Submission Guidelines for Manual Revisions for Manual Coordinators and Departments
	Overview of Revision Process Manual Revision Schedule Procedure for Updating Manuals outside the Revision Cycle Document Preparation Developing the Manual Revision Notice (MRN) Revising Posted Policies Submitting New Policies Revising or Creating Exhibits Need Additional Information?

Overview of Revision Process - Back to top

In accordance with institutional directives, the ASU system of administrative manuals is available on the World Wide Web to allow easier access by the university community. In addition, the conversion to an electronic medium means that university departments can now revise policies more often (three times a year vs. once a year), which provides the opportunity to keep the manuals accurate and current. Records retention requirements The policies of ASU, a state agency, are considered public records. In accordance with Arizona public records laws and requirements, a printout of the online text kept at University Archives serves as the official record, and is available for public inspection. Publication procedure for manual revisions Publication by University Administration involves the following:     • copyediting (checking organization, grammar, syntax, spelling, accuracy, consistency, style, etc.)     • HTML formatting according to an approved manual template, using PageSpinner software and specific coding routines for consistency throughout the manual system     • proofreading using itemized checklists     • submitting drafts to manual coordinators and General Counsel for review     • copyediting, incorporating, and formatting changes     • inserting keywords in metatags to facilitate information retrieval using the ASU search engine     • checking hypertext links for accuracy and currency across the manuals system Note: Manual coordinators must supply accurate URL addresses to sites outside the University Administration Web space and notify us of changes in such addresses. University Administration is not responsible for the accuracy of links to nor the content of sites outside our departmental control.     • posting on the Web in the ASU policies and procedures manuals Web site in University Administration Web space and     • making printouts from the source text and transmitting them to University Archives with documentation of chain of custody.

Manual Revision Schedule - Back to top

The manual revision schedule is fixed in accordance with an archiving schedule developed for the State of Arizona, Department of Library Archives and Public Records. There are three revision periods each year: March 1, July 1, and November 1. The deadline for submitting revisions is five working days after the previous posting. Submissions are processed on a first-come, first-served basis All manual revisions are produced on a first-come, first-served basis; all materials are time- and date-stamped upon receipt in University Administration. Revisions are posted by University Administration on the Web only on the dates above. Posting of revisions submitted late may be delayed Revisions submitted after the deadline will be processed in the next revision period, unless work on all previously submitted revisions is complete and sufficient time remains to complete the publication procedure for an earlier posting. For example, if posted policy “A” is submitted for revision on March 20, it normally would be posted on November 1. If, however, all work on policies submitted for revision by March 8 is completed early, the revised policy “A” might be posted on July 1. Delays sometimes occur with revisions submitted on time Manual revisions submitted on time will be posted to the manual Web site according to schedule, although delays may occur on occasion. Common causes of delays include failing to return the review draft to University Administration by its due date or making extensive changes to the review draft in a constricted time frame. Manual coordinators should request revisions in timely fashion The manual coordinator should notify department heads and other persons responsible for maintaining or revising policies no later than two months before each deadline. However, whenever a change in policy is foreseen, the manual coordinator is well advised to request the responsible departmental designee to begin writing the revision as soon as possible, so that departmental review and rewrites can occur before the submission deadline.

Procedure for Updating Manuals outside the Revision Cycle - Back to top

In order to address those instances when it will be absolutely necessary to post new or changed policies and procedures or to delete policies and procedures outside the review cycle, the following policy and procedure has been approved by the senior vice president and provost. It is intended for those issues that are of a magnitude that necessitate posting as soon as possible. The vice president or vice provost responsible for the manual in which the change will occur will make the exception based on the following criteria: Criteria The new or revised information has such an immediate and significant impact on university employees or students that it must be communicated in the manual as soon as possible. If this revised information does not appear in the manual before normal submission would result in its publication, individuals or the university will be disadvantaged. Absence of the new or revised policies or procedures will result in legal liabilities for the university, the employees, or the students. The new or revised policies and procedures result from state or federal legislation, Board of Regents’ policy changes, or legal interpretation that has a direct and immediate impact on employees or students. If a question arises concerning whether a change meets the above criteria, the determination will be made by the Office of General Counsel in consultation with the vice president/vice provost responsible for the affected manual. Process The vice president or vice provost with authority for the manual in which the update is to be posted determines whether the policy change meets the above criteria. If so, the manual owner must forward a hard copy of the policy text with changes indicated in red (including attachments if necessary) to the appropriate editor of manuals in University Administration. The manual owner must also send with the hard copy an electronic file in HTML format for interim posting on the official manual Web site. The file will replace the existing information as submitted, and will not be edited for style, format, or links at that time. When the manual’s next regular revision cycle occurs, University Administration will edit and reformat the file, add metatags (indexing code), and update any links. University Administration will provide a printed copy of the temporary file to University Archives in compliance with the records retention schedule established with the State of Arizona. A printed copy of the edited, formatted file will be included when the next regular posting of a revision to the manual is archived

Document Preparation - Back to top

The following directions for the preparation of revisions for new or revised policies and exhibits represent experience gained over years. They are designed to make publication as efficient and accurate as possible. Note: Documents that are improperly prepared will be returned to the manual coordinator for correction, and will be placed at the end of the queue when resubmitted for editing and production. Effective and Revised Dates The manual coordinator must ensure that the correct effective and revised dates (months, days, and years) are indicated on every policy submitted to University Administration. Every policy has an effective date, the date on which the first policy/procedure on this subject became effective, and is not necessarily the posting date or publication date of the policy. Once a policy takes effect, this date never changes; it remains the same throughout the life of the policy, no matter how many revisions are made. The revised date indicates the date on which the policy/procedure was most recently updated. It is always different from the effective date, and is not necessarily the posting date or publication date of the policy. Therefore, it may occur earlier than the posting date, but it is never earlier than the effective date. Developing the Manual Revision Notice (MRN) - Back to top Each submission must be accompanied by a manual revision notice (MRN). For revisions to posted policies and exhibits, describe the change and the reason it was made. For new policies, include a statement of why the new policy is being included in the manual. See the sample MRN. Note: The MRN always has an effective date equal to the posting date; it never has a revision date, because each MRN is created specifically for each posting. Revising Posted Policies - Back to top The departmental designees responsible for specific policies should prepare revisions by marking changes in red ink on printouts of the currently posted policies. The deadline for submitting revisions is five working days after the previous posting, so that manual coordinators always have the opportunity to mark revisions on the most recent posting. If policies require extensive changes, departmental designees should submit electronic word-processed copies on a labeled disk, along with marked-up copies of the policies. An example of an “extensive change” would be the addition of a section or substantial paragraph or rewriting an entire policy. Replacing one term with another is not an extensive change. Send the revised policies to the manual coordinator, who will review and submit the revisions to University Administration. After copyediting, HTML formatting, and proofreading, University Administration prepares review drafts of the policies submitted and sends them to the manual coordinator and General Counsel, along with a cover memo specifying the return date necessary to process changes. The departments, through the manual coordinator, and General Counsel review the drafts, indicate changes, and return the drafts to the manual coordinator before the due date. University Administration prepares the final versions and posts them to the World Wide Web on the designated posting date. At the same time, University Administration prepares and delivers a printout of the manual for University Archives. Submitting New Policies - Back to top The departmental designees responsible for specific policies should write the new policies. Include all appropriate sections (Purpose, Sources, etc.) and identification information (manual name, section, policy number, effective date). The manual coordinator reviews the policies, making certain they are complete, and the effective dates are specified. If possible, supply electronic word-processed copies on a labeled disk, in addition to the printed copies, and submit both to University Administration before the submission deadline. After copyediting, HTML formatting, and proofreading, University Administration prepares review drafts of the policies submitted and sends them to the manual coordinator and General Counsel, along with a cover memo specifying the return date necessary to process changes. The departments, through the manual coordinator, and General Counsel review the drafts, indicate changes, and return them to the manual coordinator before the due date. University Administration prepares the final versions and posts them to the World Wide Web on the designated posting date. At the same time, University Administration prepares and delivers a printout of the manual for University Archives. Revising or Creating Exhibits - Back to top “Exhibits” are often charts that illustrate departmental organization or flowcharts showing how some action proceeds through different steps. Exhibits are also useful to show how to complete a form by filling out a sample with hypothetical information. All exhibits that are forms have the word “Sample” printed across them. Exhibits are not blank forms intended for downloading. Forms for downloading should be accessed from a departmental Web site in formats available to a variety of platforms, such as MicrosoftWord, Portable Document Format (PDF), or WordPerfect. By putting such forms on the department’s Web site, the department can change the forms as necessary. The manual coordinator should indicate where a link to the form should be inserted in the text. We prefer receiving updated or new exhibits as Word or PowerPoint documents, which can be easily converted by our desktop publishing specialists. If exhibits are not available in electronic formats, provide a clean hard copy on white paper (give us an original, with no hole punches or staple holes). High quality originals produce better quality scans. University Administration will scan hard copies of exhibits, convert them to PDF format, and prepare review drafts of all new or revised exhibits. University Administration distributes the review drafts of exhibits along with copies of revised or new policies to the manual coordinator and General Counsel.

Need Additional Information? - Back to top

The ASU system of academic and administrative manuals is supervised by Sue Bishop, Director, Information Technology Services, University Administration (480/965-9889). We are located 1130 E. University Center, Suite 110 (University Drive east of Rural Road), Tempe. Mail code 4104.

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