1. Texas State's Division of Academic Affairs is committed to maintaining a well-designed, effective process for developing, disseminating, and reviewing policies and procedures. The Academic Affairs Policy and Procedure Statement (PPS) System was created by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs to establish such a system and has been the official means for generating and disseminating policies of the Division since 1987.
   
2. The purpose of this policy statement is to establish and define the Policy and Procedure Statement System (PPS System) used within the Division of Academic Affairs at Texas State. The PPS System is used to develop, approve, and disseminate key processes and procedures to be used within the Division.
   

AUTHORITY FOR THE POLICY AND PROCEDURE STATEMENT SYSTEM

3. The PPS System is established under the general authority of the Provost, the chief academic officer of the University. Further specific authority to establish a policy system for the division is granted in section 04 of University Policy & Procedure Statements (UPPS) 01.01.01.
   
4. At any time a conflict occurs between a PPS and policy as reflected in documents of a higher authority (i.e., federal law, state law, Coordinating Board policy, Regents' Rules , UPPS's, etc.), the policy as outlined in the document of higher authority will prevail. At any time a conflict occurs between the policy of a college, school or other unit within the Division of Academic Affairs and an Academic Affairs' PPS, the policy of the Academic Affairs' PPS will prevail.
   

5. PPS's are issued at the discretion and subject to the final approval of the Provost.
   
6. Normally, a proposed PPS is developed following consultation with the Provost or at the request of the Provost. In any case, the PPS review process begins when a draft PPS is submitted to the Provost. The review process typically follows these steps.
   
1. Preliminary informal review of the draft PPS by the Provost, with possible revisions,
   
2. Preliminary informal review of the draft PPS by the Council of Academic Deans with possible revisions prior to general review,
   
3. Review of the draft PPS by the academic community, with copies of the draft routed to the Council of Academic Deans, the Council of Chairs, and the Faculty Senate for suggested changes,
   
4. Formal review by the Council of Academic Deans, including consideration of comments received and possible modifications based on those comments,
   
5. Final review and approval by the Provost.
   
7. If the Provost determines that circumstances require the immediate implementation of a PPS, he/she may waive any or all of the steps outlined above and approve a PPS on an interim basis. Such interim approval authorizes immediate implementation of the policy, with a substantive review to follow.
   
   

8. Although the PPS format is intended to be flexible enough to accommodate a wide variety of policies on many complex issues, certain general guidelines should be followed:
   
   1. The first section(s) of a PPS should outline the purpose of the document, explaining why the policy statement is needed, or providing a rationale for the policy,
      
   2. Subsequent sections of the PPS should, in numbered paragraphs, provide the specific details of the policy or procedure,
      
   3. The final section of the PPS should indicate the assigned reviewer and the assigned review cycle, as well as provide an approval signature space for the reviewer and for the Provost.
      
   4. A general numbering system will be employed for PPS's using the following categories and additional categories as deemed appropriate by the Provost:

      0. Policy and Procedure System
      1. Administrative Organization
      2. Curriculum: Programs and Course Offerings
      3. Academic Requirements and Advising
      4. Teaching
      5. Scholarly Activities and Grants
      6. Honors and Scholarships
      7. Personnel: Employment, Assignment, and Compensation
      8. Personnel: Development, Evaluation, and Promotion
      9. Planning and Reporting
      10. Fiscal Management
      20. Miscellaneous

    

9. Following approval of a new or revised PPS by the Provost, notification of the release of the official PPS will be made to the academic community in the following manner:
   
   1. Via electronic mail, a memo announcing approval and release of a new or revised official PPS will be sent to all PPS holders. An electronic copy of the official PPS will be maintained for web page access through the Provost's homepage. The electronic address to the PPS Index from which to access the PPS's directly is as follows:
      
      http://www.txstate.edu/academicaffairs/pps/pps_toc.htm

10. As part of the development of each PPS, the Provost, will establish a periodic review cycle for each approved PPS (Appendix I). For a policy statement of a college, school or other unit within the Division of Academic Affairs which are subject to policies or procedures in an Academic Affairs' PPS, review of the college, school or other unit's policy statement should be scheduled for a time shortly after the review of the Academic Affairs' PPS to assure that academic affairs policy/procedure changes are reflected in the college, school and other units' PPS's. Also, Academic Affairs' PPS's that are linked to a UPPS should have their review scheduled for a time shortly after the review of the UPPS.
    
11. The Provost will assign a review date and an individual from the Division of Academic Affairs or member of the Council of Academic Deans to serve as primary reviewer. Criteria used in making these assignments include particular expertise in the subject matter of the PPS, special responsibilities related to the subject matter of the PPS, and a fair distribution of this workload among reviewers.
    
12. By the specified review date, a primary reviewer is responsible for completing the following actions:
    
1. Inviting comments or proposed revisions to the PPS from members of the Council of Academic Deans, the Council of Chairs, and the Faculty Senate, as well as the University Attorney,
   
2. Reviewing the comments and, based upon these comments as well as the reviewer's professional judgment, suggesting any changes in the PPS that the reviewer deems appropriate, and
   
3. Submitting a packet including the current version of the PPS, the comments received, and a proposed revised PPS (or a report that no changes are recommended) to the Office of the Provost for inclusion on a forthcoming Council of Academic Deans' agenda.
   
13. Minor Pen and Ink (P&I) Changes may be requested to be made to a PPS either in the regular periodic review cycle or out-of-cycle if there have been changes to a policy or procedure. A Pen and Ink Change may be requested by memo to the Provost, who will either approve the change to be made or request it be forwarded for review through the Council of Academic Deans. When approved, notification via electronic mail stating P&I Changes have been made to the PPS and indicating what the specific changes are will be sent to all Academic Affairs PPS holders. It is expected PPS holders will make the noted changes to any paper file copy kept in their offices. The official web version will also be changed to reflect the P&I Changes.
    
14. In addition to a substantive review of the PPS, in accordance with Baldridge leadership criteria, each PPS should be reviewed in relation to its:
    
    1. reinforcement of the learning and improvement climate within the Division;
       
    2. encouragement of initiative and self-directed responsibility within the Division;
       
    3. impact on customers or stakeholders involved; and
       
    4. necessity
       
15. Following receipt of the packet described in Section 12,c the Council of Academic Deans will conduct a formal review of the PPS, including consideration of comments received and possible modifications based on those comments. That formal review will be followed by final review and approval by the Provost.
    

16. The Provost's office no longer issues the updated PPS Index which was Appendix 1 to this PPS. Please refer to the PPS Index on the web at: http://www.txstate.edu/academicaffairs/pps/pps_toc.htm
    

17. This PPS has been approved by the reviewer listed below and represents Texas State's Division of Academic Affairs policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.