TAMU Rules - How to Develop a Rule

How to develop a rule/sap

The President of Texas A&M University has delegated responsibility to the Office of University Risk and Compliance (URC) to coordinate the development, review, routing for approval, and distribution of new and revised University rules and standard administrative procedures (saps), including those of Texas A&M University-Galveston and Texas A&M University-Qatar.

Member rules are established to provide direction and guidance in conducting operational activities, clarify roles and responsibilities, mitigate compliance risks, and support strategic objectives. As TAMU processes evolve or change, it is necessary to provide consistent, approved written guidance to the TAMU community There are several System and University rules that should be reviewed and followed when developing a rule or sap: System Policy 01.01: System Policies, Regulations, and Member rules and Procedures, System regulation 01.01.01: Format for Policies, Regulations, Rules and Procedures, University SAP 01.01.01.M0.01: Development of Texas A&M University Rules and Standard Administrative Procedures . Rules/saps can be developed or revised at anytime during the year.

Departments or work groups generally initiate and develop draft rules/saps. Prior to drafting rules/saps, it is important to consider the following factors:

What is the purpose for the proposed rule or sap?
- Is a rule or sap the appropriate medium?
- Is it addressing a significant issue or risk area?
- Is TAMU required to have a rule or sap (by law, System policy, etc.)?
Does a System policy or regulation exist related to this subject?
- Is there not sufficient detail in the System policy and/or regulation?
- Is this rule consistent with these System policies and regulations?
- Have we minimized redundancy as much as possible between these documents?
Who should be involved in the development of the rule/sap (a department or a work group who represents major stakeholders)?
What department should be responsible for interpreting this rule?
Will this rule impact existing or other University rules and how?
Is this rule consistent with the presidential delegations of authority?
Is this rule consistent with federal and state laws, local rules?
Hyperlinks within the text should be in working order and connect to accurate information at all times.

University Risk and Compliance - rules division serves as a resource for any questions you have during the development and review process.

A rules template was recently approved for University-wide usage for rules and saps. This template includes sections for definitions, roles, responsibilities, procedures, references to related materials, and other assistance to TAMU employees, students and/or visitors of our campus. Some sections are required and others remain optional. To access the rules template see rules template.

Once a rule or sap is developed, the following should be forwarded to University Risk and Compliance:

the draft rule and/or sap in the template format,
the reason for the proposed draft(s),
a list of any other rules, policies, or regulations this will affect,
state the target completion date and any factors that might affect the target date (i.e. target date driven by changes in state or federal law, etc.),
the subject matter expert designated to answer interpretation questions, and
subject matter expert contact information (department, title, email and phone number).

Subsequently, URC will coordinate a review by the Rule Team, University Risk and Compliance and the Office of General Counsel(only new or revised rules). Upon completion of these reviews and resolution of any concerns or legal issues, new rules will be forwarded to the President of Texas A&M University for final approval. Revised rules and new and revised saps will be forwarded to the appropriate Executive Vice President or Vice President for final approval. If approved, the final approved version will be posted to the Rules website.