To designate an operational Policies and Procedures Manual for the University
of Northern Iowa; to define policy and procedure initiating authorities;
and to establish the framework and standard policy format for the development,
review, approval, and dissemination for university policies and procedures.
The University of Northern Iowa Policies and Procedures Manual shall
include and document the policies and procedures applicable to the entire
university.
1. University policy recommendations may arise from
several sources within the university but the most usual are: the University
Faculty Senate, the Cabinet, the Northern Iowa Student Government, nonacademic
committees, and a wide range of additional committees, most of whom
report to one of the bodies listed above. Policy also may be imposed
on the university as a consequence of actions by the Regents, legislature,
courts, or other governmental agencies to which the university is legally
subject.
It may not be possible to delineate exactly the jurisdiction of each
policy recommending body. Reliance on general traditions of university
life in the United States should provide an adequate guide for many
jurisdictional questions. For example, faculty bodies have traditionally
assumed a major role in the development of educational policy. Educational
policy is understood to embrace all matters affecting the curriculum
as well as other academic related areas. Faculty groups may also participate
in the creation or review of personnel policies concerning the appointment
and review of academic administrators. Obviously, some policy questions
affect more than one constituency, and jurisdiction is shared. More
than one group may be involved in the preparation of some policies;
for example, it has become customary for students to participate in
formulation of some educational policies.
2. The President’s Cabinet shall establish a
Policy Review Committee consisting of seven administrative representatives
to review new and revised drafts of university policies. The Policy
Review Committee shall include a representative from each of the divisions
(Academic Affairs and Provost, Educational and Student Services, Administration
and Finance, University Advancement, Executive Assistant to the President),
Human Resource Services, and the Office of Operations Auditor. The Committee
shall meet with the appropriate drafting body before passing a policy
on to the Cabinet for approval. The Committee may send back drafted
policies to the appropriate body for revision until a final draft is
approved to be passed on to the Cabinet. Committee members will be appointed
to three year terms by their respective administrative heads.
3. Each university policy shall
- carry a notation of its date of adoption and administrative source,
and
- carry a notation of its approval on a certain date by the President’s
Cabinet, (and by the State Board of Regents, if required) and
- be broadcast in summary via e-mail to university faculty and staff
members. The e-mail message shall contain the effective date of the
new or revised policy, as well as where the full text of the policy
may be accessed (e.g., on the UNI Policies and Procedures web page).
4. After broadcasting via e-mail to university faculty
and staff members, the policy shall be published in the Policies and
Procedures Manual of the university. The policy may also be published
in other university publications. The Policies and Procedures Manual
maintained in the President’s Office shall serve as the official
archival depository for policies and procedures at the University of
Northern Iowa. A copy of the Policies and Procedures Manual will be
available for reference at the University of Northern Iowa Library.
5. The standard policy format is:
Policy Title:
Purpose:
Policy Statement:
Procedure: (if necessary)
Line of Authority and approval date:
President’s Cabinet approval date:
6. The Office of Operations Auditor shall maintain,
update and edit the university policy and procedure records. The office
shall have the authority to make non-substantive changes to university
policies without Cabinet or Policy Review Committee approval so long
as the office discusses the changes with the appropriate bodies.
7. The Office of Operations Auditor shall be responsible
for notifying the campus community on new or revised policies. Colleges
and departments of the university are encouraged to formulate and to
publish official policy statements for their jurisdictions. Such policy
statements must be consistent with official university policy statements.
8. Policies and procedures maintained in the Policies
and Procedures Manual shall be periodically reviewed within a time period
of no longer than five years.
