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.