will be updated accordingly. 

Responsibility for promoting compliance with a policy will rest with the Policy Owner unless it is specified otherwise within the policy.  

Public policies will be accessible and published on the University’s website and by any other means as deemed appropriate. Confidential policies, which are for staff use only, will be made available in accordance with controls deemed appropriate by the relevant Governance Body, for example controls that ensure that only current members of staff will have access to such policies.  

Policy Owners will arrange for the publication of approved policies on the University’s website in consultation with the Risk and Compliance Officer. 

Policy Owners are responsible for keeping policies up to date and for ensuring that only approved versions of policies are accessible on the University’s website. They will periodically review policies which fall under their remit and the reviews will take place once every 5 years at a minimum.

Each policy will state the date on which it was initially approved and, if subsequently changed or amended, it will state its new ‘Review Date’ as an additional detail.

The University Risk and Compliance Officer will:
●    assist Policy Owners in implementing a process of regular review;
●    oversee a survey of policy owners to confirm policy ownership, adherence to review schedules, and continuing relevance of policy; 
●    provide guidance to Policy Owners in relation to complying with the requirements of this policy; 
●    remove superseded policies from the University’s website when they have been replaced or discontinued; &
●    Compile a list of policies overdue for review and submit this list to the University Executive.   

Policies are to be clearly designated as being a ‘Policy’. Other guidance material which assists in the understanding or implementation of a policy should, in general, not be included within the policy. Such material should be referred to in the ‘Related Documentation’ section of the policy.  

In some exceptional cases it may be necessary to depart from the provisions of this policy. Where these arise, it will be at the discretion of the Chief Operations Officer (COO) to approve such a departure and the COO will inform the Executive at the next available meeting. 

The requirements set out in this policy will not apply to those University policies that were in existence before the first version of this policy was approved in October 2015.

However, where an existing policy is revised or replaced the requirements set out in this policy will be applied unless an exception is granted by the Chief Operations Officer as described above.

A university policy is a statement of intent, or a position on a particular matter, that can be used to guide decision making. It defines the expected organisational approach or behaviour. A policy may stand on its own or can be implemented through procedures, protocols or other types of supporting documentation. 
A university policy has a broad application or impact throughout the University across both academic and/or support units. They can assist in promoting compliance with applicable laws or regulations, best practice, ethical norms, pursuit of the University’s mission or in the promotion of efficiencies. They can also assist in the reduction of risk.

Once approved, compliance with a University policy is mandatory.  

A pilot policy is an initial policy that is used to test the feasibility or suitability of a proposed formal University policy as defined above. 

A procedure is a series of defined interrelated steps that are designed to achieve a defined outcome. Procedures set out, often in a step by step fashion, an organisational requirement for a particular course or mode of action. They establish who, what, where and when in relation to a given activity.

University procedures should be:
●    written in a format that is easy to follow;
●    published separately from the policy to which they relate; &
●    reviewed and updated on a regular basis to check for compatibility with the most recent versions of the related policy.

The Policy Owner is the appropriate academic or support Unit of the University whose remit & responsibility covers the subject matter of the policy. The Policy Owner will be responsible for the substance of policy documents and for promoting compliance with the policy unless as specified otherwise within the policy.