Purpose
Clark College maintains college policies and procedures to provide compliance and accountability, to establish best practices, to resolve conflict, to promote a productive environment in which to work, and a safe environment in which students can learn and grow.

The terms and conditions stated in the Administrative Policies and Procedures manual do not constitute a contract with any person or group and may be updated, revised, amended, or revoked by Clark College at any time. No one except the Board of Trustees or the president is authorized to make representations contrary to this provision.

Administrative Services is responsible for managing additions, corrections, and revisions to the printed and electronic versions of the manual, as approved by the Executive Cabinet (EC).

Individuals engaged in developing and/or maintaining any college policy or procedure, and/or wishing to create a new college policy or procedure, must adhere to the requirements outlined below.

For general questions regarding Clark College administrative policies and procedures, please contact policies_procedures@clark.edu.

Authorized Entities
To review, create, or revise an administrative policy or procedure, the originator (the person who initiates the review, revision, or creation of a policy or procedure) must complete the appropriate forms and submit them to their Executive Cabinet Representative.  The proposed policy or procedure is then reviewed by the Administrative Policies and Procedure Committee (APPC).  All policies and procedures are approved by Executive Cabinet.

Terminology
For purposes of Clark College’s Administrative Policies and Procedures manual, a policy is defined as a set of basic principles, approved by the governing body of an organization, to direct and limit its actions in pursuit of long-term goals.

Policy defines and drives:

• College behaviors, expectations, principles, and culture
• Regulatory compliance

A procedure is defined as a system of specific rules, processes, and steps that operationalize a policy.  In Clark College’s administrative manual, each sub-section begins with a policy statement.  Relevant procedures are then assigned under a policy.  Every procedure must be linked to a specific policy statement.

• Procedures provide step-by-step instruction in order to:
• Provide instruction on “how to get something done”
• Standardize and streamline operational processes
• Provide training materials
• Document experiential knowledge to reduce risk and preserve intellectual capital
• Instantiate policy

 

Operational Policy and Procedure Review, Development, Approval, and Dissemination

Review of policy or procedure: Custodians of policies and procedures will be required to conduct comprehensive reviews every two years (even-numbered manual sections in even-numbered years; odd-numbered sections in odd-numbered years).

Initiation of new or revised policy or procedure: Any individual or unit within Clark College may identify the need for new or revised policies or procedures.   They must first obtain sponsorship from their Executive Cabinet member to initiate the process.

Development of new or revised policy: The initiator must complete the Administrative Policies and Procedures Review form and submit to their Executive Cabinet member.  The EC member and initiator must ensure the proposed policy or procedure has been vetted for mission alignment, equity, compliance, need and practicality, and housekeeping. Policies and procedures that cannot demonstrate they’ve been thoroughly vetted will be returned to the initiator by the APPC.

The following principles shall guide policy and procedure development:

• Consistency: Is the policy or procedure internally consistent?  Is it consistent with other policies procedures and supporting documents, including established Board policy?
• Need and Practicality: Is the proposed policy or procedure needed, practical, and reasonable? Are the criteria flexible enough to allow for some discretion in decision-making using a principles-based approach, with due regard for any legal or other externally imposed requirements to which the policy or procedure must adhere?
• Core to the Mission: Is a policy or procedure necessary in a given case to (a) promote Clark College’s mission or its relationship with key stakeholders, (b) advance a college-wide risk management or operational efficiency objective, or (c) implement a legal or other externally imposed requirement? Would the proposed guidance be better served or made more effective through another type of document?
• Equity: Is the policy or procedure consistent with the college’s commitment to social equity? Does it further the college’s mission to create a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all faculty, staff, students, and visitors?

 

Approval, return, or denial of new or revised policy or procedure: Once all required documents are completed, the appropriate EC member will submit the proposed policy or procedure to the APPC.  APPC will determine whether the policy or procedure will be forwarded on to EC for final approval, returned to the initiator, or denied. 

If approved by EC, the Vice President of Administrative Services will update the Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual and communicate all changes to the college community.

If returned, the proposed revision or creation of a policy or procedure will be returned to the originator and sponsoring EC member with instruction of needs for additional consideration.

If denied, all forms will be returned to originator and EC member with information for reasoning for not adopting the requested revision or creation.

Resubmission of new or revised policy or procedure: Should the proposal be returned or denied, it may be re-submitted for approval by including the original request along with an updated request that clearly delineates what changes were made and how these changes address the instructions and reasoning for return or denial of the original request.