August University Distribution and Federal Fridays

Monday, August 24, 2026

August University Policy Distribution

The August university policy distribution contains one (1) revised UW System policy, one (1) new guidance document, and two (2) UW System policies proposed for recission.

Revised Policies

New Guidance

Policies Proposed for Rescission

Click on the links above to view the drafts and ensure that your feedback is captured for review during the post-comment period. Comments can include attachments, including word documents and PDFs.

Feedback on the proposed rescissions are due at 5pm on Monday, August 24. Feedback on the SYS 1041 revisions and SYS 1000 guidance are due at 5pm on Friday, September 11.

PROPOSED RECISSIONS

SYS 148, Development and Operation of Contractual Training and Sponsored Student Programs

This recission will be effective upon the signature of the President.

Background Summary of Policy

  • UW System Administrative Policy (SYS) 148 pertains to assumed or recommended practices by a UW university in its provision of contractual training to governmental and non-governmental organizations within or outside of the U.S. SYS 148 articulates assumed roles of the sponsoring organization, the sponsored student, and the host UW university.
  • SYS 148 originated as part of the Academic Information Series (ACIS). ACIS documents blended elements of academic and student affairs policies, procedures, and practices and were converted to UW System Administrative Policies in 2016.
  • ACIS 7, Conduct of International Programs in the University of Wisconsin System, was established in 1993. It included a set of four documents: SYS 145, Development and Operation of Off-Campus International Educational Programs for University of Wisconsin System Students (ACIS 7.1); SYS 146, University of Wisconsin System Faculty and Academic Staff Abroad (7.2); SYS 147, Admission and Delivery of Services to International Students and for the Employment and Delivery of Services to International Faculty and Academic Staff (ACIS 7.3); and SYS 148, Development and Operation of Contractual Training and Sponsored Student Programs (ACIS 7.4).
  • The original scope of SYS 148 (ACIS 7.4) inferred non-credit and credit educational programs, referencing coursework offered in collaboration with UW Extension.
  • SYS 148 has not been substantively reviewed since 2008. In 2019, technical revisions were made to align references with current administrative structures and policies. Revisions included removing the reference to UW Extension, which was dissolved as an institution in 2018. Its units were incorporated into UW System Administration or UW-Madison.

Rationale for Rescission

  • Most content within SYS 148 may be considered guidance, as described in SYS 1, Development, Revision, and Approval of UW System Administrative Policies, Procedures, & Guidance. It does not contain any mandatory requirements except where requirements are found in Regent Policy Documents (RPD), or other UW System Administrative policies.
  • Relevant policies and requirements related to the approval of contractual agreements and provision of extramural agreements are found in RPD-13-1, General Contract Approval, Signature Authority, and Reporting; SYS 342, Extramural Support Administration; and SYS 344, Extramural Support for Instructional Programs. Relevant international program administration policies and requirements corresponding to the sponsor, student, and institution roles described in SYS 148 are found in SYS 145, 146, and 147. SYS 145 and 146 are scheduled for review in FY 2027. Reviewers will consider whether elements within SYS 148 should be incorporated as interpretive guidance within these or other academic and student affairs policies.

SYS 170, Lawton Undergraduate Minority Retention Grant Program

This recission will be effective upon the signature of the President. 

Background Summary of Policy

  • The intent of this policy is to provide financial assistance to statutorily designated minority undergraduate students to improve their opportunities for retention and graduation and reduce the burden of student debt.
    • The 1985-87 Biennial Budget provided $1.5 million GPR to begin in 1986-87 an undergraduate minority grant program. For promotional purposes, the program is entitled the Lawton Undergraduate Minority Retention Grant (LUMRG) Program.  The legislative intent of the Lawton Undergraduate Minority Retention Grant Program is to provide financial assistance to statutorily designated (Black, Hispanic, Native American and Southeast Asians of Vietnamese, Cambodian or Laotian descent who entered the United States after December 31, 1975) minority undergraduate students to improve their opportunities for retention and graduation and lessen the burden of student debt.
    • Subsequently, in the 2011-13 biennial budget, 2011 Wisconsin Act 32, established a block grant for the UW System. While some General Purpose Revenue (GPR) funds were maintained as separate statutory appropriations, all other GPR appropriations, including the Lawton Undergraduate Minority Retention Grant Program, were combined into a single General Program Operations (GPO) appropriation. This single GPO appropriation, Fund 111 per Wis. Stat. § 20.285(1)(a), is what is recognized by the State. The UW System chose to continue using separate funds within the Fund 111 appropriation for tracking purposes, including any funds with statutory requirements, which included Lawton.
    • UW System Administrative Policy 170, Lawton Undergraduate Minority Retention Grant Program, provides UW institutions with guidelines to administer the scholarships authorized by Wis. Stat. § 36.34.

Rationale for Rescission

  • On June 18, 2026, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin published its decision in Konkanok Rabiebna v. Higher Educational Aids Board, in which it found the Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB) Minority Undergraduate Retention Grant Program unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
  • As a result, the Universities of Wisconsin will not award new Lawton grants under the current statutory race conscious criteria, effective as of June 18, 2026. UW System Administrative Policy 170, Lawton Undergraduate Minority Retention Grant Program, related to its implementation has been discontinued effective June 18, 2026 and the policy is proposed for rescission.
  • All allocations made to individual Universities for Lawton grants, with the exception of funds for grants awarded prior to June 18, 2026, must be reallocated as determined by each University to either the Wisconsin Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG) or the General Need-Based Financial Aid grant allocations for undergraduate students. Grants for the 2026-27 academic year that were already offered prior to the June 18 ruling will be honored.
DRAFT REVISIONS

SYS 1041, Information Security: Logging and Monitoring and SYS 1041 Appendix A: Logging Elements and Events

These policy revisions will be effective upon signature by the President.  

Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions

  • This revision updates SYS 1041, Information Security: Logging and Monitoring, to improve clarity, modernize policy language, and better distinguish baseline logging requirements from additional requirements applicable to High Impact Systems. The revision preserves the policy’s existing risk-based approach while reorganizing requirements for improved readability and implementation consistency.
  • As part of this revision, a new guidance document was developed, Guidance for Identifying High Impact Systems, to promote more consistent identification of High Impact Systems across the Universities of Wisconsin. The guidance provides a flexible, risk-informed framework without prescribing a specific methodology or scoring model.
  • Key Policy Changes:
    • Clarifies and modernizes policy language and organization to improve readability, consistency, and alignment between the policy’s scope and requirements.
    • Establishes a clearer baseline for security logging by requiring UW-owned or leased IT assets capable of generating security-relevant logs to have logging enabled, while retaining enhanced requirements for High Impact Systems. This replaces the existing focus on hosts and networking equipment.
    • Strengthens and clarifies requirements for High Impact Systems, including monitoring for logging failures, centralized log management, and defined minimum logging activities.
    • Clarifies expectations for log management, protection, monitoring, access, and retention, including risk-based active monitoring, protection of log integrity, and a minimum 30-day retention requirement.
    • Reorganizes Appendix A to identify required log elements, mandatory event categories for High Impact Systems, and additional recommended events that support detection, investigation, and incident response.
    • Introduces Guidance for Identifying High Impact Systems to support more consistent, risk-informed designations while preserving university flexibility in how determinations are made.

 

DRAFT NEW GUIDANCE

SYS 1000 Guidance: Guidance for Identifying High Impact Systems

These revisions will be effective upon signature by the Associate Vice President for Information Security .

Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions

  • As part of the SYS 1041 revision, a new guidance document was developed, Guidance for Identifying High Impact Systems, to promote more consistent identification of High Impact Systems across the Universities of Wisconsin. The guidance provides a flexible, risk-informed framework without prescribing a specific methodology or scoring model.
  • The goal of the guidance is to support more consistent, risk-informed designations while preserving university flexibility in how determinations are made.

 

Federal Fridays 

The Universities of Wisconsin Federal Update Working group has a Federal Updates web page for the public to learn about the federal issues the UW is monitoring. The site provides a dashboard view of the various issues organized by topic, with a summary and links related to the topic.