Policy Development and Review Policy

Fact box

Policy owner: President
Policy category: Governance: Policies
Policy status: Approved
Approval body: Council
Endorsement body: Executive
Last amended: 20th Dec. 2022
Relevant HESF:

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines for the development and review of Alphacrucis University College's (AC) policies and procedures.

Scope

All policies which form part of the AC Policy and Procedures Manual (PPM).

Policy

Any new policy or major change to an existing policy requires the approval of an approval body before it can become a part of the PPM. There are three Approval Bodies at AC:

Council
Academic Board
Executive

The appropriate approval body must be listed on each policy and will generally be determined using the following matrix:

	Academic Category	Management Category
Low or Medium Risk	Academic Board	Executive
High Risk	Council	Council

The risk rating of a policy is determined using the Risk Assessment Matrix found in the Risk Management Policy.

All policies should be submitted firstly to Academic Board or Executive as appropriate. It is the responsibility of these bodies to determine whether a policy should be deemed High Risk and referred to Council. If doubt exists as to the appropriate risk rating for a policy, this should automatically be referred to Council.

Policies and procedures of AC shall be reviewed on a regular basis, depending on the policy type and its scope. There must be no more than five years between policy reviews.

Minor editorial updates that do not affect the title or substance of the policy do not need to go through the approval procedures. These include correction of typographical or formatting errors or changes to:

stakeholders;
policy owner;
key words and definitions.

However, when a major policy change is sought, the policy and procedure approvals process must be followed.

Responsible for implementation

Executive
Academic Board

Key stakeholders

All staff and students

Procedures

Approval Process for New and Existing Policies and Procedures

Stage 1 - Research

Research for a new or existing policy is initiated by the owner of a policy. This may include investigation of:

relevant government policy and legislation, and national codes;
existing policies and the need for the policy;
AC's strategic direction;
external benchmarking;
stakeholder feedback;
whether the policy is consistent with best practice and strategic directions of AC;
whether any related policies need to be revised or rescinded;
other relevant information that could inform the policy development or review.

Stage 2 - Draft Policy

A draft of the new or revised policy is prepared by the policy owner, based on the research undertaken. If consequential revision is required to related policies or procedures, these drafts must also be prepared by the relevant policy owner. Part of the preparation of the draft policy should include consultation with stakeholders.

Stage 3 - Endorsement

Endorsement of the draft policy should be sought, usually through one of the sub-committees of Academic Board (for academic policies) or a member of the Executive (for management policies). Feedback on the draft policy is documented and taken into consideration. If necessary, adjustments are made accordingly before proceeding to Stage 4 of the Approval Process.

Where previous policies are replaced by a new policy, or merged with another policy, endorsement of the previous approval body must be sought.

Stage 4 – Approval by Relevant Approval Body

The final draft of the policy is submitted to either Executive or the Academic Board, by the Endorsement Body or relevant member of the Executive. Executive or Academic Board may approve low or medium risk policies. High risk policies must be sent to Council for approval.

Stage 5 - Communication

When a new or reviewed policy is approved, it must be published in the PPM by the relevant owner of the policy, adhering to the correct PPM formatting. Communication in writing of the newly approved policy, to people or groups who have a vested interest, also needs to occur.