December University Policy Distribution, SYS Policy Approvals, & Federal Fridays

Monday, December 22, 2025

December University Policy Distribution 

The December university policy distribution contains four (4) revised policies, one (1) new procedure, one (1) new guidance document, and three (3) policies proposed for rescission.

Revised UW System Administrative Policies

New UW System Administrative Procedure

New UW System Administrative Guidance

UW System Administrative Policies Proposed for Recission

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.

Comments on the proposed policy revisions and recissions of SYS 2 and SYS 3 above are due at 5:00 pm on Friday, January 16. Comments on the rescission of SYS 115 are due at 5:00pm on Tuesday, January 20.

 

DRAFT REVISED POLICIES

SYS 1, Development, Revision, and Approval of UW System Administrative Policies, Procedures, and Guidance

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

Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions

  • Policy SYS 1: Administrative policies, procedures, and guidance must be up-to-date, consistent in format and how they are approved, and easily accessible and understandable to stakeholders. This policy on the development and approval of administrative policies and procedures is issued to promote these objectives.
  • Proposed revisions include to policy SYS 1 include:
    • Throughout the document, changing references to “guidelines” to “guidance” to standardize language.
    • Throughout the document, changing references to SYS 1.A, SYS 1.B, SYS 1.C, and SYS 1.D to “Attachment 1”, “Attachment 2”, “Attachment 3”, and “Attachment 4” to clarify the documents are templates as they do not fall under the definition of procedures.
    • In Section 5: Updating the definition of guidance to clarify such documents do not contain mandatory requirements expect where requirements found in statute, administrative rule, Regent Policy Document, or UW System Administrative policy are referenced.
    • In Section 5 and throughout the document: Updating the definition of Interim Policy/Procedure Action to include the need to address “urgent external situations” in addition to emergencies and updating references to the term throughout the policy.
    • In Section 5: Adding the definition of institution to clarify which entities fall under the term.
    • In Section 6.B: Removing the references to SYS 2 and SYS 3 and adding a reference to the proposed SYS 1.A procedure which contains updated language to clarify the development and review process for all SYS policies.
    • In Section 7: Updating the list of related documents to ensure titles of attachments are correct, and policies proposed for recission are removed.

 

SYS 625, Youth Protection and Compliance

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

Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions 

Background of Policy:

As background, universities have been serving youth for many years through a variety of activities, including but not limited to educational, athletic, social and recreational experiences.  These activities promote individual growth and learning, through the development of skills, talents and social interactions while also exposing youth, parents, and guardians to the university’s facilities and campus life.

SYS 625 establishes minimum standards to protect minors engaged in covered activities and third-party youth activities throughout the Universities of Wisconsin. This policy does not supersede any stricter standards set by the university or state and federal law.

Recommended Revisions:

The recommended revisions to SYS 625 are in response to internal audit findings and observations involving specific language and provisions in the original version, as well as identified areas of improvement from a practitioner’s perspective that will benefit those responsible for complying with the policy.

The revisions and edits to this policy do not minimize or change the following key components of providing a safe and secure environment for covered youth activities:

  • All covered youth activities must be documented, tracked and records maintained.
  • All adults serving in a covered activity and all youth participants must be documented and records retained per state records retention laws.
  • All adults serving in a covered activity must be trained and screened according to the level of access they have with youth during the activity.
  • All activities must have clear emergency plans and procedures including plans that are relevant to the particular activity or event.
  • All third parties conducting youth activities on university property must execute an agreement setting forth specific terms and conditions under which they will conduct the youth activity.
  • All covered youth activities must be properly insured per type, level and nature of the activity in accordance as set with the university’s requirements.
  • All campuses may adopt a youth protection policy that is consistent with SYS 625.

Proposed changes include:

  • Section 3: This section has been revised to clarify the scope of the policy and what types of activities fall outside the scope.
  • Section 5: Definitions. To align with identified areas of improvement, current terms have been revised or removed, and new terms have been added including: Primary Contact, Public Event, Significant Access, University, and Volunteer.
  • Section 6: In this section, subsections 6.B and 6.I were removed and all following subsections were retitled.
  • Section 6.C (formerly 6.D): Screening. This subsection has been revised to clarify that adults with significant access must be screened in accordance with RPD 20-19.  The primary contact is responsible for ensuring that screening is completed prior to the adult participating in the activity.
  • Section 6.D (formerly 6.E): Training.  This subsection has been revised to clarify which adults are required to complete specific trainings. The primary contact is responsible for ensuring that screening is completed prior to the adult participating in the activity.
  • Section 6.E (formerly 6.F): Prohibited Behaviors.  This subsection was revised to require at least two adults to accompany youth participants on all field trips offered by the covered activity.
  • Section 6.E.II (formerly 6.G.II): One-on-One Interactions.  This subsection was revised to clarify the type of interactions that would be considered allowable and under what restrictions.
  • Section 6.I (formerly 6.K): Insurance Coverage. This section was revised to clarify that insurance requirements are set by the university’s risk management.
  • Section 6.L (formerly 6.P): Third Parties. This bulk of this section was removed from the policy and added to an appendix (Appendix A). New language was added to clarify universities must execute a written contract for third-party youth activities with the provisions outlined in Appendix A.
  • Section 7: Related Documents. This section was updated to include additional resources such as state statute, administrative code, and Appendix A.
  • Appendix A: This appendix was created by adding by moving all third-party activities, requirements and contractual obligations to one main appendix for clarity.
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). The FAQ tab was removed to eliminate confusion and streamline the policy, as the FAQ was only general best practice guidance, rather than policy procedure.

SYS 1211, Personal Holiday & Legal Holiday Administration

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

Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions

  • The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for the administration of personal and legal holidays for University of Wisconsin (UW) System employees. The policy covers eligibility, accrual, use, carryover, and treatment upon movement or termination of employment.
  • Proposed revisions include updated language in Sections 6.B.III.4 and 6.B.VI to align the policy with the capabilities of Workday. Workday only allows an employee to use a maximum of 16 hours of floating legal holiday prior to the date on which the holiday occurs. This 16-hour cap is pro-rated in the event the employee holds a less-than-full-time appointment.

SYS 1238, Crafts Workers

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

Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions 

  • The purpose of this operational policy is to provide compensation structures and benefits information for crafts worker employees working at a University of Wisconsin (UW) System institution.
  • Proposed revisions include:
    • In Section 6.C.1.C: Clarifying language surrounding vacation for crafts workers to eliminate any possible confusion about whether there are any options other than 100 hours, 140 hours or 180 hours. There are not.
    • Adding Section 6.1.D to specify that apprentice crafts worker are only eligible to be granted vacation at the 100-hour level. Apprentice crafts workers do not become eligible to elect one of the other vacation options until the end of their apprenticeship.

 

NEW PROCEDURE & GUIDANCE

SYS 1.A, UW System Administrative Policy, Procedure, & Guidance Development, Review and Approval Process

This procedure be effective upon signature by the Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and the Vice President for Finance and Administration.

Summary of Procedure

  • The purpose of this procedure is to establish a process for the development, revision, review and approval of all UW System Administrative policies, procedures, and guidance. The procedure contains updated language from the SYS 2 and SYS 3 policies, which are proposed for recission, that reflects the changes to the policy process following the merger of the Academic and Student Affairs Policy Committee and the Finance and General Administration Policy Committee.

SYS 1 Guidance: Guidance for the Development and Review of UW System Administrative Policies, Procedures, and Guidance

This guidance will be effective upon signature by the Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and the Vice President for Finance and Administration.

Summary of Guidance

  • This guidance supports UW System Administrative Policy 1, Development, Revision, and Approval of UW System Administrative Policies, Procedures, and Guidance, and is intended to help guide Responsible UWSA Officers and their teams in their work on UW System Administrative policies, procedures, and guidance.

 

POLICIES PROPROSED FOR RECISSION

SYS 2, Development, Revision, and Approval of Academic & Student Affairs Policies & SYS 3, Development, Revision and Approval of Finance and General Administration Policies and Procedures

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

Background Summary of Policies

  • The purpose of SYS 2, Development, Revision and Approval of Academic and Student Affairs Policies is to ensure Academic and Student Affairs policies, procedures, and guidelines are up-to-date, consistent in format and how they are approved, and easily accessible and understandable to stakeholders. The accompanying procedure SYS 2.A, Development, Revision, and Approval of Academic and Student Affairs Policies Proposal Form is a form intended to introduce new policies and policy revisions into the SYS policy process.
  • The purpose of SYS 3, Development, Revision and Approval of Finance and General Administration Policies and Procedures is to establish a process for the development, revision, review and approval of all UW System Finance and General Administration Policies and Procedures.

Rationale for Rescission

  • In early 2025, the Universities of Wisconsin System Administration (UWSA) merged the policy processes of the Academic and Student Affairs Policy Committee and the Finance and General Administration Policy Committee to simply and standardize the policy process.
  • The UWSA Policy Committee has determined SYS 2 and SYS 3 do not reflect the current state and process, and that there is no longer a need for two separate policies as they would describe the same process; therefore, these policies are proposed for rescission.
  • A new procedure SYS 1.A, UW System Administrative Policy, Procedure, & Guidance Development, Review, and Approval Process and additional guidance will be developed and adopted prior to the recission of these policies. This procedure and guidance will clarify portions of the policy process previously addressed in SYS 2 and SYS 3.

SYS 115, Associate Degree Standards

This policy recission will be effective upon signature by the President.  

Background Summary of Policy

  • The purpose of this policy is to guide the coordination and adaptation of common standards for associate degrees across the University of Wisconsin (UW) System.
  • The policy does the following:
    • Defines the different types of associate degrees (e.g., Associate of Arts, Associate of Sciences, and Associate of Arts & Sciences) conferred by UW universities;
    • Recommends the minimum requirements for an associate degree granted by a UW university or a Wisconsin Technical College System associate degree that is approved by the Board of Regents’
    • Recommends the incorporation of High Impact Practices (HIPs) into associate degree curriculum; and
    • Sets the distribution of credits to achieve general education breadth in associate degrees through the UW System Shared Learning Goals .

Rationale for Rescission

  • To comply with Wis. Stat. § 36.11(3)(b), the Universities of Wisconsin was required to create a system policy to determine a Core General Education Requirement model, and the rules and procedures for ensuring the transferability of the Core General Education Requirements between UW universities.
  • On November 19, 2025, the Board of Regents approved Regent Policy Document 4-23, Core General Education Requirements, and on December 18, President Rothman approved Interim Policy 100-13, Universities of Wisconsin Core General Education Requirements which:
    •  Establish a Core General Education Requirements framework that comprise undergraduate courses in six broad categories for a minimum of 10 courses and 30-36 credit hours that impart foundational knowledge and skills;
    • Articulate rules related to the movement of credits that apply to Core General Education Requirements as a student transfers between UW universities; and
    • Identify the roles and responsibilities of UW universities in developing their Core General Education Requirements model as well as associated policies regarding completion and application of credit.
  • Upcoming revisions to UW System Administrative Policy 102, Policy on University of Wisconsin System Array Management: Program Planning, Delivery, Review, and Reporting will incorporate the definitions of and the minimum requirements for the different types of associate degrees conferred by UW universities.
  • With the approval of RPD 4-23 and Interim Policy 100-13, SYS 115, Associate Degree Standards conflicts with the new standards and is proposed for rescission.

 

SYS Policy Approvals 

Since December 5, President Rothman has approved the following policies:

New Policy

Revised Interim Policy Action

Revised Policies

Revised Procedure

Rescinded Policies

 

APPROVED NEW POLICY

SYS 100, Academic & Student Affairs: General Terms & Definitions

This policy was approved on December 19, 2025.

Summary of Policy

  • The purpose of this policy is to provide a list of general terms and definitions that are used in the 100 series of the UW System Administrative policy set as well as additional definitions, as required, to provide clarity and consistency across all UW System Administration information security policies, documents and systemwide initiatives.

University Comments and Concerns

  • As these were technical policy changes, they were not distributed to the universities for comment. The Universities of Wisconsin Policy Committees did not have any feedback from their review.

 

APPROVED INTERIM POLICY REVISION

SYS 100-Interim 11, UW System Undergraduate Transfer Policy-Guaranteed Transfer Amendments

This interim policy action revision was approved on December 18, 2025.

Summary of Interim Policy Action

  • This interim policy action amends sections of SYS 135, UW System Undergraduate Transfer Policy. These amendments are being made concomitantly with the rescission of procedure SYS 135.A, Guaranteed Transfer and the associated guidance. The rescission is intended to remedy the inconsistency among these documents. The current amendments to SYS 135 under this interim policy action are intended to address pieces of the policy that are no longer applicable and/or create transfer challenges for students. University of Wisconsin System Administration will conduct a thorough review and revision of SYS 135 in 2025 to conclude this work.
  • This policy temporarily amends portions of SYS 135, UW System Undergraduate Transfer Policy.

Summary of Revisions

  • This interim policy action was revised to include extend the expiration date from January 1, 2026 or upon the approval of substantive revisions to SYS 135, whichever is first to March 1, 2026 or upon the approval of substantive revisions to SYS 135, whichever is first.

 

APPROVED POLICY AND PROCEDURE REVISIONS

SYS 308, Budget Amendments & SYS 308.A, Budget Amendment Process

The revisions to the policy and procedure were approved on December 18, 2025.

Summary of Policy and Procedure Revisions

  • This policy provides direction regarding budget monitoring within the systemwide financial system and the need to adjust institutional Annual Operating Budgets during the fiscal year.
  • Revisions include:
    • Throughout the policy and procedure, makes technical adjustments related to new Workday terminology and processes.
    • Throughout the policy and procedure, changed “transfer” to “amendment.”
    • In Section 5 of the policy and Section 3 of the procedure, consolidates definitions into one section for clarity.
    • In Section 6 of the policy, clarifies that required shifting of expenditures to other funding sources to avoid year-end overdraft status only applies to GPR funds.
    • In Section 6.D of the policy, adds language regarding GPR Revenue Budget Amendments to ensure alignment between budget revenue and expenditures.

University Comments and Concerns

  • There were no comments submitted during the distribution feedback period.

SYS 314, Financial Management of Auxiliary Operations

The revisions to this policy were approved on December 9, 2025.

Summary of Policy and Attachment Revisions

  • This policy sets forth legal and policy principles applicable to the financial management of auxiliary operations.
  • Revisions include:
    • Throughout the policy, updated to fit current UWSA formatting standards and template. This included the addition of Section 2. Responsible UW System Officers, and Section 9. Scheduled Review.
    • Throughout the policy, made technical adjustments related to new Workday terminology.
    • Throughout the policy, replaced “reserves” with “balances.”
    • Retitled Section 1 (formerly I) from “Introduction” to “Policy Purpose.”
    • Moved content from former Section VI, Compliance to new Section 3, Scope and Institutional Responsibilities and added reference to RPD 21-6, Program Revenue Calculation Methodology and Fund Balances Policy.
    • Moved information on Auxiliary Enterprises from Section 5 (formerly Section III), Definitions to the new Section 4, Background.
    • In Section 5, Definitions, removed references to obsolete statutes, Section 20.285(1)(h) and Section 36.46.
    • Throughout Section 6, removed policy sections related to the obsolete statutes, Section 20.285(1)(h) and Section 36.46.
    • In Section 6.D, clarified that transfers must be approved by the UW Administration Vice President for Finance and Administration.
    • Incorporated previous Section V. Procedures into new Section 6.G.
    • In Attachment 1, updated to reflect procedure for requesting auxiliary transfers.
    • Removed attachments 3 and 4 as they are no longer applicable.

University Comments and Concerns

  • There were no comments submitted during the distribution feedback period.

 

APPROVED POLICY RESCISSIONS

SYS 605, Loss-Fund Operations

This policy was rescinded on December 11, 2025.

Background Summary of Policy

  • The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines and reporting procedures for reimbursement from the Fund 999 in the event of damage to university property.

University Comments and Concerns

  • There was no feedback provided during the university distribution.

Rationale for Rescission

  • The Office of Risk Management, in consultation with the Office of Finance, has determined that the guidelines and procedures found in this policy would better serve the Universities of Wisconsin as departmental procedures and guidance rather than system policy.
  • The Risk Management procedures can be found in the Risk Management Manual.
  • Additional finance procedures shall be developed and shared prior to the rescission of this policy.

SYS 620, Working in Isolation

This policy was rescinded on December 9, 2025.

Background Summary of Policy

  • The purpose of this policy is to provide a risk evaluation framework to ensure the safety of faculty, staff and students who work, volunteer or perform for credit activities alone in potentially hazardous environments within, but not limited to campus teaching and research laboratories, studios, workshops and other facilities or environments.
  • Prior to 2020, UWSA offered a customizable working in isolation safety program for the universities to adopt. This approach was, and remains, similar to the approach taken for UWSA’s approximately 50 other customizable safety programs that are designed to be modified to meet university specific needs while keeping with regulatory and statutory requirements.
  • A 2020 Laboratory Safety Audit recommended that UWSA adopt a system-level working in isolation policy for laboratories. In response, SYS 620 was created making it UWSA’s first and only occupational safety program elevated to a system-level policy, UWSA’s approximately 50 other safety programs remain procedures. The newly issued SYS 620 included not only laboratories, but a variety of other locations found on campus and placed several requirements on the universities that were generally beyond those found in statute or regulation.

University Comments and Concerns

  • There was no feedback provided during the university distribution.

Rationale for Rescission

  • Regent Policy 23-2 assigns chancellors the responsibility for ensuring health, safety, and security at UW universities, including maintaining university-specific policies. To support this, UWSA’s Office of Risk Management offers a robust library of approximately 50 safety programs designed to be customized to meet university-specific needs. Only one—SYS 620, Working in Isolation—is a formal system policy.
  • The universities have indicated a desire to better align their working in isolation programs with their university-specific needs, while continuing to meet statutory and regulatory safety standards.
  • As such, UWSA’s Office of Risk Management proposes rescinding SYS 620 and returning it to a safety program, once again aligning this topic with the rest of UWSA’s occupational safety library. This new program will be implemented immediately following the rescission of SYS 620.

 

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.