Policy for Development and Revision Process for Barnard College Administrative Policies
Effective Date:
September 15, 2025
Executive Summary:
Barnard College (the “College”) requires that all employees drafting policies for the College comply with this policy to help ensure standardized policy development. This policy outlines the process for developing, approving, disseminating, administering, and updating the College’s policies and procedures.
Reason for the Policy:
The Policy outlines the process for the creation, review, and adoption of new College-wide policies.
Who is Responsible for This Policy:
Responsible Administrators: General Counsel and any designee noted in the policy document. Responsible Office: Office of the General Counsel (“OGC”).
Who is Governed by This Policy:
All Barnard students, faculty, and staff are governed by this policy.
Policy Statement:
Barnard College establishes College policies and related procedures to support the College’s mission, to guide and govern institutional operations, to comply with applicable laws and regulations, and to set standards across the College.
The President’s Council is charged with overseeing the process for developing all College-wide policies for the College and for providing advice to the President on matters of College-wide policy. As set forth in the Policy Development Procedure below, the President’s Council will recommend appropriate policies and procedures for the College after soliciting comments, feedback, and votes about proposed policies and procedures from relevant stakeholders.
The President’s Council will delegate review of proposed policies to committees charged with governance for each of the three stakeholder groups: the Faculty, Governance, and Procedures (“FGP”) Committee for faculty; the Barnard Staff Advisory Council (“BSAC”) for staff; and the Student Government Association Executive Board (“SGA Executive Board”) for students.
Meaningful feedback and participation from faculty, staff, and students assist the President’s Council in vetting, developing, and recommending policies and procedures that represent the broadest needs and concerns of community members, streamline internal processes, provide reasoned guidance for decision-making, and set forth consistent approaches for managing routine matters that affect College faculty, staff, and students.
Policy Development Procedure:
The process outlined below is in several phases, each described below. The second phase of the process is expected to be completed within approximately 60 calendar days during one semester or during two separate semesters if the process begins during a vacation period or abuts a vacation period.
Phase 1: Policy Development
Any member of the Barnard community seeking to develop a new College policy must submit a policy proposal memorandum with a brief draft of the policy to a member of the President’s
Council. If the Proposer is not a member of the President’s Council, a member of the President’s Council will be asked to serve as an advisor during the consultation and revision process. A final proposal will be reviewed and approved for further action, or declined for further action by the President's Council. Declined endorsements will be explained to the proposer, who may make a revised proposal no earlier than the subsequent semester, unless specifically invited to do so earlier by the President’s Council. If the proposal is advanced, the advisor will continue in this role through the consultation and revision process.
I. Policy Proposal
The memorandum for a new College policy must include responses to the following questions:
a. What is the rationale for the new policy?
b. Does the College already have a policy on or related to the subject?
c. What campus constituencies are affected by the proposed policy?
d. Do you anticipate any legal compliance concerns?
e. Are there relevant comparisons to policies on other campuses?
f. What considerations are relevant to the urgency of adopting this policy?
II. Policy Review
Members of the Barnard community may propose revisions to existing policies. Those wishing to do so must submit a policy proposal memorandum with proposed policy revisions to a member of the President’s Council. The memorandum for a policy revision must include responses to the following questions:
a. What is the rationale for the policy revision?
b. What campus constituencies are affected by the proposed revisions?
c. Do you anticipate any legal compliance concerns?
d. Are there relevant comparisons to policies on other campuses?
e. What considerations are relevant to the urgency of adopting this policy?
Phase 2: Process
The President’s Council initiates the policy process after it determines that a proposed policy is ready for consultation and review. Readiness will involve the assessment of legal compliance. This process involves the participation of the [affected] primary stakeholders of the College: faculty, staff, and students. The timeline of the process begins with an email to the community presenting the policy and a request to the relevant stakeholder committees to schedule review.
I. Consultation
Faculty Consultation
The Faculty consultation procedure begins when a proposed policy is presented to the Faculty Governance and Procedures Committee (FGP). The FGP then assigns the policy to the relevant standing faculty committee for discussion. The relevant standing faculty committee is then tasked with (a) producing a one-page report on the proposed policy and (b) presenting the policy at the next Faculty Meeting for an initial general discussion (recorded by a formal note-taker). The following two weeks are an open period for faculty feedback which includes an anonymous electronic survey.
The results of the initial faculty consultation consist of the following materials:
- The one-page committee report on the proposed policy.
- The notes from the general faculty meeting.
- A dossier of comments submitted by individual faculty (emails or survey).
Staff Consultation
The staff consultation procedure begins with the sharing of the proposed policy with the chairs of the Barnard Staff Advisory Council (BSAC). The BSAC holds a meeting where members discuss the proposed policy and offer feedback in writing or through an anonymous electronic survey. The BSAC Chairs either convey the feedback through a written document or in a meeting with the policy proposer and/or the assigned President’s Council advisor.
Student Consultation
The student consultation procedure begins with the sharing of the proposed policy to the Student Government Association (SGA) Executive Committee. The SGA Executive Committee presents the proposed policy at a general meeting open to all students for formal discussion. Members are able to provide feedback in writing or an anonymous electronic survey. The SGA Executive Committee relates the member feedback either through a written document or in a meeting with the policy proposer and the assigned President’s Council advisor.
II. Revision
After gathering the feedback from all the College constituencies, the policy proposer (and President’s Council advisor) drafts a revised version of the policy. This revised version is sent to the three stakeholding parties, faculty, staff, and students, for their consideration and votes The results of these votes are published by email and will inform the President’s Council’s review process. The outcomes of the stakeholder votes are critical to the President’s Council’s review but are not binding.
The faculty vote occurs at the next general faculty meeting, with the results reported to the faculty and communicated to the President’s Council.
The staff vote is conducted through the BSAC, with the results reported to the staff and communicated to the President’s Council.
The student vote is administered by the SGA, with the results reported to the SGA and communicated to the President’s Council.
This marks the end of the consultation and revision process.
III. Implementation
The President’s Council considers the votes of all three stakeholders (regardless of outcome) in its final discussion of the revised proposed policy. The President’s Council is empowered to make small edits to the text of the policy but should not embark in wholesale structural changes. The President’s Council votes on the revised policy with the outcome openly communicated to the Barnard Community.
This marks the end of the advisory procedure on policy-making.
A summary of all stakeholder votes and the President’s Council deliberations is sent to the President who has the final authority to approve or reject a given policy.
IV. Temporary Policies
Temporary policies are permitted when regular classes are not in session, or on an emergency or urgent basis, upon consultation with the President’s Council. This may involve the convening of a special meeting when regular classes are not in session.
Temporary policies remain subject to the larger policy-making process. They must be submitted for the standard policy-making procedure within a month of their implementation (during a given semester) or within a month of the start of the next semester (during Summer or Winter break).
In all cases, the President and President’s Council will strive to consult with Stakeholders. When a pressing need or matter critical to the operations of the College necessitates proceeding in a more limited consultative manner than outlined in this policy, the President’s Council may vote on a temporary policy without fully following the Policy Development Procedure outlined above. Temporary policies sunset if the consultation process does not begin on schedule.
Notice of temporary policy adoption will be provided to the relevant members of the Barnard community via email, and temporary policies will appear on the internal policy webpage with a demarcation of “temporary” in the title of the policy. An example of this notice may be found in Appendix D. All policy history, including the justification for proceeding in a more limited consultative process, must be recorded on the policy template. If the President’s Council subsequently follows the Policy Development Procedure, and the President’s Council votes to retain the policy after receiving that relevant feedback, the “temporary” demarcation will be removed from the policy.
College Policy:
Only College Policies are subject to this Policy on Policies. A College Policy is a College-wide rule or standard that has broad impact on departments, divisions, and units within the college. These policies have significant effect across the College community, including faculty, staff, and students, and are intended to ensure consistency, compliance, and accountability across the institution.
Policies, procedures, protocols, rules, and guidelines that govern the operations of a department/unit and are not in conflict with College Policies, are not considered College Policies and are excluded from this Policy on Policies. A department or division policy is a rule, guideline, or procedure developed within a specific academic or administrative unit to address the unique operational needs or responsibilities of that area. These policies apply to all individuals—such as faculty, staff, or students—who rely on that department or division for services, resources, or oversight. In the event of a conflict between a department/unit policy, procedure, protocol, rule or guideline and a College Policy, College Policies always govern. Similarly, excluded from this Policy on Policies are legally required policies, including but not limited to policies governing or implementing Nondiscrimination and Title IX, Conflicts of Interest, Antitrust, FERPA, NYS Education Law Articles 129 A-B, New York Not for Profit and Labor laws, CLERY, laws governing minors, HR policies like FMLA, lactation, prenatal care, parental leave, the ADA and religious accommodations.
Policy Amendments:
Any previously adopted policy may be amended, but amendments must follow the Policy Development Procedure outlined above except those required by emergencies and those that are minor enough or uncontroversial enough to be fast-tracked, as determined by the President’s Council. Fast-tracking involves a proposal to stakeholder committees, by email or in person, and assumes a one-week decision from each of those groups. The stakeholder committees may vote yes or no; in the absence of a vote, the minor change will move forward. Policy history should describe the amendment and provide rationales for the change.
Policy Removal:
Requests to remove a policy must follow the Policy Development Procedure outlined above, with requests describing the rationale for the proposed removal. All removed policies will be filed in the “Inactive Policies” folder on the internal policy webpage.
Policy Administration:
The Responsible Office for a particular policy will be designated at the beginning of the policy. The Responsible Office must:
Administer the policy in consultation with OGC, including, as applicable, preparing any required reporting documents;
Coordinate training and necessary educational programs related to the policy; Remain current on best practices related to the policy; and
Review the policy regularly. Any necessary revisions or updates must follow the process outlined above.
Existing Policies:
Policies that predate this policy remain in effect. Any future revisions must comport with the terms of this policy.