Financial Department: Policies & Procedures Guidelines Manual

POLICY AND PROCEDURES WRITING GUIDE

Drafting a Policy – Policy Format
all policies must follow a standard format to ensure consistency between policies. Below is a description of the information that should be included under each major heading.

Policy Number – for new policy drafts, this section should remain blank until a number is assigned by the Policy Group. For revisions, this number will remain unchanged.

Effective and Revised Dates – to be determined by Policy Group.

Policy Title – should capture the content of the policy; should not include the word “policy.”

Purpose – a brief statement of the purpose of the policy which many include a basic explanation for the policy if not apparent on its face.

Additional Authority – list of statute, regulation, State Board policy, Executive Order, or other relevant authority governing the policy.

Scope – to who or what does the policy apply? For example, all employees, or all credit card payments.

Responsible Party – list unit, department or other pertinent area responsible for administering or enforcing policy. A contact phone number should also be included, but due to the difficulty associated with updating information, please do not name specific contact employees.

Definitions – uncommon words or words with meanings unique to higher education should be defined and listed in alphabetical order.