How a Numbering Scheme Works Behind the Scenes

The views expressed in this post are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of ACUPA or Purdue University.

Does your institution number its policies? Do you sometimes wonder why? I had the opportunity early on in my policy administrator role to get rid of our policy numbers. Upon further examination, I chose not to. Here’s why.

Purdue University’s catalog contains approximately 120 policies and standards. This number may seem big or small, depending on your perspective. Either way, the number is large enough to me to warrant an effective numbering scheme.

Our policy numbers have three components: volume (Roman numeral), chapter (letter), and number. For example, our policy on policies is number V.C.1. Volume five, chapter C in that volume, and the first policy in that chapter. If you’re curious to know more, visit our policy website for a full description of the numbering scheme. I have heard the criticism that nobody should be expected to remember a policy’s number, and, indeed, I definitely do not know the numbers of individual policies. However, I do use the numbers in two very important ways.

First, I use the number in the name of the page that the policy is posted to on our website. So, the URL for our policy on policies ends with vc1. The URL becomes a static address that can be updated with new versions of the policy whenever it needs to be changed. This means that any other page or website that is linking to that policy will always have a functioning link. If the policy is withdrawn or superseded, we remove the text of the policy and put a note referring visitors to the policy archive and/or to the new policy, so the link is still useful—no 404 error codes.

The second way that I use policy numbers is tracking. On occasion, policy titles change. We add a word, take a word away, or completely rename it for one reason or another. The number of the policy does not change, so I can still find it on my master policy list in the same place, and I can note the previous title for reference. My master policy list tracks the dates of every version of a policy and whether that policy superseded or was superseded by another policy. For this purpose, it is much simpler to refer to policies by their numbers, rather than titles. The second part of policy tracking is finding prior versions of a policy in our archives. I just search by the policy number, and all the incarnations of that policy come back in the search results.

If you are on the fence about numbering your policies, I strongly encourage you to do so. It has made several aspects of my job easier over the years.