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Sector / Division: Communications and Corporate Affairs Revised and approved by the Vanier College Board of Governors :May 20, 2025
Approved by the Vanier College Board of Directors: September 21, 2015
A Governing Documents framework is a critical factor for any organization to succeed in its mission.
It enables the College to effectively manage its affairs by establishing a cohesive set of governing rules which set standards of behaviour supporting the College’s commitment to comply with legal and regulatory compliance requirements. It promotes good governance and sound management practices, allowing the College to align its activities with its mission, strategic priorities, and values, while upholding the principles of transparency, accountability and equity.
This Policy outlines the institutional requirements of Vanier College with respect to the development and maintenance of Governing Documents to ensure a cohesive, user-friendly, and consistent format. It also ensures that the College community is aware of and follows a standardized process for the creation, approval, and management of Governing Documents.
This Policy establishes a coherent, coordinated process for the development, approval, review, and repeal of Governing Documents at Vanier College.
This Policy applies to all members of the College community engaged in the development, review, and administration of Governing Documents, except for unit-level documents which are outside of the scope of this Policy and not subject to its requirements.
By-laws and policies shall be formally approved by the Board of Governors.
Directors of administrative department develop, revise or repeal by-laws and policies according to this Policy and the Procedure for the adoption and publication of governing documents.
A by-law or policy becomes effective on the date of its approval by the Board of Governors or on the date approved by the Board.
Procedures and directives shall be formally approved by the Management Executive Committee (MEC).
Directors of administrative department develop, revise or repeal procedures and directives according to this Policy and the Procedure for the adoption and publication of governing documents.
A procedure or directive becomes effective on the date of its approval by MEC or on the date approved by MEC.
Governing Documents shall not contradict other Government Documents. In the unlikely event that a contradiction occurs, precedent is established in the following order: by-law, policy, directive, procedure.
If the contradiction occurs between two documents of equivalent authority, or within the same document, the matter is referred to the Director of the administrative department responsible for the document and the Secretary General for interpretation.
If the matter cannot be resolved and the contradiction is clear and substantial, the matter is presented either to the Board of Governors, for by-laws or policies, or to the Management Executive Committee, for procedures and directives.
The Secretary General maintains an up-to-date registry of all active and repealed Governing Documents. Additionally, the Secretary General maintains the official repository of all Governing Documents.
All active governing documents are published on the College’s website.
This Policy shall be reviewed at least once each 5 years, or sooner if required.
This Policy replaces the Adoption and Publication of Official College Policies (8120-1).