December

Having a voice: A new take on policy development

Committed to openness and improvement, the University is developing a new website to standardize policy procedures.

By Cory Phare

December 6, 2016

When it comes to developing policy, both efficacy and transparency are keys to success.

Those are the goals for Team DELTA, the University’s process improvement arm housed within the Division of Administration, Finance and Facilities. The group plans to launch a new website in early 2017, housing a policy library, outlining review processes, and providing a feedback interface, according to Megan Jones, policy administrator for Team DELTA.

“Our idea is to develop a standard process for universitywide policy development,” said Jones. “We want to provide a template and have the entire process be transparent.”

A need for a uniform, open approach was initially identified by task forces in 2008 and 2014. The groups established a vision and goals for a then-absent policy management program.

Creating a centralized online location where information is searchable and easy to find is critical to this process, according to Jones. The policy library will function as an open repository that individuals can study and review; constituents will also be able to have their voices heard via a feedback submission form.

To aid in this review process, a Policy Advisory Committee is slated to consist of policy development leaders from cross-operational areas and shared-governance groups, such as student government and faculty senate. A non-voting entity, its purpose is to provide collective feedback in the spirit of the University’s commitment to collective operation.

“We really want to give all potential stakeholders the opportunity to weigh in,” said Jones. “That requires widespread vetting before [policies] move on to the president’s cabinet for review and to the president for final approval.”

Another key part of the initiative is isolating the larger policy from prescriptive execution. By standardizing the strategic process, individual departments ideally become freed up to carry out initiatives as subject-matter experts in the way they best see fit.

“By separating operating procedures out of the policies, it allows the departments the flexibility to address their own unique student and business needs,” said Jones.

The University Policy website launches in early Spring 2017. For questions/comments, please visit the Team DELTA website or email policy@msudenver.edu.