Policies are high-level statements that are communicated to people inside, and in some cases outside, the CCC system. Policies are mandatory and can be thought of as CCC specific law. Every CCC staff, faculty, student, needs to understand and follow the CCC policies. Failure to follow a policy can result in disciplinary action up and including termination. Special approval is required from the CCC cognizant authority when a CCC person or unit wishes not to follow a CCC policy.

Policies are higher-level requirement statements and are not designed to provide specifics on how the CCC system is complying with the policies. Specifics on how policies are required to be implemented within the CCC system can be found in the Standards and Procedures.

A typical policy document includes a statement of purpose, description of the people affected, history of revisions, a few definitions of special terms, and specific policy instructions from management.