Updates, news and tips from the ready to engage team in Service Improvement (Policy)!
Policy Library Updates - Q4 2020
"In many spheres of human endeavour, from science to business to education to economic policy, good decisions depend on good measurement." - Ben Bernanke
The Policy and Procedure Library houses all USQ policies and procedures. This also includes a Definitions Dictionary that contains all agreed terms and definitions relative to policy and procedure.
New or substantially revised policy instruments
The following policy instruments were approved and effective in the fourth quarter of 2020 and are listed by Accountable Officer.
| Accountable Officer | Instrument Title | Policy Document Type | Degree of Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Financial Officer | Borrowings Policy | Policy | Major Review |
| Chief Financial Officer | Borrowings Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Chief Financial Officer | Leasing Policy | Policy | Major Review |
| Chief Financial Officer | Leasing Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) | Academic Misconduct Penalty Schedule | Schedule | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) | Student Academic Integrity Policy | Policy | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) | Student Academic Misconduct Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Business Continuity and Crisis Management Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Capital, Minor Works and Maintenance Policy and Procedure | Policy | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Confined Spaces Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Contractor Management Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Electronic Access Control Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Emergency Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Environmental Management Policy and Procedure | Policy | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Equipment, Inspection, Testing and Tagging Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Financial Delegations Schedule | Schedule | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | First Aid Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Forklift Operation Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Furniture and Fittings Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Hazardous Substances Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Hazardous Substances Storage Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Human Resources Delegations Schedule | Schedule | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Incident and Hazard Reporting and Investigation Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Key Control Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Manual Handling Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Motor Vehicle Policy and Procedure | Policy | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Motor Vehicles and Travel Fatigue Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Safety Investigation Reporting Schedule | Schedule | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Smoke-Free Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Space Management Policy and Procedure | Policy | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Storeroom and Mailroom Policy and Procedure | Policy | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Student Identification Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Traffic and Parking Policy and Procedure | Policy | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Visitors on University Sites Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Work Health and Safety Policy | Policy | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Work Health and Safety Procedures and Safety Manuals Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Work Health and Safety Risk Management Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Work Health and Safety Training Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise Services) | Workshop Safety Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Director (Planning and Performance Support Services) | Academic Integrity | Definition | Major Review |
| Director (Planning and Performance Support Services) | Academic Misconduct | Definition | Major Review |
| Director (Planning and Performance Support Services) | Cheating | Definition | New |
| Director (Planning and Performance Support Services) | Collusion | Definition | Major Review |
| Director (Planning and Performance Support Services) | Contract Cheating | Definition | New |
| Director (Planning and Performance Support Services) | Misrepresentation and Falsification | Definition | New |
| Director (Planning and Performance Support Services) | Self-plagiarism | Definition | New |
| Executive Director (Human Resources) | Alcohol and Drugs on University Sites Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
| Executive Director (ICT Services) | Information Asset and Security Classification Schedule | Schedule | Major Review |
| Vice-Chancellor | Estates Naming Policy | Policy | Major Review |
| Vice-Chancellor | Estates Naming Procedure | Procedure | Major Review |
Consultation and deployment
Your input will continue to be sought through the gazettal process. This provides an opportunity for direct input into or comment on applicable new or substantially revised policies.
Deployment plans
Comprehensive deployment plans also continue to be developed for all new or substantially revised policies and procedures and these are progressively implemented by the relevant Accountable Officer. Separate and targeted communications occur at divisional level to ensure they are appropriately deployed.
Enquiries and feedback
Enquiries and feedback relative to the deployment of policy and procedure can be directed to the office of the relevant Accountable Officer. All other enquiries and feedback may be directed to policy@usq.edu.au.
Tips & Tricks
"Wishful thinking is not sound policy." - Bjorn Lomborg
Track Change Views
Drowning in a sea of track changes? Did you know that Word has several track change view options to help you see proposed changes clearly? Under the Review > Tracking tab there is a dropdown box that provides different views to suit your reviewing needs. For example, the No Markup option will display the document as if all changes have been accepted. These views can also be saved as a PDF file for any distribution purposes.
Compared Versions
Need a clearly defined compared version of track changes? then simply send an email stating which two policy instruments you’d like compared to policy@usq.edu.au.
Did You Know?
We have customised, policy specific briefing templates for VCE and Academic Board? They're shorter, to the point and easy to use. Find them here under "Tools".
Content vs. Style
Spending time worrying about how your policy document looks? Head done in by trying to match the Style Guide? To misquote Taylor Swift "Drafters gotta draft, draft, draft, draft, draft!" Your job is to focus on content. Let Service Improvement (Policy) worry about making sure the style is right.
Case Study: Workshop It!
We often work with business areas to identify improvement ideas for policies, procedures and even the way we create and change our policies.
For example, we’ve been having some great talks with John Heever, the Manager (Risk & Compliance).
John is digging deep into how we manage compliance at USQ and we’re working with him (and a variety of stakeholders) to identify opportunities to the policy/compliance connection easier to manage.
Case Study: That was Minor
Recently, we assisted HR to progress some minor amendments to a suite of HR Procedures.
These changes were minor since they were all about updating and clarifying, with the scope, purpose and overall content remaining the same.
We set up review versions, confirmed that the key stakeholders had been consulted and reviewed the changes. Now it’s been published – no fuss, no muss.
Case Study: Easy Editorial
Athol Kerridge, CFO, dropped by Service Improvement (Policy) the other day and demonstrated just how simple it is to make an editorial change!
As Accountable Officer of the procedure, he just had to show us the change he wanted. We gave it a quick once over and since it didn't alter the scope or purpose of the procedure and wasn't significant enough to warrant even a "Minor" change, we processed it straight away. No other approvals needed - easy peasy!