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Resources
- Policy Initiation or Review Form (external link) : Use this to initiate policy related work. GCBS will contact you upon completion of the form
- (google doc) Policy Template (external link)
- (PDF file) EDI Policy Lens (Appendix A of Procedure)
Generally speaking, procedures, guidelines and standards support a given policy. If a University Administrative Policy has related procedures, guidelines or standards these will be listed under the “Related Documents” header at the top of a policy.
- A policy is a formal, high-level series of statements or plan that reflects the University’s values, goals, expectations, and accepted practices for a specified subject area. It sets out what to do and often states why these actions are required.
- A procedure describes the appropriate steps or a process designed to comply with policy expectations. It describes how to achieve policy expectations.
- Guidelines are general explanatory statements or recommendations that are designed to support a policy’s objectives by providing a framework to implement procedures. It often provides descriptive, contextual background information to a policy and may provide options for responding to a situation. Guidelines are advisory documents focusing on why and how to support a policy’s objectives. Sometimes a guideline is used initially to help shape an organizational response while a policy is being developed.
- A standard expresses a minimum threshold for an action or rule and is supported by a policy, regulation or law. Typically standards are used to describe quantitative measures to ensure policy compliance related to safety, finance or information management. They may describe scenarios with associated expectations for response such as with “if-then” statements.
The University Administrative Policies website is the official platform for all administrative policies. Policy owners must submit approved documents (policies, procedures, standards, and guidelines) to the Office of the General Counsel and Board Secretariat at policies@torontomu.ca for posting. Incomplete documents will be returned for revision prior to publication.