2.1 Policy on Policies

Added: 07/31/2018
Revised: 04/10/2025
Last Reviewed: 04/10/2025
Effective: 05/10/2025

PURPOSE 

Middle Georgia State University's (MGA) Policy on Policies defines the process by which the University creates, reviews, approves, distributes, and maintains policies and procedures.

POLICY 

  1. MGA has developed a formal process to develop, approve, issue and maintain all policies in a consistent format in a central electronic repository. Individuals developing, maintaining or revising policies must follow the stated requirements for a policy or revision to become effective.
  2. MGA also complies with the policies of the Board of Regents (BOR) of the University System of Georgia (USG). The MGA President, or designee, may create or revise a policy based on the authority granted by BOR Policy 2.6.  MGA policies may elaborate on BOR policy where necessary, and where the BOR policy is silent, MGA may develop its own policies. In the event of a conflict between an MGA policy and BOR policy, the BOR will supersede.
  3. MGA reserves the right to amend, modify, delete, or add any policy at any time to meet the needs of MGA community; to comply with law, federal or state regulation, BOR policy or accreditation standards; or for any other reason the President may determine. 
  4. All MGA community members have access to policy and procedure documents through the MGA Policy Manual.
  5. Responsible Parties will endeavor to update or revise policies and related procedures, including policies and related procedures that predate the implementation of this Policy, as needed.

DEFINITIONS

  1. University Policy: Official University directive that:
    1. Directs or limits action of MGA and members of MGA community;
    2. Has broad application throughout MGA and is intended to govern the actions of employees, faculty, students, contractors and/or visitors; and
    3. Enhances MGA's mission, reduces institutional risk, supports compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and/or promotes operational efficiency.
  2. Unit-level Policy: Policies of colleges, departments or operating units that are applicable only to a specific unit and that do not meet all characteristics of a University Policy. No college, department or operating unit may adopt a policy, procedure, or practice that is inconsistent with MGA Policy or any policy of the BOR. In the event of a conflict between an MGA policy and a Unit-level Policy, the MGA Policy will supersede.
  3. Procedure: Defined steps or methods to carry out a particular policy or departmental matter. The MGA Policy Manul is not an operational manual for procedures and processes that are internal to a functional area or unit.  Each unit or functional area is responsible for maintaining appropriate procedures to implement University policy and documentation for processes. 
  4. Interim Policy: A provisional policy that may be issued when a University Policy is needed within a time period too short to complete the process described herein. An Interim Policy may be implemented immediately with the approval of the President and will remain in effect for no longer than six months. The Interim Policy may remain effective for one additional six-month period with the approval of the President. Interim policies expire when a University Policy covering the same subject matter is implemented.
  5. Routine Changes: Routine Changes include only items that do not affect the substance of the policy, including but not limited to new position titles and contact information and non-substantive definitional updates or revisions.
  6. Policy Owner: University administrator responsible for the accuracy, communication, and implementation of a policy and associated procedures and training. This individual may also act as subject matter expert.
  7. Policy Manual: MGA's official, public website for distribution of approved University policies, procedures, and associated information.
  8. Review and Comment: Process of policy review and comment by members of the MGA community.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Requests for information related to the MGA Policy Manual should be sent to policies@mga.edu. 

PROCEDURES

Proposing or Revising a Policy

  1. Any individual or unit may identify the need for the creation of or revision to a policy and draft suggested language for the policy. MGA administrators are responsible for identifying the need for new or revised policy or procedures appropriate to the functions of their unit(s).
  2. Draft policies must be submitted to the Vice President for the functional area applicable to the proposed or revised policy. If the unit or department does not report, directly or indirectly, to a Vice President, drafts must be submitted directly to the Office of Legal Affairs. The President or Office of Legal Affairs will determine whether to carry forward a proposed or revised policy for further consideration.

Reviewing and Approving a Policy

  1. If a Vice President or the Office of Legal Affairs determines that a policy should be considered for implementation, the policy will be distributed as follows for further review:
    1. For University Policies, the Office of Legal Affairs will review the proposed policy for clarity, practicality, consistency, compliance, redundancy, duplication, and impact on other departments and will provide recommendations from this review to the individual who submitted draft policy. Suggested changes shall be remanded to the drafting individual or unit for approval before the policy is carried forward to the President’s Cabinet.
    2. For Unit-level Policies that potentially impact operations of departments that report to other Vice Presidents, the Office of Legal Affairs will distribute a draft to the appropriate Vice Presidents.
  2. After receiving the suggested changes, the Policy Owner who submitted the policy for approval shall:
    1. For University Policies, determine which suggestions to incorporate and present the policy to the Office of Legal Affairs for final consideration. Following the recommendation of a Vice President and/or the Office of Legal Affairs, with assistance from others as deemed appropriate in his or her sole discretion, the policy will be presented for review by the President’s Cabinet. The President’s Cabinet shall make a recommendation to the President for approval or rejection of the policy. Following the recommendation of Cabinet, the President shall make a final decision approving or rejecting the policy. No University Policy shall become effective until approved by the President. If a policy is rejected, it shall be returned to the drafting individual or unit with an explanation of why the policy is being rejected.
    2. For Unit-level Policies that incorporate the suggested changes, sign and approve the Unit-level policy. No Unit-level Policy shall become effective until approved by a Vice President.
  3. Once a policy has been approved, the Office of Legal Affairs will publish the new or revised policy with its "Effective Date" in the MGA Policy Manual.
  4. The President or Vice President for the area from which a policy has emerged will be responsible for ensuring periodic review (at least every five years) of each policy as appropriate. In the case of policies emanating from the Faculty Senate, the Faculty Senate shall be responsible for such periodic review. Changes may or may not be made to a policy upon review. Upon notification by the President, appropriate Vice President, or Faculty Senate that the policy has been reviewed with no changes identified as needed, the Office of Legal Affairs will note the date of review in the policy heading. Electronic announcements to the campus community are not required for policy reviews.

Routine Changes

  1. As needed, the office or unit responsible for a policy may request that the Office of Legal Affairs make Routine Changes to a policy. Routine Changes do not affect the substance of the policy and are not required to go through the typical review and approval process.
  2. Requests for routine changes to the MGA Policy Manual should be sent to policies@mga.edu.
  3. Routine changes do not require review of the President’s Cabinet and are effective immediately upon their appearance in the official version of the policy within the repository. Routine Changes to University policies will be communicated via the MGA Policy Manual for informational purposes.

Establishing an Interim Policy

  1. In the event that a new policy or substantive revision to an existing policy is needed within a time period that will not allow for the full drafting and review process outlined herein, a drafting individual or unit may make a request for an Interim Policy to the President or appropriate Vice President. The proposed policy or revision shall enter the full drafting and review process simultaneously with the process for establishing an Interim Policy.
  2. If a Vice President determines that an Interim Policy is needed, he or she must secure the written approval of the President to implement the policy. Written consent may be given electronically.
  3. Once the Interim Policy has been approved by the President, the Office of Office of Legal Affairs will publish the Interim Policy with its "Effective Date" in the MGA Policy Manual. 
  4. Interim Policies are in effect for an initial period of six (6) months. The Interim Policy may remain effective for one additional six (6) month period with the approval of the President.
  5. Interim Policies will automatically expire upon the approval of a University Policy covering the same subject matter by the process described herein.

Withdrawing a Policy

  1. Any individual or unit may make a request to withdraw an existing policy or to consolidate one policy into another. Such requests should be made to a Vice President or the Office of Legal Affairs with an explanation for the request.
  2. If the President or Vice President agrees with the proposed withdrawal or consolidation, he or she will present the proposal to the President’s Cabinet for review.
  3. The President’s Cabinet shall make a recommendation to the President for approval or rejection of the withdrawal of the policy. Following the recommendation of Cabinet, the President shall make a final decision approving or rejecting the withdrawal of the policy. If a policy withdrawal is rejected, it shall be returned to the drafting individual or unit with an explanation of why the proposal is being rejected.
  4. If the policy withdrawal is approved by the President, the Office of Legal Affairs will remove withdrawn policies from the MGA Policy Manual.

Communicating and Training

  1. The Office of Legal Affairs will ensure the availability of any interim, new, or revised policies within the MGA Policy Manual.
  2. The Policy Owner of the policy and the associated unit will direct or provide additional communication and training as necessary.

Retention

University Policies, including superseded and withdrawn versions of University Policies, will be maintained in accordance with USG Records Retention requirements.

Responsibility for Policy and Procedures

The Office of Legal Affairs is responsible for establishing the policy and procedure structures for publishing and maintaining all official policies and procedures.