Today, July 14, 2022, President’s Council approved the following policy actions:
Policy 116 Institutional Messaging and Student Communication
Approved Action:Entrance to Stage 1, Regular process (new policy)
Policy Sponsor: Kyle Reyes
Policy Steward: Derek Kent
Summary: Approved for entrance to Stage 1 of the Regular process to begin drafting and revision, this new policy will provide guidance on university communications sent to students and
- Identify and define the purpose of communication channels used by the institution to communicate with students;
- Establish foundations of best practices for one-to-many communications with students; and
- Provide structure and framework to implement adaptable guidelines.
For more information regarding this policy, see its executive summary in the UVU Policy Pipeline. For questions, contact the policy’s steward or the Policy Office.
Policy 532 University Student Groups
Approved Action: Entrance to Stage 3, Regular process (revision)
Policy Sponsor:Kyle Reyes
Policy Stewards: Alexis Palmer, Marissa King
Summary: Approved for entrance to Stage 3 for university community review in the Regular policy process, this policy is a revision of the currently in effect Policy 532 Associated Student Organization and Club Membership. In addition to providing additional guidance on the formation, classification, and governance of university student groups, this policy
- Outlines the classifications of different student groups, include the student governing association (SGA), university student organizations (USOs), and registered student clubs;
- Establishes the rights, requirements, and privileges of university student groups; and
- Describes the requirements and limitations for use of the University’s name and other trademarks, scheduling, mandatory trainings, and funding.
During Stage 3, university community members are encouraged to provide input on the policy draft by contacting the policy’s stewards or the Policy Office. Stage 3 for Policy 532 will end July 21, 2022. To view the policy’s draft, its Stage 2 comments from university governance entities, and the Equity Assessment Committee’s review, see its Stage 3 policy draft in the UVU Policy Pipeline.
Policy 162 Title IX Sexual Misconduct
Approved Action: Approved for adoption, Compliance Change process
Policy Sponsors: Marilyn Meyer,Clark Collings
Policy Stewards: Drew Burke, Jeremy Knee
Summary: Due to recent changes in federal Title IX requirements, Policy 162 Title IX Sexual Harassment, under the direction of UVU’s Office of General Counsel, was opened for a limited-scope revision through the University’s new Compliance Change policy process. This process, established and outlined in Policy 101 Policy Governing Policies, is an expedited process reserved exclusively for non-discretionary revisions to, or deletions of, existing policy necessitated by changes in external law or other binding compliance requirements. As such, the revisions proposed during this process are limited in scope to only those specific policy sections requiring modification to maintain the University’s compliance. Under this process, Policy 162 was revised to re-establish the University’s compliance with Title IX requirements. The Office of General Counsel provided a legal memo regarding the scope of the revisions and their relationship to revisions in federal requirements. From the memo:
The Department of Education’s 2020 Title IX rulemaking included a controversial evidentiary restriction: schools were prohibited from considering any statement made by a party or witness, unless that party or witness voluntarily appeared at a hearing and agreed to answer cross-examination questions. UVU’s Policy 162 mirrors this requirement. Last July, a federal court struck down that narrow section of the Title IX rule due to the Department’s failure to explain or account for potential abuse of that evidentiary restriction by respondents. The question remained, however—could universities keep that language embedded in their policies voluntarily, or at least revise at their own pace. On June 28, 2022, the Department of Education issued amended guidance interpreting its Title IX regulations. Their new interpretation answers the question with a firm “no,” which means that UVU needs to revise that small section of Policy 162 to comply with the regulations, as judicially modified.
This approval of Policy 162 constitutes the first instance of policy enactment through the Compliance Change process since the process was established under Policy 101 in June of 2021. Following President’s Council approval, the revised policy was posted to the UVU Policy Manual and is effective immediately. For more information regarding this policy, see the attached memo from the Office of General Counsel and view the policy in the UVU Policy Manual. For questions, contact the policy’s stewards, the Office of General Counsel, or the Policy Office.
For questions or comments regarding any of the above actions, contact the policy sponsor or steward(s) listed, or contact the Policy Office. To learn more about the policy approval process at UVU, visit the Policy Office's Policy Process webpage.
Please note that some of the above links may become outdated or broken as the policy drafts progress through the policy approval process, or are approved for adoption to or deletion from the Policy Manual. For the most up-to-date status regarding a policy or proposed policy draft, see the Policy Manual and Policy Approval Pipeline pages. To request a previous version of a policy or policy draft or for addition questions, contact the Policy Office.