President's Council Lends Support to Proposed Policy Research Process
At their May 11, 2023, meeting, President's Council voted to support a proposal for a formal research process that would streamline the policy process, create more efficient drafts, and increase transparency in how decisions are made in policy drafting. Policy stewards and drafting committees will not be required to conduct research; rather, this process is a recommended best practice. Not all policies will need or benefit from research; however, for policies that address compensation, retention, tenure, promotion, performance reviews, academic freedom, or disciplinary processes, this research process would be highly recommended. Policies that involve due process and individual rights would also most likely benefit from research.
Policy research can help ensure that UVU policies are in compliance with federal and state law and consistent with standard best practices across other universities and industry organizations. Hopefully, the research process with the tools developed by the Policy Office will help make drafting more efficient and create more effective drafts in less time. This process will also help policy stewards craft policies that better meet the needs of the UVU community.
In collaboration with Academic Affairs, the Policy Office has created a research guide with templates and tools for use by policy stewards and drafting committees. The Policy Office editor assigned to each drafting committee will guide committees through this process. The research guide, tools, and templates with sample documents are located here.
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Please note that some of the above links may become outdated or broken as the policy drafts progress through the policy approval process, or are approved for adoption to or deletion from the Policy Manual.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.