Putting Policies on the Website

The are procedures specific to the UW Policies and UWSA Polices websites.

Add a draft policy to the website

  • If it is a policy that currently exists, sometimes it is easier to clone the version that is currently online.
    1. Navigate to the list of policies. From the dashboard, choose Content > Policies from the left side menu.
    2. Find the policy you want to clone from the list. The easiest way to do this is to search for the name of the policy (searching for the number doesn’t work). Edit the policy.
    3. In the “Policy Identifiers” box, check the box next to “Policy Under Review.” This will mark it as under review in the table of policies.
    4. In the “Publish” box, choose the “Copy to a new draft” link.
  • If you are adding a brand new policy, create a new policy and add the meta data:
    1. Navigate to the list of policies. From the dashboard, choose Content > Policies from the left side menu.
    2. Click the “Add New” button.
    3. In the “Policy Identifiers” box, add the Policy Number.
    4. In the “Section Number” box, choose the correct series.
    5. If this is a Procedure, Guidance or Questions, in the “Attributes” box, add the Parent. The parent should be the associated Policy. The Parent must be published before it will be available to choose.  
    6. If it is Guidance or Questions, choose the appropriate option from the "Child Type" dropdown in the Policy Identifiers metabox. This option will only display once you have chosen a Parent.
  • If the text or heading structure is totally new, delete the text that currently exists and copy the whole Word Document into the editor.
    1. Use “Paste as Plain text” by choosing the icon that looks like a clipboard from the second bar of the toolbar.
    2. If the text hasn’t changed that much, you can copy and paste only specific sections.
  • If there are paragraphs that are the wrong font, highlight them and use the Eraser icon in the toolbar to delete the other formatting.
  • Update the text to include the heading formatting.
    1. Headings should be semantic, the first level headings should be H2’s, second level headings H3, etc.
    2. Headings should be in title case, not all upper case. H4s and H6s will automatically display as all upper case. That is alright.
  • Delete extra line breaks and other spaces.
    1. Sections should not be indented.
    2. There should not be blank lines between paragraphs or headings.
  • Add the definitions to the policy.
    1. In the definitions metabox, add the definitions. If definitions are too long to be displayed in a tooltip, or contain rich text like bulleted lists, you'll need to include "See complete definition in policy" at the end of it.
    2. If no definitions were condensed, you can replace the definitions in the policy text with "[policy_definitions ]". This will display the definitions formatted for the policy.
  • Add hyperlinks to statutes, other policies, regulations, and guidance in the policy text and Related Documents section.
    1. The links for the UW System Policies can be found here: https://www.wisconsin.edu/uw-policies/uw-system-administrative-policies/
    2. The links for the Regent Policies can be found here: https://www.wisconsin.edu/regents/policies/
    3. The links for the Wisconsin Statues can be found here (although sometimes it is easiest to just Google the statute number): https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes
    4. Google other items or ask Stefan.
  • Update the meta data of the policy:
    1. Confirm that the right Section Number is selected. The correct section number is determined based on the policy number.
    2. In the “Page Security” box, choose “UW All” to require a login to view the policy.
    3. In the “Policy Display Settings” box (near the bottom of the page):
      1. Select the “Hide form the Policy List” checkbox. This allows us to publish the policy without the policy displaying on the main list of policies.
      2. In the “Pre Policy Title Header Text” enter “Draft Policy.”
    4. In the “Policy Identifiers” box, make sure “Policy Under Review” is not checked.  Draft policies should not also be marked as under review.
    5. In the Policies Contact Box, select the appropriate contacts from the drop down menu. If the contact hasn't been added before, use the Add New Contact link.
    6. Use the “Save Draft” or “Update” button in the publish box to save your changes.
  • Make the “Track Changes” PDF, upload it to the website, post at the top of the draft policy:
    1. Save the “Track Changes” and “Summary of Changes” documents as PDFs.
    2. Add them to the document collection:
      1. Navigate from the dashboard to Collections > Documents > Files.
      2. Click “Add New” button at top of page.
      3. Click the “Select Files” button and choose the document you want to upload from your computer.
      4. Update the title to be human readable (eg. SYS 342 Summary of Changes)
      5. Select the category of “Draft Policy Documents”
      6. Click the “Add File” button.
      7. Repeat for any other documents.
    3. Link to the document from the policy.
      1. Edit the draft policy.
      2. At the top of the policy, add the text, “Also see the ”
      3. Add the document by clicking the “Site Files” button (looks like a stack of papers) from the toolbar. Choose the document that you just uploaded. You can search for it by the title you gave it.
      4. Click the “Insert” button.
    4. Highlight the text with a notice.
      1. Select the text you just added.
      2. On the second row of the toolbar (use the toggle toolbar button if you don't see the second row), use the "Formats" dropdown to select Alerts > Warnings. Text will be highlighted with a yellow background.
    5. Use the “Save Draft” or “Update” button in the publish box to save your changes.
  • Publish the policy by using the “Publish” button in the top right.

Add comment form to a policy

  • Duplicate Policy Comment Form Template:
    1. Navigate from the dashboard to Collections > Forms.
    2. Hover over Policy Comment Form Template form and choose Duplicate.
  • Edit duplicated form to include the policy number in the title: Hover over the copied form and choose Settings > Form Settings > Update Form Title. Update the title with the policy number and month and click “Update Form Settings.”
  • Schedule the form to expire when the comments are due:
    1. From the Form Settings page, scroll down to Restrictions, check the Schedule Form box
    2. Enter the Schedule Form End Date/Time. No need to add a beginning date.
    3. Click “Update Form Settings.”
  • Update the Directory Columns. This controls what items display on the website.
    1. Choose the “Directory Columns” menu item from the form menu.
    2. Drag the Name and Email Fields to the Hidden Columns list. Only “Comments” and “File” should be on the Visible Columns list. Save this change.
  • Back on the Policy, update the “Policy Display Settings” box:
    1. Choose the appropriate form from the Comment Form dropdown.

Add a Policy Update to announce the policy is open for comments

  • Navigate to the news items. From the dashboard, choose Content > News Stories from the left side menu.
  • Clone a recent post about a draft policy: Hover over it in the list and choose “Clone.”
  • Edit the new clone:
    1. Update the policy referenced in the title.
    2. Update the text of update:
      1. Add a link to the existing policy.
      2. Add a link to the new draft policy.
      3. Include the date that the comments are due.
  • Confirm that the policy has the right category (Regents vs Admin Policy).
  • Save the draft post.
  • Print the preview of the post to PDF and send it to Stefan for approval.
  • After Stefan’s approval, navigate back to the post (Content > News Stories) and publish it.

Make a spreadsheet of the comments

  • Before you make the spreadsheet, submit any comments that came via email through the form on the website.
  • Export the entries:
    1. From the dashboard, navigate to Collections > Forms > Import/Export.
    2. Select the form of the policy you are interested in.
    3. Check the First Name, Last Name, Email, Comments and File checkboxes.
    4. Click the “Download Export File” button.
  • Open the file in Excel and format the file (no need to do this if you are going to be converting the comments into a Word Document as below):
    1. Stretch the Name and Email columns to fit.
    2. Stretch the comment column.
    3. Select the whole comment column, right click and choose “Format Cells.” On the Alignment tab, check the “Wrap Text” box.
    4. If it is necessary to remove extra white space, select the Comments column. In the Cells section of the Home tab, from the Format dropdown, select the “Auto Fit Row Height” option.
  • Save the file. Be sure to save the file in the Excel Workbook format.

Make a Word Document of the comments from the Spreadsheet

In the case where there are only one or two comments, it may be easier to just copy and paste them into a Word Document.

  • You need to complete the steps above (Make a spreadsheet of the comments) before beginning this process. (There is no need to format the excel workbook.)
  • Download Template.docx to your computer and open it.
  • On the "Mailings" ribbon, choose the "Start Mail Merge" button and select "Step-by-step Mail Merge Wizard."
  • In the Wizard, under "Select document type, choose "Directory," and at the bottom click "Next: Starting Document."
  • Under "Select starting document" choose "Use the current document," and then click "Next: Select recipients."
  • Under "Select recipients" choose "Use an existing list" and under "Use an existing list" choose "Browse..." and select the Excel Document you made above.
    • In the Select Table popup, choose "OK," then in the Mail Merge Recipients box, make sure all rows are checked and choose "OK." (You can uncheck rows here if data needs to be filtered.)
  • Choose "Next: Arrange your directory."
  • Choose "Next: Preview your directory."
  • Choose "Next: Complete the merge."
  • Under "Merge" select "To New Document...", select "All" in the popup box. A new document will be generated. Save this document to your computer. This is the document with the comments that can be shared.

When adding a final policy to the website

Note: The below instructions describe how to replace the existing policy with a new version of the policy. If the change is only to the text of the policy, then it may be easier to copy the text of the draft into the text of the existing policy. To do that, navigate to the existing policy and choose the "Edit Policy" button in the header. Delete any draft policies used for comment.

  • Update the text of the policy based on the signed copy of the policy. Stefan should be able to supply a Word Document copy of the final text.
  • Remove the reference to the “Track Changes” and “Summary of Changes” documents from the top of the policy.
  • Confirm that links and heading styles are still in place. See above for more details.
  • Update the “Last Revised Date” in the “Policy Identifiers” box.
  • Delete the “Track Changes” and “Summary of Changes” documents from the document collection:
    1. Navigate from the dashboard to Collections > Documents > Files.
    2. Hover over the documents associated with the policy and choose “Delete.”
  • Disable the comment form:
    1. Navigate from the dashboard to Collections > Forms.
    2. Click the green slider next to the form associated with the policy. It should be grey to signify the form is disabled.
  • Delete the version of the policy that is being replaced:
    1. Open the version of the policy that is being replaced.
    2. Print it as a PDF. Include the date in the name of the PDF and put it in the correct folder on the shared drive.
    3. Note the URL of the policy.
    4. Delete the old policy by editing it and choosing “Move to Trash.”
  • Publish the new version of the policy:
    1. Edit the new version of the policy.
    2. Update the URL of the new version to match the old URL. (Skip this step if the policy name has changed.) Choose “Edit” next to the URL under the title of the policy.
    3. In the “Page Security” meta box, choose “(inherit).”
    4. In the  “Policy Display Settings” meta box update:
      1. “Hide from the Policy List” is unchecked.
      2. “Pre Policy Title Header Text” is blank.
      3. "None” in the Comment Form Dropdown.
      4. “Notice Text” is blank.
      5. “Comment Due Date” is blank.
    5. Save the policy. It should now be visible from the main list of policies.
  • Update any children of the policy to point to the new version of the policy.

Add a Policy Update to announce a new policy is approved

  • Navigate to the news items. From the dashboard, choose Content > News Stories from the left side menu.
  • Clone a recent post about an approved policy: Hover over it in the list and choose “Clone.”
  • Edit the new clone:
    1. Update the policy referenced in the title.
    2. Update the text of update:
      1. Add a link to the new policy.
      2. Update the dates referenced in the post.
      3. If available, copy and paste the summary of changes into the post.
  • Confirm that the policy has the right category (Regents vs Admin Policy).
  • Save the draft post.
  • Print the preview of the post to PDF and send it to Stefan for approval.
  • After Stefan’s approval, navigate back to the post (Content > News Stories) and publish it.

Update old references to the policy

If the policy’s URL or name has changed, we need to review our site to update references to the policy. It usually works best to do this one week after the new policy was published to give Site Improve time to update.

  • Log into Site Improve: http://my.siteimprove.com/.
  • Choose the “University of Wisconsin System” site (in the white header) and the “Quality Assurance” service (in the dark blue header).
  • On the Left Site Menu, choose Inventory > Links.
  • Search for the old URL.
  • Hover over the “Pages” column and click on the (+) that appears.
  • These are the pages that have the old links. Edit each of these pages to update the links and the title of the policy.

Repeal/ Retire a Policy

If a policy is repealed, it needs to be hidden from the policy list, marked as repealed and added to the list of repealed policies.

  • Edit the policy and update the Policy Display Settings as below:
    The text for the Notice to copy and paste is as follows: “This policy was repealed as of [DATE], <a href=”[URL OF NEWS STORY]”>see the notice</a>."
  • Save the Policy.
  • Add the Policy to the list of Recently Retired Policies. Make sure there are no policies retired more than one year ago on this page. See below for policies retired more than one year ago.

 Retired policies should be on this page for one year. After one year:

  1. Remove the link from this page
  2. Print the retired policy as a PDF and give to Stephan for archiving.
  3. Edit the policy and choose the “Move To Trash” link (near the Update button).

Add a new policy section

  1. To add a new policy category, navigate to Content > Policies > Section Number. You can also update policy section names from this page.
  2. Type in the name. It should be of the form XXXX Series: Section Name.
  3. The slug should be of the form xxxx-section-name.
  4. Click the "Add New Category" button.

Update A Policy Contact

After a contact has been added, you can edit them (say, their phone number change or there is a new person in their position) by using the “Policy Contacts” link under Policies on the menu. This will update all instances of this contact on the policies site.

Update a policy number

  1. Edit the policy. (Log in, navigate to the policy you want to edit, choose the "Edit Policy" button in the header.)
  2. In the Policy Identifiers metabox:
    1. Update the policy number to be the new number.
    2. Update the Former Policy Number with the old number.
  3. If the section changed, select the new section number from the checkboxes. Make sure to uncheck the old number.
  4. Click the "Update" button to save the changes to the policy. The policy should now display with its new number.
  5. You should also search for references to the policy to update them. See the "Update old references to the policy" section above. Changing the number of a policy should not change it's URL.