Guide to writing campuswide policies

How to Write a UC Berkeley Campuswide Policy

(Revised April 2025)

Overview

There are several stages involved in the formulation of a new policy or the major revision of an existing policy. The process was developed in consultation with stakeholders and a wide range of departments throughout as well as outside Policy consultants. It conforms to the policy on Management of Campuswide Policies.

Campuswide policies are intended to be high-level and provide the overarching campuswide authority on a topic. This guide is intended to help you:

  • Gather information to write a campuswide policy
  • Write the policy using the campus’s standard template
  • Get the policy approved
  • Issue the policy to the campus

Step One: Gather Information

The Campus Policy Library is a central, online directory of campuswide policies. It indexes policies by functional area (e.g., Academic Affairs, Business and Finance, Civil Rights, Clinical Compliance, Conduct and Ethics, Contracts and Grants, Development and Advancement, Facilities and Resources, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Information Technology, Intellectual Property and Branding, Privacy, Procurement and Purchasing, Research Administration, Student Matters) and policy name.

Before you begin writing a new campuswide policy:

  • Check whether the campus already has a policy on the subject by searching the Campus Policy Library. If so, make sure you thoroughly understand the application of the policy. How would your new unit policy differ? That is what the campus will want to know. 
  • If the Office of the President (OP) has a policy on your subject, keep in mind that a campuswide policy may be more restrictive than OP’s, but may not be more permissive. Links to repositories of systemwide policies can be found via the Systemwide Policies section of this website.
  • Review the policies OP and the other UC campuses have issued on your subject for ideas or language you may want to use. If OP and the other UC campuses don’t have policies on your subject, check the policy pages at other universities. It always helps to know how other people have handled similar issues.
  • Talk to key stakeholders knowledgeable about your policy area. You will probably need to speak with several campus offices, groups, individuals, or committees.The campus has a tradition of moving forward by consensus, and other constituencies may alert you to problems you hadn’t considered. The Campus Policy Coordinator can help you identify which key stakeholders to consult at this early stage. 

Step Two: Write the Policy, following the Template

To ensure clarity and consistency, the campus has introduced a standard Policy Template for campuswide policies. Let’s go through the fields one by one.

Headers and front matter

Policy Name

Should be no longer than a line or two and very precise. Do not include the word "policy" or the phrase "policy on." Example: a policy about where people can smoke or advertise tobacco products would not be called “Smoking” or “Smoke-Free Policy,” but “Smoking and Advertising Tobacco.” 

Responsible Executive

The name and title of the senior official sponsoring the policy, often a Vice chancellor or an Associate Vice Chancellor. 

Responsible Office

The office(s) charged with administering the policy and accountable for the policy’s accuracy, interpretation, and updating.

Contact information

The individual title/functional role, phone number, and/or email address of the Responsible Office(s), to whom members of the campus community can go to for direct answers to questions about the policy. If different sections of the policy are best answered by different contacts, list the various contacts and what type of questions they should be called about. Include a departmental email address and a phone number.

Policy Issued

The date the policy is announced to the campus. (You will not have this information until later in the process.) 

Effective Date

The date on which the campus needs to abide by the policy. It is often the same as the issue date, but can be retroactive by exception or sometime in the future. If a policy is going to be phased in, use the date of the first phase. 

Revision date

Date the policy was revised, if applicable (if not, put N/A).

Supersedes

If this policy supersedes any another policies, list them here by name and date of issuance. That way people will know which past policies are outdated.

Next review date

The next review date should be no more than 5 years from the last effective/revision date

Main body of policy

I. Policy Summary

A brief description of the policy and any relevant background information (for example, for use as a preview on the website)

II. Definitions

Key terms with specialized meanings or local references, if any: “For the purposes of this Policy…”

III. Scope of Policy

  1. Who the policy applies (or does not apply) to
  2. Locations in which the policy applies (if relevant)

IV. Policy

  1. General statement about why the policy is needed (the intent behind it)
  2. The specific policy
  3. Details and additional information about the policy (if needed)

V. Procedures

As needed, this section contains the series of steps, described in logical order and plain language, for carrying out the policy. If there is a procedure for requesting exceptions to the policy, be sure to include it.

VI. Responsibilities

Information about what every administrative unit involved in the policy must do, e.g. Deans and Directors must do A, B, and C; Central Administration must do D, E, and F; Departmental Officers must do G, H, and I, including:

  1. Which office on campus is responsible for responding to violations of policy
  2. Which office to contact with questions
  3. Where to report a policy violation

VII. Consequences of Policy Violations

Include any resulting outcomes of violating the policy, e.g., loss of access, referral to a specific office for investigation, or disciplinary action. If there would be differing consequences for employees as opposed to students, include that information here.

VIII. Related Policies and Procedures

Include any relevant policies or procedures, with links. These may be systemwide Policies or guidance documents, or campus Policies or procedures.

IX. Appendix

As needed, include supplementary documents or forms, or an FAQ section here. If the policy has more than one appendix, refer to each by letter in the text (Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.) and order them appropriately at the end of the policy.

Tips on style

Policies should be easy for novices to understand, which means they should provide comprehensive direction in plain language. For answers to usage questions (Do I capitalize the term vice chancellor or not? Is it email or e-mail?) consult the campus’s Editorial Style Guide.

The campus has very specific definitions for  words regularly used in the context of policy writing:

"Policies" vs. "Procedures" vs. "Guidelines"

  • Policies: principles (or sets of principles) intended to govern actions.
  • Procedures:  the actions necessary to implement policies.
  • Guidelines:  abridged, user-friendly versions of procedures, usually published in informal venues like newsletters, pamphlets, or Web sites.

"Will", "Must", "Shall" vs. "May", "Encouraged", "Should"

  • The words “will,” “must,” or “shall” denote policy requirements.
  • Terms like "may", "is encouraged to," “should” denote policy elements that are strongly recommended but not required.

These words are often considered interchangeable, but shouldn’t be. Be sure to use them accurately.

Consultation and assistance

You do not have to write a policy alone. In fact, we strongly recommend that at least one neutral reader without much background in the policy’s subject matter review your work for clarity. For assistance contact the Campus Policy Coordinator at ucbpolicy@berkeley.edu.

Step Three: Getting the Policy Approved

Once your draft is in near-final shape, send it, and the Proposal to Add or Change Policy form, to the Campus Policy Coordinator (ucbpolicy@berkeley.edu). If the Policy Coordinator confirms that you have consulted key stakeholders and followed the policy template correctly, the Policy Coordinator will put the policy on the agenda for the next CERC Policy Subcommittee meeting. You will be invited to attend the meeting so you can introduce the policy and answer questions about it. The subcommittee may make suggestions about the policy and may recommend other campus committees, groups, and organizations for you to consult.

CERC Policy Subcommittee feedback and suggestions will be summarized in meeting minutes, which will be sent to you after the meeting. You are not required to adopt the subcommittee’s non-technical suggestions, but you are required to consider them. It is normal to receive, and to incorporate, substantive suggestions at this stage. If you do receive substantive suggestions, you may be asked to return to the CERC Policy Subcommittee for another round of review before the Policy Subcommittee approves the policy to go forward to CERC for review and approval.

In the unusual event that the CERC Policy Subcommittee is sharply divided about your policy, you may have to involve your Responsible Executive in negotiations.

Upon approval by the Policy Subcommittee, the policy is recommended to the CERC full committee for consideration. CERC reviews campuswide policies for their impact on the full range of campus departments and operations.

Once approved by CERC, the Responsible Executive has delegated authority to issue the policies to the entire campus.

The ultimate authority for policy on campus belongs to the Chancellor. Any policy that does not have consensus support should have the Chancellor’s support before it is issued.

Step Four: Issuing the Policy

The policy should be announced by the Responsible Executive or the Chancellor via the appropriate communication modality that reaches the appropriate campus audience (always err on the side of communicating to too many people). Coordinate with the Policy Office so the policy can be posted on the Campus Policy website the day before the announcement goes out.

If you need help writing the communication, please contact ucbpolicy@berkeley.edu. You may also publicize the policy through any listservs your department may have developed and through other campus media.

Policies should be reviewed every five years to make sure they haven’t become outdated, either in whole or in part.