Five Easy (and One Not-So-Easy) Steps to Writing a Policies and Procedures Manual

Enclosed are materials used from a 1997 SASFAA Conference session on writing a policies and procedures manual. This Web site contains the steps outlined during the session and a copy of a sample manual which you may download.

Please note, the Sample Manual represents a fictional institution and should only be used to assist you in beginning the process of writing or revising a policies and procedures manual at your institution. The Sample Manual is NOT approved by the Department of Education and should not be viewed as a complete work fulfilling regulation requirements.

Anyone, who is employed in a financial aid office at an educational institution, has the Author's permission to use any or all of the Sample Manual. However, an auditor will compare what is documented against what is practiced. DO NOT put your institution's name to any policies or procedures which you do not follow.

Writing a policies and procedures manual is a large task. However, of the six steps outlined, five are usually easy for people and only one as difficult. You can do this! I hope you find the Sample Manual helpful to you.

Sincerely,
Holly A. Hyland

policy.zip – Note: this file is compressed in zip format. There are 27 files (480KB) total all saved in Rich Text Format included in this archive. Most word processors will easily read these files. To download, you will need a program that will extract zip files, like WinZip. To download a free evaluation program of WinZip, click here.