Effective: 12/1/1984

Revised: 9/15/2003

CAM 302–03: Exhibits

To provide guidelines for the use of exhibits within policies and procedures

Academic and Administrative Documents

As with all communication, charts, tables, graphs, forms, and illustrations should be clear, concise, simple, and direct. When well used, exhibits can convey ideas or provide specific examples that explain what words alone cannot.

To evaluate the effectiveness of an exhibit, ask these questions:

1. Does it make a direct contribution to the reader’s understanding of the policy/procedure?
2. Does it help the reader focus on key elements of the policy/procedure?
3. Are the terms consistent between the exhibit and the policy/procedure?
4. Does the label, heading, or caption describe exactly what it represents?
5. Is white space used effectively to keep the elements from crowding one another?
6. Does it include a key to all symbols?

   and

7. Does it try to show too much? Does it try to provide too many kinds of information in one framework?

A supplementary exhibit should relate directly to the text, and the text should refer to it in a callout. An exhibit should be printed within the policy/procedure, near the section referring to it or at the end. When two or more policies in a manual refer to one exhibit, the exhibit generally is placed within the policy/procedure that first refers to it. Alternatively, it may be placed within the policy/procedure to which it most closely applies. For example, a personnel policies and procedures manual might include an Absence Report form with an “Absence Reporting” policy because the form is most directly related to that policy, even though the form is mentioned in policies that appear before “Absence Reporting.”

Captions

A caption identifying the exhibit appears under each exhibit. This caption is cited in both the Table of Exhibits and, when appropriate, in the pertinent policy or procedure. Normally the caption is centered below the exhibit (see CAM 302-03C), except in the case of rotated exhibits.

Rotated Full-Page Exhibits

When full-page exhibits are placed at right angles to standard pages, or rotated, they should be positioned so that the exhibit can be viewed when the binder is turned 90 degrees in a clockwise direction. Captions for these exhibits should be centered horizontally at the bottom of the page, not at the bottom of the exhibit (see CAM 302-03D and CAM 302-03E).

Because forms often reflect policies/procedures, units should routinely review their forms needs in the process of creating or revising policies and procedures. New or revised policies/procedures often require creating new forms or updating old ones to reflect additions and changes. (Conversely, adding or replacing forms often dictates corresponding changes in policies/procedures.)

To effectively present forms and the information relating to forms, consider

1. including a sample form (which may be stamped “SAMPLE”) for any form relevant to the policy/procedure (see CAM 302-03A).
2. numbering the blanks on the form so that the numbers correspond to numbered instructions within the policy, procedure, or the exhibit itself (see CAM 302-03B)

   and

3. completing a sample form to demonstrate to users the kind of information they are expected to provide (see CAM 302-03A).

   Note:

   For best reproduction, use a black felt-tip pen to complete sample forms, or type them if the user is required to type the forms.

Exhibit

An exhibit is a chart, table, graph, form, or illustration that supplements or, rarely, replaces the text (see CAM 302-03A, B, C, D, and E for examples).

Some manual exhibits are available only in PDF format. An Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in is required to view these PDF files. See our main policies and procedures page if you require this plug-in.

CAM 302–03A, Completed Sample Form

CAM 302–03B, Completed Sample Form with Instructions

CAM 302–03C, Sample Form Exhibit with Centered Captions

CAM 302–03D, Rotated Exhibit Supplementing Text, with Completed Sample Form

CAM 302–03E, Rotated Exhibit Replacing Text

Note:

Please be advised that the policies and procedures used as examples in the CAM manual are often out of date and no longer applicable. They were chosen as examples when the CAM manual was revised in 1992. To access the current policies and procedures manuals, please go to http://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals.