The policy on Development, Approval and Administration of University Policies separates the authority for approval of non-academic policy from the authority for approval of related procedures, the former resting with the Board of Regents and the latter with the administration, through the policy Sponsor. The framework which governs the approval of University procedures is:

a. A Responsible Unit is assigned to every procedure to ensure oversight and review of the procedure.

b. Since procedures facilitate the implementation of policies, and forms are used to operationalize the actions, any related forms must be developed, accessible and maintained as new or revised procedures are approved.

c. For new policy development, any related procedures are developed (or revised) at the same time and are approved by the Board of Regents as part of the policy submission to ensure completeness with respect to implementing the new policy.

d. Responsible Units are required to review the procedures and the related forms for which they are responsible when technological, operational and/or organizational changes occur, or at least as often as the parent policy is reviewed, to ensure the procedures are current and relevant.

e. Changes to existing procedures may be made independent of changes to the parent policy(ies). As well, new related procedures may be introduced, as required.

When changes to existing procedures or the introduction of new procedures occur independently of changes to the parent policy(ies), these occur as follows:

• The Responsible Unit submits the request for change(s) to an existing procedure or introduction of a new procedure, in writing, to the Sponsor of the parent policy. To ensure that the principles of consultation are honored in changing or introducing procedures, the Sponsor asks the Policy Advisory Group to consider the changes or the new procedures and submit recommendations to the Sponsor, in writing.
• In cases where there are advisory committees or boards affiliated with a particular policy, their feedback is sought in addition to that of the Policy Advisory Group. The Sponsor makes the final decision on the proposal, based on the original submission and the feedback received from the Policy Advisory Group (and applicable consultative group). One exception is the University-Wide Procedures for Sexual Harassment Concerns and Complaints for which the Sexual Harassment Board has the authority to approve changes.
• When a proposal for changes to an existing procedure or the introduction of a new procedure is accepted, the updates are made to the policy database and are communicated using methods similar to communicating policy approvals.