Smith College Template for Policy Documents

Approved: by what body, e.g., Cabinet, President, Trustees

Responsible Office: eg. Information Technology Services

Date Established:

Date Last Revised: (or “n/a”)

Responsible Administrator: eg. Information Security Director, VP for Information Technology

Statement

Include summary text here. The summary should be a brief description of the main purpose of the policy; usually 1-3 sentences. Include the reason for the Policy or why the policy was developed.

Scope/Responsibilities

Include what the policy covers, and in some cases, what it doesn’t cover. Identify what entities are affected by this policy.

Where applicable indicate Responsibilities:

For following policy: Identify who must comply with the policy (e.g., all persons, all employees, specific employees, students, etc.)

For enforcement of policy: Title of individual with responsibility to enforce the policy.

For oversight of policy: President, Provost, Vice President for Finance & Administration, Vice President for Student Affairs, or Vice President for Advancement or other appointed administrator.

For procedures implementing policy: Title of the individual(s) with procedural responsibilities.

Policy

Introduction

If needed, introduce the purpose of the policy here.

Policy statement

State the main compliance elements of the policy itself.

Sub-Section/s

List any specific policy elements as sub-headings after the policy statement, as needed

Policy Violations (if applicable)

Suggested default text: “Violations of college policies are adjudicated according to procedures outlined in the Student Handbook and the Employee Handbook, with disciplinary consequences imposed by the adjudicating authority up to and including dismissal. Some offenses are punishable under state and federal laws.”

Procedures

Standards for policy:

When there are specific procedures, baselines or standards that apply to the entire scope for compliance, add them here.

Procedure 1 for compliance:

When no explicit procedures are specified, use suggested default text for department level compliance: “Departments should develop internal procedures relevant to their business processes that support compliance with this policy. Review and approval of internal procedures by the policy administrator is recommended.”

Procedure 2 for compliance:

When explicit procedures are either required or recommended to ensure compliance with this policy (this is how you [MUST / should] do it) the procedures should be outlined.

Guidelines for policy:

If there are recommendations (not requirements) that should be included as formal parts of the policy statement, place them here. Generally, guidelines should be part of any supporting user documentation, such as policy FAQs, and not explicit elements of the policy.

Also consider:

Requirements for training on, reporting of and documentation of any procedures should be included under Procedures.

Definitions

These definitions apply to terms as they are used in this policy.

Term	Definition

Related Information

Related Policies:

Policy on XYZ:

Policy summary statement,

Policy link here

Policy on QPW:

Policy summary statement,

Policy link here

Other Resources:

Additional reference material here:

List policy info, link here

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Notes on using this template:

Not every policy will fall neatly into this template format; however, to the extent reasonable, the template should be followed. If Procedures are very long and involved (i.e., akin to a multi-page manual) consider breaking them out and keeping them separate from the Policy. Policy statements should, in general be brief and clear. Avoid “legalese” when drafting policy language, and test it with multiple readers for clarity.

“Violations” may not be necessary in every policy (the college has standing policy in both the employee handbook and student handbook that failure to follow College policies and procedures may result in disciplinary action) but should be included whenever specific penalties apply or penalties could be serious.