Effective Date: April 13, 2026
SECTION 1. PURPOSE & SCOPE
1.1. PURPOSE: This policy establishes a transparent and consistent framework for the creation, review, adoption, publication, amendment, and repeal of administrative policies and procedures at Fairmont State University (“Fairmont State”).
1.2. SCOPE: This policy applies to all administrative policies and procedures at Fairmont State University.
SECTION 2. APPROVAL, DELEGATION & APPLICABILITY
2.1. AUTHORITY: The President shall monitor and enforce compliance with this policy, in accordance with Section 4 of Board of Governors (“BOG”) Policy BG-01 (formerly 1.1).
2.2. DELEGATION: The President has charged the Administrative Policy Committee (“Committee”) with facilitating the adoption, amendment, and repeal of administrative policies and, accordingly, may delegate the authority to enforce this policy to the Committee to ensure the effective execution of the Committee’s charge.
2.3. APPLICABILITY: This policy applies to the Administrative Policy Committee and any successor body or individual(s) responsible for drafting administrative policies and procedures.
SECTION 3. DEFINITIONS
3.1. ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY: A University directive approved by the President pursuant to the delegation of the BOG. Administrative policies are intended to effectuate the implementation of BOG policies or further any other authority that the BOG has expressly delegated to the President. Broadly, an administrative policy indicates what should be done.
3.2. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE: A detailed set of instructions or guidelines approved by the President to facilitate compliance with an administrative policy, a BOG policy, or any other authority that the BOG has expressly delegated to the President. Broadly, an administrative procedure indicates how something should be done. An administrative procedure may have, but does not require, a corresponding administrative policy.
3.3. POLICY TEMPLATE: The standard format for drafting administrative policies and/or Procedures. All new or revised administrative policies or procedures must be written using the approved template, which can be found in the forms repository.
SECTION 4. POLICY
4.1. POLICY: It is the policy of Fairmont State University that all administrative policies and procedures shall be developed and managed through a uniform process to maintain clarity, consistency, and compliance. Any new policy, procedure, or substantive amendment to an existing policy or procedure must be drafted, reviewed, and adopted in accordance with the terms of this administrative policy.
4.2. PROCESS: All administrative policies and procedures shall be adopted, amended, or repealed as follows:
4.2.1. Identification of need: The Committee must identify, or the President must inform the Committee of, a need to adopt, amend, or repeal an administrative policy or procedure.
4.2.2. Designation and duties of responsible unit: The Committee, in consultation with the President, shall designate a responsible unit within the University to draft a new or amended administrative policy or procedure, or prepare a justification for repeal of an existing administrative policy or procedure, as appropriate.
4.2.2.1. For new or amended administrative policies or procedures, the responsible unit shall prepare an initial draft or draft amendment using the Policy Template. For repeals, the responsible unit shall prepare a draft justification.
4.2.2.2. In preparing their draft, the responsible unit shall consult with key stakeholders and subject-matter experts within the University. For example, if the subject policy affects students, input from Student Affairs and Student Government may be appropriate.
4.2.3. Initial committee review: The Committee will review the draft submitted by the responsible unit. The Committee may solicit additional feedback from campus constituencies if deemed necessary or sufficiently beneficial. The Committee, in its discretion, may make edits to the draft and/or request edits from the responsible unit.
4.2.4. Cabinet review: Once the Committee is satisfied with the draft following the initial Committee review, it shall solicit feedback from Cabinet. The Committee shall adjudicate all such feedback provided, if any.
4.2.5. Campus comment: Once the Committee is satisfied with the subject draft following adjudication of Cabinet feedback, it shall publish notice to the campus community of the proposed adoption, amendment, or repeal on the Committee webpage, which must include:
4.2.5.1. If adoption or amendment is proposed, a copy of the proposed administrative policy or procedure, or if repeal is proposed, a copy of the existing administrative policy or procedure and a copy of the justification for repeal;
4.2.5.2. A brief description of the subject matter of the relevant administrative policy or procedure;
4.2.5.3. An explanation of how comments will be received;
4.2.5.4. The deadline for receiving comments, which shall not be fewer than 14 days from the date of publication; and
4.2.5.5. Means for submitting comments, whether via direct form submission or listing contact information for the designated recipient.
4.2.6. Adjudication of campus comments: Upon receipt of any public comments within the designated public comment period, the Committee shall adjudicate the issues identified. It shall not be necessary for the Committee to re-initiate the process defined in Section 4.2 following adjudication of public comments, even where such adjudication results in additional edits to the subject draft.
4.2.7. Recommendation to the President: Following the expiration of the public comment period, adjudication of all public comments, and approval of the final iteration of the draft by the Committee, the Committee Chair shall recommend to the President that the subject draft be adopted as a new administrative policy or procedure, adopted as an amendment, or accepted as justification for repeal, as appropriate.
4.2.8. Publication: Upon the President’s approval of the Committee’s recommendation, adopted and amended administrative policies and procedures, as well as accepted justifications for the repeal of existing policies and procedures, shall be published on the administrative policies and procedure webpage and shared with the campus community.
4.2.9. Notice to the BOG: The BOG shall be notified of all adopted, amended, and repealed administrative policies and procedures that affect more than one unit, division, department, or school at the BOG meeting following publication of the administrative policy.
SECTION 5. COMPLIANCE
5.1. COMPLIANCE: This administrative policy complies with BOG Policy BG-01, Section 4.
5.2. NONCOMPLIANCE: If an administrative policy or procedure is identified by some party as not respecting this framework (e.g., such as an administrative policy which has been arbitrarily adopted and implemented) and this matter is communicated to the Committee, the Committee shall subject this administrative policy or procedure to the process set out in 4.2.
SECTION 6. REVISION HISTORY
6.1. FREQUENCY OF REVIEW: The Committee will review this administrative policy annually and recommend amendments if appropriate.
6.2. APPROVED: April 10, 2026