Submission Guidelines for Manual Revisions for Manual Coordinators and Departments

  1. Overview of Revision Process
  2. Manual Revision Schedule
  3. Document Preparation
    1. Revising Posted Policies & Procedures
    2. Submitting New Policies
    3. Revising or Creating Exhibits
  4. Creating the Manual Revision Record (MRR)
  5. Need Additional Information?

1. Overview of Revision Process

In accordance with institutional directives, the OSU system of administrative manuals is available on the OSU Web to allow easier access by the university community. In addition, the conversion to an electronic medium means that university departments can now revise polices more often, which provides the opportunity to keep the manuals accurate and current.

Publication Procedure for Manual Revisions

Web publication by the Policy Advisor involves the following:

  1. copyediting (checking organization, grammar, syntax, spelling, accuracy, consistency, style, etc.),
  2. HTML formatting according to an approved manual template,
  3. proofreading using itemized checklists,
  4. submitting drafts to Manual Coordinators, and if needed, General Counsel for review,
  5. copyediting, incorporating, and formatting changes,
  6. checking hypertext links for accuracy and currency,

Note: The Policy Editor relies on Manual Coordinators to supply accurate URL addresses for website links within their manuals and to provide notification when changes occur in a URL address. The Policy Editor is not responsible for the accuracy or contents of links to outside sites.

  1. posting on the OSU policy and procedure manuals website, making printouts from the source text and submitting them to University Archives.

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2. Manual Revision Schedule

Revision Schedule

Currently, while the manuals are being reformatted and updated to reflect the standards established in the PPMM program, there is no deadline or set schedule for revisions. Revisions to current administrative manuals should occur as frequently as necessary to keep the manuals current.

Submissions are produced on a first-come, first-served basis

All manual revisions are produced on a first-come, first-served basis; all materials are time-and date-stamped upon receipt by the Policy Advisor. If requests are made via email, then the original email will be saved.

Posting of Revision to OSU Web

Manual revisions will be posted to the corresponding online manual after the Policy Advisor receives final approval from the Manual Coordinator. Upon checking the final draft of the revisions for accuracy, the Manual Coordinator will authorize the Policy Advisor to post the revisions.

Manual Coordinators should request revisions in timely fashion

The Manual Coordinator should notify department heads and other persons responsible for maintaining or revising policies no later than two months before a planned revision. Review of current policies should occur at least twice a year. Whenever a change in policy is foreseen, the Manual Coordinator is well advised to request the responsible departmental designee to begin writing the revision as soon as possible, so that departmental review and rewrites can occur in a timely manner.

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3. Document Preparation

The following are directions for the preparation of revisions for new or revised policies. They are designed to make the revision process as efficient and accurate as possible.

Note: Documents that are improperly prepared will be returned to the Manual Coordinator for correction, and will be placed at the end of the queue when resubmitted for editing and production.

Effective Dates

The Manual Coordinator must ensure that the correct effective and revised dates (months, days, and years) are indicated on every policy submitted to the Policy Advisor. Every policy has an effective date, which is the date when the policy first went into effect, and is not necessarily the posting date or publication date of the policy. Once a policy takes effect, this date never changes; it remains the same throughout the life of the policy, no matter how many revisions are made

Revised Dates

The revised date indicates the most recent date that a policy was revised. It is always different from the effective date and never earlier than the effective date.

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(a) Revising Posted Policies & Procedures

  1. The departmental designees responsible for specific policies should prepare revisions by marking changes in red ink on printouts or by using red font in electronic files for currently posted policies, procedures and exhibits. Extensive changes should be submitted in .doc or .html file formats as attachments to an email or on labeled disks along with marked-up copies of the policies. An example of an "extensive change" would be the addition of a section or substantial paragraph or rewriting an entire policy with its accompanying procedures. Replacing one term with another is not an extensive change and these types of revisions should be requested via email with the changes identified in red font. Use the "Track Changes" feature in MS Word to insert the "Red font" for additions and the "Strike Through" for deletions for each document submitted via email. Just save the html files in the online manual to your hard drive and then use MS Word to revise the document. In the MS Word tool bar, click on "Tools", then "Options", then "Track Changes". Use the "Track Changes" feature to insert the "Red font" for additions and the "Strike Through" for deletions for each document submitted via email. Make sure the "Track Changes" option is turned on when revising the document. Click on "Tools", then "Track Changes" to turn it on. When saving the document after revising it, add the letters (rev) to the name of the file. This identifies a file that has been revised and distinguishes it from the master file. This process ensures that the revision request is processed quickly and accurately.
  2. Send the revised policies to the Manual Coordinator, who will review it and then submit it to the Policy Advisor as an attachment to an email. After copyediting, HTML formatting, and proofreading, the Policy Advisor prepares review drafts of the policies submitted and sends them to the Manual Coordinator or posts them to the test website for the online manual.

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(b) Submitting New Policies

  1. The departmental designees responsible for specific policies should write the new policies. Include all applicable sections (Purpose, Policy, Procedure, etc.) and identification information (manual name, section, policy number, effective date).
  2. The Manual Coordinator reviews the policies, making certain they are complete and the effective dates are specified. In addition to the printed copies that are submitted, supply a copy in MS Word on a labeled disk, CD or as an attachment in an email to the Policy Editor.
  3. After copyediting, HTML formatting, and proofreading, the Policy Editor prepares review drafts of the policies submitted and sends them to the Manual Coordinator, along with a note specifying any concerns or outstanding items that need to be addressed.
  4. Departments, through their Manual Coordinators, review the drafts, make necessary changes, and return them to the Manual Coordinator in a timely manner.
  5. The Policy Editor prepares the final versions of the revisions and posts them in the appropriate manual on the OSU Web. At the same time, the Policy Editor prepares and delivers a printout of the manual or revision to University Archives.

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(c) Revising or Creating Exhibits

"Exhibits" are often charts that illustrate departmental organization or flowcharts showing how some action proceeds through different steps. Exhibits are also useful to show how to complete a form by filling out a sample with hypothetical information. All exhibits that are forms must have the word "Sample" printed across at the top.

Exhibits are not blank forms intended for downloading. Forms for downloading should be accessed from a department website in formats available to a variety of platforms, such as Microsoft Word, Portable Document Format (PDF), etc. By putting such forms on the department's Web site, the department can change the forms as necessary. The Manual Coordinator should indicate where a link to the form should be inserted in the text of a policy, procedure, etc.

  1. Revise exhibits in their original formats. If possible, use MS Word or another Microsoft software program to create exhibit documents. If exhibits are not available in electronic formats, provide a clean hard copy on white paper (provide an original, with no hole punches or staple holes). High quality originals produce better quality scans.
  2. The Manual Coordinator sends the revised exhibits in an electronic format or as clean hard copies to the Policy Advisor.
  3. The Policy Editor will scan hard copies of exhibits and prepare review drafts of all new or revised exhibits. The Policy Advisor distributes the review drafts of exhibits along with copies of revised or new policies to the Manual Coordinator.
  4. Departments, through their Manual Coordinators, review the drafts, make necessary changes, and return the drafts to the Manual Coordinators.
  5. The Manual Coordinator then submits the drafts to the Policy Advisor.
  6. The Policy Editor prepares the final versions and posts the revision to the online manual.

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4. Creating the Manual Revision Record (MRR)

Each revision request made must be accompanied by a manual revision record (MRR). For revisions to posted policies, procedures and exhibits, describe the change and the reason it was made. For new policies, procedures and exhibits, include a statement of why it is being included in the manual. See the current FIS Manual MRR for an example.

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5. Need Additional Information?

The Policy Advisor is part of OSU Finance & Administration and is an available resource for all departments. Assistance and consultation can be provided for the development, management and revision of manuals, policies, procedures and exhibits.

Please contact the Web Communications Editor at:
122 Kerr Administration Building
Corvallis, Oregon 97331-2132
Email: manuals@oregonstate.edu