REG 01.25.05 – Procedure for Formatting, Adopting, and Publishing Policies, Regulations, and Rules (PRR Protocol)

Authority: Issued by the Chancellor. Changes or exceptions to administrative regulations issued by the Chancellor may only be made by the Chancellor.

History: First Issued: March 16, 2000. Last Revised: July 6, 2016.

Additional References:
Guidelines for Drafting PRRs
PRR Routing Sheet and Template

Contact Info: Vice Chancellor and General Counsel (919-515-3071)

1. INTRODUCTION

The General Assembly, the Board of Governors and the President of the University of North Carolina have delegated various powers and duties to the boards of trustees and chancellors of the UNC constituent institutions, including the authority to establish policies and regulations for the efficient and orderly administration of the institution. This Regulation addresses the sources of authority for Policies, Regulations, and Rules (PRRs) at North Carolina State University and sets forth the procedures for their adoption and publication. PRRs adopted in substantial compliance with this regulation are valid and may not be challenged for procedural error.

2. DEFINITIONS AND SOURCES OF AUTHORITY

2.1 Policy: A “Policy” is any standard, statement, or procedure of general applicability adopted by the Board of Trustees pursuant to delegated authority.

2.2 Regulation: A “Regulation” is any standard, statement or procedure of general applicability adopted by the chancellor or an executive officer pursuant to delegated authority.

2.3 Rule: A “Rule” is a standard, statement or procedure adopted by an academic or administrative unit pursuant to authority delegated by a Policy or Regulation or to address specific subject matters that are limited in scope to a particular unit’s operational functions. A Rule may supplement but not conflict with policies and regulations.

2.4 Standard Operating Practices: “Standard Operating Practices” are established by academic or administrative units to facilitate the day-to-day business operations of a particular unit and are distinguished from Policies, Regulations, and Rules because they do not directly or substantially affect procedural or substantive rights or duties. Standard Operating Practices are not subject to this Regulation, must not conflict with PRRs, and should be written clearly and well communicated.

3.ADOPTION OF POLICIES, REGULATIONS AND RULES

3.1 Recommendations for New PRRs or Changes to Existing PRRs

Any university senate, standing or ad hoc committee, or task force of NC State or any administrative or academic officer may recommend new PRRs or changes to existing PRRs. Any member of the university community may forward recommendations for new or revised PRRs to any of the above entities/individuals.

3.2 Policies and Regulations

3.2.1 The Board of Trustees and the chancellor may establish Policies and Regulations on their own initiative in accordance with their delegated authority, without following the standard procedures stated in section 3.45 below.

3.2.2 The vice chancellor and general counsel is authorized to make substantive updates to Policies and Regulations that are non-discretionary mandatory changes to comply with UNC policies and regulations or state or federal law. The vice chancellor and general counsel may also make non-substantive edits which include but are not limited to updating titles, names, or hyperlinks that may have changed; correcting grammar, punctuation and typographical errors; editing for language consistency and format; and numbering. This authority can be implemented without following the standard procedures stated in Section 3.4 below.

3.2.3 The executive officers with delegated authority under section 5 may follow the standard procedures in section 3.45 but are not required to do so. The executive officers are responsible for ensuring legal review of Regulations that they create or revise pursuant to their delegated authority, as appropriate.

3.3 Consultation

3.3.1 Consultation with key constituents (e.g. faculty senate, staff senate, etc.), other executive officers and/or the chancellor prior to adoption of a Regulation is expected depending on the subject matter and scope of the regulation.

3.3.2 When appropriate, representatives of the faculty senate, staff senate, or other key constituents should be involved in the drafting or revision of relevant policies and regulations; drafts of proposed new or revised policies or regulations should be provided with a sufficient but reasonable timeline for key constituents to review and comment.

3.3.3 Constituent groups that are frequently involved in consultation as described in sections 3.3.1 and 3.3.2 may wish to develop Standard Operating Practices to guide or standardize their internal review, discussion, and commenting processes for PRRs.

3.4 Rules

Academic or administrative units may adopt Rules after review and approval of the unit administrator with delegated authority. Rules are subject to the requirements in section 4.

3.5 Standard Procedure for Adoption of Policies and Regulations

3.5.1 Proposals are submitted for initial review to the chancellor or the responsible executive officer. Proposals should be submitted in the format set forth in section 4 and accompanied with a PRR Routing Sheet .

3.5.2 If the chancellor or executive officer concurs with the proposal, the proposed Policy or Regulation is forwarded to the Office of General Counsel for legal review.

3.5.3 The proposed Policy or Regulation may be shared with key constituents as described in section 3.3 concurrent with or subsequent to legal review. If changes to the Policy or Regulation are made as a result of consultations conducted after initial legal review, additional legal review may be required.

3.5.4 After a completed legal review, the proposed Policy or Regulation is returned to the chancellor or responsible executive officer who places the proposed Policy or Regulation on the Chancellor’s Cabinet meeting agenda for review.

3.5.5 After consideration, the Executive Officers will provide their recommendation to the chancellor or the responsible executive officer, who will then act on the proposed Policy or Regulation. The chancellor or the executive officer may take any action, including but not limited to, an action to table, adopt, not adopt, or adopt with revisions. The chancellor or the executive officer may use any advisory process he or she deems helpful. With the chancellor’s approval, proposed Policies will be forwarded to the Board of Trustees for action.

4. CONTENT, FORMAT, AND PUBLICATION OF PRRS

4.1 Content

PRRs create administrative structures, set priorities, assign responsibility, delegate authority, outline procedural parameters, and define reporting requirements. PRRs should be concise, understandable and contain only content essential to the PRR. PRRs must be consistent with all applicable governing authority.

4.2 Format

4.2.1 New PRRs should be formatted in accordance with the PRR Template.

4.2.2 Proposed revisions to PRRs should edit the existing PRR by striking out language proposed for deletion and highlighting or underlining language that is new.

4.2.3 New PRRs or proposed revisions to PRRs should be accompanied by information that summarizes the content of the new PRR or proposed revisions, suggests a proposed effective date, if other than the date of issuance, and lists related PRRs or other relevant information such as forms that the reader of the regulation might find useful.

4.3 Publication of PRRs

4.3.1 The official site for approved PRRs is NCSU PRR Website. When final approval is given by the authorized university officer, PRRs are to be forwarded to the Office of General Counsel along with a PRR Routing Sheet for electronic publication on the PRR web page. The Office of General Counsel will assign a number to the PRR, suggest edits to the title for indexing and/or subject matter clarification, insert the effective date and edit the informational section preceding the PRR to include related PRRs, forms, and additional relevant information. The Office of General Counsel will also add the PRR to the table of contents and site map and provide search terms for the web site search function.

4.3.2 Any electronic re-publication of a PRR by any university unit must be by hyperlink to the PRR on the NCSU PRR Website. Units may publish web pages, handbooks, bulletins, brochures, and similar materials to provide information to faculty, staff, students and other constituent groups. To the extent that such materials reference Board of Governors or NC State PRRs, with or without including the text verbatim, there must be a disclaimer that establishes the pre-eminent authority of the PRR and a reference to the location of the official PRR.

4.3.3 The responsible executive officer must give notice of new and revised PRRs to the University Council, other constituency groups (e.g., faculty senate, staff senate) who were involved in the drafting or revising; and based on the subject matter of the particular PRR, or the entire campus community where applicable.

5. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY FOR ISSUING REGULATIONS

The chancellor delegates final approval authority for regulations not specifically mandated by federal or state law or regulation or direction of the Board of Governors and that fall within the areas specified below to the following university officers:

5.1 Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

5.1.1 Degree eligibility for undergraduate and graduate students

5.1.2 Undergraduate and graduate admissions to the university

5.1.3 Scholarships and other forms of financial aid excluding graduate assistantships and fellowships

5.1.4 Academic registration and records

5.1.5 Graduate assistantships and fellowships

5.1.6 Academic standards and curricula for graduate students

5.1.7 Faculty appointments, reappointments, promotion, tenure, leaves of absence, phased retirement, and retirement/re-employment agreements

5.1.8 Faculty ranks and titles

5.1.9 International programs

5.1.10 Distance education and learning technologies

5.1.11 Libraries

5.1.12 Implementation of the Copyright Use and Ownership Policy of the University of North Carolina

5.2 Vice Chancellor for Finance and Business

5.2.1 Facilities

5.2.2 Financial and business operations, excluding student fees

5.2.3 Campus Safety

5.2.4 Human resources of the university not otherwise specifically the responsibility of the chancellor or provost and executive vice chancellor.

5.3 Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation

5.3.1 Sponsored research and other sponsored projects

5.3.2 Technology transfer activities involving university-owned intellectual property, excluding trademark matters and any matters assigned to the provost and executive vice chancellor under NCSU REG01.25.03 – Copyright Regulation – Copyright Implementation Pursuant to Copyright Use and Ownership Policy of the University of North Carolina.

5.3.3 Administration of inter-institutional centers, institutes, and laboratories

5.4 Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs (DASA)

5.4.1 Student activities

5.4.2 Student services

5.4.3 Student conduct

5.4.4 Student housing

5.4.5 Student health, wellness and fitness

5.4.6 Arts programs and activities

5.4.7 ROTC programs

5.4.8 The Departments of Physical Education and Music, except for academic standards and curricula which are delegated to the provost and executive vice chancellor.

5.4.9 State residency appeals

5.5 Vice Chancellor for University Advancement

5.5.1 Criteria and Procedures for Acceptance of Gifts

5.5.2 University Development

5.5.3 Alumni Relations

5.5.4 Advancement Services

5.5.5 University Communications

5.6 Vice Chancellor for Extension, Engagement and Economic Development

5.6.1 Noncredit course offerings that award Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and other noncredit certificate offerings

5.7 Vice Chancellor for Information Technology

5.7.1 Network, information and data security

5.7.2 IT management and computer use

5.7.3 IT compliance

6. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY FOR ISSUING RULES

A Rule must be approved by the executive officer or delegee to whom the unit reports prior to its issuance.

7. EFFECTIVE DATE OF PRRS

Policies are effective when adopted by the Board of Trustees unless the policy or Board action otherwise specifies. Regulations and rules are effective when approved by the chancellor or by the executive officer or delegee, unless the regulation or rule otherwise specifies.