Questions and Answers Regarding Policies and Procedures
What are policies and procedures?
By definition a policy is...
- A law, standard, or rule.
- A principle, plan, or course of action.
- Derived from the word "police" (i.e. the enforcement of laws). By definition a procedure is...
- The method or manner of proceeding in some action.
- A sequence of steps to be followed.
- Derived from the word "proceed" (from the Latin "to go forward")
Why do we have policies and procedures?
Organizational policies and procedures function as:
- Guiding documents to set forth key rules and regulations of the institution.
- Guiding documents to direct employee attitudes and behaviors.
- A legal resource which holds people accountable for certain attitudes and behaviors.
- A source of information for employees on oft-repeated and complex processes.
What is our responsibility regarding the campus' policies and procedures?
As an employee, your responsibility with regards to campus policies and procedures is to:
- Read and understand the campus policies and procedures.
- Follow the campus polices and procedures.
- Make recommendations for policy and procedure changes through appropriate channels.
As a supervisor, your responsibility with regards to campus policies and procedures is to:
- Read and understand the campus policies and procedures.
- Follow the campus polices and procedures.
- Help the employees that you supervise to understand the campus polices and procedures.
- Enforce the campus policies and procedures with the employees that you supervise.
- Make recommendations for policy and procedure changes through appropriate channels.