POLICY MATTERS: Southwest adopts new and revised policies

By Tameka Perry, Esq.

Policy Matters Southwest Tennessee Community College has adopted and revised several policies that became effective April 14, 2022. The policies were first presented at governance council meetings for full disclosure and consideration of feedback. The entire list of policies is listed below. Several of the policies will be featured in Scoop to provide students and employees with a deeper understanding of a particular policy, beginning with this issue’s spotlight on Anti-Harassment and Anti-Bullying and Textbook Usage.

ANTI-HARRASSMENT POLICY

In 2006, Southwest enacted an Anti-Harassment policy that remained unaltered until recently. The policy addressed behavior including jokes and comments based on protected classes such as race and gender. It did not address other unwanted conduct- bullying. The policy has since been revised and is now titled Anti-Harassment and Anti-Bullying.

Like harassment, whether unwanted behavior is in-person or cyber, physical or verbal, it is forbidden. The revised policy applies to all Southwest employees and students, and also extends to individuals with whom the College does business. Complaints related to a protected class should be reported to the College’s Office of Equity and Compliance while those that are unrelated to a protected class should be reported to the Office of Human Resources.

TEXTBOOK USAGE

Southwest’s Textbook Usage policy was enacted in 2000. Because of the recent addition of the Cost of Textbook policy, the Textbook Usage policy was updated to further memorialize the College’s commitment to providing affordable course material for students.

Both the revised Textbook Usage and the new Cost of Textbook policies emphasize freely accessible, openly licensed text, media, and other digital offerings. These are known as Open Educational Resources or OER.

NEW AND REVISED POLICIES EFFECTIVE APRIL 14, 2022

Anti-Harassment and Anti-Bullying
Textbook Usage
General Travel
Committees, Councils, and Governance Groups
Duties of the President
Contracts and Agreements Requiring the President’s Approval
Responsibility During Administrator’s Absence
Managing Internal Controls
Internal Auditing
Notice of Substantive Changes to SACSCOC
Compliance with Accreditation Requirements
Image Standards
Anti-Harassment and Anti-Bullying

For questions on any policy, contact Tameka Perry, Esq., Director of Equity and Compliance, at tnperry@southwest.tn.edu

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POLICY MATTERS: Southwest adopts new and revised policies

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