Working With the Provost’s Office to Review and Revise Rules

College and department rules for reappointment, promotion and tenure standards and procedures, post-tenure review, and certain professorships of distinction are found in NC State’s Policies, Regulations, and Rules (PRR) manual. Revisions of these rules require the review and approval of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost.

Departmental faculty and leadership must ensure departmental compliance with a wide range of University policies on faculty, in addition to their own rules. A periodic review of a department’s policy landscape may help departmental faculty and leadership identify and avoid potential issues.

On this page, departments can find out:

• What’s a policy appraisal, and how to request one
• Steps to navigate the rule review and revision process 

Contact: Kim Grainger, Associate Vice Provost for Academic Personnel and Policy 

Request a Policy Appraisal

Upon invitation by the Department Head and the Departmental Voting Faculty (DVF), Faculty Affairs will conduct a policy appraisal to review departmental PRRs and related departmental documents for compliance with NC State’s current policy environment. Faculty Affairs will offer considerations to the Head and the DVF for improved clarity and compliance.

Policy appraisals can include review and feedback on:

• the departmental RPT rule(s);
• the departmental post-tenure review rule; and
• internal departmental SOPs, templates, handbooks, bylaws or other similar documents that intersect with University policies and procedures regarding faculty.

A policy appraisal by Faculty Affairs is not a substitute for the department’s necessary leadership and input on its own policy documents; rather, it is a proactive service offering a supplemental administrative assessment.  

Typical policy appraisal steps include:

• Defining scope of the review
• Obtaining additional documents outside the PRR manual
• Establishing a timeline for review (typically 2-3 weeks)
• Scheduling a meeting for Head and DVF to receive feedback
• Follow-on work as appropriate (e.g. PRR revision)

Navigate the Rule Revision Process

Any unit planning to update one or more rules in cooperation with the Provost’s Office should take these steps towards a more efficient review and approval process.

1. Download the current version of the rule you want to revise directly from the PRR website.

• On the rule web page, locate the “Past Versions” section in the top right corner. 
• Click on “Previous versions of this policy.”

 In the new window that opens, locate and download the current version of the rule. (These are typically Word documents but some are Google docs, which can be downloaded in Word.)

2. Create and save a redline (i.e. track changes) version of the downloaded file containing your desired revisions.

It is important — and a timesaver for everyone — to use the downloaded rule as your starting point! Your rule may be returned by the Provost’s Office if your edits are substantial and were not made directly in the current version of the rule. 

Once all of your redline (tracked) changes are captured, we highly recommend that you create a second copy, accept all of the changes, and review the clean version for any spelling, grammar or format issues that need to be corrected. Make any additional corrections or adjustments, as needed, to the redline.

3. Complete the required routing sheet.

The Office of General Counsel requires that a routing sheet accompany every request for a policy, regulation, and rule revision. 

• At the top, briefly summarize the changes made in the rule and the rationale for them. 
• Customize the approval section to reflect the individuals and/or groups consulted during your process. A department RPT or PTR rule revision typically includes a row for the Department Voting Faculty (DVF) and one for the Dean. For a professorship rule, the routing sheet may include a row for the DVF or college-level committee and also the Dean. 
• Place the date of each group’s review or approval on the line (MM/DD/YY)

Upon the Provost’s review and approval, a revised rule goes directly to General Counsel as the final review step before posting.

4. Submit the redline version and the routing sheet to the Provost’s office for review.

Redlined rules and routing sheets for RPT, PTR or professorship rules can be sent to Associate Vice Provost for Academic Personnel and Policy Kim Grainger for an initial review and consultation within the Provost’s Office, as needed. Once the Provost reviews and approves a revised rule, Kim and Paola will facilitate the remaining steps with the Office of General Counsel. 

Wondering if your updated PRR is posted online yet?

We aim to be in touch with you quickly once we learn a revised rule has been posted. Or, you can go to the main PRR webpage anytime and click on “What’s New” for a chronological listing of recent changes.