This section of the Policies website is designed to help you create, submit and publish your policies online. You will find details of how a policy is defined, the approval process and information on what happens when a policy is due for renewal. 

Ed Nelson is the Editor of these pages and can be contacted if you have any further enquiries.

How to draft your Policy

Before you start drafting your policy, please consult the list of those already in publication and consider whether this will result any duplication.

Where a new policy duplicates, contradicts or impacts in any way upon an existing policy, please contact the Policies Office and the department that owns the existing policy to discuss the best way forward. This will ensure that the University’s policies remain congruent with one another.

The templates below have been written to help you draft your policy. The first template includes step by step assistance as to what should be included in your policy. It is not important that you follow the exact style we have suggested in the template but your policy will be improved if you ensure you cover these areas. A blank template in word format without the guidance notes is also included.

Suggested policy template with guidance notes
Blank policy template (word document)

How to publish your Policy

Once a policy has been drafted, it will need to be approved by the appropriate University committee. The Policy Editor will work with you to identify the appropriate committee and will contact the Committee Secretary to ensure your policy is included on an upcoming agenda for discussion. Please note that only the policies which have been approved and formally signed off by a University committee will be published on these pages. 

You can download this process flowchart in Word format which sets out how policies are published at the University.

Reviewing a Policy

Reviewing a policy may be instigated in one of two ways. You may identify that your policy is out of date and requires updating or alternatively, the Policies website will send an automated reminder that the policy is due for renewal (which it is programmed to do every two years). In the latter scenario, the Policies Office will contact you to establish the following:

• if your policy is still relevant or if it can be archived
• whether an update is required in which case the policy will need to be resubmitted for committee approval and republishing
• whether any action is required at all. If no action is required, the Policies Editor will reset the review date for an additional two years

Version Control

When you come to revise your policy, please ensure you give the policy a new version number. The version on the Policies website will serve as definitive policy until the revised version is signed off by the appropriate committee and published on this site. Please advise the Policies Office if you would like the existing policy to be removed during the revision process.