The Policy Library, maintained by the Policy Office, provides public access to current system-wide and System Administration internal policies.
The Policy Office also maintains a digital archive that contains all current System policies. Access to the Policy Archive is granted by the Policy Office.
The Policy Library does not include guidelines, procedures, or policies for specific System departments or institutions. Many of these resources can be found on the websites of individual System Administration Departments. Our Resources page does provide access to many other policies and rules within UT System. If you think we are missing a link to an important policy resource, please contact the Policy Office.
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All system-wide and System Administration internal policies, including BPMs, OES policies, System Administration Policies and Regents' Administrative Rules, have been converted into a new policy template and moved to the Policy Library. While policy names or titles remain the same, the policies are organized under a new indexing system that supersedes all previous classification systems. We have created a Disposition Table, which allows the user to find policies using old policy classification systems or designation.
Disposition Table
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There are two classifications of policies included in the Policy Library:
- INT: Policies that affect UT System Administration internally.
- UTS: Policies that affect the entire UT System, including all institutions and System Administration.
Neither the Regents' Rules and Regulations nor policies and procedures specific to a System department or institution are included in the Policy Library, although you can find links to other policy resources on our Resources page.
Policies included in the Policy Library are subject to the Policy Development Process, while policies and procedures not included in the library are exempt from the Policy Development Process.
For detailed definitions of policies subject to the Policy Development Process and exempt policies, please see the Policy Glossary.
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There are links to other important policies, procedures and guidelines on the Resources page. This page includes links to the Regents' Rules and Regulations, UTIMCO policies, and OFPC policies, in addition to important guidelines and rules that are not classified as system-wide or System Administration internal policies.
You may also be able to find policies or procedures for specific departments or institutions on their websites.If you are aware of additional policy resources we should add to this website, please contact the Policy Office - we strive to provide the most comprehensive assistance possible.
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Procedures are a part of every policy included in our library. For System-wide or System Administration Internal policies, procedures are defined as: The section of a UT System Administration policy that describes how the policy will be implemented or enforced. In particular, procedures describe the action steps, activities or mechanisms through which the terms or requirements of a policy will be implemented or enforced, and the roles accountable for each.
If you are looking for a specific set of procedures, identify the policy the procedures are related to, and find the procedures section in the full text version of the policy.
Individual System Administration departments or individual institutions may have procedures that are not part of a UT System policy located on their websites. Please check the website of the System Administration department or the institution in question.
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Policies are available in the Policy Library in both HTML and PDF format. The content is exactly the same, but HTML is best viewed on the web, and PDF is best for printing. The full text search engine pulls up both versions in the search results.
To link to a policy reference on your website, we suggest linking to the html version of the policy
You can also use the Keyword Search Engine on the Advanced Search Tips page to search for the policy overview pages.
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The Policy Development Process establishes the steps through which a Sponsoring Office seeks review and approval of a new policy or substantial revisions to an existing policy. The term Policy Development Process refers to three alternative processes for review and approval of system-wide policies.
The Policy Development Process begins with the Sponsoring Office. The Sponsoring Office is the office or department within UT System Administration responsible for implementing, enforcing, when appropriate, and maintaining a system-wide policy. The Sponsoring Office acts as the advocate for any new policy or substantial policy revision it seeks. The Sponsoring Office is also responsible for training those affected by its policies. Any UT System Administration office or any UT System institution may confer with the Sponsoring Office to request a new policy or substantial revisions to an existing policy.
Once the Sponsoring Office determines it would like to create a new policy or substantially revise an existing policy, it must determine whether the policy will need to go through the Standard Policy Development Process, the Interim Policy Development Process, or the Expedited Policy Development Process.
- Standard Policy Development Process: The usual process through which a Sponsoring Office seeks approval for a policy subject to the Policy Development Process.
- Interim Policy Development Process: The Policy Development Process through which a Sponsoring Office seeks approval for a temporary policy while a full policy is developmed through the Standard Policy Development Process.
- Expedited Policy Development Process: The Policy Development Process through which a Sponsoring Office seeks exemption from the Standard Policy Development Process and rapid approval of a policy.
Tools and resources for specific steps of the Policy Development Process can be found in the Tool Kit and Tutorials section of the website.
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New Policies:
If your office is developing a new policy, and if the policy meets the definition of a policy subject to the Policy Development Process, you must seek approval through the Policy Development Process. Please see the Policy Glossary for the definition of policies subject to the Policy Development Process.
Revisions to existing policies:
If your office is revising an existing policy, you must use the Policy Development Process if you meet either of the following sets of circumstances described below:
- The policy in question already fits the definition set out in INT155, Formulation and Adoption of Policies by UT System Administration, and the revisions fit the definition of Substantial Revisions as described in INT155.
- Prior to the revisions your office is currently seeking, the policy did not fit the definition of a policy subject to the policy development process as set out in INT155, but the requested revisions will cause the policy to fit that definition.
The following groups, offices and parties may be involved in the Policy Development Process for a particular policy:
Executive Officer Group (EOG)
Office of General Counsel (OGC)
Policy Advisory Group (PAG)
Policy Office
Responsible Officer
Sponsoring Office
Stakeholder Review Group (SRG)
Vice Chancellor for Administration (VCA)
The following links provide definitions and more detailed descriptions of the roles each party plays in the Policy Development Process:
Policy Glossary
Roles and Responsibilities
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The Sponsoring Office is responsible for the substantive content of the policies. The Policy Office facilitates the policy development as well as the policy revision process, and provides assistance with the drafting and editing policies. Our chief role in policy development, however, is to assist UT System Administration offices in navigating the appropriate Policy Development Process.
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- EOG: Executive Officer Group
- OGC: Office of General Counsel
- PAG: Policy Advisory Group
- SRG: Stakeholder Review Group
- VCA: Vice Chancellor for Administration
To see the definition of these groups, go to the Glossary.
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You can browse our Policy Library to find copies of any current policies. The policies will be available in both HTML and PDF format; the PDF format will be the best version for printing a copy of the policy. If you do not have the software to view a PDF or would like a Word version of a policy, or if you need a copy of an outdated or previous version of a policy, please contact the Policy Office.
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If you have a question about a policy, please contact the Policy Office. If your question is about specific content in the policy, each policy has a "Contacts" section, which specifies the appropriate System Administration Office.
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If you find a broken link, please contact the Policy Office.
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