Policy on Policies, Procedures, and Regulations
Purpose: This policy establishes guidelines for the preparation, approval, storage and review of USTA SC policies, procedures, and regulations.
Policy: USTA SC will follow written policies, procedures, and regulations in the conduct of its activities.
1. Policies.
a. Written policies will be required for the conduct of all major USTA SC activities, including those involving significant funds, critical risk management issues, and core functions of the organization, its staff, and volunteer councils and committees. Such policies are considered guidelines and are not legally binding; however, all members of the organization, including volunteers, will be expected to adhere to them.
b. Subject to the Board’s guidance, the By-Laws and Policies Committee will determine what policies are needed and see that they are prepared for the Board’s consideration by the appropriate individual or group. Policies may also be proposed by the President, the Board or any of its members, councils, committees, the Executive Director, or other members of the staff. Regardless of the source, all proposed policies must be reviewed by the By-Laws and Policies Committee before they are submitted to the Board of Directors.
c. The By-Laws and Policies Committee will review all proposed policies to ensure that they are appropriate, clearly written, properly formatted, and consistent with existing policies. They will then be submitted to the Board of Directors for consideration and will become effective upon Board approval.
- Procedures and Regulations.
a. Councils, committees, and staff may create written procedures or regulations to guide day-to-day operations. These documents will not be considered USTA SC policies.
b. Procedures and regulations involving fees and financial expenditures, grievances, punitive actions, residency, and personnel must be reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors. The Board may elect to review and approve or reject other procedures and regulations as it sees fit.
c. Procedures are written to provide direction to committees or staff with respect to activities that do not require written policy guidance from the Board of Directors. In some cases, procedures may be required to implement USTA SC policies.
d. Regulations are written by committees or staff to specify requirements for the conduct of programs and activities under their purview.
3. Manuals. In major functional areas such as personnel management and financial management, policies and procedures may be collected into manuals in order to simplify storage and use. Because they contain policy, such manuals must be approved by the Board of Directors.
4. Storage.
a. The Executive Director or his/her designee will maintain all policies, manuals, procedures, and regulations in computerized form at the USTA SC office. Computerized backup copies will also be retained.
b. Printed copies of all policies, manuals, procedures and regulations will also be maintained at the USTA SC office. For ease of access, loose-leaf three ring binders will be used to file all such documents.
c. Councils, committees, and staff divisions may maintain additional printed copies of policies, manuals, procedures and regulations for use in day-to-day operations and may store them as they see fit.
3. Review and Revision.
a. The USTA SC will conduct an annual policy review to ensure that its policies meet current needs. To accomplish this, the By-Laws and Policy Committee will review the list of policies, consider any committee or staff recommendations, and ensure that any necessary policy revisions are made. The Committee may also determine that new policies are needed or that existing policies should be rescinded. At the conclusion of this process, the Committee’s recommendations and any proposed policies or policy revisions will be submitted for consideration to the Board of Directors. Revised policies containing only minor changes in grammar and syntax do not need to be reviewed by the Board.
b. Committees and staff members will be expected to review procedures and regulations and update them as necessary at least annually.
c. The By Laws and Policies Committee shall be informed, prior to publication, of any new procedures or regulations, and, at its own discretion, may review them and require any changes the deem necessary.
4. Dissemination.
a. Policies, procedures, regulations, and revisions to these documents will be distributed to committees, staff, and USTA SC member organizations affected by them as soon as they become effective.
b. Members of the Board of Directors will be given copies of policies, procedures and regulations on request.
c. Policies, procedures, and regulations will be considered matters of public record and will normally be released to outside entities on request. They may also be released whenever needed for routine USTA SC business.
- When documents are requested by proper authorities in accordance with current law they will be released without delay. The Board of Directors should be informed immediately when such a request is received.
5. Format. Policies must be prepared using the attached template. Recommended formats for procedures and regulations are also attached.
Attachments: 1. Policy Template
- Procedures Template
- Regulation Template
Board Approval Date: December 14, 2008
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