Policy

Policies serve to establish fundamental principles as a basis for action by members of the community. The College has a process for creating, revising, rescinding, and publishing official campus policies and procedures.

College policies are needed to administer the College and its various units in accordance with applicable law and regulation, reasonable administrative practice, and the delegation of authority. These policies are generally accompanied by procedures and related supplemental resources for managing the College. The scope of the College’s policies is wide, ranging from the entire college to individual schools or units.

Reason for Policy

Sets forth the policy, procedures and regulations for managing the College’s operations.

To Whom Does the Policy Apply

All members of Ramapo College

Related Documents

Procedure 223: College Policies

Contacts

Office of the President
(201) 684-7609

Date Adopted: April 5, 2005
Date Revised: October 13, 2009, September 2013, December 2016, September 27, 2021

Background 

Policies consist of the policy statement, which is broad and overarching.

Policies are accompanied by procedures, which are rules, protocols, directives and guidelines that help operationalize the policy as part of the implementation process.

This procedure describes the process for creating, reviewing, revising, rescinding, and publishing official campus policies and procedures.

Policy Library

The College’s Web-based Policy Library is the official source for policies approved by the College’s Board of Trustees, the Cabinet, and/or division Vice Presidents for the College’s operations. If an academic, administrative, and/or unit policy is inconsistent with an approved Board of Trustees policy, the Board policy will prevail. The maintenance and management of the Policy Library is the responsibility of the Policy Committee. Questions about the process for developing policies and updating procedures should be emailed to policies@ramapo.edu.

Policy Approval Authority

Depending upon its scope, a policy may be approved by the:
● Board of Trustees;
● President/Cabinet;
● Provost; or
● Division Vice President

Policy Classification

Policies are organized according to the area responsible for overseeing the policy. The numerical classification for each policy denotes the area with primary responsibility for the maintenance and review, not the approval, of the policy:

● 200: Board of Trustees
● 300: Academic Affairs
● 400: Administration and Finance
● 500: Enrollment Management and Student Affairs
● 600: President/Cabinet
● 700: Institutional Advancement

Roles in the Policy Process

Board of Trustees
● Upon the recommendation of a standing Board Committee, approves reviews, revises, and rescinds policy statements which denote Board of Trustees approval authority in accordance with applicable New Jersey laws and Bylaws of the Board
● Policies considered by the Board of Trustees are identified and acted upon by the Board.

President/Cabinet
● Following identification by the Board of Trustees, recommends to the Board of Trustees standing committees, as appropriate, the establishment, review, revision, or rescission of policy statements which denote Board Approval Authority
● Approves the review and revision of procedures which may accompany policy statements which denote Board Approval authority.
● Approves, reviews, revises and rescinds policies which denote President/Cabinet Approval authority.
● Receives certain policies from the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs after they are reviewed and endorsed by the Provost Council

Responsible Executive
● Identifies a need to establish, review, revise, or recommend for rescission policies under their purview
● Designates the Responsible Unit to lead the drafting or revision process, and notifies the College Policy Committee that said policy is under development or review
● Reviews and approves the Responsible Unit’s draft and sends it to the College Policy Committee for further review

Responsible Unit
● Review unit procedures and practices periodically to determine if they correspond with policy
● Draft the initial policy utilizing the policy template and/or advances draft revisions or recommendations for rescission of existing policy to Responsible Executive
● Coordinates stakeholder review and input as appropriate

Note: Policies that primarily address academic procedures and regulations are first established, reviewed, revised, or recommended for rescission by the Provost Council, then are approved by the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs, and are then provided to the Cabinet as an information item.

College Policy Committee
● Assists Responsible Executives with the establishment, review, revision, and rescission of policies and procedures.
● Serves as the penultimate stage of review prior to advancing a policy to the approval authority.
● Assigns policy category and policy numbers.
● Fosters a cyclical review of policies and procedures.
● Notifies College constituents and solicits comment on policies under review, new, revised, and rescinded policies (those that require Board or President/Cabinet approval only)

Faculty Assembly/Ramapo Staff Association/Student Government Association
● Advances to the Responsible Executive proposals for establishing, reviewing, revising, and/or rescinding policies.
Ramapo Staff Association
● Advances to the Responsible Executive proposals for establishing, reviewing, revising, and/or rescinding policies.
Student Government Association
● Advances to the Responsible Executive proposals for establishing, reviewing, revising, and/or rescinding policies.

Policy Maintenance

All policies shall be reviewed periodically (every three to five years) by the responsible unit to determine if procedures and practices correspond with policy and with current regulations. If changes in practices or procedures have occurred, then the responsible unit, in partnership with the Responsible Executive, shall advance revisions as described above.

Notification

To the extent practicable, employees will normally be notified of new, revised, or rescinded policies through official College communication channels. The College reserves the right to add, amend, or revoke any policies, procedures, rules, and regulations or incorporate additional ones, with or without notice, as circumstances or the good of the College may require.

Policy/Procedure Format
Policies and procedures are written utilizing a template, described below, to provide information in a consistent format.
The following format is in place to ensure uniformity and consistency in appearance when developing policies:
● Use 1″ top, bottom, left and right margins on the policy;
● Use Arial font, 10pt or 11pt.; bold font for headers and regular font for the body

Ramapo College Policy Template (pdf)

Ramapo College Procedure Template (pdf)