POLICY PURPOSE

Colorado State University Pueblo establishes policies to ensure responsibility, integrity, and accountability in support of its mission and strategic plan. Well-written policies clarify expectations, guide actions, provide controls, enhance productivity and efficiency, support compliance with regulatory mandates, and mitigate risk. This policy establishes a uniform and consistent practice for developing, drafting, adopting, implementing, and revising official University Policies. This Policy helps ensure that University Policies are easily accessible and understandable, widely disseminated, standardized to the extent reasonable, and approved in an appropriate way. All University Policies must be developed, approved, and distributed in compliance with the standards and format set forth herein.

POLICY APPLIES TO (persons affected)

All business and academic units of the University and all employees and students.

DEFINITIONS:

1. Emergency Interim Policy: A University Policy that is approved and implemented on a temporary basis in order to address a pressing concern. Policy development will be coordinated by the Policy Administrator, and participation may be limited to only those individuals needed to fashion the Policy to have the immediate effect needed. Emergency Interim Policies are valid for a period of one year after being approved by the President, unless a different time period is specified in the Policy. During the interim, the normal policy development process will take place to create the final Policy.
   
   
2. Executive Sponsor: A Vice President or member of the President's Cabinet who supports the Proposal to develop or revise a Policy.
   
   
3. Policy Administrator: The individual responsible for managing the development, drafting, approval, publication, enforcement, and maintenance of University Policies. At the time of adoption of this Policy, the Policy Administrator is in the Office of General Counsel, but may reside elsewhere in the organization in the future.
   
   
4. Policy Library: The online, electronic repository for all current University Policies. The Policy Administrator manages and maintains the online Policy Library and an archive of superseded/rescinded Policies that are available on request. The Policy Library will constitute the official depository for all University Policies.
   
   
5. Policy Owner: The unit head who has overall responsibility and authority for implementing the Policy, reviewing it periodically, requesting an update as needed, educating the persons affected by the Policy on its requirements, and providing any resources needed to carry out the Policy throughout its lifetime. The Policy Owner may or may not be the same as the Executive Sponsor but must be in the Executive Sponsor’s chain of command.
   
   
6. Procedure: A Procedure is an internal operational guideline pertaining to a specific University Division or Department through which a Policy is realized and followed. Procedures are not adopted by the Board or President, are subordinate to any related Policy, and may be approved by the responsible member of the President’s Cabinet. In the event of any conflict, a Policy governs over any related Procedure.
   
   
7. Proponent: The person or unit that proposes to adopt a new University Policy or revise an existing Policy.
   
   
8. Proposal/Impact Statement: The Proposal/Impact Statement (“Proposal”) is prepared on the prescribed form by the Proponent to provide background and justification for the proposed Policy, plus an analysis of the impacts that the new or revised Policy will have on the campus community and the resources required to adopt, implement, monitor and enforce it.
   
   
9. Stakeholders: Students, faculty, and staff who are affected by a Policy being developed by CSU Pueblo and who have an opportunity to comment on it during the drafting stage, unless the Policy is adopted as an emergency interim policy or is mandated by law.
   
   
10. University Policy (or “Policy”): A written statement of principles and rules that is approved by the University President or Board of Governors, applies broadly to the CSU Pueblo campus, provides guidance and assistance to the campus community in the conduct of university affairs, changes infrequently, and is applicable for the foreseeable future. Policies are binding on all university employees, students, contractors, visitors, and others as stated in the particular Policy.

POLICY

Policy Format and Content:

All University Policies will be in a standard policy format to ensure clarity and consistency. Policies will contain the sections described below:

• First Page Header: All University Policies will begin with a table, in the same format as used in this Policy, with the following information:
  • Title: The title is the primary means of identifying, locating, and referring to a Policy. The title should be clear, concise, and accurately represent the Policy content.
  • Policy ID Number: The Policy will be assigned an identification number by the Policy Administrator in accordance with this Policy.
  • Category: The Policy will be assigned to a category in the Policy Library.
  • Policy Owner(s). This field will identify the specific Division and Department that has overall responsibility for the Policy, any procedures, guidelines or forms adopted to implement the Policy, and for reviewing policies periodically to ensure they remain current, accurate and consistent with applicable laws, regulations and other Policies.
  • Draft or Final status of the Policy.
  • Effective Date: This is the date the Policy is signed by the President or the Board of Governors.
  • Revision Date. The last date that the Policy was revised.
  • New Policy or Revision of an existing Policy.
  • Contact(s): Provides information for contacting the responsible department or individual with questions, comments or concerns about the Policy.
    
    
• Purpose: A summary of the Policy and its purpose in relation to the University’s mission.
  
  
• Policy Applies to (Persons Affected): A description of the audience for the Policy, i.e., who is governed by it.
  
  
• Definitions: A list of the meanings of any specialized terms used in a Policy. Not all Policies will require definitions.
  
  
• Policy: A complete statement of the Policy. Policy drafters should avoid stating procedural matters such as how the responsible unit carries out compliance with the Policy.
  
  
• Responsibilities: A brief statement, when needed, of the responsibilities of various parties under the Policy.
  
  
• Related Laws and Policies: A brief statement of any applicable laws, regulations, or other policies that relate to the Policy.
  
  
• Forms: A listing and/or link to any official forms used in carrying out the Policy.
  
  
• Approval: All University Policies must be signed by the University President or the Board of Governors. No University Policy is effective or enforceable until signed by the appropriate official.
  
  
• History of Revisions: A listing of dates on which prior versions of the Policy were made effective.

Policy Development

Any Stakeholder may propose a Policy by submitting a Proposal/Impact Statement, in the prescribed format, to the Executive Sponsor and the Policy Administrator.

The Proponent and the Executive Sponsor shall confer and provide a Proposal/Impact Statement to the Policy Administrator, who will review the Proposal and make suggestions before bringing it forward to the President’s Cabinet for approval to proceed to policy development.

Once a Proposal is approved by the Cabinet to proceed to development, the Proponent and Executive Sponsor work with the Policy Administrator to create a draft.

Once the draft is satisfactory to the Executive Sponsor, the Policy Administrator will publish it on the Policies Under Development web page and assist the Executive Sponsor in gathering input from Stakeholders.

Stakeholders may submit comments during the period of time identified on the Policies Under Development page, usually 30 days. The Policy Administrator will receive these comments and review them with the Executive Sponsor or their designee and any other parties as necessary to produce the final draft.

The final draft of the Policy will be presented to the Cabinet for discussion and recommendation to the President to adopt it.

Publication and Maintenance:

To ensure ready access to policies, the Policy Administrator will maintain the Policy Library with the most current approved versions of all Policies.

Implementation:

The Policy Owner will coordinate education and training for relevant Stakeholders and enforce compliance after a Policy is adopted and published. Members of the University community are responsible for knowing, understanding, and complying with all University Policies. The Policy Administrator may assist the Policy Owner in these efforts and with the development of any necessary Procedures related to the Policy.

Review:

It is the responsibility of the Policy Owner to review all University Policies within their area of responsibility according to the schedule adopted at the time of adoption (typically every three years), to ensure currency and relevance. The Policy Administrator will notify the Policy Owner of the upcoming review date several months in advance.

Policy Retirement:

The University may retire a Policy when it has become inconsistent with legal or regulatory requirements, no longer reflects university practices or operations, or when the Policy is no longer needed. Previous versions of University Policies will be retained by the Policy Administrator for future reference but will not be posted in the official Policy Library.

Emergency Interim Policies:

The President may approve an Emergency Interim Policy whenever a Policy must be established too soon to permit the completion of the policy development process described in this Policy. Exigent circumstances where an interim Policy is necessary may include a change in applicable law, a significant and immediate financial opportunity, or a material risk to the University. Emergency Interim Policies must be documented in a format consistent with standard university Policies and published in the Policy Library.

Policy Revision:

Any change in policy language necessary to keep the Policy current, correct, and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations may be made at any time without following the full policy development process, with input from the Policy Owner. The Policy Administrator is responsible for drafting a Policy Revision. Policy revisions that are non-substantive may be approved by the Executive Sponsor.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Policy Administrator:

• Receive and/or produce a Proposal/Impact Statement for a new policy;
• Perform legal research, advise the University on policy matters, and draft all Policies and Policy Revisions in cooperation with the Proponent, Executive Sponsor, Policy Owner, and Stakeholders as appropriate.
• Create, publish, and maintain the Policy Library.
• Track the review periods of University Policies and notify the Policy Owner when the review time is coming up.
• Assist Policy Owners in educating and training the university community on University Policies.

Deputy General Counsel:

• Review all proposed policies and procedures for legal sufficiency and present proposed Policies to the Cabinet and President for discussion and approval.
• Provide legal advice to the University with respect to University Policies and their implementation, enforcement, and revision.

Policy Owner:

• Disseminate, implement, enforce, educate, and train constituents on a University Policy and any related Procedures under their area of responsibility.
• Periodically review all such policies and related procedures to ensure they are kept current.
• Develop related Procedures necessary to insure adequate internal controls and consistent enforcement of the Policy.

Executive Sponsor:

• Identify the need for a new University Policy, present the Proposal/Impact Statement and the final Policy to the Cabinet and President for approval.
• Approve non-substantive policy revisions.

President:

Approve all final University Policies, except those that must be approved by the Board of Governors of the CSU System pursuant to applicable laws or Board policies.

FORMS:

• Policy Proposal/Impact Statement

HISTORY OF REVISIONS:

Adopted: June 18, 2024