Development Steps for Policy Owners and Writers

Policies are developed in response to operational needs, best practices, risk avoidance or mitigation, or external requirements stemming from regulations, laws, or UC Policy. Policies are typically owned and written by the manager of a function or the subject-matter expert, as they understand the function and are well-suited to determine the necessary rules and explain them to the audience. 

Contact the Policy Office for coordination and additional guidance throughout the development process.

Preparation & Research for New Policy

  1. Review the Guide to Writing Policy and perform the tasks under Preparation and Research (pg. 3).
  2. Develop an outline to illustrate the purpose and objectives of the proposed policy.
  3. Ensure the Responsible Official is aware of and approves the development of the proposed policy. Be prepared to forward their approval via email. When the Responsible Official is a Vice Chancellor or equivalent, approval may be routed through their Chief of Staff.
  4. Submit the Policy Initiation Form to the Policy Office. Be prepared to provide:
    1. Proposed policy title or topic.
    2. Primary reason for proposed policy (e.g., compliance with law or policy, or risk avoidance) and the Source of Authority or Information.
    3. Additional details for why the proposed policy is needed, what it achieves, and notable impacts.
    4. Any legal or policy-mandated deadlines, and if possible, an estimate of when an early draft will be complete and ready for initial review. Policy development timelines can range from 6‑18 months, depending on scope, complexity, bandwidth, and urgency.
    5. The Scope: the specific situations, individuals, buildings, or programs to which the proposed policy applies, and any exceptions or limitations.
  5. Check with anticipated key stakeholders and impacted units that have responsibilities within the proposed policy to ensure their general support of policy development and collect any general early recommendations. (e.g., resources or topics that should be included, or other campuses' that approach the topic well)

Drafting New Policy

As the Policy Owner/Writer, you have the responsibility and the power to develop an efficient, easy-to-understand policy.

  1. Draft the policy using the current Policy Template and in accordance with the Guide to Writing Policy.
  2. Once the policy is drafted, check the draft for adherence to the template (information is in appropriate sections), readability, clarity, consistency, formatting, and other best practices. 
  3. Once you are satisfied with the draft, send it to the Policy Office for initial review.
  4. Once the Policy Office has returned the draft, review their recommendations and minor changes.
    1. Changes based on policy best practices should typically be accepted.
    2. Recommendations should be considered and incorporated as appropriate. Reach out to the Policy Office for further discussion or ideas on how to incorporate their (or others’) recommendations.
  5. Once Policy Office recommendations have been incorporated, the proposed policy can move forward to the Consultation phase.

Consultation for New Policy

Stakeholder Consultation

  1. Identify professionals who have related expertise and/or substantive interest in the proposed policy or its implementation. This typically includes individuals, offices, or committees listed in the Responsibilities section, as well as those otherwise affected by the proposed policy.
  2. Include standard reviewers: Campus Counsel, Internal Audit, Ethics & Compliance, and HR-Employee/Labor Relations.
  3. Invite the stakeholders to review the draft. A sample message is available in the Guide to Writing Policy (pg. 14). Provide stakeholders with 2-4 weeks, depending on the proposed policy's complexity and urgency, and taking into account other factors such as busy seasons.
  4. Once feedback is received, ensure it is understood, considered, and appropriately incorporated into the proposed policy.
  5. Provide a clean draft to the Policy Office for the next step of consultation.

Campus and Academic Senate Consultations

The Policy Office will coordinate the Campus and Academic Senate Consultations and provide their comments to you. Ensure the comments are understood, considered, and appropriately incorporated into the proposed policy.

See the Addressing Feedback page for more information.

Approval and Issuance for New Policy

  1. Prepare the Draft Issuance Letter (sample on page 15 of the Guide to Writing Policy) and the Summary of Feedback and provide them with the most recent version of the proposed policy to the Policy Office for a final review.
  2. The Policy Office will review the documents and coordinate with you and the division's Chief of Staff to obtain the Responsible Official’s approval to issue the policy.
  3. Once approval to issue has been provided to the Policy Office, they will post the policy to the campus policy website and send the issuance letter to Cabinet on behalf of the Responsible Official. The Responsible Official can designate a different person to send the letter, if desired. (Note: Issuance of certain procedure types with limited scope/impact may not be sent to Cabinet.)
  4. Implement your communication and/or training plan. A few examples include:
    1. Forwarding the issuance to interested parties, such as the stakeholders consulted earlier.
    2. Working with Communications to announce the issuance in Monday Memo or through another platform.
    3. Offering workshops or training sessions to explain and answer questions about the policy.

Questions or comments? Contact the Policy Office