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[Moderate revision–posted 2/8/24 (replaces 1/18/22 edition)]
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Operating Policy and Procedure

OP 10.01: Operating Policy and Procedure Manual for Texas Tech University

DATE: February 8, 2024

PURPOSE: The Texas Tech University operating policy and procedure system was developed to standardize university-wide policies and procedures and to provide a consistent and coherent method of defining university policies. The system is intended to:

• Ensure consistency among university-wide policies and procedures;
• Provide a university-wide pattern for developing policies and procedures;
• Outline a standard format for policies and procedures;
• Maintain a current and easily accessible online manual of all university-wide policies and procedures;
• Provide notification of policy and procedure changes to the university community;
• Facilitate continuity regardless of changes in personnel assignments; and
• Ensure the periodic review and updating of all university-wide policies and procedures.

REVIEW: This Operating Policy/Procedure (OP) will be reviewed in October of odd-numbered years by the Director of the Office of Official Publications with substantive revisions forwarded to the Vice Provost for Administrative Affairs.

POLICY/PROCEDURE

1.  Authority
     Section 02.04.2.j, Regents' Rules

The Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System has directed the President of Texas Tech University, with the appropriate participation of faculty and staff, to develop the operating policies, procedures, rules, and regulations for the governance of the university so long as they do not conflict with federal or state laws or TTU System Regents' Rules, in accordance with section 7 below.

2.  Format

Although substance is more important than style, the format of new OPs sent to the Office of Official Publications should be clear enough to reflect its intended objective.

All OPs for TTU will have the following three major sections:

• Purpose
• Review
• Policy/Procedure

a.    The Purpose section should provide a rationale for the policy/procedure. The rationale might be a reference to a legal requirement, a statement of the goal(s) that the OP is attempting to facilitate, or a description of the reason(s) for implementing the policy.

b.    The Review section should state the positions of the individuals responsible for reviewing and approving the OP and the date the review takes place.

c.    The Policy/Procedure section should explain the specifics (who, what, when, where, how, and why) of the policy/procedure.

3.  Development of a New OP

a.   Any faculty or staff member, department or other functional unit, official university committee or council, or administrator at Texas Tech University may propose a new operating policy or procedure by routing the suggestion through administrative channels for evaluation and endorsement.

b.    The flow for the creation of a new OP is illustrated below:

(1)    A new OP proposed by individual faculty or staff members should be discussed with the respective department or unit head. The department or unit head will confer with the next level administrator about the proposed OP and whether to advance it to the formal review process. For any proposed new OP, consultation with the appropriate administrative division (Office of the Provost, vice president, etc.) is usually advisable.

(2)    If all parties to this point agree with formalizing the proposal, the draft of the new OP is sent to the Office of Official Publications via email to implement formal review procedures.

(3)    The Office of Official Publications assigns a number to the new OP, enters it into the standard OP format, and develops an approval workflow via the university's online OP approval platform.*

(4)    The Office of Official Publications will electronically route to the Faculty Senate for its review any new OP that affects faculty, including, but not limited to, any OP in Sections 32 or 70. Further changes to the draft OP, as allowed in sections 3.b.(7) through 3.b.(9), shall also be conveyed to the Faculty Senate for consideration. The Faculty Senate will respond with an acceptance, rejection, or with suggestions for changes before the OP is finalized.

(5)    The Office of Official Publications will electronically route to the Staff Senate for its review any new OP that affects staff, including, but not limited to, any OP in Section 70. Further changes to the draft OP, as allowed in sections 3.b.(7) through 3.b.(9), shall also be conveyed to the Staff Senate for review.

(6)    The draft OP will be entered into the university's online approval system, and persons listed in the review section will be notified via email that the OP is awaiting their review and/or approval.

(7)    The reviewers should examine the draft OP carefully and recommend revisions where appropriate. Changes will be electronically recorded and will include markups of the changes, the author responsible for making the changes, and the date on which the changes were made.

(8)    The reviewer will electronically approve the OP, at which time the Office of Official Publications will forward the draft OP to the next reviewer.

(9)  OPs usually will be presented to an appropriate vice president, senior vice president, vice chancellor, the Provost and Senior Vice President, or the President for final review and approval. The appropriate administrator indicates final approval of the OP by electronically approving the draft OP, which will then be returned to the Office of Official Publications.

(10)  Once the draft OP has received final approval, the Office of Official Publications will place the new OP online and notify the university community via TechAnnounce. The Office of Official Publications will provide electronic notification of the new OP to the contact person of areas, departments, or units choosing to receive such notification.

Note: There is no university policy requiring any area, department, or unit to maintain a copy of the Operating Policies and Procedures Manual.

4.  Review and Revision of an OP

a.    To maintain an accurate and effective body of operating policies and procedures, it is necessary for all OPs to have a regular schedule of review and to be revised when necessary. Although unforeseen events or extenuating circumstances may preclude the review of an OP by its scheduled date, the reviewer(s) should make every effort to complete the review process in as timely a manner as possible. If significant changes have occurred in the subject matter contained in the OP, the revision needs to reflect those changes. If no revisions are needed at the time of the scheduled review, the reviewer(s) should notify the Office of Official Publications so that the OP can be re-posted online with a current date, although the last date of any minor, moderate, or major revisions will be indicated as well.

b.    An OP may be revised at any time if the need arises. The person recommending the revision should email the Office of Official Publications or use the Requesting an OP for Review submission form. The Office of Official Publications will enter the OP into the university's online OP approval platform and route it to the primary reviewer designated in the review section unless otherwise requested. The review process will then follow the procedures below.

c.    The Office of Official Publications will notify the designated reviewer(s) when an OP is scheduled for review via the university's online approval platform.*

(1)    The reviewers should examine the draft OP carefully and make revisions where appropriate. Changes will be electronically recorded and will include markups of the changes, the author responsible for making the changes, and the date on which the changes were made.

(2)    If no additional substantive changes are needed, the reviewer will electronically approve the OP, at which time the Office of Official Publications will forward the draft OP to the next reviewer.

(3)    The Faculty Senate will be included in the review of any OP whenever substantive revisions in the OP will directly affect faculty. This includes, but is not limited to, the tenure policy, the grievance policy, and other OPs in Sections 32 and 70. 

The Faculty Senate, or a group representing the Faculty Senate, will respond to the revision with an acceptance, a rejection, or suggestions for changes in the revisions before they are finalized and implemented. If the Faculty Senate suggests substantive revisions, the OP will be routed back to the designated reviewer(s) for their consideration and response to the Faculty Senate.

If the Faculty Senate is to review an OP with substantive revisions in the summer, then the Faculty Senate President will convene an ad hoc committee to consider and deliberate. 

When an OP has only minor revisions that do not directly affect faculty (e.g., changes in format, administrative titles, or numbers of other referenced OPs), the Office of Official Publications will notify the Faculty Senate of the revisions before the OP is published. Notification entails presenting wording of the revisions themselves to the Faculty Senate. 

The Staff Senate will be included in the review of any OP whenever substantive revisions in the wording or the policy of the OP will directly affect staff. This includes, but is not limited to, OPs in Section 70. The Staff Senate, or a group representing the Staff Senate, will respond to the revision with an acceptance, a rejection, or suggestions for changes in the revisions before they are finalized and implemented. If the Staff Senate suggests substantive revisions, the OP will be routed back to the designated reviewer(s) for their consideration. When an OP has only minor revisions that do not directly affect staff, the Office of Official Publications will notify the Staff Senate of the revisions before the OP is published. 

(4)    Any department head or their designee may discontinue an OP by sending a written suggestion through appropriate administrative channels. Authorization to discontinue an OP must be submitted in writing to the Office of Official Publications by the appropriate administrator. This authorization may be submitted via email.

d.    OPs are reissued with a new date and the level of revision after they are reviewed and returned to the Office of Official Publications, even if no substantive changes have occurred. The levels of revision are as follows:

(1)    Date changed – No change to the OP. Some OPs with grammatical or formatting corrections may be posted as a date change.

(2)    Minor revision – Minor textual changes that do not change the meaning of the OP, such as updated job titles, department names, and links; grammatical changes; and clarifications.

(3)    Moderate revision – Substantive revisions that change the meaning of the OP. One or more paragraphs have changed but not entire sections.

(4)    Major revision – Substantive revisions that change the meaning of the OP. Substantial portions of the document have changed, including adding or deleting one or more sections.

e.    The Office of Official Publications will place the revised OP online and notify the university community of the revision. The Office of Official Publications will provide electronic notification of the revised OP to the contact person of areas, departments, or units choosing to receive such notification.

5.  Policy versus Procedure

For purposes of the OP Manual, no distinction will be made between “policy” and “procedure,” since most OPs contain both.

6.  OP Manuals

The complete TTU OP Manual can be accessed online at http://www.depts.ttu.edu/opmanual.

Published versions of past TTU OPs may be requested from the Office of Official Publications at officialpublications@ttu.edu.

7.  Higher Authorities

a.    TTU OPs are subordinate to higher authorities including federal law, rules, and regulations; state law, rules, and regulations; and policies, procedures, rules, and regulations of the TTU Board of Regents. In accordance with § 02.04.2.j, Regents' Rules, any policy, procedure, rule, or regulation in Texas Tech University's Operating Policy and Procedure Manual that is in conflict with any policy, procedure, rule, or regulation in the Regents' Rules is null and void and has no effect. Whenever any such conflict is detected, the Office of the Chancellor and the Office of the President immediately shall make such amendments to the Operating Policy and Procedure Manual as may be necessary to eliminate such conflict.

b.    Should a conflict occur between a policy and/or procedure of an OP and any other written or oral policy or procedure developed by any university area/department, the policy and/or procedure of the OP will prevail.

 

*  The current online platform is Curriculog, about which information can be obtained from the Office of Official Publications.

Operating Policies & Procedures