See the University's policy regarding university-wide administrative policy development.

The sponsor shall determine appropriate university officials, committees, or groups to include in the discussion of the proposed or revised policy.

Official templates for development of university-wide administrative policies and procedures.

Download the Microsoft Word document templates to be used for development and submission of university-wide administrative policies and procedures.

Policy Template (DOCX)
Procedure Template (DOCX)

Guidance and language to consider when policy compliance may warrant escalation.

Known incidents of non-compliance may be escalated. Escalation determination shall include consideration of university policies and procedures, the level of severity, and the risk to the university and/or its constituents. Escalation may result in notification of immediate supervisors up to and including university officials, committees, external entities and/or the board of trustees.

Situations that might result in escalation:

• Willful neglect
• Intentional non-compliance
• Repeat offenders
• Inadvertent non-compliance creating high level risk

You may contact us at compliance@louisville.edu for questions about policy escalation.

Please email us at policies@louisville.edu for further assistance.

A step-by-step process for policy development and approval. This outlined process aligns with the university's policy on Developing and Approving University Administrative Policies. Contact policies@louisville.edu with questions regarding the creation and approval process.

1. Policy Creation:

A. Identify the Need for a Policy.

• A unit/department/committee or other group identifies the need for a new or revised Administrative Policy.
• Once the need is identified, the policy will need to be assigned to a sponsor. The sponsor must be at a Vice President or Vice Provost level or higher and is usually the Administrative Authority who has oversight responsibility of the Responsible Unit or Department that will oversee, maintain, and implement the policy. For Substantive Revisions to existing policy, the sponsor is the assigned Administrative Authority. You may contact the UICO to determine an appropriate sponsor.
• The sponsor must approve the need for a new policy or Substantive Revisions to an existing policy.
• The sponsor (or delegate) should consult with the UICO for guidance on the policy creation and approval process.

B. Draft Policy.

• The Responsible Unit or Department drafts or revises the policy per the approved policy template. https://louisville.edu/policies/policies-and-procedures/templates/policy-template-docx
• The sponsor then takes the draft policy to the President and the President’s Leadership Team to obtain feedback on whether to move forward with the proposed policy or the Substantive Revisions to an existing policy.

C. Vetting Process.

• The sponsor determines the appropriate vetting of a new or revised policy and is responsible for vetting the new or revised policy with appropriate University constituents. Policies impacting staff should be vetted with Staff Senate. Policies impacting faculty should be vetted with Faculty Senate. Policies impacting students should be vetted with the Student Government Association. All policies should be vetted with University Counsel. Questions regarding other groups to vet a policy should be directed to policies@louisville.edu.
• Communications with Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, or other groups must be coordinated through the sponsor and the respective senate or committee chairs.
• The sponsor considers all feedback received from the vetting process and makes further revisions to the new or revised policy, as determined necessary.

2. Policy Review:

A. University Counsel Review of Policy.

• The sponsor (or designee within the Responsible Unit or Department) submits the proposed new or revised draft policy to the Office of General Counsel and VP for Legal Affairs for review and feedback.
• The Office of General Counsel and VP for Legal Affairs reviews and provides feedback to the sponsor and advises whether the policy requires submission to the Office of the President for presentation to the Board of Trustees for final approval or continues through the standard creation and approval process.
• The sponsor considers feedback received from the Office of General Counsel and makes further revisions to the new or revised policy, as determined necessary.
B. University Integrity and Compliance Office Review of Policy.
• The sponsor (or designee within the Responsible Unit or Department) submits the proposed draft policy to the UICO for review.
• The UICO reviews and provides feedback to the sponsor (or designee) and advises on next steps regarding the creation and approval process.
• The sponsor considers feedback received from the UICO and makes further revisions to the new or revised policy, as determined necessary.

3. Policy Approval:

A. President and President’s Senior Leadership Team Approval.

• The sponsor presents the final proposed draft policy to the President and the President’s Senior Leadership Team for review and approval. This is the final approval step, unless the policy requires Board of Trustees approval. If Board of Trustees approval is required, see step 3.B.
• The sponsor considers the feedback received from the President and the President’s Senior Leadership Team.

B. University Board of Trustees Approval.

• The sponsor provides a final draft of the new or revised policy to the President for presentation and recommendation to the Board of Trustees for final approval of the policy.

4. Policy Implementation: Policy Publication.

• The sponsor (or designee of the Responsible Unit or Department) submits the final, approved policy to the UICO for publication in the Policy and Procedure Library.
• The UICO publishes the policy in the University’s Policy and Procedure Library and sends a copy of the final policy and the link to the publication to the sponsor.

Style guidance, general tips and how to determine whether you have a policy or procedure.

Writing Tips - Policy versus Procedure

A Policy: states a mandatory rule or official position, states what to do and why, is generally brief, and has longevity.

A Procedure: states the steps to meet the rule or position, answers how, when, who and sometimes what, is generally more detailed (than a policy), may change frequently as processes continue to improve.

General Tips on Writing a Policy or Procedure:

• Use direct and simple language that is easy to understand
• Define new and uncommon terminology and terms that can have more than one meaning
• Spell out acronyms when used for the first time
• Avoid using an individual's name (to help eliminate information from becoming outdated)
• Link to related policies, procedures, guidelines
• Check for consistency with other documents (no contradictions)
• If it's not mandatory, it may be guidance/best practice
• Refer to the University Editorial Styleguide for editorial questions, including abbreviations and capitalization

Additional Policy Writing Resources:

• Association of College and University Policy Administrators
• Center for Plain Language
• National Archives Plain Language Tools

Check the frequently asked questions for additional information.