Overview
The mission of the Office of Academic and Student Affairs (OASA) is to fulfill the University of Wisconsin System’s commitment to academic excellence, faculty and student success, shared governance, and community engagement. Inherent in this broad mission are methods of instruction, research, extended training and public service designed to educate people and improve the human condition. Basic to every purpose is the search for truth.
In collaboration with the leaders, faculty, staff, and students of the 13 universities and 26 campuses, which comprise the University of Wisconsin System, OASA advises and provides vision, leadership, and service to the Board of Regents and President to ensure:
- All Wisconsin residents have access to high quality educational experiences, and their success is central to everything we do.
- All universities model equitable policies and practices, so every student is prepared for the challenges and opportunities of life and work in an increasingly diverse state, nation, and world.
- All universities support opportunities for faculty, students, and staff to discover and share knowledge through research, scholarship, teaching, and service, which advances the Wisconsin Idea by meeting the educational, economic, and cultural needs of Wisconsin, the nation, and the world.
- The University of Wisconsin System remains a national leader in public higher education.
Leadership

Anny Morrobel-Sosa
Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs
Contact
1730 Van Hise Hall
1220 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706
amorrobel@uwsa.edu
Initiatives
Current 2020FWD Initiatives
University of Wisconsin System initiatives that support UW institutions in their work to deepen the learning and success of undergraduate students include the following 2020FWD Initiatives under the direction of the Office of Academic and Student Affairs.
- High Impact Practices: Employers seek candidates who have broad-based and integrated knowledge across disciplines; who are proficient in written and oral communication, teamwork, ethical decision making, and critical thinking; and who can apply their knowledge in the workplace. High Impact Practices (HIPs) such as undergraduate research, internships, service learning, capstone projects, and collaborative learning can promote development of the desired knowledge, skills, and abilities. Students who participate in HIPs also may be more likely to experience academic success and complete their college studies. For these reasons, UW System will provide support and resources, including through the National Association of System Heads Grant, to build institutional capacity so that every undergraduate student, prior to graduation, will participate in at least two HIPs.
- Seamless Transfer: The transfer process must be seamless, smooth, and easily navigable for all students at any step of their educational journey. UW System continuously improves transfer tools and processes to help students who move from one institution to another, from within or outside the System. Easing the transition between UW System institutions so the transfer process is more efficient and seamless is critical to transfer student success. To enhance uniformity and consistency in transfer, the UW System will work to improve how lower division general education courses apply for students transferring within the System.
- 360 Advising: Advisors play a critical role in assisting all students in UW System schools to navigate their educational experiences and engage in career planning. Without effective, accessible advising, students may take longer to graduate, not graduate, or choose career paths that do not offer opportunities or fill needs in the current job market.
- Math Initiative: Mathematics must serve as a stepping stone instead of a stumbling block for students. To remove barriers and increase student success, UW System has engaged faculty and staff representing all degree-granting institutions in an initiative to reduce the number of students placed into remedial math, improve success of students in remedial and gateway math courses, and help ensure that math courses transfer and apply for the gateway math requirement aligned with a student’s broad field of study.
Academic & Student Affairs and Restructuring
Approved by the UW System Board of Regents in November 2017, the restructuring initiative aims to expand access to higher education, maintain affordability, and create more opportunities for Wisconsin students and communities. The Office of Academic and Student Affairs is leading the advocacy for and development of academic policies related to ensuring the access and affordability mission of UW Colleges is successfully integrated, maintained, and advanced throughout UW System institutions. Additionally, through the restructuring integration of UW-Extension’s division of Continuing Education, Online and E-Learning into the OASA, UW System is deepening and expanding its commitment to post-secondary access to NEW Traditional students.
Ongoing and Past Initiatives
- Competency-based Education and Assessment: UW System remains an innovator of competency-based education and direct assessment through the UW Flexible Option and Prior Learning Assessment opportunities for returning adult students at institutions system-wide. Through a Lumina Foundation grant, UW System chronicled the development of the UW Flexible Option via a case study website and identified alternative student success metrics appropriate for returning adult students and competency-based education.
- Credit Transfer: UW System recognizes the importance of serving transfer students. It continues its commitment to improve transfer policy and process and positively impact transfer student success. UW System and the Wisconsin Technical College System established a transfer tool, the Universal Credit Transfer Agreement, and identified a minimum of 30 credits that are universally transferable between and across the two Systems. This work was foundational for the current Seamless Transfer Initiative.
- Development/Remedial Education: Multiple works groups built a body of knowledge to inform a common cut score for math placement, reduce placement into developmental math, and shorten developmental math sequences. This work was foundational for the current Math Initiative.
- UW System developed tools including Guiding Principles of Inclusive Excellence and identified programs and strategies to close equity gaps, as included in this 2013 Board of Regents report. The joint pursuit of equity and excellence remains core to UW System’s mission and a shared responsibility for UW institutions and System, evidenced through development of the Office of Student Success to support, retain, and graduate students.
- Liberal Education: Through the LEAP Wisconsin initiative, the UW System focused on helping students acquire the essential learning and preparation they need to take their places in the 21st-century knowledge-based, global society. This work was foundational for the current High Impact Practices Initiative. In addition, the AAC&U LEAP/Faculty Collaboratives project led to development of an Innovation Hub, a faculty collaborative website now under revision.
- PK-20: The UW System PK-20 Initiative works with internal and external partners to advance state and national PK-20 efforts, including:
- The UW System Education Deans and Directors;
- The UW System Institute for Urban Education;
- The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI)
- The Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences – High School to College Mathematics Pathways: Preparing Students for the Future
- The UW System Math Initiative
- College Readiness
- The UW System Board of Regents Task Force for Advancing Teachers and School Leaders in Wisconsin
- Lumina’s Wisconsin 60 Forward with the Wisconsin Technical College System and DPI
- Veterans: UW System continues to offer the Wisconsin GI Bill, one of the nation’s most comprehensive state education benefits for veterans and the children and spouses of disabled veterans. In addition to the Wisconsin GI Bill, which eliminates 100% of tuition and fees, UW System created the Veterans Education & Transition to Success (VETS) certification program in 2015 to ensure that programs and services targeted to student veterans and their families meet a uniform standard of excellence across the system. By November of 2017 every UW System four-year campus had achieved VETS Certification.
Academic Policies
The Office of Academic and Student Affairs maintains the 100 Series: Academic & Student Affairs of the UW System Administrative Policies & Procedures. These policies cover areas including academic program planning and review, program audits, inter-institutional articulation, international education, and distance education.
Staff

Laura Dunek
Special Assistant for Governance & Strategic Initiatives
1730 Van Hise Hall
1220 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Telephone: (608) 262-6831
ldunek@uwsa.edu

Carol Edquist
Budget Director
1633 Van Hise Hall
1220 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Telephone: (608) 262-4830
cedquist@uwsa.edu

Sandy Kallio
Senior Writer
1670 Van Hise Hall
1220 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Telephone: (608) 890-4369
sskallio@uwsa.edu

Lisa McQueen
Executive Staff Assistant
1702 Van Hise Hall
1220 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Telephone: (608) 262-8839
lmcqueen@uwsa.edu

Vanessa Moran
Director for Office of Educational Opportunity
1620 Van Hise Hall
1220 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706
vmoran@uwsa.edu

Alice Pulvermacher
Research Project Director
1668 Van Hise Hall
1220 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Telephone: (608) 262-5499
apulvermacher@uwsa.edu

Aaron Seligman
Special Assistant
1548 Van Hise Hall
1220 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706
Telephone: (608) 263-7481
aseligman@uwsa.edu
Departments
Office of Academic Programs & Faculty Advancement (APFA)
Assists the Board of Regents, the UW System President, and the UW universities to sustain sufficient access for students to majors and careers, identify gaps in systemwide program array, and analyze the workforce development needs of the state—all in the context of efficient management of systemwide resources. APFA engages faculty in communities of practice informed by scholarship and critical reflection that results in meaningful learning for all students in the UW System.
Office of Educational Opportunity
Connects students, families, professional educators, and community leaders with opportunities to create, operate, and be a part of public schools that meet local needs, interests, and demands.
Office of Policy Analysis & Research (OPAR)
Informs University of Wisconsin System planning, policy development, evaluation, and decision-making processes, and helps guide UW System’s strategic direction to realize the Wisconsin Idea in higher education through data and evidence-based analysis.
Office of Student Success
Provides guidance to UW System leadership, the Board of Regents, and UW System universities in the development of policies and practices that maximize the educational benefits of diversity, maintain inclusive, equitable, and safe institutional environments, and engage Student Affairs units as vital resources in fostering student success.
UW Extended Campus
Works in partnership with all UW System campuses to develop and deliver online degree programs, competency-based degree and certificate programs, a broad array of credit and non-credit certificates and other credentials to help adult and professional learners achieve their academic and professional development goals.