Comprehensive Policy Review

Purpose

Institutional policies are reviewed at least every three years. During a comprehensive review, policy owners take an in-depth look at existing institutional policies and associated documents such as procedures, forms, FAQs, and appendices to:

Determine whether a policy is still needed, if it should be combined with another administrative policy, or if it should be retired;
Determine whether the purpose and goal of the policy is still being met;
Determine whether changes are required to improve the effectiveness or clarity of the policy and procedures; and
Ensure that appropriate education, monitoring and ongoing review of the policy is occurring.

Process

This review is a partnership between the policy owner and Policy Office. If proposed changes are significant, the Policy Advisory Group (PAG), campus community, and Executive Council are also engaged.

Benchmarking against other institutions of higher ed is an expected part of each triennial review. The Policy Office can assist with benchmarking research.

Before beginning any review, export the current policy from the policy software. Save it to OneDrive and turn on Track Changes before making any edits. Keep Track Changes on throughout the entire process.

Steps

Policies due for comprehensive review are identified automatically through UND’s policy software.
The policy software sends an email to the owner 90 days in advance of the date for completion of the review.
The owner exports the current policy and associated documents from the policy software and saves it to OneDrive.
The owner examines their document wholistically – top to bottom – taking into consideration the comprehensive review questions.
The owner revises the policy and associated documents as needed on OneDrive, using track changes.
The owner consults the revised draft with key constituents:
- Internal management and other specific individuals/units/departments that have some piece of the process, hold a key role, or who may be impacted by the changes;
- Appropriate University Senate committees, if any; and
- Representatives or committees that are comprised of the direct audience for the policy.
The owner considers all the feedback from the consultation and incorporates changes as needed. Note that not all suggestions need to be accepted unless the suggestion addresses incorrect or incomplete information or better aligns with best practices.
Once the revised policy draft is ready for submission, the owner:
- Edits the document in the policy software by
  - Manually making the revisions or
  - Uploading the document in its entirety (as saved in OneDrive)
- Sets appropriate workflow (contact Policy Office if unsure), and
- Approves the document so it routes to the Policy Office.
The Policy Office performs a preliminary review of the revisions and provides suggestions. The owner determines whether to incorporate any of the suggestions.
The Policy Office then
- Approves the revisions (editorial revisions and some conforming revisions)
- Forwards the revised policy to PAG members for review (significant revisions and some conforming revisions)
Items approved under 10.a. and 10.b. are automatically published through the policy software. Items approved under 10.c. complete the rest of the policy development cycle including review by Executive Council, campus comment period and approval by the president.