About Us

A Short History of the UNM Policy Office

In 1990, UNM's Vice President for Business and Finance recognized a need for a formal business policy manual to codify policies and procedures that had been issued over time through a series of separate memoranda. To that end, he appointed UNM employees to a two-year project to develop a manual and processes for policy approval and ongoing development. Slightly ahead of schedule, on November 1, 1991, they issued the first edition of the University Business Policies and Procedures Manual with approximately 50 policies. Copies of the manual were distributed to all UNM departments. The UNM Business Policies Office then became a permanent office.

With the assistance of the Office of University Counsel, the President’s Office, and others, on September 12, 1996, a comprehensive revision of the Regents’ Policy Manual was completed, which standardized the policies' format and eliminated the need for a lengthy set of appendices. Copies of the revised manual were issued to members of the Board of Regents and to key UNM administrators.

In 1997, online versions of both the University Business Policies and Procedures Manual and the Regents’ Policy Manual were developed, featuring dynamic links and search functions. As of January 29, 1999, the official version of the University Business Policies and Procedures Manual has been available in only an online format. The manual’s scope eventually expanded to include administrative policies, and the department was renamed the UNM Policy Office.

Since their inception, the University Business Policies and Procedures Manual and the Regents’ Policy Manual have grown collectively to contain over 250 policies.

In conjunction with launching the new Policy Office website, the University Business Policies and Procedures Manual was renamed and is now known as the University Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual, to more accurately reflect its contents.