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Policy Title

Date of last board of trustees review: XXX

The originator of this policy is (the office, not the individual). Questions regarding this policy may be directed to the originator by calling 801-957-XXXX.

1. Policy

A policy statement is a short declaration demonstrating how the policy aligns with or promotes the college’s mission and values. It should be no longer than two or three paragraphs of two to four sentences.

Please do not break it down into a numbered outline.

2. References

These are the authorities, the federal and state laws, and regents’ rules that give the authority or the obligation to write the policy, nothing more.

The college rarely refers to other policies, manuals, or supporting documents in the references section.

Use the Bluebook citation system when citing references.

Public Records Management Act, Utah Code Ann. §§ 63A-12-101–113.

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Procedure Title

Date of last executive cabinet review: XXX

The originator of this procedure is (the office, not the individual). Questions regarding this procedure may be directed to the originator by calling 801-957-XXXX.

3. Definitions

Definitions are important terms or concepts in the procedure that the reader needs to understand that might otherwise be ambiguous, misunderstood, or misinterpreted.

Definitions should be one sentence long, three at the most, and only when necessary.

Follow the word or term being defined with a colon: It is permissible for a definition to be a clause or phrase rather than a complete sentence (similar to a dictionary).

Copyright: the lawful right of an author, artist, composer, or another creator to control the use of their work by others.

4. Procedures

The procedures are specific methods and processes for implementing the policy.

Procedures are in a numbered outline consisting of levels two through seven.

General Rules

Section Headings

Capitalize all major words in a section heading.

Don’t capitalize words of three or fewer letters.

Don’t use any terminal punctuation in a section heading.

Sections

When possible, keep sections to three lines of text or less.

Large blocks of text are difficult to read and often inadvertently hide important information or instructions.

Lots of white space between small blocks of text make policies easier to read and understand.

Lists and Introductory Clauses

When introducing a list of items or instructions, make certain to do the following:

Follow each list introduction with a colon.

Capitalize each list item (if it is a complete sentence. If it is a phrase or clause, see C.3.b, below).

Make certain each list item is a complete sentence.

Conclude each sentence with proper terminal punctuation.

When using an introductory clause or phrase:

follow it with a colon;

do not capitalize the conclusory clauses of phrases;

follow each conclusory clause or phrase with a semicolon; and

use the conjunction and or the conjunction or after the semicolon in the penultimate conclusory clause or phrase.

Orphaned List Items

Don’t leave an orphaned list item.

Where there is an A, there must be a B. Where there is a 1, there must be a 2.

When there is only one item under a section heading, use the tab tool to line up the text with the text directly above it.

Determiners

Please use determiners. Our policies frequently use board of trustees, or executive cabinet. The board of trustees and the executive cabinet sound better and have the added advantage of being grammatically correct.

Use the active voice.

Do not use gender binary language, e.g., he/she, s/he, him/her, etc.

Grammar and Style Rules

You can find the college’s style guide here.

Capitalization

Always capitalize:

the names of policies, including the word policy;

official forms;

college departments, divisions, and offices; and

committees, if using the full name.

Do not capitalize:

titles, e.g., president, provost, etc. unless you use it with a proper name;

the first word of phrases and clauses, except when used as a definition; and

the college, the board of trustees, the cabinet, etc., unless it is part of the full name, e.g., The Salt Lake Community College Board of Trustees.

Legalese

Legalese is full of stuffy, archaic words, unnecessary phrases, and other pitfalls that quickly complicate the simplest concept. Please avoid it.

For example, don’t write, “In the event that the building is on fire, get out.” “If the building is on fire, get out,” is more concise and more precise.

Do not use the phrase, “including but not limited to.”

Miscellaneous

The word or has two meanings:

The first is exclusive, e.g., you may have ice cream or a candy bar, but not both.

The second is inclusive, e.g., you may have ice cream or a candy bar, or both.

In policy writing, or always has the second meaning unless explicitly stated otherwise.

To avoid confusion or ambiguity when writing policies and procedures, use the Oxford comma.

Do not use and/or, division/department, or any other words combined with a slash.

Do not use graphs, tables, or spreadsheets.