Guidelines for Policies and Procedures

Policy

Each administrative policy shall conform, to the extent possible, to the structure outlined in this policy guideline. Where possible, each policy shall include the following sections of information:

TITLE: The title or name of the policy.

SECTION: The section in the Management Manual where the policy shall reside and will be identified using the following nomenclature: 

Four Divisions:

1. College Administration                   CADM
2. Instruction                                         INST
3. Student Services                              STSV
4. Administrative Services                  ADSV

College Administration will include Institutional Advancement Policies

Instruction will include Library and eLearning Policies

The division responsible for policy will be identified by Roman numeral followed by 4-letter abbreviation.  Example – Administrative Services policy:  IV. ADSV

Within each division 9 subsections exist.  Departments/areas within the division   will be assigned a subsection which will contain 99 placeholders for policies.        

Example below:

Division:         Administrative Services

Subsection    General Admin. Services policies Policy #’s:      100 – 199

Human Resources                                                      200 – 299

Business Office                                                           300 – 399

Information Services                                                    400 – 499

Example of an HR policy:  IV. ADSV-204 – Appointment (Exempt) Authority

INITIAL ADOPTION DATE: The initial date that the first policy language regarding the policy topic was approved and adopted by the College.

PRIOR REVISION DATES:  Prior dates that revisions to the policy were approved and adopted by the College.

LAST REVISION DATE: The most recent date of approved and adopted policy revisions. This shall indicate the date of the policy language currently in effect.

LAST REVIEW DATE:  The most recent date the policy has been reviewed with no revisions approved or adopted to the policy.

PRESIDENT’S AUTHORIZATION:  A space for the President’s signature as authorization and approval for the College to adopt the policy.

PURPOSE:This section shall provide a brief review of the rationale or purpose of the policy to be implemented. This section may also include a background summary to provide a context within which the policy was developed.

TO WHOM DOES THIS POLICY APPLY: This section shall identify who the policy applies to; that is, students, employees, members of the public, or others, and their status as full-time, part-time, temporary, quarterly, residents, volunteer, etc.

REFERENCES: This section shall include all applicable references that support or are directly related to the policy, including RCWs, WACs, Executive Orders, Interagency Guidelines, Grant Requirements, etc. If there are no applicable references, the policy shall indicate “None”.

DEFINITIONS: This section shall define all relevant terms used throughout the policy as defined for the purposes of the policy. If there are no definitions, the policy shall indicate “None”.

POLICY: This section shall identify the principles and criteria by which the College will conduct its affairs.

PROCEDURE: This section shall identify the course of actions or established methods for carrying out business related to the policy principles and criteria. If there are no procedures included as part of the policy, the policy shall indicate “None” or may have a link to the appropriate location of a procedure located elsewhere. Not all procedures are required to be located within the policy. Procedures may be located elsewhere, such as on a department intranet page. For example, the procedure for filing a discrimination complaint may be part of a policy, but a procedure for scheduling the use of a facility on campus may not.

Where a particular section does not apply, the policy shall include the section title and indicate “Not Applicable”. Nothing in this policy prevents additional sections from being added where needed to assist with more complete communication of policy information.

A policy is considered approved for implementation at the time the President signs the policy. 

A policy becomes effective upon approval by the President. Policy language may include a retroactive or projected effective date, at the President’s discretion.

Purpose

These guidelines are intended to provide a framework and assistance for the structure and development, as well as the procedures for obtaining approval, of all College administrative policies. A common framework and structure is intended to assist with organizing administrative policies and provide more complete communication of policy information.

To Whom Does This Policy Apply

These guidelines apply to all persons authorized and responsible for formulating, developing and/or recommending policy language to the President for review and approval.

References

TCC Board of Trustees Policy Manual

Definitions

Policy –guiding principles and designated criteria by which the College will conduct its affairs.

Procedure – a course of action; a set of established methods for carrying out business related to the policy principles and criteria.

Procedure

1. An administrator or other person responsible for drafting policy language will prepare a draft policy for review by the President. Supporting documentation or other references may be attached as background to the policy.
2. The draft policy is submitted to the President.
3. The President may direct administrator or other person responsible for draft policy to navigate policy through the appropriate governance process.
4. Comments and feedback are incorporated to the draft policy.
5. The President determines approval or non-approval of the policy. If approved, the President signs the policy.
6. The original signed policy will reside in the President’s office or at another location to be determined by the President. A copy of the signed policy will be forwarded to the originating department, but at the President’s discretion, may include others as well.
7. Each new policy or policy revision will be communicated to the relevant members of the campus community in a manner appropriate and consistent with campus methods of communication. Communication of policy information or revision is the responsibility of the campus administrator responsible for administering the policy.
8. The policy will also be added to the electronic College Administrative Manual for access by the College community. Maintenance of the policies included in the College Administrative Manual is the responsibility of the Vice President whose reports are responsible for administering the policy or policies.