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A01.01.01 Douglas College Policies: Framework

• Purpose
• Policy Statement
• Procedures

Purpose

Douglas College policies and procedures assist the college in fulfilling the college mission, vision, values and goals, provide uniform interpretation and guidelines for governance and decision-making within the organization, and regulate indivdual and organizational actions.

Policy Statement

Douglas College policies articulate the core governing principles and set out governance and regulatory positions, distinguish compliance with applicable laws, regulations and other policies, and identify both the rights and responsibilities of all members of its community.

Douglas College policies are divided into three categories reflecting the policy responsibilities of the College:

1. Board (College Board);
2. Administrative (Senior Management Team); and
3. Educational (Education Council).

Policies contained within each of these categories are subject to the approval of the corresponding body.

Department and divisional procedures will be developed and approved at the unit level and must be congruent with and supportive of College policy. Should a conflict exist between a College policy and a unit-based procedure, the College policy will take priority.

All employees are bound by College policies and are responsible to ensure they have read and understand them. Any person who knowingly or unknowingly violates a College policy may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension or dismissal.

College-wide policies are available exclusively through the College Policies homepage (http://www.douglas.bc.ca/about/policies.html).

Procedures

1. General Guidelines for Developing Policies

   Policies are position statements that provide a broad framework for operational procedures which regulate individual and organizational action and behaviour. College policies are intended to guide action and decision-making. They promote operational efficiencies and reduction of institutional risk.

   Policy is intended to be short, to the point, and understandable by the intended audience. The Policy Format Template will be used for all Administrative College policies.

   Policies are organized and numbered in the following manner:

   Category Number

   Board BOX.XX.XX

   Administrative A0X.XX.XX

   Educational E0X.XX.XX

2. Policy Template

   Policies will normally be written in the following standardized format:

   1. Preamble: A short summary of the reasons leading to the development of the policy. Positive statements related to the value of the policy should be included. The preamble answers the question "why?".
   2. Policy: A concise statement describing the policy. This statement may contain principles which set standards or determine a course of action. Consequences for non-compliance or non-enforcement should be included. The policy statement answers the question "what?".
   3. Legislative and Collective Agreement References: Specific references to legislative requirement or collective agreement clauses that enable the policy.
   4. Links to Other Related Policies, Documents, and Websites: Any policies, documents or websites that are cross-referenced in this policy, and/or directly related to it, are listed in the final section of the policy as hyperlinks.
   5. Brief Procedures: In some cases a brief (high level) set of procedures may be included as a supplement to the policy. The procedures may set out the sequence of chronological steps to be followed to implement a policy and may include key responsibilities. Procedures attached to a policy are for general clarification not to go into detail. If comprehensive procedures are required they should be published on an appropriate web site of the College. The goal is to be short, to the point and understandable. Procedures answer the question "how?".

3. Policy Implementation

   New and revised adminstrative policies will be tabled in draft form with the Senior Management Team (SMT) by a member of the team.

   The draft policy will be sent for feedback through the deans, directors and constituency group leaders.

   Feedback will be provided to the responsible administrator (policy author) normally within a month but may be up to three months.

   Upon completion of the consultation period the new or revised policy will be presented to SMT complete with any editing, for approval.

   Upon approval, the policy will be posted on the College website and provided to the College Board and Education Council for information.

   Where changes to an exisiting policy are of a "minor editorial nature", they will be tabled with SMT for information, may be immediately adopted and provided to the College Board and Education Council for information.

4. Policy Review and Renewal

   Polices are reviewed a minimum of every five years (current guideline 3 years).

   Reasonable opportunities for consultation from those directly affected by a proposed policy will be provided.

   Procedures related to policies are regularly reviewed to ensure processes comply with institutional policy and that current practices are reflected.