Policy without (much) pain - University of Ballarat

Policy without (much) pain7. What drives policy?"We need a policy on this." A very wide range of factors can result in a request for a policy to bedeveloped, amended or reviewed. Some of these are outlined in the table below.Policy driverNew/changed governmentrequirements or legislationNew strategic objectives of theinstitutionIdentification of a gap in the policysuite – for instance by comparisonwith other institutions’ policiesEmerging operational issuesIdentification of risks orinconsistencies by staff of theinstitution, in preparation forexternal audit or by the externalaudit panelReview/consolidation of olderpoliciesMedia pressuresEvents generallyRestructuringExamplesAny change to funding/reporting requirements may requirereview of policies.New sources of contestable funding to encourage newactivities by institutions, may in turn require policiesgoverning those activities.An increased emphasis on creating a positive studentexperience will require additional student-related policies.The institution signs the Talloires Declaration and thisrequires a new policy on Environmental Sustainability andmore detailed procedures on sustainable building andpurchasing.Managers notice that comparable institutions have a creditpolicy.Concern that a process is being carried out inconsistently,or is taking too much resourcing, may lead to a policy tobring about improved consistency/efficiency.An audit panel requests better control and record-keepingof contracts entered into by the institution: the institutiondevelops a policy to try to achieve this.Placing all policy-type documents in the new institutionalpolicy web repository shows that there are a number ofoverlapping documents on correct use and reconciliation ofstaff credit cards. It is decided to consolidate these into asingle staff credit cards policy.Media stories about poor English language skills ofgraduates lead institutions to develop English languageentry requirements policies.The Virginia Tech shootings led many institutions todevelop policies and procedures to try to identify studentsand staff who may be a risk to others, support those withmental health issues, but also to provide for exclusion onhealth grounds.The development of a centralised student services unitrather than individual units in faculties might requirechanges to existing procedures.~ 14 ~