Hi Ellen, We've used a 30-day comment period for years. This is in addition to the consultation that occurs during the development of the policy. It provides a number of benefits for us (and hopefully for the end users). With a five-campus system, 65,000 students, and more than 20,000 employees, this element of our program provides the following benefits:
1) It's one way of communicating new or significant changed policies. Without this prompt, most people would not know a change has been made, and I know this will be a surprise, but very few people look at policies on a daily basis! 2) The policy owner finds out about potential gaps, lack of clarity, or inconsistencies from comments that are made. 3) It provides an outlet for criticism or praise, whether constructive or not. The individuals who often submit their concerns anonymously just want to tell us and the policy owner what they think. It works better if they are able to vent before the policy goes live, then after. We are now debuting a new optional program for tenure faculty called Tenure Trade Program. We have received a few unkind comments, but most are just asking because they want to understand more about the options that may be available to them. 4) It's an opportunity to ask questions for clarity. If an individual asks a question and provides their email, they receive an answer. These questions along with all other comments are still bundled at the end of the 30-day period and forwarded to the policy owner and subject matter expert. The owner receives them and determines what, if anything, should be changed to make the policy draft better. On average, a non-controversial policy receives between 5-10 comments. A highly controversial policy receives 50 or more. My manager's policy (Individual Conflicts of Interest) was significantly received by her about 4 years ago, and her comments topped 400. This is atypical to say the least. The more personal the policy and the policies where there is an actual or perceived "take-away", generally spur a flurry of comments. HR policies and travel often fall into this category. Yes, it does cause extra work. Yes, there are some people who might not be as skilled at providing constructive criticism as others. But, we are still benefiting from this process so we'll continue incorporating it into our policy program. Best of luck in your decision! Michele On Fri, Oct 3, 2014 at 8:09 AM, Ellen M Hemmerlein <[email protected]> wrote: > Good morning, > > > > I see that some schools solicit general feedback as part of the policy > development process. For example, I see that sometimes new policies are > posted on the policy website with a general invitation to comment. Can > anyone offer some insight on how well that process functions? Do you find > it to be productive? Onerous? Do you find that the effect on campus by-in > is worthwhile? > > > > Thank you, > > Ellen > > > > > > > > *Ellen M. Hemmerlein, Esq.* | Associate General Counsel > > *Business Affairs and Real Estate* > > *Office of University Counsel* > > > > *Syracuse University* > > Crouse-Hinds Hall, Suite 513 | 900 S. Crouse Avenue > > Syracuse, New York 13244-2130 > > Office 315.443.9057 | Email [email protected] > > > > ATTN: Please be aware that when you respond to an ACUPA-L e-mail, the > reply will be distributed to the ENTIRE list of members. If you do NOT want > to send an e-mail to everyone, please reply directly to the individual who > initiated the query (their e-mail address appears in the "From" line of > their original e-mail). > > If you wish to remove yourself from the ACUPA e-mail list, please go to > the following website and complete the form. We will remove you from the > list within 24 hours, during normal business hours. > > http://www.acupa.org/MembershipForm_Discontinue.html > > If you have questions about the ACUPA e-list, please contact Jamie Parris > at [email protected] > <[email protected]?subject=ACUPA%20e-list%20assistance> or > 607-255-6837. > > -- Michele Gross, Director University Policy Program University of Minnesota 356-1 McNamara, 200 Oak street Minneapolis, MN 55454 612-624-8081 http://policy.umn.edu/
