Policy Process

The proposed policy development process at the College involves a structured approach to ensure that policies align with the college's goals and mission. Policy development includes these components:

  • Image Link to the Policy Process Diagram described below

    Policy Process Diagram

    Policies: Policies generally serve as a set of rules, typically established to govern decision-making processes or regulate behavior within a specific domain.  At Holy Cross, we recognize the following types of policies, noting that there is not always a perfect delineation between these categories:

    • Academic Policies: Academic policies are those policies that are explicitly authorized under the Faculty Statutes. They generally govern the academic  aspects of the college, including teaching, scholarship, curricula; educational policies; academic standards; faculty hiring, tenure and promotion. For example, this would include policies related to tenure and promotion, as authorized by Chapter 1.D.1.e of the Faculty Statutes. This process does not have jurisdiction over Academic Policies. 
    • Administrative Policies: Administrative policies generally encompass a broad range of non-academic functions such as finance, human resources, facilities, and regulatory compliance.They are designed to enhance the mission of the College, ensure compliance with state and federal laws, promote operational effectiveness, and reduce institutional risks without directly involving academic content or standards. One example might be the College’s Policy on the Protection of Children, which establishes rules for working with minors, but which applies across the campus, to faculty, staff, and students.  
    • Departmental Policies: These documents typically govern the operations within individual departments or functions. For example, this includes the Department of Residential Life’s “Pet Policy” that sets forth the terms under which residential employees may have pets in their college-owned residences. This process generally does not have jurisdiction over Departmental Policies, although they may be used to inform other policies. 
  • Policy Owner: This is the role at the College who has the responsibility and authority to advance, draft, interpret, and enforce a particular policy, as designated by the Leadership Team.
  • Policy Advisory Team: A small committee of faculty and staff who have an interest or expertise in policy development and can support consistent policy development at the College.  For more information on the PAT, please see this webpage.

The policy development process includes several key stages:

  1. Executive Sponsorship: A Policy Owner seeks executive endorsement for the proposed new or revised policy from a member of the Senior Leadership Team. 
  2. Policy Consultation: The Policy Owner collaborates with the PAT to review the guidelines, template, and determine necessary consultations or notifications based on RACI principles.
  3. Drafting: Policy Owner creates draft policy.
  4. Revisions: Policy Owner collects and, to the extent appropriate, incorporates feedback from campus stakeholders.
  5. Policy Review: Policy Owner submits policy to Policy Advisory Team for final round of feedback.
  6. Final Approval: When they have a final draft of the Policy, the Policy Owner submits the policy to the Executive Sponsor for submission to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT). The SLT may ask questions, request further revisions, or approve the policy. Subsequent changes are submitted through the SLT.
  7. Publication and Dissemination: Once approved, the policy is added to the policy website. If the policy is replacing a former policy, the former policy is archived. The Policy Owner, with support from the Chief Risk and Compliance Officer and Marketing and Communication, ensures that the campus community is informed of the new or revised policy.
  8. Interim Policies: The Senior Leadership Team may adopt an institutional policy or policy changes without going through the policy review and approval process when immediate action is necessary due to an immediate or exigent circumstance including, but not limited to, protection of the health, welfare, assets or resources of the College or the College community or compliance with legal, contractual or grant mandates. Prior to the approval of an interim policy, the Executive Sponsor will consult with the Policy Advisory Team with respect to the immediate or exigent circumstance necessitating the interim policy. The Policy Advisory Team will submit a recommendation and/or comments prior to approval of the interim policy. Such interim policies or policy changes will expire one calendar year following adoption unless formally processed for approval in accordance with this policy. The authority to create interim policies is limited to immediate, exigent circumstances (e.g. a pandemic or legal mandate).  

For more information, please see the slides below.

For questions, please reach out to:

Denielle Burl, J.D.
Chief Risk and Compliance Officer
policies@holycross.edu
508.793.2339