University Primer on Rules Filing Format

Before changes to the University Rules become applicable to the campus, they must be approved by the University's Board of Trustees and filed electronically with the Ohio Legislative Service Commission (LSC). To facilitate the LSC's review of rule changes and to assist the University community in identifying changes to the University Rules, the University requires that all changes be formatted according to the LSC's guidelines prior to submission to the Board of Trustees.

A full copy of the Legislative Service Commission Rule Drafting Manual, Fourth Edition is available in PDF format at http://www.lsc.state.oh.us/rules/rdm06_06.pdf. Individuals who have difficulty accessing the manual from the previous link will find it on the Register of Ohio page, located at http://www.registerofohio.state.oh.us/. However, for the convenience of the campus community, a brief summary of the most commonly used formatting requirements follows.

Page Formatting for Rules

All rules should be typed in Word, using 12 point Times New Roman font. Margins should be set at 1.5 inches for the top and bottom, as well as the left and right sides, of each page. No text should appear in bold face type. The only exceptions to this are the rule number and tagline on the first page, and the rule number, which should be repeated in the top left margin of all subsequent pages. Only new text may be underlined, and no text should appear in italics. No page number should appear on the first page of the rule, however, all subsequent pages should include the page number in the top right margin, on the same line as the rule number.

The Rule Numbering System

All University of Akron Rules are numbered and begin with 3359. This number is the University's "agency number" and references the fact that the University was created by the Ohio Legislature in R.C. Chapter 3359. At least two numbers, and sometimes three, follow the "agency number." These indicate the "chapter" and the "rule" number. For new rules that do not yet have a chapter and rule number, the Office of General Counsel will assign these numbers as appropriate.

Tag Line

The tag line consists of the agency, chapter, and rule number, along with the rule title, and appears only on the first page. The title should be a word or phrase that clearly and concisely describes the rule's topic, and its capitalization should follow the rule filing capitalization standard (see below). The tagline always appears in boldface Times New Roman type, begins with a capital letter, and concludes with a period. For new rules or new portions of a tagline, the new text should be underlined. Portions of a tagline that are being deleted should be so indicated by the use of a strike through. An example is included below.            

Outline Format for Rules

All rules should be placed in outline format. Outline letters and numbers (also referred to here as paragraph labels) should always appear within parenthesis. The first paragraph to be lettered should always begin with (A), however, no paragraph should be labeled as (A) if it is not followed by a paragraph labeled as (B). Similarly, no paragraph should be labeled as (i) unless it is followed by a paragraph labeled as (ii). If a rule has an unlabeled introductory paragraph followed by two labeled paragraphs, the labeled paragraphs would be (A) and (B). If a rule has more than 26 paragraphs in the first, third, fifth, and seventh ranks should be labeled as (AA), (aa), (aa), and (AA). For an explanation of the rankings, see the illustration below. 

Formatting Rule Changes

If the rule being proposed for approval by the Board of Trustees and, later, filing with the LSC is an entirely new rule, all the text should be underlined.

However, if making changes to an existing rule, the changes should be identified as follows:

All text being removed from the rule entirely or being removed from that section of the rule should be indicated by use of a strike through.

All text added to the rule or moved to a new location in the rule should be underlined. All new text that is replacing pre-existing text should follow the text marked as deleted.  An illustration appears below.

(E)  It shall be unlawful for any person to buy or sell bullfrogs or greenfrogs taken from Ohio.  However, bullfrogs or greenfrogs that have been shipped from outside Ohio that are accompanied by a bill of lading may be bought and sold, persons possessing a permit issued under authority of section 1533.391533.71 of the Revised Code may sell native frogsbullfrogs or greenfrogs taken from ponds ofor lakes they own or lease as a wholly enclosed preserve.

Notes of explanation:      Text is stricken in order to delete it.  Text is inserted as it is to appear in the published Administrative Code and is underlined to show that it is new text being inserted. 

Amending a Word in a Rule

Always treat words in a rule as whole units. Do not edit one or two letters in a word. Instead, edit the entire word. For example, if changing the capitalization, spelling, or plural of a word, strike through the entire word and insert the new word. An illustration appears below.

in the State state of Ohio

right:          paragraph paragraphs

wrong:        paragraphs

Amending the Rule Outline

As with edits to the text of a rule, changes in the rule outline are noted through the use of a strike-through for deleted paragraph labels and underlining for new paragraph labels. Existing paragraph labels are edited so the deleted label appears first and the new label follows. See above illustration related to adding, deleting and replacing text for examples.

Amending A Rule Number

If the number of an existing rule needs to change because the rule is being relocated, the existing rule must be rescinded and the rule must be refiled as a new rule using the new rule number. See information below for more information about rescinding a rule.

Rescinding a Rule

If a rule is being eliminated entirely, if it is being renumbered, or if more than fifty percent of the rule is being changed, the existing rule must be rescinded. To indicate that a rule is being rescinded, print the words "TO BE RESCINDED" in bold and all capital letters in the header at the top of the page. 

The Fifty Percent Guideline or When to Rescind a Rule and File as New

If more than fifty percent of a rule is being amended or changed, the existing rule should be rescinded and the rule should be refiled, using the same number, as a new rule with the textual revisions. This guideline is intended to make rule changes easier to read.

Form and Style for Rule Drafting

Rules should be drafted as gender neutral, thus avoiding the use of personal pronouns. For the sake of clarity, all rules should be written in the present tense and active voice so that the person or group responsible for any particular action is identified. The word "shall" indicates that a person or group must do something and should be used in place of the word "will." Because the word "may" is permissive, it should only be used to indicate that a person or group is authorized to do something, but is not required to do so.

Capitalization Within Rules

All University rules are written in lower case. Capitalization is the exception, rather than the rule, and is allowed only in the following circumstances:

• Proper names of people

• Names of primary sources of law and popular names of federal enactments

e.g. Revised Code, United States Code, Code of Federal Regulations, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

• Certain Code Terms

e.g. Chapter and Title when followed by a number: Chapter 2743 of the Revised Code

• References to court rules and rules of parliamentary procedure

e.g. Ohio Rules of Evidence, Roberts Rules of Order

• References to specific General Assemblies

e.g. the 117th General Assembly

• References to geographic and geopolitical entities

e.g. Ohio, the city of Akron, the United States

• National and racial appellations

e.g. Caucasian, African-American, Indian, American

• References to the deity

• Days of the week and months of the year

• Temperature terms

e.g. Fahrenheit, Celsius

• References to wars

NOTE: References to World War I and World War II are always capitalized. However, only proper nouns are capitalized in references to all other wars: e.g. Korean conflict, Spanish American war, Vietnam war.

• Holidays

NOTE: The given name of the holiday is capitalized, but the word "day" is not.

• State institutions of higher education

NOTE: Only words that are proper nouns are capitalized. Thus "The University of Akron" becomes "the university of Akron."

• State enactments

NOTE: Only those words that are proper nouns are capitalized: e.g. Ohio anatomical gift act.

Please note that the titles of government officers and agencies, such as the governor and president of the United States, are not capitalized, nor are technological terms such as internet, world wide web, and website.

The only exception to these capitalization rules is if the capitalized word or phrase appears in quotation marks. Examples of where this would be appropriate include titles of publications, names of organizations, wording on signs, and mailing addresses.

Cross References Within Rules

Sometimes rules references other paragraphs within the same rule or other University rules. From time to time a rule may reference another law or section of the Ohio Administrative Code. The most commonly used cross references are listed in the left side of the table below and the proper way of making the reference is listed in the right side of the table below.

Supplemental Information At End of Rule

At the end of each rule, there appears supplemental information. This includes information about the history of the rule, an effective date, certification and date lines, and the statutory authority for the rule. If a rule has been rescinded and refiled as a new rule or if the text is relocated to another rule, the supplemental information will also include a replacement line.

For those rules that are being amended, the existing supplemental information should be left in place, however, the previous effective date should be moved so it appears as the last in the list of prior effective dates. If the rule is being rescinded and refiled as a new rule or relocated, this information should be noted and the Office of General Counsel will supply the appropriate supplemental information.

Additional Information

Additional Information about the Rules Filing Format for University Rules is available online at http://www.lsc.state.oh.us/rules/rdm06_06.pdf or from the University's Office of General Counsel.