GW SON Policy on Policies

Policy Statement

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that The George Washington University School of Nursing community understands the composition of the SON  Administrative Policy Management Committee, the rules that govern this committee, and allows for ready access to well-developed and understandable  school policies.

Policies that are easy to find, read and understand will:

1. Support the school and university’s mission. 

2. Achieve accountability by identifying the offices responsible for Policies.

3. Provide faculty, staff and students with clear, concise guidelines.

4. Document how the School of Nursing conducts business.

University policies will be:

1. Presented in a common format. 

2. Formally approved by the authorized body. 

3. Maintained centrally and accessible to all interested parties. 

4. Linked electronically to procedures for implementing the policy.

5. Kept current within the framework of an organized system of change control. 

Policies will be clearly distinguished from related procedures according to the definitions in section III below. Individuals who are responsible for writing,  updating and distributing school-wide policies must comply with this policy. 

Internal policies that apply to the operations of individual units or departments may not conflict with university-wide policy, but may be more respective.

Who is Governed by this Policy 

This policy addresses the composition and governing rules of the SON Administrative Policy Management Committee and the process for developing,  issuing and maintaining all George Washington University School of Nursing Administrative policies and applies to all university departments, faculty, staff and  students. 

Policy

I. Committee Composition and Governing Rules

A. Membership

The Administrative Policy Management Committee is structured around fifteen (15) faculty and staff members at the school of nursing to ensure that the policy on  policies is enforced and that administrative policies across the school are written, developed and maintained. 

Membership of the seven (7) elected faculty members is governed by the bylaws for this committee.  

Membership of the six (6) selected or elected staff positions will be governed by the  rules and regulation set forth in this document. 

Two (2) ex-officio members will sit on the committee, the assistant dean of  diversity, equity and inclusion and the senior advisor to the dean.

B. Term Lengths 

The term length of a position for staff is one (1) year. This term will run from July – June. Elections and selections will be made the month prior to the start of the next term. 

For the four (4) staff positions that are determined by the department, these individuals will be selected by their department head (e.g. the representative for student services will be selected by the head of student services).  

For the two (2) elected staff positions, a call to serve on the committee will go out the month before the next term. Once candidates have been established, an online election amongst staff will be held, where the top two (2) candidates will be voted in.

II. Policy Review and/or Development

A. Policy Owners

Policy Owners may identify a policy issue for review and/or develop a new policy proposal. The Policy Owner will also consult with various stakeholders regarding the policy’s likely impact on the members of the SON community. If the policy is endorsed, a draft policy is created following the format outlined in Section IV (B) of this Policy and submitted to the relevant Policy Board for review approximately one week in advance of the Board’s meeting.

B. Meeting with Policy Board

At the meeting with the Policy Board, the Policy Owner presents the new policy and captures feedback from the Policy Board members. 

• The policy owner makes changes to the policy draft, if any, and forwards the final to the Chair of the Policy Board.

• If the changes to the policy are minor, the policy is updated on the web  and appropriate communications of the key changes are distributed.

• If the changes are significant, the policy is placed on the agenda of the Policy Board at their next scheduled meeting. Once the proposed new or  revised policy is approved to move forward, the next step for the office responsible for the policy is to draft the full document, Once the review is  complete and any necessary revisions are made, policies return to the Policy Board for final approval before promulgation to the university  community. In case of Academic Affairs & Student Council, final policies are signed off in writing by the Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs;  the Dean of Nursing must sign off in writing on any Policy Management Steering Committee final policies.

C. Policy Review Schedule

Policy Boards should also plan to regularly review existing policies on a fixed schedule. Existing Policies will be reviewed every 3 years. Policy Owners should be notified at least 3 months in advance of any plans to review an existing policy and requested to update said policy in anticipation of its inclusion on an upcoming agenda. 

D. Policy Maintenance, Revisions & Tracking

The Policy Boards will maintain copies of signed university policies and policy revisions and place an electronic copy on the SON’s Policy website. The Policy Board will also notify responsible parties when particular policies are scheduled for review or revision and is available to work with the responsible parties during any phase of the policy development process. 

As identified in the particular policy, the responsible office will monitor compliance and facilitate remedies for noncompliance as directed by the policy.

E. Policy Format 

A standard policy format ensures clarity and consistency. The SON Policy Boards will use the university’s existing Template for University Policy. ​​​​​​

F. Location of Policies 

To ensure ready access to school policies, the School of Nursing will maintain an official Policy webpage with the most current approved version of all policies, with links to applicable procedures. The webpage will be maintained in a standard electronic format and will follow the structure described in Section IV (D) below. The documents on the Policies webpage will constitute the official electronic depository for policies for School of Nursing.

G. Structure and Organization of University Policies

The School of Nursing Policies website will list all policies by name and category and will provide links to related procedures.

Definitions 

Policy: A policy is a statement of management philosophy and direction, established to provide guidance and assistance to the university community in the conduct of University affairs. A SON policy:

• Is a governing principle that mandates or constrains actions, 

• Has school-wide application, 

• Changes infrequently and sets a course for the foreseeable future,

• Helps insure compliance with applicable laws and regulations,

• Reduces institutional risk, and 

• Is approved at the appropriate levels of the school 

Academic Policies: Academic Policies are policies which govern admissions, progressions and graduation.  

Administrative Policies: Administrative Policies are non-academic policies governing the operations of the university, such as facilities, simulation and innovation learning center, information technology, governance, employment, benefits, and workplace policies.  

Research Policies: Research Policies are those that relate to pursuit of new nursing knowledge and the research mission of the School of Nursing and the University. 

Curriculum Policies: Curriculum Policies are policies which directly affect the pedagogical and research mission of the university. 

Student Policies: Student Policies are policies which directly affect the student life at the university. 

Procedure: A procedure is a series of interrelated steps taken to help implement the policy. School of Nursing administrative procedures:

• Should identify and link to the applicable school or university policy,

• Should be written in a format that is easy to follow, using numbers or bullets to delineate steps to be followed, 

• Should be reviewed and updated as necessary to ensure agreement with the most recent revision to the policy, and 

• Generally do not require formal approval by senior university officials.

Guidelines: General statements, recommendations, or administrative instructions designed to achieve the policy’s objectives by providing a framework to implement procedures. 

• "who" performs the procedure 

• "what" steps should be taken 

• "when" steps should be taken 

• "how" steps should be performed

Policy Initiator: The Policy Initiator is any faculty or staff member who identifies an issue and develops a policy proposal. 

Policy Owner: The Policy Owner is the appropriate SON unit whose jurisdiction covers the subject matter of the policy (I.E. Operations would have jurisdiction over  policies related to operations). 

Stakeholder: Stakeholders are SON community members who are affected by the policy being developed. 

Policy Board:

• The Administrative Policy Management Committee is the initial review committee that determines readiness of administrative policies for approval by the Dean’s office.

• The Academic & Student Affairs Council is the policymaking body for admissions, progressions & graduation issues and student code of conduct & disciplinary issues 

• Simulation Advisory Committee is the policymaking body for the simulation and innovation learning center policies, guidelines, etc.

Procedures 

• Policy Submission Form

Forms

• New Policy Template Form

Contacts

Contact	Telephone	Email
Dean’s Office	202-994-8429	sondeangwu [dot] edu