January University Distribution, SYS Approvals, Upcoming Effective Dates, and Federal Fridays

Friday, January 23, 2026

January University Policy Distribution

The January university policy distribution contains two (2) revised UW System Administrative policies, one (1) revised administrative procedure, and three (3) new administrative procedures.

Revised Policies

Revised Procedure

New Procedures

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 SYS 1310, Copyrightable Materials Ownership, Use and Control are due by Monday, February 23 by 5:00 pm. Comments on SYS 102, Policy on University of Wisconsin System Array Management: Program Planning, Delivery, Review, and Reporting and the accompanying procedures are due Tuesday, March 24 by 5:00 pm.

 

DRAFT REVISED POLICY

SYS 1310, Copyrightable Materials Ownership, Use, and Control

1310 Frequently Asked Questions

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

Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions 

  • The purpose of this policy is to clearly define Copyright ownership for the faculty, staff, students, and affiliates who use the UW System’s facilities or act under contract with the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. It also establishes how UW System institutions and their respective campus units can utilize certain works.
  • Following the distribution of an initial draft in 2024 and the receipt of substantial stakeholder feedback, Universities of Wisconsin Administration significantly revised the draft and the associated frequently asked question document to simplify the legal language and frame the policy to be more employee forward and friendly, and then convened a Copyright Policy Workgroup. The Workgroup was charged with making recommendations for additional revisions, and consisted of faculty governance representation, in addition to Provosts, attorneys from Office of General Counsel and UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee Office of Legal Affairs, and UW Administration staff, and was co-chaired by a faculty representative and Provost. The Workgroup discussed various concerns and issues related to Copyright, including interpretation of case law and the implications of artificial intelligence. These conversations resulted in significant revisions to the Frequently Asked Questions document to better address stakeholder questions and concerns from the initial stakeholder feedback, and important suggested changes to the draft policy to promote clarity and consistency by adding a definition for academic norms and clarifying that the transfer of copyright of Scholarly Works to the Designated Employee who authored the work occurs automatically.
  • Proposed revisions to the currently approved policy include:
    • Throughout the policy, updated to fit current UWSA formatting standards and template. This included the addition of Section 1. Policy Purpose, Section 2. Responsible UW System Officers, Section 3. Scope and Institutional Responsibilities, Section 5. Definitions, Section 7. Related Documents, Section 8. Policy History, and Section 9. Scheduled Review.
    • In the title, removed the word “Instructions.”
    • Shortened Section 4 to provide a brief history of the need for this policy and to unify the language of the SYS 1300 series policies.
    • Redefined Section 6.A (formerly II.A) to determine copyright ownership based on category of work and no longer the type of material.
      • Created Section 6.A.I, Copyright Ownership by Author, to describe the circumstances under which personal work and student work belong to the Employee or Student Author.
      • Created Section 6.A.II, Transfer of Copyright Ownership in Scholarly Works, to explain that UW System automatically transfers Copyright ownership in Scholarly Works to the Designated Employee(s) who authored the Scholarly Work subject to the described conditions and exceptions
      • Created Section 6.A.III, Copyright Ownership by the UW System, to describe how the copyright in Institutional Works and Deliverables belongs to the UW System.
      • Created Section 6.A.IV, Copyright Ownership of Jointly Authored Works, to explain how copyright ownership is determined when Authors collaborate to create a Copyrighted work.
    • Redefined Section 6.B (formerly II.B) to discuss the rights and obligations with respect to UW System owned works, and removed content regarding developmental conditions for copyrightable instructional materials.
      • Created Section 6.B.I to describe the use of works.
      • Created Section 6.B.II to describe the notice and registration of works.
      • Created Section 6.B.III to describe the contracting of works.
    • Removed former Sections II.C, III, IV, and V.
  • This draft policy includes revisions made in response to feedback from the prior draft distribution in September 2024. These revisions simplified the draft policy language, removed legalese, and clarified the author’s rights and ownership under Copyright law. The draft policy accurately reflects copyright law in that it recognizes that UW System is the default copyright owner of most works created by its employees during the course and scope of their employment. UW policy cannot change or conflict with the U.S. Copyright Act.

Comments on SYS 1310, Copyrightable Materials Ownership, Use and Control are due by Monday, February 23 by 5:00 pm.

 

DRAFT REVISED POLICY

SYS 102, Policy on University of Wisconsin System Array Management: Program Planning, Delivery, Review and Reporting

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

 Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions 

  • The purpose of this policy is to provide information on planning a new academic degree program, making changes to an existing academic degree program, reviewing and monitoring of academic degree programs, and reporting methods. Proposed revisions include:
    • Reformatted policy to meet UW System Administrative Policy Standards.
    • Definitions will be removed from both the policy and procedural documents. They will be included in a new SYS 100, Academic & Student Affairs: General Terms and Definitions policy document.
      • Terminology and definitions have been included in document for review only; full SYS 100 policy will include terms and definitions associated with all Series 100 policies and procedures.
    • Updated terminology throughout document from “program” or “academic program” to “academic degree program” to better match definitions to be included in SYS 100.
    • Updated the name of the “Online Program Planning Form” to “Program Planning Form” and the “Online Implementation Form” to “Implementation Form.”
    • Removed references to templates and guidance documents found in “guidance” and replaced with links to the OAA Academic Affairs webpage that includes the referenced documents.
    • Evaluated entire policy to determine if the information contained within the policy document was best suited for the policy document or to be moved to the SYS102 procedural document(s).
    • In Section 6.A.II: The UW System Administration, reformatted the responsibilities of UWSA from a paragraph into a bulleted list.
    • In Section 6.A.III: The UW System Provost Council, moved information regarding the work of the Provost Council to SYS 102.A, section 4.A.I
    • In Section 6.B.I: Overview of Approval Process, added Background section (6.B.I.1) and Degree types section (6.B.I.2).
    • In Section 6.B.II: Associate Degrees, made revisions to remove reference to SYS 115, Associate Degree Standards, and include terminology from SYS 115 related to associate degree type offerings.
    • Removed section 2.1.2: Outline of the Approval Process in current SYS 102; information was duplicative of section 2.2.
    • In Section 6.B.III: Approval to Plan: Notice of Intent, revised language for clarity and to align with SYS 102.A revisions.
    • In Section 6.B.IV: Elevation Track: Approval to plan, revised the term “fast-track” submission to “elevation-track” submission. The change in terminology better reflects the action that is occurring, the elevation of a subdegree program to a new academic degree program authorization. The change also acknowledges that the process for consideration of fast-track NOI submissions does not necessarily take less time than a standard track submission, i.e., the process is not “fast”.
    • In Section 6.B.V: Standard Track: Approval to Plan, revised language for clarity and to align with SYS 102.A revisions.
    • Added Section 6.B.VI: Reduced Credit Bachelor’s Degree: Approval to Plan, to the policy based on recommendations by the Provost Council Reduced Credit Bachelor’s Degree (RCBD) working group.
    • In Section 6.B.X: UW System Collaborative (HLC Consortial) programs, moved the former section 6.D, Degree Arrangement Offerings, to before section 6.C.
      • Removed reference to Dual Degree programs and articulation (transfer) agreements.
      • Consolidated the policy and processes regarding withdrawal from (SYS 102, section 6.B.X.3) or dissolution of collaborative programs (SYS 102, section 6.B.X.4).
        • Withdrawing from a collaborative requires a UW university to prepare and submit “withdrawal plan information” to the other UW universities in collaborative, OPLR (if applicable), and OAA (SYS 102, section 6.B.X.3 and SYS 102.B, section 4.M.I.2).
        • Dissolving a collaborative requires the co-creation of the dissolution plan accompanied by memos in support of the dissolution by all involved provosts (SYS 102, section 6.B.X.4 and SYS 102.B, section 4.M.II.2).
        • Separated the withdrawal from or dissolution of a collaborative program, from the authorization of an independent academic degree program, which follows the standard track approval to plan process (SYS 102, section 6.B.V and SYS 102.A, section 4.B.III).
    • In Section 6.C.I: Notifications, added a section that contains notification processes that are common to all existing academic degree program actions. Reorganization of information aligns with revisions to SYS 102.B.
    • Added Section 6.C.II: Developing a Reduced Credit Bachelor’s Degree Based on an Existing Authorized Academic Degree Program, based on recommendations by the Provost Council RCBD working group. It includes the requirements that a reduced credit bachelor’s degree that is developed from an existing traditional bachelor’s degree maintain the same CIP code and include the same learning outcomes and core curriculum.
    • In Section 6.C.V.1.a: Redirecting an Academic Degree Program:
      • Added statement indicating that when a UW university provides notice to HLC regarding a substantive change to the curriculum of an academic degree program, notice of the curricular redirect should also be provided to OAA.
      • Removed the 50% threshold for curricular changes requiring a new academic degree program authorization. Instead, language indicates that the recommendation of a new authorization is at the discretion of the AVP for Academic Affairs.
    • Added Section 6.C.VIII: Offering an Academic Degree Program at an Additional Location, as a new notification action, aligning with notice provided to HLC.
    • Added Section 6.C.IX: Offering UW Coursework or Academic Degree Programs at a Wisconsin Department of Corrections Facility, to provide a process for a UW university to join the Prison Education Program (PEP).
    • In Section 6.C.X.2.b: Process to Suspend Admissions, added a statement regarding academic degree programs that were identified as low enrolling for three consecutive years, for which an improvement plan was indicated, but that saw no increase in junior/senior student enrollment. In such a case, the expectation is that the academic degree program will be taught out and eliminated.
    • In Section 6.C.VI.3: Process to Reinstate Admissions, added in language excluding academic degree programs that were identified as low-enrolling with a plan for improvement that showed no enrollment improvement within 3 years.
    • In Sections 6.C.III – 6.C.XIII: removed language that was duplicative of what is now included in section 6.C.I: Notifications. This simplified the language related to each action.
    • Moved and heavily revised Section 6.D: Degree Offering Arrangements.
      • The information regarding UW collaborative programs was moved up to section 6.B.X and renamed “UW System Collaborative (HLC Consortial) programs.
      • Reference to Dual Degree programs and Transfer agreements (formerly referred to as articulation agreements) was moved to SYS 102.C, section 4.B.II on the material that will be included in the annual report.
    • Added Section 6.D.I.4: Review of Low Enrolling Academic Degree Programs.
      • Moved Section 6.D.I.4.a from its previous location in section 6.3.1 (prior SYS102 policy) under Monitoring.
      • Added Section 6.D.I.4.b to indicate that UW universities are responsible to developing and implementing a policy and process for monitoring low enrolling programs by September 1, 2027.
      • Added Section 6.D.I.4.c which includes the new quantitative metric that was recommended by the Program Elimination Taskforce that will be used to identify low enrolling academic degree programs.
      • Revised Section 6.D.I.5.c to match the language in SYS 175, Accreditation Visits and Reports, regarding providing accreditation schedules, reports, and updates to OAA.
    • In Section 6.D.I.6: General Education Programs, revised language to align with the new language based on RPD 4-23, Core General Education Requirements, to include the Core General Education Requirements (CGER), and the requirement to notify OAA within 20 business days of a revision to a UW university CGER model.
    • In Section 6.E Monitoring Academic Degree Programs, revised language based on the recommendations by the Program Elimination Task Force and to align with revisions to SYS 102.C.
    • In Section 6.F.I: University of Wisconsin System Annual Program Planning, Review, and Array Management Report, revised to align policy language with our current practices.
      • Added reference to when OAA will distribute the annual monitoring report to UW universities (Section 6.F.I.1).
      • Added reference to revised SYS 102.C section 4.B related to the data that may be requested during the annual reporting process (section 6.F.I.2).
    • In Section 6.G: Schools and Colleges, moved statutory language from definitions section to policy section.
    • In Section 6.I: Reference, revised reference documents with the correct document name, and include the two (2) guidance templates and three (3) new program authorization templates.
DRAFT REVISED PROCEDURE

SYS 102.A, New Academic Degree Programs

These revisions will be effective upon signature by the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs.  

Summary of Procedure and Procedure Revisions 

  • The purpose of these procedures is to provide information on planning a new academic degree program. Proposed revisions include:
    • Definitions will be removed from both the policy and procedural documents. They will be included in a new SYS 100, Academic & Student Affairs: General Terms and Definitions policy document.
      • Terminology and definitions have been included in document for review only; full SYS 100 policy will include terms and definitions associated with all Series 100 policies and procedures.
    • Updated terminology throughout document from “program” or “academic program” to “academic degree program” to better match definitions to be included in SYS 100.
    • Updated the name of the “Online Program Planning Form” to “Program Planning Form” and the “Online Implementation Form” to “Implementation Form.”
    • Removed references to templates and guidance documents found in “guidance” and replaced with links to the OAA Academic Affairs webpage that includes the referenced documents.
    • Within the procedures, aligned section titles between SYS 102 policy and SYS 102.A procedure document.
    • In Section 4.B, reorganized the information regarding new academic degree programs so that it is hierarchical in terms of degree type, i.e., Associate degree, Bachelor degree, Professional Doctorate.
    • Moved Section 4.B.I: Definition of a New Academic Degree Program, from policy to procedure
      • Modified language relating to changes to curriculum to include that a proposed curricular redirection may be recommended as a new academic degree program authorization at the discretion of the AVP based on evidence of substantive curricular changes. (SYS 102.A, section 4.B.I.5.)
    • In Section 4.B.II: Associate Degree, moved background (section 4.B.II.1) and process (section 4.B.II.2) the policy (SYS 102, section 2.5) to procedure.
    • Modified language to remove reference to SYS 115 (SYS 102, section 6.b.II and SYS 102.B, section 4.B.II.1).
    • In Sections 4.B.III and 4.B.IV, revised the term “fast-track” submission to “elevation-track” submission. See additional information in SYS 102 summary.
      • Added in language regarding if significant concern is raised to the AVP following the distribution of the elevation-track NOI, the AVP can recommend that the NOI be considered via the standard track, to allow an appeal to be made. (section 4.B.IV.1)
    • In Section 4.B.III Approval to Plan: Notice of Intent, revised language based on the recommendations of the Provost Council NOI/Appeals working group.
      • Created clear distinction regarding the development (section 4.B.III.1) versus submission and distribution (section 4.B.III.2) of the NOI.
      • Revised the NOI submission process so that the document is first submitted to OAA for review and consideration of submission track (standard vs. elevation track submission) before distribution to all provosts.
      • Section 4.B.III.2.e encourages feedback and suggestion on all distributed NOIs independent of a plan to appeal.
    • In Section 4.B.IV.2 Criteria for Elevation Track Eligibility, revised to provide increased clarity as recommended by the Provost Council NOI/Appeals working group.
    • In Section 4.B.V Standard Track: Approval to Plan, revised based on recommendations by the Provost Council NOI/Appeals working group.
      • Reorganized and labeled the information to provide clarity regarding the review period and extensions (section 4.B.V.1), the approval to plan process when there are no appeals (section 4.B.V.2), and the appeal process (section 4.B.V.3).
    • In Section 4.B.V.3: Appeal, revised the appeals criteria based on recommendations by the Provost Council NOI/Appeals working group.
      • Appeals should be data driven and based on at least one of four identified criteria.
      • Appeals criteria were expanded to include a disproportionate impact on financial investment and/or human resources in addition to the two previously identified criteria of undue enrollment competition and/or a disproportionate impact on capital infrastructure expenditures.
    • In Section 4.B.V.4: Appeal Process, revised the appeals process based on recommendations by the Provost Council NOI/Appeals working group.
      • Membership on the Appeal Panel includes designees from the Provost Council with no vested interest in the submitted NOI and was expanded beyond members of the Provost Council to include representatives from the Division of Finance and Administration, the Division of Academic and Student Affair, and other stakeholders.
      • The period of time between each step in the appeals process was extended from 10 business days to 15 business days.
      • If the appeals panel determines that at least one of the criteria have been met, OAA and OPAR will prepare a program array and demand report that will be provided to the appeal panel and the proposing and appealing provosts.
      • Clarified language regarding communication of the appeal panel’s decision by the VP for Academic and Student Affairs to the proposing and appealing provosts.
    • Added Section 4.B.VI: Reduced Credit Bachelor’s degree: Approval to Plan, to the procedures based on the recommendations by the Provost Council Reduced Credit Bachelor’s Degree (RCBD) working group.
      • Criteria for Reduced Credit Bachelor’s Degree Eligibility (section 4.B.VI.2) align with elements in the HLC substantive change application.
      • In Section 4.B.VII: Authorization, added language to the authorization narrative section to include, when applicable, the outcome of an appeal and any conditions, limitations, or monitoring required as part of the approval to plan process. (section 4.B.VII.1.a.ii)
DRAFT NEW PROCEDURES

SYS 102.B, Changes to Existing Academic Degree Programs

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

Summary of Procedures

  • The purpose of these procedures is to provide information on reporting changes to an existing academic degree program.
  • These new procedures were previously incorporated in the related policy SYS 102, Policy on University of Wisconsin System Array Management: Program Planning, Delivery, Review, and Reporting and procedure SYS 102.A, New Academic Degree Programs, Changes to Academic Degree Programs, and Additional SYS 102 Items. Proposed revisions to existing content include:
    •  Definitions will be removed from both the policy and procedural documents. They will be included in a new SYS 100, Academic & Student Affairs: General Terms and Definitions policy document.
      • Terminology and definitions have been included in document for review only; full SYS 100 policy will include terms and definitions associated with all Series 100 policies and procedures.
    • Updated terminology throughout document from “program” or “academic program” to “academic degree program” to better match definitions to be included in SYS 100.
    • Updated the name of the “Online Program Planning Form” to “Program Planning Form” and the “Online Implementation Form” to “Implementation Form.”
    • Within the procedures, aligned section titles and organization between SYS 102 policy and SYS 102.B procedure document.
    • In Section 4.A: Notifications, added a section that contains notification processes and program elements that are common to all change actions for all degree types.
    • Added Section 4.B: Developing a Reduced Credit Bachelor’s Degree Based on an Existing Authorized Academic Degree Program, to the SYS102.B procedures based on recommendations by the Provost Council RCBD working group.
      • Since the development of a RCBD represents a notification process rather than a new academic degree program process, these procedures specify which elements of the existing authorized academic degree program must be maintained to qualify as a notice rather than new program (section 4.B.I).
      • This type of notification requires discussion of the RCBD program development at a Provost Council meeting following submission of materials to OAA and distribution to provosts for consideration (section 4.B.II). This step is important to maintain the transparency in developing RCBD programs and allows for feedback to be provided and concerns to be raised prior to the submission of notice of action.
      • Added a note regarding the linkage of the traditional (parent) and reduced credit bachelor’s degree specifying that changes (e.g., redirect or rename) to either format of the existing program will apply to both versions (section 4.B.II).
    • Revised Sections 4.C – 4.N to remove the required elements that are requested of all change actions and instead focus on required elements that are specific to the requested action. Additionally, required elements were revised to align with requirements present in Program Planning Form. These sections were reorganized so that similar actions are found in sequence in the procedures.
    • In Section 4.E: Redirecting an Academic Degree Program, modified language relating to curricular change to indicate that if a curricular change requires a substantive change notice to HLC, OAA should also be noticed. Removed the 50% threshold and added in the discretion of the AVP. This change was made because it was unclear what the 50% change was being compared to (e.g., the original authorization, the most recent redirection, the most recent HLC accreditation) and the timeline in which the changes were to have occurred.
    • In Section 4.F: Change to a Program’s Mode of Delivery, added in language related to the discretion of the AVP to recommend a new program authorization if the additional modality results in substantive changes to the curriculum.
    • In Section 4.G: Adding or Eliminating Competency-Based Education Delivery, reorganized the information so that it follows changes to a program’s mode of delivery.
    • In Section 4.H: Offering an Academic Degree Program at an Additional Location, added in language requiring notice to OAA when an additional location request is submitted to HLC.
    • In Section 4.I: Offering UW Coursework or Programs at a Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) Facility, added in language related to the Prison Education Program (PEP) and notice to OAA regarding the additional location.
    • Heavily revised and reorganized Section 4.M: Withdrawing from or Dissolving a UW System Collaborative (HLC Consortial) Program, to clarify these processes.
      • Withdrawing from a collaborative requires UW university to prepare and submit “withdrawal plan information” to other UW universities in collaborative, OPLR (if applicable), and OAA. (SYS 102.B section 4.M.I.2)
      • Dissolving a collaborative requires the co-creation of the dissolution plan accompanied by memos in support of the dissolution by all involved provosts. SYS 102.B section 4.M.II.2
      • The authorization of an independent academic degree program following withdrawal from or dissolution of the collaborative program is now a separate process and following the development of a new academic degree program. (SYS 102.B section 4.M note.)
    • In Section 4.N: Unpublishing or Republishing Academic Degree Programs, made a small revision to section 4.N.II that the CIP code used for publishing an undeclared major must be associated with another academic degree program offered by the university.

 

SYS 102.C, Monitoring and Reporting of Academic Degree Programs

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

Summary of Procedures

  • The purpose of these procedures is to provide information regarding the monitoring of low-enrolling programs.
  • These new procedures were previously  incorporated in the related policy SYS 102, Policy on University of Wisconsin System Array Management: Program Planning, Delivery, Review, and Reporting and procedure SYS 102.A, New Academic Degree Programs, Changes to Academic Degree Programs, and Additional SYS 102 Items.
  • All revisions to the SYS 102.C procedural document and the associated sections of the SYS 102 policy document are based on the recommendations by the Program Elimination Taskforce. Proposed revisions to existing content include:
    • Definitions will be removed from both the policy and procedural documents. They will be included in a new SYS 100, Academic & Student Affairs: General Terms and Definitions policy document.
      • Terminology and definitions have been included in document for review only; full SYS 100 policy will include terms and definitions associated with all Series 100 policies and procedures.
    • Updated terminology throughout document from “program” or “academic program” to “academic degree program” to better match definitions to be included in SYS 100.
    • Updated the name of the “Online Program Planning Form” to “Program Planning Form” and the “Online Implementation Form” to “Implementation Form.”
    • In Section 1: Purpose of Procedures, updated the purpose to reflect the separation of the procedural documents and included the metric used for identifying low-enrolling programs for monitoring.
    • In Section 4.A.I.4: UW System Administration Monitoring Role and Responsibility, revised language to include a presentation to the Board of Regents regarding the UW university monitoring process in addition to the annual report that is prepared by the Office of Academic Affairs.
      • The information prepared and presented to the BOR will include the terminology relevant to the monitoring discussion (section 4.A.I.4.a), a complete academic degree program array for each UW university including identified low-enrolling academic degree programs (section 4.A.I.4.b), and a report on the status of low-enrollment academic degree programs selected for continuation or suspension/elimination (section 4.A.I.4.c).
    • In Section 4.A.II University Monitoring Role and Responsibility, revised the requirement for UW universities to develop and implement an Annual Program Monitoring Policy and Process that will be used to evaluate academic degree programs that are identified as low-enrolling.
      • Section 4.A.II.1.b indicates the required components including response pathways and defines the guidance considerations for each pathway.
        • Removed language that was recommended by the taskforce related to allowing 10% of low-enrolling programs to continue as is with annual monitoring. Instead, language was added regarding the discretion of the VP for Academic and Student Affairs to require additional justification for continuing a program without an improvement plan or suspension/elimination.
      • Section 4.A.II.1.c includes additional components that should be considered in the new policy development.
      • Section 4.A.II.3 provides details on the reporting of the response pathways selected by the UW university for each identified low-enrolling academic degree program, as part of the existing annual reporting process.
        • Section 4.A.II.3.b outlines the required reporting elements for low-enrolling academic degree programs that were selected for continuation with a plan for improvement.
        • Section 4.A.II.3.c indicates that UW universities should provide enrollment trends on all students enrolled in the indicated academic degree program, disaggregated by student level.
        • Section 4.A.II.3.d indicates that UW universities have 3 years for low-enrolling academic degree programs that were selected for continuation with a plan for improvement to show increased enrollment.
    • In Section 4.B: Annual Report, revised language to include reporting of the complete program array of each UW university (section 4.B.I) and provides other data (section 4.B.II) that is often requested through the annual reporting process.
      • Specifically included transfer agreements and dual degree agreements, additional locations (SYS 102.B, section 4.H), and outcomes of conditions imposed on a new academic degree program following an NOI appeal (SYS 102.A, section 4.B.IV.g).

SYS 102.D, Changes to Schools, Colleges, and Mission

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

Summary of Procedures

  • The purpose of these procedures is to provide information on planning a new academic degree program; making changes to UW university school, college, or mission statement.
  • These new procedures were previously  incorporated in the related policy SYS 102, Policy on University of Wisconsin System Array Management: Program Planning, Delivery, Review, and Reporting and procedure SYS 102.A, New Academic Degree Programs, Changes to Academic Degree Programs, and Additional SYS 102 Items. No substantive changes were made to the existing content. Technical changes include:
    • Definitions will be removed from both the policy and procedural documents. They will be included in a new SYS 100, Academic & Student Affairs: General Terms and Definitions policy document.
      • Terminology and definitions have been included in document for review only; full SYS 100 policy will include terms and definitions associated with all Series 100 policies and procedures.
    • Updated terminology throughout document from “program” or “academic program” to “academic degree program” to better match definitions to be included SYS 100.
    • Updated the name of the “Online Program Planning Form” to “Program Planning Form” and the “Online Implementation Form” to “Implementation Form”.

Comments on SYS 102, Policy on University of Wisconsin System Array Management: Program Planning, Delivery, Review, and Reporting and the accompanying procedures are due Tuesday, March 24 by 5:00 pm.

 

SYS Policy Approvals

Since January 9, President Rothman has approved one (1) new interim policy action and one (1) revised interim policy action:

New Interim Policy Action

Revised Interim Policy Action

 

APPROVED INTERIM POLICY ACTIONS

SYS 200-03, Interim: Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff Teaching Responsibilities and Workload

This interim policy action was approved on January 23, 2026. It will expire on January 1, 2027.

Purpose of Interim Policy Action

  • On July 3, 2025, the Wisconsin State Legislature approved 2025 Wisconsin Act 15, which in Section 137 created Wis. Stat. § 36.115(10). In response to this new statute, the Board of Regents revised Regent Policy Document 20-25, Teaching Workload Policy, which requires UW institutions to develop instructional employee teaching workload policies to address the statutory minimum teaching requirements as well as adjustments to and buyouts from those requirements.
  • The purpose of this interim policy action is to fulfill the requirements of Regent Policy Document (RPD) 20-25, Teaching Workload Policy and Wis. Stat. §§ 36.115(8) and (10), 36.65(2)(dm) and (dn), and 36.65(6)(b) and (c). This interim policy action also provides minimum standards for required University of Wisconsin System institution (UW institution) policies.
  • This interim policy action necessarily reflects the full variety and complexity of academic instruction in contemporary higher education delivered by UW faculty and instructional academic staff (IAS) across 13 UW institutions, with unique missions and local communities, which all contribute to the University of Wisconsin System’s mission.

SYS 1200-15, Interim: UW System Pay Plan Distribution Frame for University Workforce Amendments

This interim policy action revision was approved on January 14, 2026. It will expire on August 1, 2026 or upon the approval of substantive revisions to SYS 1278, whichever is first.

Purpose of Interim Policy Action

Summary of Revisions

  • This interim policy action was revised to extend the expiration date from February 1, 2026 or upon the approval of substantive revisions to SYS 1278, whichever is first, to August 1, 2026, or upon the approval of substantive revisions to SYS 1278, whichever is first.

 

Upcoming Effective Dates

The following revisions were previously approved by President Rothman and have effective dates of February 1, 2026. Please review the revisions in preparation for the upcoming effective date.

 

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.