University Policies & Codes of Conduct

A policy is a formal high-level statement of principle guiding the University's operations and decision making.

A policy is often developed as a means of implementing specific legal or statutory requirements. University-wide policies are generally adopted or approved by the Governing Authority or another senior governance body within the university (Academic Council or the University Management Team).   

A policy may stand alone or can be implemented through supporting documents, for example procedures, protocols or one of the other document categories lower than a policy in the document hierarchy. In fact, many policies require associated procedures (see Procedures. Once approved, compliance with a policy is mandatory.

Current Examples:
QA 400 Data Protection Policy
QA 050 Curriculum Design and Management Policy                                                                                                                 

Our central Policy and Procedures Repository currently hosts the policies, procedures, rules, regulations, guidelines and methods for conducting various key processes including teaching, research and support processes.  These must be designed to reflect best practice in higher education and are currently subject to review at least once every seven years.

'QA002 Policies and Procedures' sets out how to create policies and procedures.

This approach is under review by the Quality Office, with preparatory work being undertaken in 2022 with a view to updating the Policy Management Framework for the University.

Codes of Conduct

Codes of Conduct sit at the same level as policies in the University document hierarchy and will also have University-wide application. A Code of Conduct is a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of, or the proper practices for, an individual, unit, group or organisation. There will be relatively few documents with this classification in the University.

Current Example:
Student Code of Conduct
 Staff Code of Conduct