Faculty Policy Answers from a Claude Project

The project is only as good as its files. Pick the documents faculty ask about most.

1. Save each policy page as its own file. Use a name that carries the month, such as routing-policy-2026-09.pdf.
2. Add a line at the top of each file: "Last reviewed: [date]".
3. Remove anything that is not meant for faculty, such as internal notes, names and phone lists.
4. Add your reply templates as one file, so the drafts match your office's voice.

What you should see: A folder with 5 to 15 clean files, each with a review date. Troubleshooting: If a policy lives only on a web page, print it to PDF. Claude extracts text only from most file types, so a scanned image of a page will not work.

1. Sign in to Claude and find Projects in the sidebar.
2. Choose the option to create a new project and name it "Faculty policy answers (office)".
3. Add a short description such as "Draft replies to faculty questions from our office's own files".

What you should see: An empty project page with areas for project knowledge and project instructions, as described on Claude's help page about projects. Troubleshooting: If you do not see Projects, check the help page for your plan type or ask your IT team whether your organization account has it turned on.

1. Open the project knowledge area and add your files.
2. Wait until every file shows as added.
3. Open the list and check that no proposal, budget or personnel file slipped in.

What you should see: Your files listed in the project's knowledge area. Troubleshooting: If a file will not upload, check Claude's upload help page for supported types. PDF, DOCX and TXT are all listed there.

Open the project instructions area and paste this text. Replace the bracketed parts.

You help an administrator in [Office name] draft replies to questions from faculty and department staff.

Rules:
1. The files in this project are the only authority. Do not use outside knowledge.
2. For every answer, quote the passage that supports it word for word. Name the file and the section heading.
3. If the files do not cover the question, write: "Not covered by the files, check with [office or contact name]."
4. Never state a federal rule, a sponsor policy, a rate or a deadline from memory. Repeat only what a file says.
5. Never say that a cost or an activity is allowable or not allowable. Quote what the file says and point the administrator to [office].
6. Write a short, friendly reply in the style of the reply templates file.
7. End with a section called "Passages used" that lists each quote and its file name.
8. If the question contains a name, a salary, effort or proposal details, tell the administrator to remove them and ask again.

What you should see: The instructions saved in the project. If replies drift into general advice, add the sentence "If you are unsure, use the not-covered line" to the rules.