Advancing Clarity Through Policy Alignment

“Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” - Brené Brown

Clarity brings focus. This is documented in various strands of research. For instance, in business, companies with a clear focus and well-defined product categories are valued more than those that lack focus and offer a wide range of disconnected products. Bringing clarity into our communications takes time and intentional effort, but is worth every minute saved as we increase the ‘signal to noise’ ratio in emails, conversations, meetings, and, of course, our policies.

Through my involvement with the Policy Alignment Initiative (PAI) at IU over the past year, I’ve seen that while new state legislation may have sparked this work, the discussions, revisions, and recommendations will bring clarity in our policies. For example: Who initiates a proposal for a change to a department or a merger across departments? How do we define a ‘department’? What is a ‘core school’? When and for what types of external activities is supervisor approval needed?  Reducing ambiguity around these questions saves valuable faculty time and frustration.

Second, these revisions ensure that all stakeholders impacted by a policy have a voice. Respect for faculty governance is integral to the success of these policies, and the process is grounded in strong governance. We also benchmark our policies against peer institutions.

The working groups reviewing these policies include University Faculty Council (UFC) co-chairs, faculty from UFC subcommittees, members of the Academic Leadership Council (ALC), where relevant, as well as administrators involved in the processes that stem from the policy. At every meeting, there is a shared commitment to move thoughtfully, not rush changes, and consider the potential impact of the revisions.

As someone who is not a policy expert, I stepped into the role as chair of the ALC Executive Committee with some trepidation. After nearly a year, I can say with pride that, beyond what I have learned about IU policies and processes in general, it is abundantly clear to me that IU is a special place. It has been a real source of pride to work with talented scholars and committed faculty from all IU campuses. While we share a common mission to create knowledge through research, share it through teaching, and serve our communities, our niche areas differ. In these differences lies our strength; they enhance our ability to serve the needs of the various communities across our state.

Please be sure to check your IU Today emails each week and share your comments as policies are posted for public comment via the Policies Portal. And please be sure to thank your colleagues on UFC and the working groups for the tremendous time and effort they have dedicated to this work, which will benefit all of us today and into the future.

Go Jags!

Latha Ramchand
Chancellor