Writing & Formatting Policies

All new or substantially revised policies must be written using the current Policy Template. Within our Policy & Procedure module, the aforementioned form is utilized to capture required content.
Follow the guidelines for each section as stated within the template. Detailed instructions for this template can be found HERE .
DO NOT rename, delete or add sections to the policy template.

Use simple and specific terminology that can be easily understood by everyone.
Follow the following guidelines:
- Capitalize any term defined in the policy each time it is used.
- Capitalize titles of individuals at Savannah State when the title is referring to a specific person (e.g., "Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost"). Leave titles that refer to a group of people in lowercase (e.g., "vice provosts").
- Do not abbreviate months, even when used with a specific date.
Use the words "must" or "will" rather than "should" in the body of the policy. The later infers that the action is optional, which makes the need for the policy questionable.
Always use an office, department, unit or job title instead of an individual's name. Examples:
- "The Office of Ethics and Compliance is responsible for ..."
- "Contact the account clerk for "
Contact emails must be general department addresses or a Web page that gives further contact information. Individual email addresses may not be used; this prevents the policy from needing updates when personnel changes occur.
Do not underline subheadings or words that need to be stressed in a sentence. Rather, use the heading styles in Microsoft Word if it is a subheading or put it in italics if the word needs to be stressed (e.g., "Do not underline words."). Underlined words can be mistaken for hyperlinks when the policy is posted online.

The title should be clear, concise and accurately reflect the policy content.
Avoid the use of acronyms and the words "Savannah State ," "University" and "policy."
Use a title that is sufficiently different from other policies on this website.

Use contextual links within the body of the policy and write out the full URL (Web address) in the Related Documents, Forms and Tools section of the policy.