The University of Colorado’s Office of Policy and Efficiency (OPE) has implemented updates to several administrative policy statements (APS), effective January 1, 2026. The changes affect both Academic Affairs and Employee Services policies across the university system.
In Academic Affairs, APS 1019-Degree Program Review was revised to align with recent updates in Regent Policy 4.B: Academic Planning and Accountability. The changes include the addition of periodic independent audits of campus degree review processes and clarification that goals and plans for degree programs must be approved by the dean, provost, and chancellor. APS 1038-New Degree Program Approval also received edits to match the updated regent policy, introducing periodic independent audits and restructuring the annual new degree report.
APS 1043, now titled “Independent Teaching, Independent Scholarly/Creative Work, and Academic Freedom,” underwent minor updates to its title and content to better connect it with academic freedom. The term “independent” was added to clarify references to scholarly or creative work.
Within Employee Services, APS 5001-Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action was updated for compliance with federal law. APS 5009-Performance Evaluations for University Staff removed required rating scales and definitions; instead, campus HR offices are now responsible for maintaining their own evaluation policies.
APS 5013-Acting and Interim Appointments for University Staff Positions extended the temporary period from six months to nine months in accordance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act. Similarly, APS 5056-University Employment Postings was updated based on this act by changing interim periods from six months to nine months and adding language about compensation ranges in postings. The nondiscrimination statement was also revised to align with Article 9: Nondiscrimination of the laws of the regents.
Other notable changes include modifications in APS 5026-Alternate Work Arrangements for Classified Staff and University Staff, which now defines hybrid and remote work arrangements as alternate modalities. APS 5050-Background Checks added definitions for misconduct checks and fingerprint checks.
APS 5054-Hiring Retirees saw terminology updates from “ORP” to “401(a)” as well as expanded requirements regarding PERA retirees acting as independent contractors. Specific process language concerning PERA’s rules was removed due to their periodic changes.
APS 5062-Leave underwent a comprehensive review covering sections such as vacation leave, sick leave, administrative leave, bereavement leave, court and jury leave, furloughs, leave sharing, military leave, and parental leave.
Finally, a new policy—APS 5066-Employment and Non-Employment at the University—was introduced. This statement outlines various employment roles versus nonemployment roles within the university system to help clarify distinctions between them.
More information about these policy changes can be found at https://www.cu.edu/ope/aps/latest-changes. Additional details on systemwide administrative policy statements are available at http://www.cu.edu/ope.
