January University Policy Distribution and SYS Policy Approvals

The January university policy distribution contains two (2) revised policies and one (1) new policy.

Revised Policies:

• SYS 232, Summer Prepay Deductions and Summer Session Benefits Eligibility
• SYS 820, Segregated University Fees 

New Policy:

• SYS 1xx, Institutional Statements 

Click on the link above to view the draft 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 232 and SYS 820 are due by 5:00pm on Friday, February 14. 

Comments on SYS 1XX are due by 5:00pm on Tuesday, January 28. 

DRAFT REVISED POLICY 

SYS 232, Summer Prepay Deductions and Summer Session Benefits Eligibility

This policy will be effective upon signature by the president.  

Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions

• This policy governs the prepayment of employee benefit contributions for academic year employees for the purpose of continuing benefit coverage through the summer months. These updates serve the purpose of expanding the eligibility to participate in summer benefits to those employees who do not expect to return in the following fall semester and who provide timely notice of this fact to their local HR department. Under the current policy and ETF rules, the only way an employee can retain benefit eligibility in their last summer of employment is to conceal their intent to retire until August. This update creates a mechanism whereby employees who notify HR of their intent not to return by May 1st can be placed on a formal leave of absence during the summer to extend their eligibility to receive benefits through the end of the summer. Proposed revisions include:
  • In Section 3, deleted “except for employees of UW-Madison,” as they are subject to this policy.
  • In Section 4, deleted the paragraph regarding the evolution of the summer prepay deductions process and the paragraph that precluded university staff from the benefit.
  • In Section 5, added definition for “Leave of Absence.”
  • In Section 6.A, added language to create the mechanism for Academic “C” basis employees who will not be returning the next academic year and give notice by May 1st to be placed on a leave of absence without pay from the last day of the academic contract year to the new academic year contract start date. An employee granted a leave of absence pursuant to this paragraph will remain in employment status and will retain access to their work e-mail account and other appropriate resources for the duration of the leave. Employees on a leave of absence under this paragraph are required to remain in communication with their department and their institution as needed for the duration of the leave.
  • In Section 6.C.I, eliminated the bullet point “UW Employees, Inc. Life Insurance” and the parenthetical “(only deducted on April and May payrolls)” from after Income Continuation Insurance.
  • In Section 6.C.III, eliminated the bullet point “Health Savings Account (HAS) Program.”
  • In Section 6.D, added reference to the terminal leave of absence detailed in Section 6.A to the last sentences of the first and third paragraphs.

DRAFT REVISED POLICY 

SYS 820, Segregated University Fees

This policy will be effective upon signature by the president.  

Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions

• This policy sets forth legal and policy principles applicable to the administration of segregated university fees.
  • Updated the formatting throughout the policy to follow the new policy formats, including adding Section 4 for Background and updating the numbering scheme throughout the policy.
  • Updated references to other policies, and the internal references to other sections within this policy.
  • Section 6.A.I.2.e.viii was added to allow segregated fees to be used for food and other operating costs for a campus-based student food pantry.
  • Section 6.A.I.6.b.iii was updated to remove language about debt service and operating contingencies, which are no longer defined in statute as part of a reserve policy.

DRAFT NEW POLICY 

SYS 1XX, Institutional Statements 

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

Summary of Policy

• This policy establishes a general principle of viewpoint neutrality for institutional statements issued publicly on behalf of the university and its units. It makes permanent the principles established in the interim policy action SYS 100-10, Interim: Institutional Statements. It is designed to provide further clarification and guidance on the principles affirmed in RPD 4-21, Commitment to Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression. Specific policy provisions include:
  • Establishing that institutional statements issued by university leaders should be limited to matters that directly affect the core mission of the university and should maintain viewpoint neutrality in any reference to any other matter. Such statements many express a position of support or opposition only when authorized by the president or chancellor. Institutional statements expressing solidarity or empathy are permitted in response to incidents or events that directly affect the operations and core mission of the university so long as their selective issuance does not imply preference for the viewpoint of one group over another.
  • Clarifying that this policy does not apply to:
    • Faculty and staff within a unit who may choose to express their expertise or judgement of a situation as it relates to their academic disciplines or research expertise, but that care should be taken to ensure that such statements are not misconstrued to represent the university or unit.
    • Faculty and staff expressing personal statements on non-university owned channels.
    • Officially recognized shared governance groups, though they should make clear in public statements that they are speaking on behalf of their group and not the institution.
  • Permitting the president and chancellor to adopt additional institution-specific guidance and procedures consistent with this policy.
  • Clarifying that the president and chancellors may not expand the scope of this policy to restrict the free expression rights of individuals or groups of individuals who do not present themselves as speaking in the name of and on behalf of the university or a unit.
  • Committing to preserving the academic freedom of faculty, research or instructional staff and students with respect to scholarship, teaching, and intellectual debate.

SYS Policy Approvals  

On January 10, President Rothman approved the interim policy action SYS 400-01, Interim: Air Travel and Meal & Incidental Expense Policy Amendments.

On January 21, President Rothman approved the technical revisions made to SYS 135, UW System Undergraduate Transfer Policy and the interim policy action SYS 100-11, Interim: UW System Undergraduate Transfer Policy- Guaranteed Transfer Amendments.

On January 21, Vice President Britz also approved the rescission of SYS 135 Guidance: Guidelines on Guaranteed Transfer and SYS 135.A, Guaranteed Transfer.

See below for a brief summary of these items.

SYS 400-01, Interim: Air Travel and Meal & Incidental Expense Policy Amendments

Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions

• This interim policy action is intended to ensure the requirements of the remote work policies are being met, while balancing the amount of time and effort required by travelers, administrators, auditors, and approvers to review and enforce travel policies. It amends SYS 405, Travel and Expense – General Travel & Expense Policy, SYS 410, Purchase & Payment of Business Air Travel, and SYS 420, Travel & Expense – Meal and Incidental Expense (M&IE) Per Diem Allowance Reimbursements. Specific amendments to existing policies include:
  • SYS 405, Section 6.N- amended to allow travelers to chose flights on the days they prefer and to clarify that travelers cannot depart from and return to an airport outside of Wisconsin or more than 100 miles from the Wisconsin border for personal reasons. Clarified that the university will not pay costs directly related to personal days of travel when combining business and personal travel.
  • SYS 410, Section 6.A- amended the list of reasons when a traveler would need to compete a cost comparison a the time of booking airfare.
  • SYS 420, Reimbursement Eligibility- amended to clarify that when travelers combine business and personal travel, the university will not pay M&IE costs for personal days of travel.

SYS 135, UW System Undergraduate Transfer Policy

Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions

• This policy establishes procedures and guidelines for UW System institutions to facilitate the overall transfer process for all students. The following changes are proposed to align the policy with current practice:
  • Throughout the policy, corrected minor typos.
  • Throughout the policy, standardized references to “UW Universities.”
  • Throughout the policy, standardized the spelling of “associate’s degrees.”
  • Throughout the policy, removed specific reference to “UW branch campuses,” as these institutions fall under the retained “UW universities.”
  • Throughout the policy, removed term “baccalaureate granting” as the term was redundant.
  • Removed Section 6.C.II.8.a, as UW Colleges are no longer an entity and therefore the section was obsolete.
  • In Section 6.C.III.6.b.4, moved the last sentence to the end of Section 6.C.III.6.b.3 for clarity.
  • In Section 6.C.IV.8, added missing reference to SYS 140, UW System Templates for Articulation Agreements Between UW System Institutions and WTCS Districts.
  • In Section 6.E, replaced references to “Transfer Information System” with the new platform “Transferology.”

University Comments and Concerns

• The Academic and Student Affairs Policy Committee did not have comments during their review.
• As these revisions are technical in nature, this draft policy was not distributed to universities for comment. A draft of this policy was distributed in April of 2024, and the feedback received resulted in the creation of interim policy action SYS 100-11, Interim: UW System Undergraduate Transfer Policy- Guaranteed Transfer Amendments. A holistic review of the policy is planned for 2025.

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

This interim policy expires on January 1, 2026 or upon the approval of the substantive revisions to SYS 135, whichever is first.

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. Specific amendments made by this action include:
  • Throughout Section 6.C.III.6, amended language to show that guaranteed transfer applies to students transferring from any UW university. Removed references to “4- year” and “Associates of Arts and Sciences (ASS) degree.” Replaced with “associate’s or bachelor’s degree.”
  • In Section 6.C.III.6.a, clarified the best practice that students are encouraged to contact the UW university to which they intend to transfer for more information on the Guaranteed Transfer Admission Program as early as possible to begin planning for transfer.
  • In Section 6.C.III.6.b.1, clarified that a student must be enrolled in an associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree program at a UW university at the time they submit a transfer application.
  • Removed former Section 6.C.III.6.b.2 and the requirement to use the Declaration of Intent to Participate Form.
  • In Section 6.C.III.6.b.2 (formerly 6.C.III.6.b.3), corrected the minimum grade point average required for transfer to UW-Madison from 3.2 to 3.0 to align with current practice.
  • In Section 6.C.III.6.b.5 (formerly 6.C.III.6.b.6), added sentence to clarify that each UW university has unique application deadlines, admission criteria, and admission procedures to which all transfer students must adhere.

[RESCISSION] SYS 135.A, Guaranteed Transfer

[RESCISSION] SYS 135 Guidance: Guidelines on Guaranteed Transfer

Background Summary of Procedure and Guidance

• The purpose of this procedure and the associated guidance was to provide information regarding the UW System Guaranteed Transfer program.
• This procedure and the guidance outlined the credit, course, and grade point average requirements of the receiving university to be eligible for the Guaranteed Transfer Admission Program.

Rationale for Rescissions

• In Spring 2024, it was determined that this procedure and guidance had fallen out of alignment with the corresponding policy SYS 135, UW System Undergraduate Transfer Policy, during the policy update in 2020.
• To address these inconsistencies and in recognition of policy taking legal precedent over procedure and guidance, this procedure and guidance is proposed for rescission. The policy will be incrementally revised, with technical updates made at the time of this rescission and the intent for a more thorough review and update in 2025. An interim policy action will be utilized to clarify best practices and procedures associated with Guaranteed Transfer until the holistic policy revisions are completed.