4 August 2016 Policy Post

To: Faculty and Staff

From: Nadia Singh, Assistant University Secretary, Secretariat & Office of General Counsel

Subject: Policy Renewal Project

Date: 4 August 2016

BACKGROUND

The Secretariat & Office of General Counsel (SOGC) manages the library of policies, procedures and guidelines with application across the University. In connection with this responsibility, the SOGC has undertaken the Policy Renewal Project (the Project), with the aim of reviewing and renewing the policy management framework and existing library of university policies.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

1. SETTING THE SCHEDULE FOR REVIEW

When the Project was conceived in 2012-2013, it was thought that the full library of policies could be reviewed and renewed over a five year plan. The two overarching goals of the Project, as originally conceived, were to review the framework within which university policies are managed, making improvements where necessary, and to review and update existing policies to improve clarity, consistency and relevance.

In consultation with the President of the University, we are in the process of reworking the original five year plan. It has become evident that in order to achieve the main goals of the Project we must extend the Project by a minimum of 2 years.This new schedule will be published on this dedicated webpage as soon as it is finalized.

A number of factors were taken into consideration in determining the schedule for review.Some of these factors include:

a) The progress made over the course of Years 1 and 2 of the Project, and the lessons we have learned as we have executed that work;

b) the originally scheduled policies for review in Year 3;

c) requests from the campus community for review of policies outside of those scheduled for Year 3;

d) the processes at the center of the policy management framework contained in Policy 1, including the people and processes supporting policy initiation and review, communicating changes to university policies, providing policy interpretation, and managing the library of current and prior versions of policies; and

e) the need to enable meaningful consultation.

2. SUCCESSFUL POLICY REVIEWS FROM YEAR 1 AND YEAR 2

Year 1

Policy 5 – Salary Administration

Policy 6 – Vacation – Staff

Policy 7 – Gift Acceptance

Policy 18 – Staff Employment

Policy 40 – The Chair

Policy 59 – Reduced Workload to Retirement

Year 2

Policy 11 – University Risk Management

Policy 17 – Quotations and Tenders

Policy 20 – Lost and Found

Policy 34 – Health, Safety and Environment

Policy 44 – Research Centres and Institutes

Policy 60 – University of Waterloo Emergency Response

3. YEAR 3 – COMPLETED POLICY REVIEWS

2015/2016 Is Year 3 of the Policy Renewal Project.

The following Policies were renewed in Year 3:

Policy 8 – Information Security (Consolidated into NEW Policy 46 – Information Management)

Policy 12 – Records Management (Consolidated into NEW Policy 46 – Information Management)

Policy 13 – Archives (Consolidated into NEW Policy 46 – Information Management)

Policy 19 – Access To and Release of Student Information (Consolidated into NEW Policy 46 – Information Management)

Policy 29 – Smoking

4. YEAR 4 – POLICY REVIEWS CONTINUING FROM YEAR 3

The renewal of the following Policies began in Year 3, and will continue into Year 4:

Policy 14 – Pregnancy and Parental Leave

Policy 30 – Employment of Graduate Teaching Assistants

Policy 33 – Ethical Behaviour

Policy 42 – Protocol and Response to Sexual Violence

Policy 53 – Environmental Sustainability

Policy 54 – Definition of Staff

Policy 55 – Survey Administration

Policy 61 – Religious Accommodation

Policy 67 - Employee Assistance Program (EAP)