Connect
Policy Development Program
October 14-16, 2009
The following information pertains to the last time this program was offered. If you would like to be notified via e-mail when new information is available, please subscribe to the Executive Education announcement list.
Overview
This intensive program will highlight Cornell's policy-making process, give you the tools to centralize and formalize policies at your own institution, and offer you an invaluable opportunity to collaborate with policy-makers from other colleges and universities.
The program will consist of two sessions; you are invited to sign up for both or either part.
Designed for:
- College and university administrators with an interest in institutional policy
- Individuals responsible for information management, human resources, internal audit, finance, counsel, and risk management
- Anyone interested in establishing a process model for institutional policy development
Dear Colleagues,
Policy is not a new concept. We all know that policies serve many essential purposes: they connect the institution's mission to the everyday actions of the members of its community, they clarify the institution's expectations of its individual members, they mitigate institutional risk, they enhance efficiency, and they support the college's/university's compliance with laws and regulations.
Yet, although we know that policies are a necessary part of doing business, we also find that, for reasons of politics and practicality, good policies are very difficult to establish. And policies have no value if they do not contain clear, simple, and consistent procedures that users can understand and follow.
In 1991, Cornell University addressed these significant challenges by instituting the University Policy Office and developing a rather remarkable system for formulating and issuing strong, uniform, readable, and effective policy documents. These documents have won praise from educational institutions, corporations, and government agencies both across the United States and internationally. Our policy library includes subjects ranging from "Responsible Use of Electronic Communications" to "Sexual Harassment," "Business Expenses" to "HIV Infection and AIDS," "Standards of Ethical Conduct" to "Environmental Health and Safety," and "Cost Sharing" to "Involuntary Leave of Absence for Students." (For more information, please see the Cornell University Policy Web site.)
Now, in its eighth offering, we are sharing the expertise that has been developed with the Cornell University Policy Development Program.
The program will be divided into two parts:
- During the first day-and-a-half, you'll explore Cornell's highly respected policy writing, review, and implementation processes and consider how you can apply these critical methods to your own institution. Under the guidance of Cornell's top policy experts, you'll learn how to draft effective policy documents, reality-test policies, and develop a template for successfully establishing strong policies.
- During the final day of the program, which will be available for video attendance, you'll have the chance to collaborate with other attendees and focus on topics that might be important to you, such as obstacles and critical success factors in the development of institutional policies; different policy models and organizational structures; best practices; key policy issues in areas such as information technologies, research, and human resources; and tools for information management.
Please join us in October for either or both of these sessions to learn how you can borrow from Cornell's hard-won experience to centralize and formalize your own institution's administrative policy process, and to collaborate with other policy professionals.
Charles W. Jermy, Jr.
Associate Dean
School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions