PS-01.A.01 - University of Houston-Downtown Policy and Procedure System
Effective Date: 9/1/2025
Issue#: 17
President: Dr. Loren J. Blanchard
1. Purpose
1.1 This policy statement (PS) establishes a system for developing, organizing, maintaining, and distributing University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) policies and procedures. This policy and procedure system is intended to comply with all federal and state laws and regulations, including SB 37, UH System Board of Regents by- laws and policies, UH System Administrative Memorandum 01.A.01, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) policies, and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools - Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) policies.
2. Definitions
2.1. Accessibility: state of a policy where a person with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the policy statement.
2.2. Expedited Review: the review of an existing policy such that the owner of the policy determines if a Policy Review is necessary, or if a policy may be reaffirmed according to the policy review cycle without changes, or with changes that are not meaningful to the interpretation or execution of the policy. Examples of policy changes that are not meaningful include, but are not limited to: changing the titles of a person with a role at the University that serves as an owner of a policy, spelling or grammar changes, fixing broken links to websites, etc. In cases where material changes to the policy are required, the Interim Review process is followed.
2.3. Interim Policy: A temporary policy, possibly developed outside of the normal policy development process by reason of exigent circumstances. Interim policies should be reviewed by normal policy development processes within one year of posting and either made into policy, or rescinded.
2.4. Policy: A principle or set of general guidelines that directs decision making and action in a particular area of university operations.
2.5. Policy Advisory Council (PAC): A standing advisory council of UHD stakeholders providing oversight to the policy development and revision process. The PAC is co- chaired by the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, and the University Policy Manager from Human Resources, and consists of the presiding officer of the Faculty Advisory Council; Staff Council President; four elected faculty members (one from each college) from the Faculty Council; an appointee from the division of Student Success and Student Life; and an appointee from the division of Administration & Finance. The PAC shall meet once a month or as needed during the academic year.
2.6. Policy Review: The review and reading of new or existing policy language by all stakeholders for the purpose of advising the provost and president on edits, language additions, or language removal.
2.7. Policy Statement: A document which states a policy, the procedures by which the policy should be implemented, and all other particulars relevant to the policy that are required by this PS.
2.8. Shared Governance: Institutions of higher education in this state shall be governed by a principle of shared governance, which refers to a structured decision-making process in which the governing board of the institution exercises ultimate authority and responsibility for institutional oversight, financial stewardship, and policy implementation, while allowing for appropriate consultation with faculty, staff, administrators, and other stakeholders on matters related to academic policy and institutional operations. The principle of shared governance may not be construed to diminish the authority of the governing board to make final decisions in the best interest of the institution, students, and taxpayers.
Administrators at institutions of higher education must make decisions in a manner that promotes efficiency, accountability, and responsiveness to state priorities, workforce needs, and the institution’s mission. Administrators should regularly seek feedback from faculty and staff on academic matters, but that input is advisory in nature, ensuring that governing boards and institutional leadership retain clear and ultimate decision-making authority. Shared governance structures may not be used to obstruct, delay, or undermine necessary institutional reforms or serve as a mechanism for advancing ideological or political agendas.
2.9. Substantive Change: A revision to a policy that materially alters its meaning or intent.
3. Policy
3.1. UHD is committed to the principles of shared governance and transparency in the policy development and revision process as delineated in SB 37 and PS 01.A.03 (Shared Governance).
3.2. UHD Policy Statements (PSs) provide the framework by which UHD stakeholders carry out their job duties and behave in furtherance of the strategic goals of the University, while simultaneously providing limits and protections for those stakeholders. UHD PSs provide mechanisms to hold stakeholders accountable for behaviors and actions, while providing mechanisms of due process in an environment that mitigates risk to the institution.
3.3. UHD PSs should be in compliance with SAMs and Board policy as well as State and Federal laws and regulations. In the event of conflict, the latter take precedence.
3.4. UHD PSs take precedence over by-laws and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of individual units within UHD. In the event of a conflict between a UHD PS or unit by- laws or SOPs with any law or regulation promulgated by a higher authority, the higher authority will govern, and the UHD PS or unit document will be rescinded or revised to bring it into compliance with the law or regulation at issue through the processes outlined in this PS.
3.5. PSs that fall under the umbrella of shared governance will be created and reviewed through the shared governance policy process articulated in PS 01.A.03 (Shared Governance).
3.6. Accessibility
3.6.1. UHD PSs will be accessible to all individuals of all levels of ability.
3.6.2. UHD shall ensure that PSs are posted in a variety of accessible media and are
easy to find on the UHD website.
3.6.3. UHD shall adopt a common format for all PSs to provide a framework and logic
for presentation.
3.6.4. UHD shall adopt a common policy numbering system to provide a framework and
logic for organization.
4. Procedures
4.1. Format
4.1.1. All UHD policy statements will be developed according to the standard policy
template and standard numbering system, which can be found on the UHD Policy Statements home page. Please reach out to the University Policy Manager for assistance with policy numbering.
4.1.2. In addition to the required elements featured on the standard policy template,
all UHD policy statements will include, at minimum, the following components:
4.1.2.A. Designated personnel responsible for implementing the policy
4.1.2.B. Methodology for the following:
i. Implementing the policy
ii. Monitoring compliance with the policy and reporting results
iii. Handling non-compliance
4.1.2.C. A timeline for completion of procedures
4.1.2.D. A schedule for reviewing the effectiveness of the policy and its attendant
procedures that requires a review at least every five years and as necessary, or more
often if state and/or federal laws and/or regulations require
4.1.3. The University Policy Manager is responsible for assigning numbers to all new
PSs.
4.2. Communication
4.2.1. The Office of the Provost is responsible for ensuring that the University Policy
Manager posts new and updated policies on the policy website as soon as possible but
not later than five working days of their final approval by the President.
4.2.2. The University Policy Manager is responsible for maintaining an index of all
PSs and related documents and for making new and revised administrative policies available
online in both HTML and PDF formats as soon as possible, but not later than ten working
days of their final approval by the President.
4.2.3. The University Policy Manager will ensure all new, interim, newly revised,
reaffirmed, or rescinded institutional policies are widely publicized to the University
community.
4.3. Development, Review, and Approval of Policies
4.3.1. The Board of Regents has ultimate authority for institutional policy implementation.
Any member of the UHD community may submit to the Office of the Provost or respective
administrative unit a recommendation for the creation of a new policy or revision
of an existing policy. These recommendations are advisory only. The respective administrative
unit will review the respective policy and determine if the suggested changes should
be considered and then forward the policy to the PAC for review and any additional
feedback. Once the PAC feedback is received and considered, the revised policy will
be brought to the President’s Executive Cabinet for review and recommendation to move
forward to the President for approval.
4.3.2. The approval of the President, as indicated by their signature on the approval
line, must be given for any draft policy to become an official policy of the University.
4.3.3. Each PS will contain a section titled Review Process that states the position
of the administrator responsible for review/audit and the frequency with which the
policy will be reviewed/audited. Policies shall be reviewed according to the provisions
of PS 01.A.03- Shared Governance.
4.4. Policy Review
4.4.1. Full Review
4.4.1.A. UHD policy statements will be updated, revised, or rescinded following established
procedures when discussion of campus constituents or changes in UHS policy or state
or federal law, indicate that such action is required.
4.4.1.B. The major review responsibility for policy statements lies with the responsible
party identified in the “Review Process” section of the PS. Suggestions for revisions
may be made at any time by any member of the University community to the responsible
party. PAC will serve as the reviewing body for all UHD policies. Updating, revising,
and rescinding policies require the same authority and the same procedure as described
in section 4.3 of this PS.
4.4.1.C. A current revision schedule for policies designating the responsible parties
will be sent to the President’s Cabinet each September by the University Policy Manager.
The schedule will also provide a tracking mechanism and include revisions not yet
completed.
4.4.1.D. If during the official review period the responsible party determines no
revisions or amendments are needed, the policy will be reaffirmed without revision
or amendments as provided for in this policy. If the President’s Cabinet concurs with
the recommendation to reaffirm the policy, the reaffirmation date will be noted on
the footer, and the effective date will be updated.
4.4.1.E. A proposal for a policy or policy modification for any reason outside of
the regular cycle of review (need for interim changes, policy audit, requests from
administrative units for policy change, proposal for a new policy, etc.) will follow
the process listed in section 4.3.
4.4.2. Expedited Review
4.4.2.A. UHD shall adopt a policy audit process that allows for the owner(s) of the
policy to determine that there is no need for meaningful changes to policies and reaffirm
the policy without sending the policy through the full review process.
4.4.2.B. The Policy Advisory Council (PAC) will be provided with an opportunity to
review and provide feedback on proposed revisions that are not substantive, as part
of the expedited review process. Non-substantive changes may include edits that do
not materially change the intent of a university policy (e.g., correcting names, changing
the responsible party, titles, hyperlinks, typographical or grammatical errors, etc.).
4.5. Interim Policy Development
4.5.1. The President may authorize appropriate administrative officers to develop
and implement new policies and procedures or to revise established policies and procedures
on a provisional basis until they complete the normal review process provided for
in the above sections (4.4.1).
4.6. Distribution
4.6.1. The University Policy Manager in conjunction with the respective administrative
office shall prepare and make available all approved policy statements online and
notify the university community as defined in section 4.2.
4.6.2. The University Policy Manager maintains one historic set of UHD policy statements,
which includes all official versions of each policy.
4.7. Authority of UHD PSs
4.7.1. When a university policy question arises, the official UHD policy statements
must be consulted. If the question is treated there, those guidelines take precedence.
If not, the question may be brought to the President’s Executive Cabinet by the respective
vice president for discussion and guidance.
4.8. Review and Approval
4.8.1. After a draft of a policy has been developed, it will be reviewed by the President’s
Executive Cabinet. The University Policy Manager will simultaneously circulate the
policy to the faculty and staff to make comments prior to the President signing the
policy. The senior administrator responsible for the draft policy may agree to modifications,
which are suggested during this review period prior to the President signing the policy.
4.8.1.A. The Board of Regents exercises ultimate authority and responsibility for
institutional oversight, financial stewardship, and policy implementation, while allowing
for appropriate consultation with faculty, administrators, and other stakeholders
on matters related to academic policies and institutional operations. Senior administration
is responsible for reviewing the SACSCOC Substantive Change Policy to ensure that new policy proposals and policy changes adhere to SACSCOC substantive
change policy in accordance with PS 03.A.32, Monitoring and Reporting of Substantive Changes and submitting a completed UHD Required Compliance Change Form to the SACSCOC liaison, if applicable.
4.8.2. Upon approval of the President’s Cabinet and President’s signature, the University
Policy Manager in conjunction with the Office of the Provost will post policies online
at the UHD Policies Table of Contents and notify the university community.
4.8.3. Unless otherwise specified, a policy becomes effective the date the President
signs it.
4.9. Policy Tracking
4.9.1. The VP for HR (or designee) will track the status of non-academic policies
and the Senior VP for Academic Affairs and Provost (or designee) will track the status
of academic affairs and faculty policies under review and/or revision.
5. Review Process
Responsible Party (Reviewer): Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, and Vice President for HR
Review Period: Every five years on or before May 1, and as necessary
6. Policy History
Issue #1: 08/11/81 (as Policy #01.01)
Issue #2: 08/11/83
Issue #3: 01/16/85
Issue #4: 07/15/86
Issue #5: 10/13/89
Issue #6: 04/25/94
Issue #7: 08/01/96
Issue #8: 07/24/00
Issue #9: 10/10/07
Issue #10: 02/07/11
Issue #11: 03/18/14
Issue #12: 08/15/16
Issue #13: 05/10/18
Issue #14: 05/15/19
Issue #15: 02/17/23
Issue #16: 09/20/24
Issue #17: 09/01/25 (current issue)
7. References
PS 01.A.03, Academic Shared Governance Policy
UHD Policies Table of Contents
PS 03.A.32, Monitoring and Reporting of Substantive Changes
SACSCOC Substantive Change Policy
UHD Required Compliance Change Form
8. Exhibits
There are no exhibits associated with this PS.