Jennifer - Very similarly to how Alan describes below for the University of North Georgia, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) also uses a website built with Sharepoint to post policies. The website is publicly available, and users can search by title, functional area, or keyword, as well as conduct a full-text search for a word or phrase. In secure access areas, once authenticated, internal UAB members can also view new policy proposals or revisions that are in the open comment period. However, the iterative policy development and approval process still works offline. We have and continue to enhance workflows within Sharepoint to accommodate this process, but as someone mentioned in another response, our stakeholders have not yet embraced this functionality to its fullest potential.
The University Compliance Office manages both the university policy development process and the Sharepoint site, but the policy library itself was built by UAB IT application developers. Having worked through this experience, here are just a few thoughts to consider (maybe the equivalent of two cents!!): 1) Before putting policies into a database - Sharepoint or otherwise - it is helpful for each policy to have clear ownership that points to authority for updates/revisions, review cycles, enforcement (or at least questions) etc. Without it, policies can end up in no man's land and are the devil to work with - from a process and a database perspective. 2) It's one thing to budget time and resource for the initial build out. Equally as important is budgeting time and resource for site maintenance. Even the best laid plans have some unexpected results, and once in common use, there will be important user feedback that comes forward. When that happens, it is nice to have the ability to continue to tweak and enhance the site to meet those additional needs. 3) Use of electronic tools for policy development, iteration, and approval (like, for instance, Sharepoint document workflows) appears to me to be a very cultural issue. Different organizations and different individuals have different levels of readiness for using technology in this way, so in some ways, a sort of culture change may be needed before moving wholesale to an online policy management tool. Being aware of where an institution is in terms of this readiness is helpful in the selection and design process, so the project manager can bring stakeholders along with the right tool. You can find UAB's Policies & Procedures Library at www.uab.edu/policies<http://www.uab.edu/policies>, if you are interested. Good luck with your search! Thanks, Katie Katie Crenshaw, JD, MSEd | University Compliance Office UAB | University of Alabama at Birmingham O: 205.996.2006 | F: 205.975.5076 uab.edu<http://www.uab.edu/compliance> Knowledge that will change your world From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Alan Sibert Sent: Friday, March 06, 2015 12:42 PM To: Association of College and University Policy Administrators Subject: RE:[acupa-l] University Policy and Procedure Management System I am working with our IT department to create a policy administration database using SharePoint. The original concept was worked out in Microsoft Access, and our very cooperative IT group is now recreating that functionality in SharePoint. The fact that the data is being managed in SharePoint, however, should be transparent to the end users. The plan is that workflow will be used to direct and track the progress of the development and approval processes. The system will send an email to the owner of a policy when it is due for review. The home web page will allow anyone to find active policies of interest with a word search, or will allow browsing through a list of policy titles. There will also be an easy way to view and comment on any pending policies which have been posted for campus review. In designing this system, I have borrowed liberally from the websites of fellow members. Thanks to all of you for providing such good examples. I will let you know when it is far enough along to be worth opening up for you to view. Best regards, Alan Alan Sibert University Policies Coordinator UNIVERSITY of NORTH GEORGIA Physical Address: 60 West Main Street / Room 239 Mailing Address: 82 College Circle Dahlonega, GA 30597 706-867-2558 (Office) 678-485-1765 (Cell) P.S. The primary reason for moving in this direction is that this is a relatively new office without much of a budget beyond my salary. From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Lloyd, Lynda Sent: Friday, March 06, 2015 9:41 AM To: Association of College and University Policy Administrators Subject: RE:[acupa-l] University Policy and Procedure Management System Jennifer, We have a public facing policy webpage. Here is the link: http://www.nwacc.edu/web/policy/ 1. On the back end, I use a spreadsheet for tracking policy throughout the calendar year (example attached) and keep drafts in electronic files. 2. I am currently working with a company out of Dallas and utilizing an HR software they sell as a potential policy management system and library (with some changes in current software). Hopefully more to come by the year's end as I think this system has merit and will be affordable. If so, I am hoping to share more details at 2016 ACUPA conference. 3. All the other software companies I looked into were over my budget capability and didn't have much to offer in terms of the cost - my opinion. 4. I started with the idea of using SharePoint in 2011 when I began to build our policy web pages and identify a system for managing policy development. After my initial training in SharePoint and basic design of how this would work for policy development and access, I quickly decided that getting other key stakeholders and policy review committees up to speed on how to use SharePoint was a barrier to the effectiveness of my intent. Hope this helps. Lynda Lloyd, M.Ed., P.H.R. Director of Institutional Policy & Compliance NWACC Policy<http://www.nwacc.edu/web/policy/policy_procedure> 479-619-4248 office 479-381-8660 wireless This message is intended solely for the recipient to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, do not disclose, distribute or copy this email. Please notify the sender immediately and delete this email from your system. From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2015 12:58 PM To: 'Association of College and University Policy Administrators' Subject: [acupa-l] University Policy and Procedure Management System Hello All, The University of Louisville is in the process of developing a university policy program and we are looking at using SharePoint or building a system in-house. We are in the beginning stages of this and have the following questions: 1. Do any of you have experience with developing a policy library on a public website at your institution? 2. If yes, what system are you using for policy and procedure management? 3. For those of you who use SharePoint for policy and procedure management, are you willing to share your template? 4. For those of you who built a policy and procedure management system in-house, are you willing to share or license it? Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks, Jennifer S. Mudd, CPA, CCEP Compliance Manager Institutional Compliance Office University of Louisville 425 W. Lee St. Louisville, KY 40208 502-852-5709 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]<mailto:[email protected]?subject=ACUPA%20e-list%20assistance> or 607-255-6837. 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]<mailto:[email protected]?subject=ACUPA%20e-list%20assistance> or 607-255-6837. 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]<mailto:[email protected]?subject=ACUPA%20e-list%20assistance> or 607-255-6837.
