Procedure to Develop New Policy

Policy Manual

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UNR Med Procedure to Develop New Policy

When preparing policy proposals, use the following tips to guide the creation of the proposed policy and speed up the processing time.

Roles and Responsibilities in Policy Creation and Revision:

The Policy Oversight Committee (POC) serves an administrative review function to ensure that drafted policies align with existing policies without creating redundancies. The committee does not draft or review policy content beyond clarity or consistency of language with other policies. The committee does not approve policy. Only groups in the UNR Med bylaws, which have been granted authority to make and approve policy (hereafter, policy-making bodies or PMB), may submit policies for review through the POC. These policy-making bodies are responsible for drafting, revising, approving, disseminating and maintaining their policies. Each new policy needs to have a representative from the PMB who is responsible for presenting the policy to the POC to provide context and answer questions. By default, the chair of these committees is the designated accountable for policy maintenance, unless there is a defined designee. The POC will ask the following questions of the policy proposal:

  1. Which PMB office/committee is responsible for this policy?
  2. Who is presenting it to the POC committee?
  3. Is the PMB committee chair the designated position, who is accountable for implementing, disseminating, and maintaining this policy?
  4. Is the PMB committee submitting the policy draft also the approving agent (e.g., Executive Committee, GMEC, AEC, Faculty Council)?
  5. Does the policy provide a clear and adequate purpose for the policy
  6. Does the policy overlap or coincide with other UNR/UNR Med policies?
  7. What is the PMB plan and timeline for disseminating, reviewing, and potentially revising the policy?

Policy Rationale:

  1. Policies help set expectations, accountability and consistency in organizations. However, creating a policy is not always the best method for meeting these goals. These questions help determine adequate justification for a new policy:
  2. Does this proposal promote compliance with identified laws, regulations, or accreditation requirements?
  3. Would this proposal enhance the school's (or group therein) serve its mission and vision of "A Healthy Nevada"?
  4. Does the PMB need to require consistent practices of UNR Med stakeholders?
  5. Would this proposal reduce barriers to the school achieving its objectives and serving its mission?
  6. Does this proposal apply to more than one office, department or committee?
  7. Is it reasonable to expect that people could be held accountable to this proposal?

Policy Relationships:

If the PMB has determined that the proposal warrants a new policy, the next step is describing how the new policy relates to the existing policies within our system of policies. To avoid redundancy, inconsistency, or isolated mandates, review existing, relevant policies at all levels of the system: federal/state government, Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), the University of Nevada, Reno (e.g., bylaws and UAM), the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (e.g., bylaws and other handbooks).

Policy Writing:

Here are some questions to help the PMB find sample language and structure for the policy:

  1. Do other institutions have similar policies?
  2. Is this proposal considered evidence-based or a "best practice"?
  3. Is there a similar policy at NSHE / UNR / UNR Med that can serve as a model?

Management Responsibilities:

Once the proposed policy is ready to submit to the POC, the PMB chair, or designee, will design a plan with their policy-making body to disseminate, implement, and maintain the policy, once effective.

  • Dissemination: Create a communication plan to share the policy update to both the persons affected by the policy and those who need to know about the policy.
  • Implementation: Determine which person(s) is/are responsible for enforcing the policy. Creating an implementation plan and a timeline, however informal, will make it easier to assess the efficacy of the policy.
  • Maintenance: The policy-making body will determine how frequently this policy will need to be reviewed and potentially revised. It is the responsibility of the policy's PMB designee to initiate the review process and bring any proposed revisions back to the POC.