ÍâÍøÌìÌÃ

Operating Policy and Procedure

HSC OP: 10.01, Operating Policies and Procedures for ÍâÍøÌìÌÃ

PURPOSE: The Health Sciences Center Operating Policy and Procedure (HSC OP) system was developed to standardize ÍâÍøÌìÌà policies and procedures and to provide a consistent and coherent method of defining ÍâÍøÌìÌà policies. The system is intended to:

• Provide a ÍâÍøÌìÌÃ-wide pattern for developing policies and procedures;
• Outline a standard format for policies and procedures;
• Maintain a current and easily accessible online manual of all ÍâÍøÌìÌà policies and procedures;
• Provide notification of policy and procedure changes to the ÍâÍøÌìÌà community;
• Facilitate continuity regardless of changes in personnel assignments; and
• Ensure the periodic review and updating of all ÍâÍøÌìÌà policies and procedures.

All ÍâÍøÌìÌà policies and procedures should be developed in the format indicated in this HSC OP and processed through the approval procedures as set out herein.

REVIEW: This HSC OP will be reviewed on March 1 of each odd-numbered year (ONY) by the Office of the Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations (EVPFO), with recommendations for revision forwarded to the President by March 15.

POLICY/PROCEDURE:

1. Authority.
Section 02.04.2.i,Regents’ Rules

The Board of Regents of the Texas Tech University System has directed the president of ÍâÍøÌìÌÃ, with the appropriate participation of faculty and staff, to develop the operating policies, procedures, rules, and regulations for the governance of ÍâÍøÌìÌà so long as they do not conflict with federal or state laws or TTU System Regents' Rules, in accordance with section 8 below.

The Office of the EVPFO is responsible for maintaining the Operating Policies for ÍâÍøÌìÌÃ.

2. Format.

a. All HSC OPs will have the following three major sections:

• PURPOSE
• REVIEW
• POLICY/PROCEDURE

b. The PURPOSE section should provide a rationale for the policy/procedure. The rationale might be a reference to a legal requirement, (the General Appropriations Act, State Constitution, Regents’ Rules), a statement of the goals which the HSC OP is attempting to facilitate, or a description of the reason(s) for implementing the policy.

c. The REVIEW section should define the individual(s) responsible for reviewing the HSC OP and the date the review takes place.

d. The POLICY/PROCEDURE section should explain the specifics (who, what, when, where, how, and why) of the policy/procedure.

e. The heading and format of all HSC OPs should be similar to this document.

3. Development of a New HSC OP.

a. Any department head or administrator at ÍâÍøÌìÌà may propose a new operating policy or procedure by routing the suggestion through administrative channels for review and approval.

b. The flow for the creation of a new OP is illustrated below:

(1) A new OP proposed by a department head or administrator should be discussed and vetted within their respective area. The proposed OP should be discussed with the next administrative level and whether to advance it to the formal review process.
(2) If all parties to this point agree with formalizing the OP, the draft will be sent to the Office of the EVPFO via email to implement the formal review procedures.
(3) The Office of the EVPFO will assign a number to the new OP, ensure the formatting is correct, and enter review process steps in the tracking system for future review.
(4) The Office of the EVPFO will email the new OP to the persons listed in the REVIEW section for final approval.
(5) The reviewers should examine the draft OP carefully and recommend revisions where appropriate. Changes should be done through track changes on the word document provided and sent back to the Office of the EVPFO with approval via email.
(6) The Office of the EVPFO will forward the draft OP (via email) on to the next reviewer(s). OPs usually will be presented to an appropriate vice president, Dean, the Provost, or the President for final review and approval.
(7) The appropriate administrator or designee will send the final approved version of the draft OP, via email, to the Office of the EVPFO.
(8) Upon receipt of the approved new OP, the Office of the EVPFO will follow publication procedures per Section 7 below.

4. Review and Revision of an HSC OP.

a. To maintain an accurate and effective set of operating policies and procedures, it is necessary that all HSC OPs have a regular schedule of review and be revised when necessary. HSC OPs stay in full force and effect until republished, whether or not they have been through the scheduled review process.

b. An HSC OP can be updated, revised or deleted at any time, not only during its scheduled review cycle. Recommended changes should be forwarded to the primary reviewer identified in the REVIEW section, or to the Office of the EVPFO for routing, with clearly supported reasons.

c. Review procedures of an HSC OP are as follows:

(1) The Office of the EVPFO will notify (via email) the responsible reviewer when an HSC OP is scheduled for review along with a copy of the draft OP to be reviewed.
(2) The Reviewer should examine the draft OP carefully and document changes and return to the Office of the EVPFO with noted changes and approval within fifteen (15) business days from the date of receipt.
(3) The Office of the EVPFO will document the reviewers notes and forward the draft OP with changes on to the next reviewer(s).
(4) Upon completion of review, OPs will be reissued with a new date and the level of revision, even if no substantive changes have occurred. The levels of revision are as follows:

• Date only change – No change to the OP. Some OPs with grammatical or formatting concerns may be posted as a date only change.
• Minor revision – Minor textural changes that do not change the meaning of the OP, such as updated job titles, department names, and links; grammatical changes; and clarifications.
• Moderate revision – Substantive revisions that change the meaning of the OP. One or more paragraphs have changed but not entire sections.
• Major revision – Substantive revisions that change the meaning of the OP. Substantial portions of the document have changed, including adding or deleting one or more sections.

5. Operating Policy Approvals and Numbering Plan. Operating policies are to be approved by the reviewer and the designated administrator for the specific area of the policy. However, any HSC OP from any area in which the Chancellor wishes to personally approve and maintain a high level of involvement will be placed in Category 01. Any HSC OP in which the President wishes to personally approve and maintain a high level of involvement will be placed in Category 10.

6. Policy versus Procedure. For purposes of the HSC OP Manual, no distinction will be made between "Policy" and "Procedure", as most HSC OPs contain both. It is a basic philosophy of the HSC OP System that both policies and procedures which are developed and approved under the authority of the ÍâÍøÌìÌà Administration will be included within the ÍâÍøÌìÌà Operating Policy and Procedure Manual.

7. Publication. The procedures for publication are as follows:

a. HSC OPs are available online only. The Office of the EVPFO will publish approved HSC OPs on the ÍâÍøÌìÌà OP website, which can be found online at .

b. The Office of the EVPFO will post a notice on the ÍâÍøÌìÌà Announcements Page accessed on the ÍâÍøÌìÌà website at each time HSC OPs have been published.

c. Those departments who wish to maintain HSC OP Manuals may print the online OPs upon notification of a new publication and place in their manuals.

d. The ÍâÍøÌìÌà Libraries will link the Operating Policy and Procedure Manual record in the library electronic catalog to the ÍâÍøÌìÌà OP website.

8. Higher Authorities.

The HSC OPs are subordinate to higher authorities, including federal law, rules, and regulations; state law, rules, and regulations; and Regents’ Rules.

a. Should there occur at any time a conflict between a policy and/or procedure of an HSC OP, and a policy or procedure as reflected in documents of a higher authority (e.g., federal law, state law, Coordinating Board policy, Regents’ Rules), the policy and/or procedure document of higher authority will prevail.

b. Should there occur at any time a conflict between a policy and/or procedure of an HSC OP, and a policy or procedure of any other written or oral policy developed by an operating unit at ÍâÍøÌìÌÃ, the policy and/or procedure of the HSC OP will prevail.

9. Disclaimer Statement. ÍâÍøÌìÌà reserves the right to interpret, change, modify, amend or rescind any policy in whole or in part at any time without the consent of employees.