1. Reason for Procedure

The purpose of Clark College’s official administrative policies and procedures is to ensure compliance and accountability, establish best practices, reduce and mitigate risk, and promote a safe and productive learning and working environment.

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 recommendations contrary to this provision. Human Resources is responsible for managing additions, corrections, and revisions to the printed and electronic versions of the manual, as approved by the Executive Cabinet (EC).

2. Scope

This procedure applies to the entire campus community.

3. Definitions

• Policy: A policy is defined as a set of governing principles, approved by the EC, to define, direct, guide, and limit its actions in pursuit of long-term goals.

• Procedure: A procedure is defined as a system of processes that operationalize a policy. Procedures provide guidance to standardize and streamline operational processes and help to implement policy.

• Policy Owner: A Policy Owner is the EC member with oversight of the policy section(s) relevant to their unit.

• Policy Sponsor: A Policy Sponsor is typically a director or dean, with direct, day-to-day oversight of the area impacted by the policy/procedure. The Policy Sponsor is the person who initiates the review, revision, or creation of a policy or procedure.

4. Procedures

Policy Development Process

To review, create, revise, or rescind an administrative policy or procedure, the Policy Sponsor must complete the appropriate forms and submit them to the Policy Owner. If the Policy Owner agrees to move the policy proposal forward, they will designate members of their unit to work to fulfill the proposed changes. These designees may be standing members or ad hoc members, depending on the Policy Owner's preference and/or unit’s needs and capacity.

The Policy Sponsor should consult with impacted groups and gather input during the drafting or revision processes. The Policy Sponsor must evaluate the policy using the Policy Review Rubric. The Policy Sponsor must provide a draft of the policy to the Policy Owner for approval prior to submitting it to the College’s Administrative Policies and Procedures Committee (APPC).

Note: In Clark College’s Administrative Policies and Procedures 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.

Policy Approval Process

The typical process for approving a policy is as follows:

1. The APPC Chair includes the policy proposal on the committee meeting agenda for discussion.

2. Policies will have at least two official readings by the APPC. Consensus is the preferred method for decision-making after each reading. If consensus cannot be reached, a vote will be taken, and a simple majority will decide.

a. First Reading: The Policy Sponsor will present the recommended policy proposal to the APPC. As part of the presentation, the Policy Sponsor will explain how their policy development addressed the Policy Review Rubric.

b. APPC members may offer suggestions for further revision or enhancement of the policy. During the time between the first and second readings, APPC members should gather input from those who may be impacted by the potential policy change.

3. Second Reading: The Policy Sponsor presents the latest version of the policy to the APPC. If the APPC approves the new, revised or rescinded policy, the Policy Sponsor submits the policy to the EC and any relevant mandatory subjects’ notices should be sent to the Unions. The EC then reviews the recommended policy. The EC may approve the policy as it is presented, send the policy back to the APPC for revision, or not approve the policy. Policies returned by the EC to the APPC for revision must go through an additional official reading before being submitted again to the EC. Once the EC has approved a policy proposal, the new, revised (or rescinded) policy will be published in (or removed from) the College’s Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual on the Clark College website.

4. The APPC Chair will send an email to the College community at least once each quarter outlining all Administrative Policy & Procedure changes.

Policies requiring only nominal or minor changes (e.g., corrections of job titles, typos, gender-neutral language, updating standards to align with required version changes, etc.) do not need two readings. The APPC will review the changes in one reading and provide notification to the EC of the nominal or minor changes. The Policy Owner must be consulted and approve nominal or minor changes prior to said changes being considered at the next scheduled APPC meeting.

5. Forms

Administrative Policy and Procedure Committee Manual

6. Responsibilities

Development and revision of policies and procedures is delegated by the EC to the College’s advisory Administrative Policies and Procedures Committee (see Policy 808.000). Human Resources is responsible for managing additions, corrections, and revisions to the printed and electronic versions of the manual, as approved by the 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. Any employee or student may propose a policy or procedure in accordance with this process by working with the relevant Policy Sponsor.

Individual departments or units may further develop standard operating processes that are necessary to support their work. These processes should be documented but will not be codified in the Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual.

7. Related Legal and Policy Authorities

This section identifies other legal and policy authorities related to administering this procedure that should be consulted because they are interconnected.
• Federal law
• State law
• Regulations
• Related Board or College policy
• NWCCU

8. Procedure History

 

New Policy/Procedure Approved by Executive Cabinet
February 11, 2020

Revised Policy/Procedure Approved by Executive Cabinet
May 5, 2020
October 29, 2024