What is a campus wide administrative policy?

A campus wide policy is a written statement that meets all of the following conditions:

a. has general applicability to members of the UC Santa Cruz campus community and is not specific to a particular division, unit/department, or office;

b. utilizes the standard policy and/or procedure template and formatting, available on the Policy Coordination Office (PCO) website (see Getting Help). Longer more complex policies that cannot conform to the template may simply include the following required sections: Purpose of the Policy, Definitions, Detailed Policy Statement, Getting Help, Applicability, and Authority, Related Policies/References;

c. is consistent, more restrictive, or supplemental, but is not contrary to Regental or UC Office of the President (UCOP) policies, including personnel policies and collective bargaining agreements. Where policies intersect or overlap, the text should be cross-referenced rather than repeated in the body of the policy;

d. is distinct from a procedure. Whenever possible, the Policy Owner should make a distinction between policy and procedure. As a general rule, policies and procedures appear as separate documents. Campus policies state a set of directives and provide general parameters for fulfilling the intended campus objective. Campus procedures represent an implementation of policy by providing the steps and detailed guidance related to the successful and efficient performance of a particular administrative process, and

e. has received approval by the Campus Provost/Executive Vice Chancellor (CP/EVC).

Who can issue an update to a campus wide administrative policy?

Campus wide administrative policies are issued by a Responsible Officer: The Principal Officer(s) who sponsors the policy, heads the Responsible Office and has high-level oversight of the area of operations addressed within a particular policy. For a current listing of Responsible Officers, please review the UC Santa Cruz Leadership Organizational Chart. Additionally, the Getting Help section of the policy will also direct the reader to subject matter experts for specific questions or areas of concern.

Is there a policy on campus wide administrative policies?

The Policy Coordination Office has issued guidance documents. To find the guidance on developing policy, procedure, and other resources used to develop campus wide administrative policies, please see our Writer's Resource.

What is the role of the Policy Coordination Office?

Policy owners are required to stay in close consultation with the Policy Coordination Office during the development, approval, and dissemination of policies and procedures. The Policy Coordination Office can provide useful assistance to the policy owner:

• Help the policy owner research the policy context. While the policy owner is expected to develop not only a broad understanding of how the elements of policy for which they are responsible fit into the campus’ overall organization, mission, goals, and objectives, but also considerable expertise in the technical considerations associated with their specific policy areas, the Policy Coordination Office —as custodian of the campus’ approved policies—can provide a larger campuswide or systemwide perspective.

• Help the policy owner to identify affected parties and recommend groups or committees which should be a part of the formal review process. Because the Policy Coordination Office will have a record of the approval process for similar or related policies, they will be able to advise the policy owner concerning review and consultation issues. In fact, the Policy Coordination Office will develop lists of standard reviewers for specific types of policy areas (e.g., all items with budgetary implications would be reviewed by Planning and Budget; or policy issues are routed to the Internal Auditor for review of risk assessment). However, notwithstanding this assistance from the Policy Coordination Office, the policy owner still must accept responsibility (and be accountable) for ensuring that those affected by a policy are consulted and that the appropriate groups are part of the formal review process.

• Maintain the standards for policy and procedure layouts, language, and formatting. As custodian of the campus’ approved policies and procedures, the Policy Coordination Office has responsibility for setting these standards and can assist the policy owner in converting their documents to the standard format. Further, the Policy Coordination Office assists the policy owner by checking the final draft for clarity and readability.

• Maintain the campus’ electronic policies and procedures manual and database. Approved policies are submitted to the Policy Coordination Office for posting to the electronic manual. In addition, the Policy Coordination Office maintains a policy and procedure database showing the status of all policies and procedures along with other pertinent information (e.g., about the review process for each policy).

Where can I find a listing of campus wide administrative policies?

A list of policies is available on the Find Policies page.