Policy reviews
Reviewing university policies to ensure they are concise, functional and accessible is a key strategy for enhancing organizational effectiveness, identified in the University of Victoria's strategic plan.
In order to maintain the accuracy and relevance of university policies and procedures, regular policy reviews are mandated by the Policy on University Policies and Procedures. These reviews assist in confirming the relevance, validity, and applicability of university policies and procedures.
The policy review process is also used to recognize and incorporate required revisions, while determining the implications of such revisions. All university policies and associated procedures must undergo a substantive review every seven years (or earlier if required).
The president and vice-presidents are responsible for the maintenance and review of policies and procedures within their portfolios.
If you're planning revisions to an existing policy or procedure, contact the pertinent executive office or the Office of the University Secretary at policy@uvic.ca.
Invitation to comment - HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS
The UVic policy RH8105 Research involving humans has been reviewed and revised as required to comply with the new TriCouncil Policy Statement, Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans TCPS2 www.pre.ethics.gc.ca, and to update the policy format to comply with the UVic guidelines.
This review and revision has been conducted by the Office of Research Services with the Human Research Ethics Advisory Committee and the Human Research Ethics Board. The board members are now reviewing this draft for comment.
Click here for the existing regulations
Click here for revised draft policy and procedures.
Comments from the UVic community are invited and should be directed to ethics@uvic.ca
Closing date for comments is 29 June 2012.
Many of research policies have been reviewed and revised over the past few years including:
Research
The research overhead policy and related research policies and procedures were reviewed in 2008-09. The purpose of the review was to update the university’s approach to recovering the indirect costs of research and to provide greater clarity and consistency between the policies and procedures.
On 24 November 2009 the Board of Governors approved revisions to the following policies and new procedures:
- RH8100 Research policy
- RH8200 External research funding agreements (and associated procedures)
- FM5400 Indirect costs of research (and associated procedures)
Changes to the old research overhead policy created significant discussion around campus and the contain answers to the most common questions from faculty and staff. Please visit the indirect costs of research page for more information.
Please read the new policies and procedures before developing a proposal or negotiating a contract with a funding agency or industry partner.
Contact the contracts officer, Stacy Hennings, if you have any questions regarding the new policy and procedures on the indirect costs of research.
Background information on the review and a summary of the policy changes:
- Review of UVic Research Policies 2008/09
- Funding the Institutional Costs of Research: An International Perspective
Research centres
On 24 November 2009 the Board of Governors approved:
- RH8300 Establishment and review of research centres (and associated procedures)
- GV0705 Appointment and review of research centre directors
- GV0715 Duties and responsibilities of directors of research centres
These changes were implemented in January 2010 and will apply to new research centres established after this time. Existing research centres will be reviewed and gradually transitioned into the new system.
Please contact Sally Eshuys in the Office of the Vice-President Research if you have any questions about the new research centre policies or procedures.
Background to the policy and procedures revisions and a summary of the changes:
- Overview of Proposed Changes to UVic Research Centre Policies and Procedures
- Working Group Report on Research Centres
For more information on Research Centres at UVic please go to the Research Centres and Organizations page.
Post-doctoral fellows
In 2008 a working group was established by the Vice-President Research to review and revise the Post Doctoral Fellows (PDFs) Policy.
The working group included representation from faculty, PDFs, Human Resources, Office of the Vice-President Academic, and the Office of the Vice-President Research, and was most recently chaired by the Associate Vice-President Research, Dr. Afzal Suleman.
The terms of reference of the working group were to ascertain the status of and make recommendations to the university executive on:
- the relationship between post doctoral fellows and the university
- the current status and experiences of post doctoral fellows at the university
- the policy on post-doctoral fellows
During the review of the policy it became obvious that the status and treatment of PDFs at UVic was extremely variable and that it was difficult to even know how many there were on campus.
The new draft revised policy and its associated procedures attempt to provide standard processes for employing or appointing PDFs (including standardized letters of offer), clearly state the responsibilities of faculty members who employ and supervise PDFs, and clarifies the role of PDFs at UVic.
- HR6310 Post doctoral fellows policy and associated procedures