Various units and officers of the university partner with the University Policy Office (UPO) to develop policies that affect the entire Cornell community. The following are the primary participants in the policy development process:
The Cornell University Policy Office (UPO) assists in the development of new policies and the revision of existing policies that affect the Cornell community. While the UPO is responsible for maintaining the policy document's integrity and guiding the development of a policy, responsibility for its content resides with the responsible executive, typically a unit vice president.
The UPO provides a number of services to assist the policy development process:
The UPO is a unit within Cornell University's Division of Financial Affairs (DFA), where it also is responsible for DFA Communication.
The “responsible executive” is a dean, vice president, or other university officer who sponsors a university policy to be developed by a “responsible office,” often under that executive’s purview. The responsible executive must be kept informed at all stages of the policy development process. In addition, the responsible executive is responsible to present to the EPRG the policy proposal, obtaining buy-in and consent, as well as the finalized policy, just before its promulgation.
At Cornell, every university policy is owned by an administrative unit or academic group called the "Responsible Office" for that policy. Under the sponsorship of the "Responsible Executive," usually a vice president or dean, a representative of the responsible office will prepare the proposal of a new policy or the significant revision of an existing one. The representative works closely with the UPO to propose, consult on, present, promulgate, and maintain policies that affect the entire Cornell community.
More information on the responsible office's responsibilities
Two standing committees must review and approve new or revised policies that affect the entire Cornell community. The Executive Policy Review Group (EPRG), which comprises vice presidents and academic deans, meets quarterly and applies an institutional perspective to reviewing proposed or significantly revised policies.
Once the EPRG has approved the "Impact Statement," drafting of the full policy begins, incorporating stakeholder inputs. Completed drafts are "reality-tested" by the Policy Advisory Group (PAG), the second standing committee, which is made up of senior university administrators and meets monthly. Upon PAG acceptance, the policy returns to the EPRG for final approval.
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