Email sent to campus community on Oct. 25, 2024 by Annika Scharosch, J.D., associate vice president for civil rights, compliance & business services, Title IX coordinator, co-associate vice president for Facilities and Planning.
Approved Policy Changes
The Board of Trustees approved changes to the following policies today, October 25th:
- EWU Policy 601-02: Emergency Closure of Facilities
- WAC 172-121: Student Conduct Code
- WAC 172-125: Discrimination and Title IX Violations by Students
Policy Proposals Open for Public Comment
The following policy proposals are open for public review and comment on the EWU policy website under “Review Policies in Process.” You may also click on the policy titles below for a direct link. These proposals will remain open for comment until November 30th. You may submit your comments on the policy website or by attending a public hearing on Friday, November 22nd at 12:00 p.m. in Tawanka 215A. If you need an accommodation to attend the hearing, please contact me at least three days prior to the hearing.
(1) EWU Policy 204-07: Purchasing, Contracts & Agreements
· Policy Proponent: Vice President for Business and Finance
· Adds language indicating the Provost has primary responsibility for research agreements, grants, and intellectual property agreements
· Certain positions within Academic Affairs are delegated the authority to sign certain academic agreements after completing all of the training required by the Department of Enterprise Services
· Removes the requirement for all purchases utilizing grant funds to be approved by the Office of Grants & Research
· Reassigns the responsibility of reviewing and approving public works contracts to Procurement & Contracts
(2) EWU Policy 402-01: Sexual Misconduct, Interpersonal Violence & Title IX Responsibilities
· Policy Proponent: Vice President for Business and Finance
· Changes are currently in effect as an interim policy due to recent changes to Title IX
· Modifies definitions and procedures to align with new Title IX regulations
(3) EWU Policy 402-02: Diversity & Nondiscrimination
· Policy Proponent: Vice President for Business and Finance
· Changes are currently in effect as an interim policy due to recent changes to Title IX
· Modifies the definition of discriminatory harassment. Indicates that complaints of discrimination or discriminatory harassment will be handled under WAC 172-125 or EWU Policy 402-05.
(4) EWU Policy 402-05: Discrimination & Title IX Investigations & Resolutions
· Policy Proponent: Vice President for Business and Finance
· Changes are currently in effect as an interim policy due to recent changes to Title IX
· This policy is largely rewritten to identify the process EWU uses to investigate complaints against EWU employees for discrimination, sexual misconduct, and interpersonal violence. It replaces language that previously only applied to formal Title IX complaints.
(5) EWU Policy 402-06: Pregnancy and Parental Leave
· Policy Proponent: Vice President for Business and Finance
· Changes are currently in effect as an interim policy due to recent changes to Title IX
· Requires all employees who are directly notified of a student’s pregnancy to provide information to the student about pregnancy resources and the right to request modifications
· Identifies the interactive process Student Accommodations and Support Services will follow in determining requests for pregnancy modifications
(6) EWU Policy 405-01: Dependent Children and Spouses Tuition Waiver
· Policy Proponent: President
· Modifies the language about limits on using the dependent children and spouses tuition waiver in combination with other EWU waivers
(7) EWU Policy 406-01: Exempt Employment
· Policy Proponent: Vice President for Business and Finance
· Modifies the amount of sick leave exempt employees receive to 8 hours per month
· Modifies the amount of vacation leave that can be transferred from another state agency to EWU or from EWU to another state agency consistent with recent changes in state law
· Clarifies the calculation of overtime
(8) EWU Policy 409-04: State and Instructional Employee Tuition Waivers
· Policy Proponent: Vice President for Business and Finance
· Updates eligibility for tuition waivers for certificated instructional employees and public common school classified staff consistent with changes to RCW 28B.15.558
(9) EWU Policy 603-10: Service Animals
· Policy Proponent: Vice President for Business and Finance
· Adds service animal trainers and the animals they are training to the policy consistent with recent changes to the Washington Law Against Discrimination
(10) WAC 172-330: Small Works Roster (new)
· Small works rosters are a procurement method for public works projects authorized by RCW 39.04.151. This new chapter grants EWU the ability to implement a small works roster and sets forth the procedures EWU will follow for establishing and utilizing such rosters.
Policies Under Initial Review
The following policies are currently under review and proposed changes may be presented to the Board of Trustees for first read in December. Once these proposed changes are presented to the Board of Trustees for initial review, they will be sent to all EWU employees and open to public comment before being submitted to the Board of Trustees for approval in February.
- EWU Policy 101-01 (University Organization)
- EWU Policy 204-01 (Space Utilization)
- EWU Policy 401-02 (Additional or Outside Compensated Work)
- WAC 1722-122-400 (Spectator Events) (new)
If you have any questions about the policy process or EWU policies, please feel free to contact Annika Scharosch at 509.359.6724 or ascharosch@ewu.edu.
