Disclaimer
The authoritative source of information concerning Board approved policies and procedures governing academic and administrative matters is the Policy Manual of the Board of Regents. In cases of inconsistency, Board of Regents policy takes precedence.
Policy Requirements
Policy Number: .11
Effective Date: August 2, 2019
Revision History: August 1, 2018; May 25, 2017
Policy Contact: Executive Director of Plans, Policies, and Analysis
Purpose and Policy Statement
This policy governs the policy structure of Georgia Gwinnett College, which includes all stages of policy management:
- Designation of official College policy publications and their administrative proponents;
- Accessibility of policy publications;
- Ensuring consistency with Board of Regents policies;
- Ensuring consistency among GGC policies;
- Assignment of responsibility for policy development, revision, and approval through appropriate institutional processes;
- Dissemination of policies and changes to affected parties;
- Implementation and enforcement; and
- Review, revision, and notification of changes.
Scope
This policy applies to all GGC faculty and staff who contribute to the creation of new policies or updating of existing policies. Failure to comply with the provisions of this policy will result in the nullification of any resulting policy.
Definitions
Policy: An operating principle or required course of action that is:
- Reviewed by the staffs of the Office of Plans, Policies, and Analysis, the Office of Legal Affairs, and the GGC vice presidents
- Adopted by the Cabinet or Faculty Senate
- Published in one of the official GGC policy publications;
- Communicated to those affected by it.
Regulatory or procedural language published in any document other than the APM or Catalog is not a policy.
Procedure: A list of specific steps that need to be taken in order to enact a policy. Procedures are not usually approved at the Cabinet or Faculty Senate level.
Proponent: The GGC administrator who is responsible for the creation, updating, and enforcement of a policy.
Publication of Policy Requirements
The Policy Requirements policy will be published in the Administrative Policy Manual and the GGC Catalog.
Policy Development and Revision
New policies will be developed and current policies will be revised as the need arises. In addition, all policies will be reviewed and revised annually to ensure that they accurately represent the College’s programs, services, and needs. As Board of Regents policies are changed, the Office of the President staff will provide the change to the person identified as the policy proponent, who will be responsible for reviewing and revising current policies.
Official Policy Publications and Proponents
Any GGC policy must meet the requirements noted above in the policy definition to be considered an official College policy. The two official policy publications and their respective administrative proponents are the:
- Administrative Policy Manual (APM): President
- Georgia Gwinnett College Catalog (Catalog): Vice President for Enrollment Management Services.
Authority over and responsibility for the Faculty Manual has been delegated by the GGC President and Cabinet to the shared governance structure of the Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs/Provost (SVPASAP) and the Faculty Senate. Regulatory and procedural language that is narrowly applicable to individuals holding faculty appointments along with references to faculty-focused institutional policies may be published in the Faculty Manual.
Authority over and responsibility for the Student Handbook has been delegated by the GGC President and Cabinet to the SVPASAP and Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs. Regulatory and procedural language that is narrowly applicable to students along with references to student-focused institutional policies may be published in the Student Handbook.
Neither the Georgia Gwinnett College website, nor any other College publication is an official institutional policy publication. Rules, regulations, requirements, processes, and procedures created by divisions, however, are binding and compliance with them is mandatory, as long as they meet the following requirements:
- Developed in a clear process
- Communicated in written format to those affected by them
- Approved by the appropriate vice president
- Compliant with all applicable College and BOR policies including federal and state mandates
- Consistently implemented and enforced.
This policy will govern the content of any policies that are published on the website or in any other college publication.
Accessibility of Policy Publications
The two official policy publications are available on the GGC public website (ggc.edu).
Ensuring Consistency with Board of Regents Policies
All GGC policies will be consistent with Board of Regents policies. All policy manuals will carry a disclaimer that reiterates the primacy of Board of Regents policies as follows:
“The authoritative source of information concerning Board-approved policies and procedures governing academic and administrative matters is the Policy Manual of the Board of Regents. In cases of inconsistency, Board of Regents policy takes precedence.”
GGC policies will also be consistent with the various handbooks that the Board of Regents provides to guide policy implementation. These include, but are not limited to, the Academic Affairs Handbook, Business Procedures Manual, Information Technology Handbook and Human Resources Administrative Practice Manual (HRAP).
Ensuring Consistency Among GGC Policies
The APM is GGC’s primary policy publication. The Catalog must carry the following disclaimer:
“The Administrative Policy Manual is Georgia Gwinnett College’s primary policy manual. In the event of conflict between the Catalog and the Administrative Policy Manual, the Administrative Policy Manual prevails.”
Whenever an APM policy is published in any GGC manual or handbook, Catalog, or GGC website, the following elements of the policy must be published in their entirety:
- Policy header (title, policy number, effective date, revision history, and policy contact)
- Purpose and Policy Statement
- Scope
- Link to the complete policy.
Dissemination of Policy to Stakeholders
Dissemination responsibility for the APM lies within the Office of the President. In each publication cycle, newly approved policies and approved changes will be widely distributed to the affected parties (e.g., faculty, staff, students and/or the public), using appropriate communication means.
Policy Matrix
The Policy Matrix provides the official record of GGC policy publication(s) in which each policy will be published. It also documents where policies may be found in addition to their originating document and lists the proponent for each policy. Office of the President staff are responsible for updating the Policy Matrix for each publication cycle
Implementation and Enforcement
The APM will be published four times each year. Policies will go into effect upon the next policy manual publication date. If an immediate change in policy is required, it must have the documented approval of the President.
It is the responsibility of all faculty, administrators, staff, and students to be knowledgeable of policies, rules, regulations, requirements, processes, and procedures and to follow them.
The Office of Plans, Policies, and Analysis is responsible for the administrative activities (e.g., record keeping, dissemination, and procedural enforcement) associated with institutional policy development, approval, and management. Coordination, enforcement, annual review, and identification of necessary changes to an individual policy are the responsibility of the policy’s proponent. Policy review is an ongoing process with revised and new policies considered as needed. If, due to changes in the environment or needs, a policy becomes outdated, the proponent should be notified so that the policy can be modified as needed.
The administrative proponents for the official policy publications are responsible for incorporating new or revised policies into their respective publications and for ensuring consistency across publications and the website.
Related Regulations, Statutes, Policies, and Procedures
APM .12 Procedure Requirements
Policy Number: .12
Effective Date: August 2, 2019
Revision History: May 25, 2017
Policy Contact: Executive Director of Plans, Policies, and Analysis
Purpose and Policy Statement
The Procedure Requirements policy governs the publication of procedure manuals at Georgia Gwinnett College. Pursuant to the requirements of the Board of Regents and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, all procedures and processes must be developed and approved through a clear process, must be published in such a way as to be available to all impacted parties, and must be consistently implemented and enforced.
Scope
This policy applies to all GGC faculty and staff who contribute to the creation of new procedures or updating of existing procedures. Failure to comply with the provisions of this policy will result in the nullification of any resulting procedure.
Definitions
Policy: An operating principle or required course of action that is:
- Reviewed by the staffs of the Office of Plans, Policies, and Analysis, the Office of Legal Affairs, and the GGC vice presidents
- Adopted by the Cabinet
- Published in one of the official GGC policy publications
- Communicated to those affected by it.
Regulatory or procedural language published in any document other than the APM or Catalog is not a policy.
Procedure: A list of specific steps that need to be taken in order to enact a policy. Procedures are not usually approved at the Cabinet level.
Proponent: The GGC administrator who is responsible for the creation, updating, and enforcement of a policy.
Accessibility of Procedure Manuals
Procedure manuals will be available digitally in an appropriate location, as determined by the proponent, and in hard copy in the office responsible for executing any portion of any process or procedure contained within the manual.
Ensuring Consistency with Board of Regents
All GGC procedures will be consistent with Board of Regents policy and procedure requirements. All procedure manuals will carry a disclaimer that reiterates the primacy of Board of Regents policies as follows:
“The authoritative source of information concerning Board approved policies and procedures governing academic and administrative matters is the Policy Manual of the Board of Regents. In cases of inconsistency, Board of Regents policy takes precedence.”
GGC procedures are to be consistent with the various handbooks that the Board of Regents provides to guide policy implementation. These include the Academic Affairs Handbook, Business Procedures Manual, Human Resources Administrative Practice Manual (HRAP), Information Technology Handbook, and any other relevant document published by the Board of Regents or the University System of Georgia offices.
Ensuring Accuracy
Procedure manuals must be accurate in that they use correct names and titles for GGC and BOR policies, employees, divisions, units, programs, and so on. Procedures must also be updated on a regular basis and contain accurate examples of forms and related documents used to enact policies.
Assignment of Responsibility
Each Vice President and his/her staff will develop a written procedure for the development, revision, approval, and maintenance of procedure documents within the division. At a minimum, this procedure must document how procedures are developed, approved, and revised, how and where procedure manuals are published, what steps are taken to ensure that procedure manuals are available to all relevant parties, and how the Division will ensure that procedures are implemented and enforced.
Notification of Procedural Changes
In each publication cycle, newly approved procedures or changes to existing procedures will be widely distributed to the affected parties (e.g., faculty, staff, students and/or the public), using appropriate communication means.
Implementation and Enforcement
Vice Presidents are responsible for implementation and enforcement of all procedures within their divisions. This responsibility may be delegated as appropriate, provided the necessary authority for enforcement is also delegated.
Related Regulations, Statutes, Policies, and Procedures
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Principles of Accreditation
Policy Matrix
The policy matrix will govern in which official policy publications each GGC policy will be published. It also will govern the policies that will be published on the GGC website. It will also designate the proponent for each policy.
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