Staff are now able to search for University-level policy, filter by operational area and/or category of policy, and be confident that they are relying on the current version.
An internal audit and review established a need to improve the governance and management of University policies. To address this, Governance and Strategic Planning, and a project team in Information Services Group, have been collaborating with colleagues to deliver on two objectives:
- Put in place clear oversight of University-level policies and related reporting.
- Mitigate the risk that staff, students, and other policy stakeholders locate and rely on outdated policies and that they – and the University – are adversely impacted as a result.
The team has worked with many colleagues across professional services to pull together the relevant University-level policies into a central repository, which is now the source for the new Policy Directory. The team has also worked closely with the University’s policy owners and web managers to ensure that any policy links on key department webpages have already been, or are in the process of being, updated.
While this work has improved the visibility of the University’s key policies, both in terms of governance and user access, there is undoubtedly more that can be done to further improve and standardise the approach, particularly regarding policy style. Suggestions for continuous improvement have been noted for consideration and prioritisation as and when resources and wider priorities allow.