Procedures as policy

• Procedures give instructions about how to meet specific goals or requirements.
• Procedures can carry the weight of a policy, if they are developed and implemented as a policy.
• Procedures are more often guidelines that should be followed but do not require a special exception or special circumstances for modification in most contexts.
  
  

Procedures as guidelines

In most cases, procedures are put together by a division or an office. In these instances, they do not often go through any process of review. Without a review process, the resulting rules are just guidance, not policy.

This does not mean that these suggestions do not carry any weight. Another important aspect of shared governance is being respectful of our co-workers, peers, and supervisors. Guidelines just rank lowest on the compliance hierarchy.