The University of Colorado’s Office of Policy and Efficiency (OPE) has implemented updates to several administrative policy statements (APSs) in the Academic Affairs and Employee Services areas, effective January 1, 2026.
The revised policies aim to align with recent changes in Regent Policy 4.B: Academic Planning and Accountability. In Academic Affairs, APS 1019-Degree Program Review now includes periodic independent audits of campus degree review processes. The updated policy also clarifies that goals and plans for degree programs must receive approval from the dean, provost, and chancellor. Similarly, APS 1038-New Degree Program Approval incorporates independent audits and modifies the structure of the annual new degree report.
APS 1043 has been renamed to “Independent Teaching, Independent Scholarly/Creative Work, and Academic Freedom,” with minor edits to clarify its focus on academic freedom and independent scholarly work.
In Employee Services, APS 5001-Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action was amended to ensure compliance with federal law. The policy on performance evaluations for university staff (formerly APS 5009) now allows campus HR offices to maintain their own policies by removing required rating scales and definitions.
Other changes include extending temporary appointment periods from six months to nine months in response to the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (affecting APS 5013-Acting and Interim Appointments for University Staff Positions), as well as updating employment posting policies (APS 5056) to reflect compensation range requirements and a revised nondiscrimination statement consistent with regent laws.
Minor modifications were made across other employee-related policies. For example, definitions were added for hybrid and remote work arrangements in APS 5026-Alternate Work Arrangements; two additional types of background checks were defined in APS 5050; language around hiring retirees was clarified in APS 5054; leave policies underwent a full review across multiple sections including vacation, sick leave, bereavement leave, court/jury duty leave, furloughs, leave sharing, military leave, parental leave (APS 5062); and a new policy (APS 5066) outlines employment versus non-employment roles at the university.
Further details about these changes are available on the OPE website at https://www.cu.edu/ope/aps/latest-changes. General information about systemwide administrative policy statements can be found at http://www.cu.edu/ope.
