ServiceNow Policy and Compliance Management for Education

Policy and compliance management for education is the work of holding student conduct, faculty governance, research integrity and accessibility policies in a form accreditors can review. It also means showing that each person bound by a policy has acknowledged it. Attestation campaigns need a named owner, a step-by-step launch, and a plan for non-attestation and exceptions.

Educational Governance and Policy Frameworks

Policy and Compliance Management in an institution has to hold student conduct, faculty governance, research integrity, accessibility and safety policies in a form accreditors can review, and show that the people bound by each policy have acknowledged it. This page takes those policy domains in turn, then turns to the mechanics of attestation: running a campaign with a named owner, launching it step by step, handling non-attestation and exceptions, and recognising when a formal campaign would do more harm than good.

Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures

Student conduct policies define prohibited behaviours (academic dishonesty, harassment, violence, substance abuse) and disciplinary procedures. Policies must ensure procedural fairness—students have right to know charges, present their side, and access appeal procedures. Policy Management documents student conduct policies and ensures students receive and acknowledge receipt of conduct expectations. When conduct violations occur, Policy Management tracks the investigation and disciplinary process, creating documentation that procedures were followed.

Student conduct violations require careful documentation. Investigation findings, evidence considered, disciplinary decision, and appeal procedures must all be documented to withstand potential legal challenges. Policy Management should track these items and create clear audit trails showing that decisions were made fairly and according to established procedures. Adjudication teams should receive training on policies to ensure consistent enforcement across similar violations.

Mandatory reporting requirements in student conduct are critical. Staff who observe certain violations (sexual assault, abuse of minors, threats of violence) are often required by law to report to authorities. Policy Management should identify mandatory reporting requirements, identify staff roles with mandatory reporting obligations, and ensure those staff understand reporting requirements. Training should cover both what must be reported and how to report correctly.

Faculty Governance and Tenure Policies

Faculty tenure policies define criteria for tenure evaluation, the tenure review process, and appeal procedures. Policies should clearly define expectations for research, teaching, and service contributions. Tenure review procedures should be clearly documented, with timelines and evaluation criteria communicated to candidates. Policy Management ensures tenure policies are transparent and consistently applied across faculty.

Academic freedom policies protect faculty right to teach, research, and speak on matters of professional concern. While academic freedom is important, it is not unlimited—institutions may establish reasonable standards for professional conduct. Policy Management should balance protection of academic freedom with institutional standards for professionalism. Faculty should understand what academic freedom protects and what professional standards apply.

Faculty governance policies define participation in institutional decision-making. Faculty senates, curriculum committees, and other governance bodies have defined authorities and procedures. Policy Management documents governance policies to ensure consistent participation and decision-making. New faculty should receive governance training so they understand their right to participate in governance decisions.

Research Integrity and Compliance Policies

Research involving human or animal subjects requires ethical approval from Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs). Policies define research ethics standards, IRB approval requirements, informed consent procedures, and data protection requirements for research. Policy Management ensures researchers understand research ethics requirements before beginning research. Training on research policies should be required before researchers can conduct human subjects research.

Research data retention and access policies define who can access research data, how long data is retained, and procedures for data destruction. Regulations vary by research funder and discipline. Policies should clearly identify regulatory requirements and procedures for compliance. Researchers should understand data retention requirements and data destruction procedures to avoid accidental data retention beyond required timeframes.

Research misconduct policies define prohibited conduct (fabrication, falsification, plagiarism) and procedures for investigating allegations. Policies should ensure fair investigation procedures that protect both researchers accused of misconduct and the integrity of investigations. Policy Management should track research misconduct investigations to create documentation of procedural compliance.

Accessibility and Diversity Policies

Institutions must provide equal access to education regardless of disability. Accessibility policies define accommodations for students with disabilities, accessible course design standards, and procedures for requesting accommodations. Policies should emphasise universal design principles that benefit all students, not just those with disabilities. Faculty should receive training on accessible teaching practices and accommodation procedures.

Non-discrimination policies establish institutional commitment to equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination based on protected characteristics. Policies should define prohibited conduct, reporting procedures, and investigation processes. Staff and faculty should receive training on non-discrimination policies to create a respectful campus environment. Policy Management should ensure all community members have received non-discrimination training.

Diversity policies articulate institutional commitment to diversity and inclusion. While diversity policies may be philosophical in nature, institutions that hire diverse faculty and admit diverse students should document their commitment and track progress toward diversity goals. Policy Management can support tracking of diversity initiatives and ensuring accountability for diversity commitments.

Implementation Checklist for Education Compliance

• Student conduct policies and disciplinary procedures distributed to all students with acknowledgment of receipt; policies include appeal procedures and mandatory reporting requirements
• Faculty tenure policies clearly define evaluation criteria and timeline; tenure candidates receive training on expectations and review process
• Academic freedom and faculty governance policies explained to faculty; faculty governance participation tracked to ensure inclusive decision-making
• Research integrity policies require IRB approval for human subjects research, IACUC approval for animal research, and training completion before research begins
• Research data retention policies document regulatory requirements; data destruction procedures automated where possible with compliance tracking
• Research misconduct investigation procedures ensure fair process and compliance documentation
• Accessibility policies define accommodation procedures and universal design standards; faculty training on accessible teaching practices
• Non-discrimination and diversity policies documented; training required for all staff and faculty

Common Education Compliance Pitfalls

Educational institutions sometimes use inconsistent disciplinary procedures across student conduct violations, creating fairness concerns. Some violations are handled with brief conversations, others with formal hearings. Policy Management and training should establish consistent procedures across similar violations. Adjudication teams need regular training to maintain consistency as personnel change.

Research policies sometimes fail to account for evolution in regulations. A policy written years ago may not reflect current federal requirements for human subjects research. Regular policy reviews (at least annually) should verify that research policies reflect current regulatory requirements. Researchers should be notified when policies change and required to complete training on updated requirements.

Mandatory reporting requirements are sometimes misunderstood or overlooked. Staff members who should be mandatory reporters may not know their obligation. Policies should clearly identify who has mandatory reporting duties, what must be reported, when and where to report, and what protection mandatory reporters have from retaliation. Training specifically on mandatory reporting is more effective than general conduct training.

Building Institutional Compliance Culture

Education compliance depends on clear policies, training that ensures understanding, and consistent application of procedures. Institutions that invest in policy clarity and training create cultures where compliance is understood and followed. Regular audits of policy compliance identify gaps. Feedback mechanisms where students and faculty can raise compliance concerns help institutions identify and remedy compliance problems before they become systemic issues.

Running policy attestation as a campaign with an owner

Writing a policy is the easy part for an education institution. Getting the right people to read it, accept it and say so on the record is the part that auditors ask about. An attestation campaign is the mechanism for that, and it works best when it is treated as a short project with a named sponsor, a defined audience and a close date. Decide the audience from the policy’s own scope rather than from the whole staff directory, because a research data policy means nothing to a person who never handles research data, and asking them to attest to it creates noise that buries the attestations that matter.

The policy and compliance management guide describes the platform for publishing policies and tracking employee acknowledgement. Deciding who must attest, and how often, is the step that comes before any campaign is designed.

Steps for launching an attestation campaign

1. Confirm the policy version to be attested, and freeze the wording before the campaign opens, so that nobody attests to a text that changes mid-cycle.
2. Build the audience from a group that the identity system maintains, and check the count against the expected headcount before any notice is sent.
3. Send the request with a short summary of what the policy changes, rather than the full document alone, because people act on summaries.
4. Set a close date, then send one reminder before it. Escalate the open items to the line manager, not to the policy owner.
5. Record each attestation against the policy version, the person and the time, and keep the record even when the person later leaves.

Handling non-attestation and exceptions

Someone will not attest, and the institution needs a route for that which is neither silent nor punitive. A common pattern is that a non-attestation is an open item with an owner, not an automatic breach. The person may have a real reason, such as an extended leave, or a role change that makes the policy irrelevant. An exception is a documented decision that the policy does not apply, or applies in a modified form, for a named person or group, with an expiry date. Exceptions without expiry dates often become permanent by accident, and auditors notice them. Keep the exception record in the same place as the attestation, so one search answers both questions.

Where attestation programs lose credibility

The campaign loses credibility when it asks for attestations that people cannot act on. A policy that requires a named control, such as encrypted removable media, is only attestable by someone who knows whether their device complies, and that is often the IT team rather than the academic. Match each attestation to a person who can actually verify the claim. The second weakness is inconsistent scope between terms. If the audience changes every year without a recorded reason, the attestation rate looks better or worse for reasons that have nothing to do with compliance.

Signals that attestation is doing its job

Track the open items by owner and by age, not only the completion rate. A campaign that reaches a high completion figure while leaving the hardest audience open is hiding its risk. Count the exceptions in force, how many have passed their expiry date, and how many policies were changed in response to questions raised during a campaign. The last measure matters most, because it shows that attestation feeds back into policy quality rather than being a tick-box exercise.

When to avoid a formal campaign

A formal attestation is not needed for guidance that is informational only, or for a notice that changes nothing a person has to do. Use the knowledge route for those, and reserve attestation for obligations that a person must accept personally. The attestation explained note describes attestation as a formal confirmation that records are accurate, built into workflows for periodic certification.

Questions governance teams raise about attestation

Can a manager attest on behalf of a team member?

No, for any policy that creates a personal obligation. A manager can confirm that the team member has completed the training or received the policy, and that confirmation can be recorded separately. The attestation itself belongs to the person, because the obligation is theirs.

What do we do when a policy changes during an open campaign?

Close the open campaign on the old version, record the attestations that were received, and open a new campaign on the new version. Attestations to the earlier version remain valid for that version, and the record should show both so the change history is visible.

How long should attestation records be kept?

For as long as the policy version is in force and for the retention period the governance office sets for policy records. Keep them with the policy, not with the campaign, so a later reviewer finds the version and its acceptances together.

Related guides: ServiceNow GRC, Policy and Audit Evidence.