Project compiling and standardizing university policies

A centralized Manual of Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines is helping identify and advance a vision for CMU’s future that is rooted in a culture of integrity.

This ambitious project is establishing a consistent format, purpose, and central repository for university policies, procedures, and guidelines addressing everything from university governance to administrative procedures and the management of conflict of interest and advocacy.

“We’re developing a kind of infrastructure,” said Eileen Jennings, university counsel. “If you want to act ethically with standards, you have to be able to at least find them. Part of having a culture of integrity is making it possible for everyone to know what rules exist and what they say. Good governance requires that policies and procedures be in one place so they can be consistently applied.”

Jennings said the project, which was started early in 2004, is still in the early stages. As policies are reworked to a standardized format, the process can become complicated.

“We’re gradually working on this, but it’s a huge project, because as people look at policies, they sometimes need to consider if they need changes,” Jennings said. “This has been a priority of President Michael Rao’s ever since he came here – to have all the university policies in one place. The 2010 goal is to make significant progress on including more policies and procedures.”

The evolving manual is housed at the General Counsel Web site – www.cmich.edu/gencounsel/manual. The standard format for most policies includes sections on purpose, policy, and procedure. Jennings said key university leaders are contributing significant resources to the project. The manual will not include curricular requirements for degrees, the basic terms and conditions of employment subject to collective bargaining, or many college- and department-level policies, but it will include all broadly applicable academic policies.