A Governing Document is a Policy or Regulation approved by Senate, the Board of Governors, or both, normally on the recommendation of a standing committee. What makes a document “governing” is its approval authority, not how many people it affects. Some Governing Documents apply University-wide; others apply only to specific groups, activities or contexts.

The Secretariat maintains the official repository of Governing Documents and related Procedures, available here.

It also maintains the Guide to McGill University's Policies and Regulations, which organizes Governing Documents into nine functional categories and explains how they apply across the University.

Each Governing Document has an Executive Sponsor, normally a member of the University’s senior leadership (e.g. the President, Provost, a Vice-President, or the Secretary-General), who is responsible for developing, implementing, reviewing and recommending revisions to that document. Members of the University community who identify a need for a new or revised Governing Document should contact the Executive Sponsor responsible for that subject area. When a Sponsor agrees to proceed, they prepare a Governing Document Proposal following the Procedure for the Development and Review of Governing Document.

In exceptional cases, when a Governing Document must be established more quickly than the standard process allows, the group of Executive Sponsors may approve an interim Procedure or other Secondary Document to apply temporarily until the full Governing Document is approved by the Approving Body, or for a maximum of six months from issuance. The group of Executive Sponsors may also renew such a document, if necessary, in the best interests of the University.

All Governing Documents and Procedures must follow the standard templates set out in the Procedure. For consistency, the Secretariat provides official templates and guidance on drafting.

A Non-Substantive Revision is a change that does not alter the meaning or scope of a Governing Document. Examples include correcting typographical or grammatical errors, resolving formatting issues, or updating references to amended or repealed Governing Documents, University structures, programs, or position titles.

From time to time, a Non-Substantive Revision may also include minor language changes intended to improve clarity without altering the document’s intent. All other changes are considered substantive and must follow the full review process set out in the Procedure.

Governing Documents and Procedures may be reviewed at any time but must undergo a comprehensive substantive review at least once every 5 years. The Secretariat manages and coordinates a review cycle calendar for existing Governing Documents and prompts Executive Sponsors when a Governing Document is due for a 5-year review. A list of Governing Documents currently under review may be accessed here.

A Secondary Document—e.g., a Procedure, Directive or Guideline—is approved by an Executive Sponsor (or delegate) to support the implementation of a Governing Document.

• Procedures prescribe the processes or instructions required to implement a Governing Document. Most, but not all, Governing Documents require at least one Procedure.
• Directives are mandatory instructions to specific units or groups on how to perform an action related to a Governing Document or Procedure.
• Guidelines are advisory in nature and provide practical guidance or examples where flexibility is appropriate.

Secondary Documents must be consistent with the parent Governing Document and any applicable law or regulation.

A Unit-Level Document is a policy, procedure or guideline created and approved by a specific unit (e.g. a faculty, department or administrative office) to support its operations.

These documents are not subject to the Policy Framework but must comply with relevant legislation and all applicable Governing Documents. If a conflict arises, the Governing Document prevails.

To access Unit-Level Documents, please refer to the following websites:

• Academic Personnel Office for procedures and guidelines relating to the recruiting, appointing, employment, salary, leaves and retirement of academic staff.
• Human Resources for policies and procedures relating to staff pay, benefits, pensions and retirement, labour and employee relations.
• Financial Services for financial policies and regulations.
• Student Accounts for tuition information and policies.
• Facilities Management and Ancillary Services for building policies.
• Information Technology Services for Information Technology policies, directives and standards.