G1 – Policies Development Framework

Approver: President and CEO
Owner: VP, Finance and Administration
Effective: December 12, 2025
Replaces: September 16, 2021

See the G1 – Policies Development Framework Procedures ›

1.0 Preamble

1.1

Red River College Polytechnic (”RRC Polytech”) will provide clear, transparent, and accessible Policies and associated Procedures that guide members of the College Community to consistently implement RRC Polytech’s mandate as outlined in The Red River College Polytechnic Act and RRC Polytech’s strategic plan as well as achieve and sustain RRC Polytech’s mission, vision and values through day-to-day decision making and actions.

1.2

College Policies will set and communicate the expectations for members of the College Community, provide a framework for institutional integrity, promote consistency, efficiency and effectiveness, help mitigate and manage institutional risks and support compliance and adherence to accreditation requirements.

2.0 Purpose

2.1

This Policy and its associated Procedures will establish the principles and processes that guide RRC Polytech in developing, approving, implementing, and communicating College Policies. It will ensure that College policies are developed in a clear and consistent manner, are regularly reviewed, and updated and are rescinded if they become inapplicable.

3.0 Application and Scope

3.1

This Policy applies to all RRC Polytech Policies and Procedures. This Policy does not apply to policies established by the Red River College Polytechnic Board of Governors.

4. Definitions

4.1

“Academic Policy” means a College Policy that relates to Academic or Student Matters and is approved by the designated Approver in accordance with the Policy Development Framework Procedures.

4.2

“Administrative Policy” means a College Policy that relates to all non-academic matters at RRC Polytech and is approved by the designated Approver in accordance with the Policy Development Framework Procedures.

4.3

“Board of Governors Policy” means a Policy developed in accordance with the Bylaws and policies of the Board of Governors of Red River College Polytechnic and approved by the Board of Governors.

4.4

“College Policy” means a statement of policy that mandates requirements of or provisions for members of the RRC Polytech community. College Policies include Academic Policies and Administrative Policies, and may be developed from time to time to:

1. implement or assure compliance with a law, regulation, Board of Governors bylaw or direction;
2. advance a key aspect of the RRC Polytech’s mission or its relationship with its Stakeholders;
3. mitigate institutional risk; and/or
4. promote operational efficiency.

A College Policy does not include a Board of Governors Policy.

4.5

“Designate” means an individual formally delegated by the Policy Owner to carry out the responsibilities related to the policy development process. The Designate acts under the authority and direction of the Policy Owner with respect to the policy.

4.6

“Executive Team” means the team currently comprising the President; Vice President, Finance and Administration; Vice President, Academic; Vice President,  Indigenous Strategy, Research and Business Development; Chief Human Resource Officer; and Executive Director, Advancement, and may be updated from time to time as determined by the President and CEO.

4.7

“Procedures” is a document that describes the process for implementing a Policy. Procedures provide direction to management and employees about how to carry out the policy in a way that avoids unnecessary ambiguity, conflict, inconsistency, or inefficiency and includes a statement of uniform or standard uses of specific technologies, processes, actions, or configurations in RRC Polytech community or a Code of Practice issued by the Safety Health and Security Services Department of RRC Polytech.

Procedures may be revised from time to time as necessary.

4.8

“Policy Approver” means a member of RRC Polytech’s Executive Team who has the authority to approve the policy. The President and CEO is the approver for all Administrative Policies. The Vice President, Academic, is the approver for all Academic Policies.

4.9

“Policies Development Procedures” means the Procedures developed to support the Policies Development Policy.

4.10

“Policy Owner” means a senior leader at the level of Executive Director or above who is accountable for the subject matter of a policy and is responsible for its development, implementation, review, and maintenance. A policy may have more than one Policy Owner where shared accountability is appropriate.

4.11

“Senior Academic Committee (SAC)” means the committee that provides academic governance and leadership at Red River College Polytechnic. The committee is responsible for ensuring appropriate academic responses to RRC Polytech’s Strategic Plan through effective academic programming, planning and policies.

4.12

“Senior Leaders” refers to the group of senior leaders at RRC Polytech designated by the President and CEO Currently this group includes all members of the Executive Team, as well as the Chief Information Officer, the Comptroller, the Executive Director, Academic, the Executive Director, Student Services and Global Partnerships, the Executive Director, Research Partnerships & Innovations, and the Director, College and Public Relations and may be updated from time to time at the discretion of the President and CEO.

5.0 Policy Development Principals

5.1

Policies will be developed to give substance to RRC Polytech’s mandate, mission, vision, and values statements and to RRC Polytech’s Strategic Plan.

5.2

Polices should be conceived of and drafted in a manner that is broad enough to allow flexibility in dealing with diverse situations while ensuring that decisions are made based on consistent principles, values, and considerations.

5.3

Policies will contain focused statements of RRC Polytech’s intent, governing principles, or desired results related to the subject, while associated Procedures set out the key steps required to implement each College Policy.

5.4

Policies will be developed through a consultation process consistent with the Policy Development Framework Procedures. Policy Approvers retain the discretion to approve policies that deviate from the standard development process set out in the Procedures. College Policies shall be reviewed on a regular basis after the effective date, and at a minimum, will be reviewed every 5 years.

5.5

Policies must comply with legislated requirements and with government directives and policy requirements.

6.0 Distribution and Communication

6.1

All policies and associated procedures will be posted on RRC Polytech Policies website. The version posted on RRC Polytech Policies website is the official version.

7.0 Responsibilities

7.1

The Designate is responsible for:

1. developing the content of policies as assigned by the Policy Owner; and
2. ensuring that a policy is developed in a collaborative manner in accordance with the Procedures.

7.2

The Policy Owner is responsible for:

1. advising the Senior Leaders of policy development or review in accordance with the Policies Development Procedures;
2. recommending policies for the approval of the appropriate Policy Approver within their area of responsibility;
3. engaging in the periodic review of policies and procedures they own, which includes reconciliation with other College policies and procedures where applicable;
4. developing Procedures associated with the policies they own and amending those procedures as needed without the further approval of the Policy Approver;
5. ensuring coordination of policies within the Policy Owner’s area of responsibility.

7.3

The Policy Approver is responsible for:

1. determining whether to approve Policies recommended for approval and granting or denying approvals.

7.4

The Legal and Compliance Department is responsible for the management of RRC Polytech’s Policies, including but not limited to:

1. maintenance of RRC Polytech’s Policies website;
2. assisting with development, drafting, legal review, consolidation, and retirement of administrative policies;
3. identifying policy gaps;
4. assisting with coordination of legal reviews of policies;
5. undertaking any other policy program management administration that is required; and
6. notifying the Policy Owner which policies require review prior to the expected review date.

7.5

The Senior Academic Committee is responsible for reviewing and recommending Academic policies for approval.

7.6

Senior Leaders are responsible for reviewing and providing relevant comments as requested in accordance with the Procedures.

8.0 Review Schedule

8.1

This Policy will be reviewed and updated as required within five years of its approval date.

9.0 Related Documents

• Policies Development Procedures
• Glossary of Terms