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Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder Today recently spoke with Catherine Oja, director of the Office of Compliance, Ethics and Policy (OCEP), about the university’s multi-year Policy Review Project and why it matters for faculty, staff and students.

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Catherine Oja

What is the Policy Review Project, and why is it important?

Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoulder launched the Policy Review Project in early 2025 to take a comprehensive, campuswide approach to reviewing all university policies. While policies are updated regularly, this is the first time we have taken a structured, holistic approach to reviewing every policy across campus.

Policies guide how we operate and ensure clear compliance structures that support faculty, staff and students in their work, studies, research and creative pursuits. They define expectations, clarify responsibilities and ensure compliance with federal, state, regent law and policy, and with Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØsystem administrative policy statements. As the university evolves and grows, it’s important that our policies evolve as well.

This project strengthens our governance framework and ensures our policies are clear, consistent and aligned with how we operate today.

What are some of the key benefits of this effort?

There are several important benefits.

First, we are identifying and addressing gaps or redundancies that have developed over time. In some cases, policies are outdated or no longer necessary. In others, new regulatory requirements require us to formalize guidance. Across all policies, considerations related to equity are important to refresh on a regular review cycle.

Second, we are standardizing language and formatting across policy suites. That may sound simple, but consistency improves usability. It makes policies easier to navigate and understand for faculty, staff and students.

Finally, this project establishes a repeatable, structured review process. Once a policy is updated, it enters a formal five-year review cycle, ensuring we maintain accuracy and alignment going forward.

How does the review process work?

Each policy undergoes consultation with its policy owner, impact and equity review, drafting, legal consultation and constituent engagement before being approved and implemented. That structured process helps ensure policies are thoughtful, compliant and operationally sound.

Policies, by topical suite (e.g., public safety, human resources, IT), are moving through review on a rolling basis through 2028.

What should the campus community expect?

As policy suites are approved, updates will be shared with campus, andÌýcurrent policies will always be posted on the OCEP website.Ìý

Our goal is transparency and clarity. We want faculty, staff and students to understand their responsibilities and feel confident our policies support their roles and the university’s mission.