UW–Madison Policy Library

Policy management at UW–Madison is a process that involves the development, revision, and retirement of policies published in the UW–Madison Policy Library. This process is guided by the policy library coordinator and policy library team. Information about the policy management process can be found on this site.

Guiding Principles

Transparency & Accessibility

The university’s policy management process is transparent and accessible. University community input and feedback are broadly sought, valued, and appropriately used, including through UW–Madison shared governance.

Reason & Sound Judgment

Reason and sound judgment guide policy development, application, and enforcement, recognizing the inherent tension between the specificity needed to guide behavior and the flexibility needed to allow for discretion in decision-making as situations and circumstances warrant.

Shared Responsibility

Members of the UW–Madison community are responsible for understanding and following university policies. Leaders, supervisors, and managers are responsible for implementing, reviewing, updating, and enforcing policies.

Consistency & Timeliness

University policies must maintain consistency with other policies, laws, and regulations. Additionally, the policy library aims to provide a consistent experience for users. Policies are reviewed regularly, at intervals determined by the policy manager in consultation with the policy library coordinator.

Resources

Understanding Policy Library Terminology

Get familiar with the essential terminology in the UW–Madison Policy Library. Learn what sets policies apart from procedures and guidelines—and why these distinctions matter.

Policy Library Style Guide

Discover the standards for developing and updating policies in the UW–Madison Policy Library. This guide ensures policies are clear, accessible, and enforceable, and includes links to helpful writing and style resources.

Checklist for Policy Development and Revision

Download a fillable Word checklist that walks you through every step of developing or updating a policy.

Navigating Policy Hierarchy

Understand how UW–Madison policies align with higher-level directives. Explore the hierarchy of authority—from schools and colleges up to federal regulations—to see how policies are developed and reviewed for inclusion in the policy library.

Policy Template with Instructions

Access a ready-to-use policy template complete with step-by-step instructions to help you draft new policies with confidence.

Policy Retirement Request Form

Start the process to retire a policy by completing this form. Once submitted, it will be reviewed by the policy library coordinator, who may follow up for clarification. You’ll receive confirmation when the retirement is complete.

Policy Management Processes

While the processes for developing, revising, and retiring policies share several common steps, each also involves distinct actions, as shown. You can find details on each step in our step-by-step guide below.

Developing, Revising, and Retiring Policies – A Step-by-Step Guide

Contact the policy library coordinator.

Policy managers are encouraged to engage the policy library coordinator early in the development or revision process to:

Determine whether similar policies already exist.
Ensure alignment with other university or higher-order policies.
Maintain consistency with university and policy library standards.
Receive support in researching, drafting, and revising policies.

To retire a policy, the policy manager must notify the policy library coordinator using the Policy Retirement Request Form.

Expedited or Interim Policy

When urgent circumstances (e.g., changes in law, accreditation or audit requirements, risk management concerns) require immediate action, an approval authority may issue a policy without completing the full review process. This may result in an interim policy effective for a set period, during which the policy manager works with stakeholders to finalize or rescind it.

If applicable, evaluate the need for a new policy.

A new policy may be developed:

When no existing university-level or higher-order policy (e.g., UW System, Board of Regents) addresses the issue, and revising an existing policy is insufficient.
To ensure compliance with higher-order policies, statutes, regulations, or laws.
To support the university’s mission, goals, and institutional values.
To promote consistency, efficiency, and effectiveness.
To mitigate or manage significant institutional or unit-level risk.

Draft or edit the policy.

An existing policy may require revision due to:

Internal or external changes (e.g., new laws or regulations).
Evolving institutional goals or values.
The need to improve consistency, efficiency, or effectiveness.
Risk management considerations.

Policies must follow the policy template and the Policy Library Style Guide, which outline standards for format, plain language, grammar, and references.

The policy manager is responsible for:

Identifying and consulting appropriate stakeholders (e.g., advisory groups, committees, governing bodies).
Gathering and incorporating feedback, including from the offices of Compliance and Legal Affairs, as needed.
Ensuring the policy is accurate and compliant.

Minor revisions (e.g., updates to contact information, typographical corrections) may be submitted at any time and typically do not require stakeholder feedback.

Substantive policy reviews occur regularly—typically every three years—to ensure alignment with laws, regulations, other policies, and technologies. The policy library coordinator maintains this schedule and notifies policy managers accordingly.

Conduct a final review of the policy.

The policy manager must:

Distribute the final draft of a new or revised policy to relevant stakeholders for review.
Ensure the policy receives approval from the designated approval authority before publication.

The policy library coordinator will review the policy for consistency with university and policy library standards. Executive leadership or their designees may also review new or revised policies.

Publish the policy.

The policy library coordinator will:

Publish the policy in a preview environment—accessible only on the campus network or via VPN—for final review by the policy manager and relevant stakeholders.
Upon approval, publish the policy to the UW–Madison Policy Library, making it publicly accessible.

Retired policies will be marked accordingly, and their content removed. Archived versions (from 2021 onward) are available upon request.

The policy manager is responsible for ensuring that the UW–Madison Policy Library serves as the single source of truth for each policy. The table below provides guidance on how to maintain this standard.

Maintaining Policy Integrity: Do's and Don'ts

	Don't. . .	Do. . .
X	Copy and paste all or part of a policy into a web page, KnowledgeBase, or other document.	Link directly to the policy in the UW–Madison Policy Library. This ensures users always access the most current version.
X	Provide only a summary of a policy without clearly stating it is a summary and linking to the full policy.	If offering a summary, label it clearly (e.g., Summary of UW-5000 Employment Categories) and include a link to the full policy in the policy library.
X	Use the term "policy" to describe documents that are actually guidelines, procedures, expectations, etc.	Use the term “policy” when a document establishes mandatory rules or expectations.
X	Print or save copies of policies for future reference.	Always access the most current version by visiting the policy library and using the search function.
X	Leave off the policy number or refer to the policy by a name other than its official title.	Include the policy number before the official title of the policy (e.g., UW-5000 Employment Categories) when referencing or linking to it.

Communicate with stakeholders.

The policy manager is responsible for communicating new or revised policies to relevant campus stakeholders.

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