Resources

If a document needs legal review, you need legal advice, or you wish to discuss something, you can complete the Legal Review Form below and send it via email to legalreview@fgcu.edu and we will assign the matter to an available attorney.

Legal Review Form

If you believe you are in need of a form or waiver, please contact our office so we may provide assistance in determining which form/waiver suits your situation best and to ensure you have the most updated form/waiver. 

The Office of the General Counsel holds trainings throughout the year for faculty/staff regarding a variety of topics from Operating in the Sunshine to Understanding FERPA. We also organize smaller trainings, identified as "Coffee with the Counsels," on additional topics that come up through the year. Look for emails announcing upcoming trainings or review our Calendar of Events in our home page.

If you have a training topic idea to share, or want to know what trainings we have currently scheduled, feel free to contact us at gco@fgcu.edu or call (239) 590-1101.

Pre-recorded Trainings:

Operating in the Sunshine

Public Records / FERPA Training

Sovereign Immunity

Trademarks and Logos

The First Amendment and Speech on Campus

The Fair Labor Standards Act: There's no such thing as free work!

If your office or department needs to revise a regulation, the following process must be followed:

• The responsible office/department reaches out to the Office of the General Counsel (GCO) and requests for a draft of the regulation to be set up for revision.
• GCO prepares the draft regulation and assigns an attorney to work with the responsible office/department.
• The draft regulation is sent to the responsible office/department to make the necessary revisions. All changes to the document must be tracked using "Track Changes" in Microsoft Word.
• The responsible office/department works directly with the assigned GCO attorney
• Once the responsible office/department has finalized revisions, the assigned attorney completes a final review and makes any necessary edits.
• A PDF of the final draft regulation is sent to the responsible Vice President (or President, as appropriate).
• VP/President reviews.
• If substantive changes are needed, the responsible office/department should contact the assigned attorney for that regulation to discuss potential changes and next steps.
• If the VP/President approves, he/she takes it to Cabinet.
• Cabinet reviews.
• If substantive changes are needed, the responsible office/department should contact the assigned attorney for that regulation to discuss potential changes and next steps.
• If Cabinet approves, the VP and General Counsel will notify the GCO staff to move the policy forward for approval.
• As time permits, Faculty Senate (FS) and Staff Advisory Council (SAC) are notified of the proposed draft/revised regulation and provided up to 14 days for review and comment.
• Following FS and SACs review, the draft regulation is posted to the Regulations webpage and notice sent to those registered to receive regulations updates. The regulation draft must be posted at least thirty (30) days prior to the upcoming BOT Meeting for review and comment.
• If no substantive changes are proposed during this timeline, the regulation is prepared for BOT’s approval during the next BOT meeting.
• Once approved, the approved regulation is posted to our webpage and notice is sent to those registered to receive regulations updates.

* Special Regulations, which need to be approved by the Board of Governors (BOG), will be forwarded to the BOG for review and approval. Those regulations will be posted on the Regulations webpage after BOG approval.

If your office or department needs to revise a policy, the following process must be followed:

• The responsible office/department reaches out to the Office of the General Counsel (GCO) and requests for a draft of the policy to be set up for revision.
• GCO prepares the draft policy and assigns an attorney to work with the responsible office/department.
• The draft policy is sent to the responsible office/department to make the necessary revisions. All changes to the document must be tracked using "Track Changes" in Microsoft Word.
• The responsible office/department works directly with the assigned GCO attorney.
• Once the responsible office/department has finalized revisions, the assigned attorney completes a final review and makes any necessary edits.
• A PDF of the final draft policy is sent to the responsible Vice President (or President, as appropriate).
• VP/President reviews.
• If substantive changes are needed, the responsible office/department should contact the assigned attorney for that policy to discuss potential changes and next steps.
• If the VP/President approves, he/she takes it to Cabinet.
• Cabinet reviews.
• If substantive changes are needed, the responsible office/department should contact the assigned attorney for that policy to discuss potential changes and next steps.
• If Cabinet approves, the VP and General Counsel will notify the GCO staff to move the policy forward for approval.
• Faculty Senate (FS) and Staff Advisory Council (SAC) are notified of the proposed draft/revised policy. FS/SAC have fourteen (14) days for review and comment.
• After those fourteen (14) days, the draft policy is posted to the Policies webpage and notice sent to faculty/staff (and students, as appropriate). The University community has ten (10) days for review and comment.
• If no substantive changes are proposed during this timeline, the policy is prepared for the President’s approval and signature.
• Once approved, the approved policy is posted to the Policies webpage and notice is sent to faculty/staff (and students, as appropriate).

See Florida's Office of the Attorney General's Government in the Sunshine Website

Open Government Bill of Rights

FGCU is committed to delivering website content that is accessible and easy to navigate for all users. UserWay is a seamless interface that works on FGCU.edu to improve your browsing experience so it is completely customizable and adaptive, while preserving the content of the website.

How to get started

To activate the UserWay service, locate and click the UserWay icon in the bottom left corner of any FGCU webpage.

The UserWay menu will appear. Adjust any setting by clicking the corresponding assistive tool needed.
UserWay will remember your preferences as you navigate the site.

• Some assistive tools can be clicked multiple times to adjust the intensity.
• Clicking 'Reset All' will reset UserWay completely.
• To hide or show UserWay, the 'X' can be clicked, or 'ctrl + U' will toggle the menu.

FERPA and Recording in a Classroom Setting

Higher Education Legislative Update 2024

Higher Education Legislative Update 2023