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Policies: Review and Approval

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES: REVIEW AND APPROVAL FOR CHANGES or ADDITIONS TO THE GP MANUAL

Institutional policies and procedures of the College shall be reviewed by the Shared Governance Committee (an advisory committee reporting to the College Affairs Committee) on an annual basis, or more often as needed to ensure that policies and procedures are being followed and/or are up to date.

Members of the College Board, College employees, or students may submit proposals, to the appropriate policy committee for a substantive change to the General Policies and Procedures Manual. Internal department procedures not delineated in the General Policies and Procedures Manual do not need to go through this process.

Proposals for new or revised Institutional Policies and Procedures shall first be considered by the individual and group(s) that has (have) immediate oversight of the policy or procedure. For example:

  • Academic Policies and Procedures: Admissions and Records; Academic Affairs; Chairmoot; Faculty Forum; Faculty Senate; Student Affairs
  • Business Policy and Procedures: Fiscal Services; Chief Financial Officer
  • Faculty Policy and Procedures: Faculty Forum; Faculty Senate; Vice President of Academic Affairs; Chairmoot
  • Human Resources Policy and Procedures: Human Resources Director
  • Student Policy and Procedures: Student Affairs; Vice President Student Affairs
  • Campus Safety Policy and Procedure: Safety Committee; Campus Safety; Vice President for Administration
  • Committee Charges and Membership: Committee members and its immediate constituents; College Affairs.

A policy committee shall hold two readings, open to the college community, on the proposed new or revised policy or procedure. Following an approved first reading, the committee chair shall inform the College of the revised or new policy or procedure via posting agendas and status updates on COCC Headlines for a comprehensive constituency review prior to the scheduled second reading. The policy committee will then hold a second reading, which may result in a recommendation for approval, tabling by the committee, or rescinding of the proposed change by the original proposer.

Items and information added the GPs due to state and/or federal mandates may be approved by College Affairs without requiring a first and second reading.  In these instances, College Affairs will function to review and clarify language and to facilitate communication of changes to the larger college community.

If the group reviewing the change in policy or procedure is a policy committee, that committee makes a recommendation to the College President for consideration of approval. Advisory committees and other groups submit recommendations to the committee they are advising or to the appropriate administrative unit within which the group resides. All other committees, including Administrative committees, shall submit their recommendation for a change in policy and procedures as described in their committee charge.

Once a change in policy or procedure has been vetted and recommended for approval as noted above by Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, or Faculty Senate, changes to any section of the GP Manual will be sent electronically to the College Affairs Chair as an information item using the Policy Committee Presentation/Proposal Form.

Following presidential approval of a change, within 30 calendar days of the approved chang/s the website version of the GP Manual will be updated by the Committee Specialist for College Affairs, or a designated substitute.

After the header for the GP manual section (for example, G-30-0 Academic Policies) with changes, include the following information using one of the following formats.

Example for a policy where no previous dates are listed:
       Approved: 9/14/2020
       Revised: effective date approved by the President

Example for a policy where previous revision dates are listed:
       Revised: effective date approved by the President

Example for a policy that has been moved:
       Revised: 9/3/2012; 3/4/2021 moved to G-28-2

Example for a policy that has been discontinued:
       Revised: 4/2/2014; 6/13/2016; 9/12/2022 discontinued

Any approved substantive change to the GP Manual shall be announced by the College Affairs Chair to the College via status updates using Headlines. The committee specialist shall post approved meeting minutes and proposals to the College Affairs web page. Individual departments are responsible for proactively communicating with the College about substantive changes they proposed that College Affairs had approved for the GP Manual

Faculty Forum, The ABS Union, and CACOCC Classified Association will be informed of substantive changes to the GP Manual (either through their membership on the College Affairs Committee or by being informed by the College Affairs Chair if they are not members of the committee) within two weeks of the College President approving the change, in order for them to notify their respective members. The College Affairs Chair shall post a summary of all changes to the GP Manual on COCC Headlines each quarter. Changes are also highlighted on the General Policies and Procedures website by the Committee Support Specialist or other designated individual. All change to the GP Manual must include an effective date. The College Affairs Committee Support Specialist will post updates on all proposals approved by College Affairs each quarter on the College Affairs web page.

All recommendations to the President by a College Committee shall be submitted using the following Recommendation Form (pdf).