Under our new governance by the Board of Trustees, the University of Oregon needs to review and update its policies. This is a big undertaking. But it is important work, as these policies are critical to our operations and fulfilling our mission. This review will also afford us the opportunity to organize and streamline the policies so that the University can operate effectively and transparently.

As part of the UO’s transition to a self-governing institution, all of the policies we previously operated under by state of Oregon, Oregon University System, and the State Board of Higher Education became UO policies. We now control all these inherited policies and have the opportunity to adapt them into a cohesive body that best serves our community.  In addition, many are irrelevant to the UO.  For example, several relate to management of the Oregon University System or to programs at other universities in Oregon.  Others have not been reviewed for decades and need to be updated.

Our first undertaking in the review process will be to organize, categorize, and re-number all of these UO policies, both old and new. Over the next several months, we will work on reformatting both the policies and the website on which they are stored which can be found at policies.uoregon.edu. 

This effort will require a faster and more efficient process than we have typically used to consider new policies.  I will work with campus constituents to form a representative Policy Advisory Council (PAC) to spearhead the review of these policies for consistency, legality, efficacy and clarity.  The PAC will work with key policy stakeholders and subject matter experts to make recommendations about whether these policies should be retained, revised, or repealed.  We will establish a clear, transparent process that allows us to efficiently review all of these policies, while ensuring that we have appropriate review and public comment from across campus.  I have not yet appointed individual members to the PAC, but will seek recommendations for faculty, classified staff, officer of administration, undergraduate student and graduate student members from relevant campus groups such as the University Senate, the OA Council, ASUO, existing administrative divisions and other bodies.

This is an unusual opportunity to organize our policies, codify our practices and simplify our organization’s documentation. The Policy Advisory Committee will seek input from all parts of campus to conduct such a comprehensive review.  We are in the beginning stages of this effort, and I will keep you updated as plans progress with updates on the policies website.