Policy & Procedures Manual Management Program

(The PPMM Program)

  1. Purpose
  2. Background Information
  3. Application
  4. Navigating Through a Policy Manual
  5. Major Aspects of the PPMM Program
  6. Benefits of the PPMM
  7. Who Does What?
  8. Advantages & Cost Effective Measures
  9. Learning More about the PPMM Program

1. Purpose of Program

The PPMM Program is a comprehensive program designed to effectively manage all aspects of the online Administrative Policy & Procedure Manuals in a professional, efficient and cost effective manner.

Top

2. Background Information

The PPMM Program was developed following the completion of a benchmark study involving over 100 universities. Actual online policy and procedure manuals along with the programs used to create and revise the manuals were reviewed and evaluated. The most successful aspects of the different programs and online manuals were integrated into one program tailored specifically for Oregon State University. The end result was the Policy & Procedure Manual Management Program adopted by the senior OSU administrators on October 1, 2003.

Some of the key components used to evaluate other university online manuals and maintenance programs were:

  • Manual format (how were the overall contents organized and presented to the end user).
  • Policy & Procedure format (how were individual policies & procedures organized and presented to the end user).
  • How individual policies and procedures were identified in different manuals at the same university.
  • User friendliness/Accessibility of the manuals
  • Revision Programs (user friendliness, resources required, effectiveness in keeping manuals current, overall results of revision program).
  • Software programs used to create and manage the online manuals.

Upon evaluating the various manuals and manual maintenance programs, the best aspects were chosen and integrated into the PPMM program. The PPMM program was then specifically tailored to meet the needs of the OSU Community and the available resources allocated to the program.

Top

3. Application

The Program incorporates all current & future Policy and Procedure Manuals in the documentation strategy for Finance and Administration Division units. This includes, but is not limited to, the following administrative manuals:

  1. Budgets
  2. Facilities
  3. Fiscal Operations
  4. Human Resources
  5. Payroll
  6. Procurement, Contracting & Construction Contracting
  7. Property Management
  8. Grant, Contract & Gift Accounting
  9. Safety
  10. Space Inventory
  11. Transportation Services
  12. Travel

Other OSU departments and units are encouraged to adopt the PPMM guidelines for their manuals.

Top

4. Navigating Through a Policy Manual

The PPMM format is designed so users can quickly and efficiently navigate through the online policy manuals. Users will only have to learn once how to navigate through a manual because all manuals will use the same format. Each policy manual utilizes two windows in your Internet browser. The first window will always have the Policy Manual's Table of Contents in it and be the launching pad for the contents of the manual. The second window will be used to see the contents of the manual. When you click on a policy number in the Table of Contents in the first window, a second window will open with the policy in it. When you click on a web link within a policy (in the second window) the link will always open in the second window. Use your web browser's "Back Button" in the second window to return to earlier visited web pages. When finished reviewing a particular policy in the second window, close the window and return to the Table of Contents in the first window to view another policy.

Top

5. Major Aspects of the PPMM Program include:

  • A consistent and efficient process for revising manuals.
  • An alphanumeric numbering system for identifying, tracking, and cross-referencing policies and procedures.
  • A systematic revision process applicable to all manuals.
  • A consistent format, style guide and appearance for all manuals.
  • A revision record is established and maintained for each manual.
  • A Manual Coordinator within each department to act as a contact person for each manual.
  • A Policy Editor responsible for the overall administration of policy and procedure documentation and presentation.

Top

6. Benefits of the PPMM Program

  • P & P Manuals will be kept current.
  • Employees will know the specific dates and contents that were updated in each manual.
  • Manuals will be organized using a uniform format that allows users to quickly locate information in different manuals.
  • The new web format will reduce the need for employees to print out hard copies of the manuals.
  • The Policy Analyst will provide assistance and training for the development, organization and writing of policies, procedures and exhibits.
  • The number of manual revisions will decrease because of information streamlining.

Top

7. Who Does What?

Web Communicaitons Editor

  • Provide oversight and technical expertise to coordinate, publish and maintain accurate and current Policy & Procedure manuals.
  • Integrate available technology to improve the delivery, access and communication of university policies & procedures to the end user.

Department Head

  • Designate a departmental employee(s) to be the Manual Coordinator for the department's manual.
  • Determine the 3-letter abbreviation to be associated with the department manual and precede the policy number assigned to each policy.

Manual Coordinator

  • Act as the department's contact person for P & P manual issues.
  • Coordinate the submission of their department's manual revisions and ensure the revision documents meet the revision submission guidelines.
  • Respond to inquiries concerning the content of their manual.
  • Monitor the currency of their manual's content and revise as appropriate.

Top

8. Advantages & Cost Effective Measures

The PPMM Program:

  • Brings organization and uniformity to a very unstructured area.
  • Defines, distinguishes and separates Policy, Procedure and Factual Information.
  • Provides an easily understood, logical plan for organizing information.
  • Utilizes current technologies to communicate essential information in a timely and user-friendly manner.
  • Standardizes the appearance, grammar, punctuation, style, lay out and web format of every administrative policy manual.
  • Ensures consistent terminology, abbreviations and acronyms are used in all manuals through proofreading with itemized checklists.
  • Implements an alphanumeric numbering system for every policy that allows for easier management, cross-referencing, communicating and tracking.
  • Compliments the Community Network department's endeavors relating to the management and access of on-line forms.
  • Streamlines information by relocating nonessential information from the manuals to a more appropriate location on the OSU web. Streamlining reduces the size of the manuals, allows users to quickly locate pertinent information, reduces the number of revisions a manual will require, and reduces or eliminates redundancy of work related to manual revisions.
  • Establishes department accountability & responsibility by designating a Manual Coordinator who will coordinate all the revisions for that department's P & P Manual.
  • Implements a content format that uses web links to cross reference related information. This aspect allows specific information to be contained in only one manual which eliminates redundancy of content, reduces the number and size of future revisions and allows employees to be directed to only one source for specific information
  • Establishes the framework that allows minimum resources to manage the online manuals and keep them current.
  • Helps OSU achieve its mission by effectively communicating essential information through the Administrative Policy & Procedures.
  • Increases employee moral by making essential information more easily assessable and current.

Top

9. Learning More about the PPMM Program

OSU personnel who are interested in learning more about the PPMM Program should email the Web Communications Editor to arrange a meeting. At the meeting, all aspects of the PPMM Program will be covered and training provided upon request.

The PPMM Program was adopted on Wednesday, January 30, 2002 by:

Vice President of Finance & Administration
Director of Business Affairs
Director of Property, Contracts/Risk Management, Property Management
Director of Budget/Fiscal Planning
Director of Public Safety
Director of Human Resources
Associate Vice President of Finance & Administration and Director of Facility Services
Head of Finance & Administration for OSU Cascades Campus

Top