Establishment of Policies

1. PURPOSE

Brigham Young University–Hawaii ("BYU–Hawaii" or "university") policies are statements of principle that guide university affairs. Administrative policies align operations with university mission, assist in establishing behavioral expectations across the university, and help communicate policy roles and responsibilities. BYU–Hawaii has established a process for developing, approving, implementing, monitoring, and improving official university-wide policies. This policy and accompanying procedures have been created to reduce risk and enhance university compliance with legal and ethical requirements by setting conduct requirements and communicating various policy roles and responsibilities. By doing this, university governance becomes more consistent, efficient, and transparent, reflecting applicable law, and best practices in higher education.

2. POLICY

All official university policies must be promulgated according to the standards stated in this policy. Only policies found on the official policies webpage of the university website (policies.byuh.edu) are official university policies. Various departments may implement their own policies applicable to their units so long as they do not conflict with official university policies. Any department policy requires written approval by the next highest-level authority.

Policies may have substantive and procedural aspects. If procedural aspects are core to the intent of the policy, they should be included in the policy. However, information that is considered a routine administrative or management process (e.g., forms, per diem information, contact information, etc.) does not need to be included in policy, but may be outlined in university procedural manuals and electronically linked to the relevant policy.

3. IMPLEMENTATION

3.1. POLICY APPROVAL PROCESS

All official university policies, which includes new or revised policies, must be coordinated and approved in the following manner:

1. The department sponsoring the policy will present a draft copy of the policy to the Office of Compliance & Ethics ("OCE").
2. OCE will also consult with Human Resources and the BYU Office of the General Counsel to determine those policies which are substantially legal and regulatory in nature. Those policies with substantial legal and regulatory implications will be coordinated by the Office of Compliance & Ethics.
3. OCE will review the proposed draft policy, note any conflicts or duplication, and suggest possible revisions to coordinate with current policies.
4. After consultation with OCE, the sponsoring department presents the proposed policy to the member of the President’s Council with functional responsibility for the policy (the responsible university officer) for conceptual approval. Once approved by the responsible university officer, the proposed policy, policy change, or policy termination will be submitted by the department with an explanatory memo authored by OCE to the President’s Council for approval. The President’s Council may 1) approve the policy in concept; 2) approve the policy in concept with changes; 3) reject changes to the draft; or 4) reject the policy. In the event changes are requested, OCE will coordinate with the policy owner, the responsible university officer, or the BYU Office of the General Counsel to draft language effecting the suggested changes. If necessary, the revised draft of the policy will be sent back to the President’s Council for further review.
5. Where appropriate, when approved in concept by the President’s Council, OCE will send the draft policy to the BYU Office of the General Counsel, who will review the policy for legal sufficiency. The BYU Office of the General Counsel will either approve the policy draft as being substantially legally sufficient or, alternatively, communicate that a legal hold has been placed on the policy to allow for a more in-depth review. At any point in the process, the BYU Office of the General Counsel may recommend changes to the policy language.
6. The BYU Office of the General Counsel and the responsible university officer will collaborate on any needed revisions to the specific policy to ensure compliance with the law and/or to promote harmony with other university policies. If there are substantive changes, the policy may be returned to the President’s Council for review and final approval.
7. Once the policy is reviewed by the BYU Office of the General Counsel (and the President’s Council if further discussion occurred), OCE is responsible for posting the policy to the university’s policy website, eliminating former policies, implementing a periodic and regular review of the policy, and coordinating with university archives documentation to be preserved.

Non-material changes, such as correcting typographical errors, word clarifications, and definitions, policy category changes, may be made by OCE without further approval. These changes will be noted in a file maintained by OCE.

3.2 POLICY ROTATION AND REGULAR REVIEW

The responsible university officer and policy owner should conduct regular and ongoing reviews of their policies as is applicable to changes within their departments and organizations. Further, OCE is responsible for conducting policy reviews at least every three years or as dictated by changes in applicable law, in which case such policy review and necessary changes should be implemented as soon as possible, with appropriate approval.

3.3 POSTING OF POLICIES

Policies are intended to be internal to the university and should not be posted on the university home page or other public access sites without the express approval of the President’s Council.

4. RELATED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES