1014 Policy on Procedure

Procedure

Policy Name:   Policy on Policies  

Policy Number:   1014  

Applicable Code/Law:  RCW 34.05.010(16); WAC 1-21-027  

Definitions  

Board of Trustees (BOT) – Composed of five trustees who are appointed by the governor of Washington and confirmed by the State Senate tasked with authorization to approve new and existing policies for the College at the recommendation of the President.  

Governance Councils – Includes administrators, classified staff, faculty, and student representatives comprised from the recognized constituency groups on campus.  

Guidelines - Provides an operational level framework for the implementation of a procedure in compliance with College policy.  

Policy - Written expressions of the College's governance structure which provides direction to employees and other members of the community related to College affairs established/created at the President’s discretion.  

Procedure - Describes specific actions to be taken to conform with established College policies.  

Rule - Any agency regulation of general applicability (a) the violation of which subjects a person to a penalty or administrative sanction; (b) which establishes, alters, or revokes any procedure, practice, or requirement relating to agency hearings; (c) which establishes, alters, or revokes any qualification or requirement relating to the enjoyment of benefits or privileges conferred by law in alignment with RCW 34.05.010(16).  

Procedural Guidelines  Shoreline Community College policies and procedures provide the College community with a written expression of the College’s governance structure and context for decision making. Shoreline follows a prescribed policy development process for establishing and reviewing College policies which allows for proposals to be vetted by College leadership and campus community prior to implementation.  

  1. Policy/Rule Guidelines  
    1. The College’s policy website will be maintained with up-to-date policy/rule and associated procedure information.    
    2. The College will maintain an assigned Policy/Rules Coordinator per WAC 1-21-027. 
    3. The President, or designee, will assign an Executive Team (ET) member responsible for maintaining each policy/rule and associated procedure’s information.   
    4. Policies/rules will be generally reviewed by the appropriate governance councils dependent on topic as determined by the President (or designee).    
  2. Policy Review   
    1. Policies/Rules are to be reviewed for need and/or updates at least once every five (5) years. 
      1. Councils/groups assigned to review will be presented with the original policy language, the updated policy language, and reason(s) for the recommended change.  
    2. The “policy” review process will occur in the following order:   
      1. 1st reading by ET regarding initial updates recommended for the policy or rule. 
      2. Review by assigned Council for feedback on the identified updates.  
        1. 1. NOTE: Failure to provide feedback in a timely manner may result in the College moving forward without Council input at the President’s discretion.  
        2. 2nd reading by ET with consideration of Council feedback received when determining recommendation of policy updates to be made.       
          1. If Council feedback is not incorporated, ET will provide an update regarding why.
          2. ET may also draft new changes that are returned for additional Council feedback. Equity analysis through the DEIA Office prior to finalization (may occur at any point).  
      3. Final approval by the President on all policy updates.  
    3. The “rule” review process will include:  
      1. All steps under “b” above, and;  
      2. Review by the Board of Trustees which outlines the reason for the change and President approved updates recommended for consideration of their approval.  
    4. The “procedure” review process will include:  
      1. Presentation to ET regarding recommended changes, with draft language shared.  
      2. Review by ET for feedback on the identified updates.  
      3. Recommendation by ET to the President for approval.   
  3. Policy Responsibilities  
    1. The Policy Coordinator will:  
      1. Identify and notify ET members of the policies (and any associated procedures) scheduled for review in advance of the academic year beginning.  
      2. Share applicable resources/references as available.  
      3. Establish the review timeline, including dates for council, ET, and legal review.
      4. Post policies and associated procedures to the College’s policy website.
      5. Submit/coordinate state rule making forms.
      6. Provide notice to campus of new, revised, or eliminated policies.  
    2. The ET member assigned to each policy scheduled for review will:  
      1. Review existing resources and complete additional research as needed.  
      2. Solicit feedback from impacted units or groups in advance of ET review.  
      3.  Draft policy and procedure updates in conjunction with the Policy Coordinator’s review. 
      4. Present policy and procedures updates to assigned councils/groups and collect/incorporate feedback as appropriate.  
      5. Present rule updates to the Board of Trustees (when needed).     
      6. Disseminate policy update information and provide training/resources to impacted areas as appropriate.

Approval

Procedures Adopted: 6/3/25

Procedure Updated: 10/28/25