Reminder: October University Policy Distribution
As a reminder, the October university policy distribution contains three (3) revised policies, two (2) new policies, one (1) rescinded policy and one (1) new procedure.
Three (3) revised SYS policies:
- SYS 238, Payments to Nonresident Aliens
- SYS 336, Sales & Use Tax
- SYS 1032, Information Security: Awareness
Two (2) new SYS policies:
- SYS 216, Academic Basis Pay Deferral Policy
- SYS 351, Purchasing Card Compliance Policy
One (1) new procedure:
- SYS 351.A, Purchasing Card Procedure
One (1) policy proposed for rescission:
- SYS 171, Recruitment/Retention of Students
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 revised policies and procedure are due on Friday, November 10th, 2023 by 5:00pm.
Comments on the policy proposed for rescission are due on Tuesday, November 21st by 5:00pm.
DRAFT REVISED POLICY
SYS 238, Payments to Nonresident Aliens
Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions
- This policy is one of three that was split out from old policy 235 -Payments for Personal Services. At the time of the split, the substantive provisions of SYS 235 were not changed, only reorganized based on subject matter. The resultant policies were SYS 236, SYS 237 and SYS 238. This current revision to the policy and to its associated attachments is designed to update the information and requirements in the policy to reflect current USCIS and IRS requirements for payments to foreign nationals, specifically, nonresident aliens.
- The definitions have been updated to reflect current IRS definitions.
- The requirements in the policy have been updated regarding the requirements for Glacier accounts.
- The payment requirements in the policy have been updated to reflect current IRS rules.
- Links have been inserted to UW-Madison payment tools and other resources to assist policy users in finding the correct tax rules.
DRAFT REVISED POLICY
SYS 336, Sales & Use Tax
Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions
- The purpose of this policy is to outline the responsibilities of the University of Wisconsin (UW) universities in terms of paying and collecting state and county sales and use taxes.
- Revisions were made to update policy formatting to current standards.
- Section 4 was updated to no longer include specific counties that have instituted additional tax rates and now directs users to the Wisconsin Tax Bulletin for current rates in Wisconsin.
DRAFT REVISED POLICY
SYS 1032, Information Security: Awareness
Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions
- This policy establishes information security awareness requirements for UW System community members. Revisions to the policy include the following:
- The policy was restructured and reorganized to align with current policy formatting and group security awareness training requirements based on a user’s relationship with UW System
- Added language to encourage institutions to incorporate Information Security training within the student onboarding process
- Expanded and clarified institution’s responsibilities in training groups of UW community members not considered active employees or students. Specifically:
- Requires institutions to maintain written expectations regarding what security awareness training requirements are required for consultants, contractors, vendors, emeritus, alumni, and volunteers
- Requires institutions to fulfill tracking and training of the above groups based on the institution’s defined training requirements
- Added a section that defines how often security awareness training content should be reviewed and updated, and outlines baseline requirements of what training content should accomplish
- Updated phishing simulation requirements, generalizing when employees may be enrolled in supplemental phishing training and restricting employees from implementing technical means to prevent the receipt of phishing simulations
DRAFT NEW POLICY
SYS 216, Academic Basis Pay Deferral Policy
Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions
- Currently, employees who are paid on an academic year (C) basis are paid for 9 months, and not paid during the summer, unless working a summer assignment. This policy allows these employees to defer a portion of their pay during the academic year, and to receive regular paycheck during the summer months (spreading 9 months of compensation out over a 12-month period).
- Policy is crafted to comply with I.R.C. section 409(A), governing non-qualified deferred compensation plans.
DRAFT NEW POLICY
SYS 351, Purchasing Card Compliance Policy
Summary of Policy and Policy Revisions
- This new policy establishes the framework for implementing and managing a successful purchasing card (PCard) program at the designated institutions
DRAFT NEW PROCEUDRE
SYS 351.A, Purchasing Card Procedure
Summary of Procedure and Procedure Revisions
- This procedure outlines Purchasing Card (PCard) protocols for cardholders in alignment with SYS 351, Purchasing Card Compliance Policy.
DRAFT POLICY RESCISSION
SYS 171, Recruitment/Retention of Students
- This policy was designed to promote standardization across UW System universities regarding the amount of information/assistance provided to prospective undergraduate and graduate students to determine if a particular university can provide instruction, research and academic support services to meet their needs. It also addresses special efforts that may be needed to recruit and retain targeted groups of students, including minority and/or disadvantaged students, students underrepresented by gender in a particular discipline, or exceptionally talented students a university is attempting to recruit to remain competitive in the higher education environment.
- SYS 171 dictates which funds may be used for this purpose and lists expenditures that are considered appropriate for general recruitment, as well as additional expenditures that may be approved for recruitment and/or retention of targeted groups.
- This policy was initially approved in 1975 as Financial Policy and Procedure Paper (FPPP) 26, during the formation of the UW System. It was designed to promote standardization across the universities in terms of their informational offerings to prospective students. Subsequent revisions added consideration for targeted groups.
Rationale for Rescission
- Upon review, this policy does not provide universities with additional funds for recruitment of additional information beyond what is found in other policies and practices. At this state of maturity as a System, it is determined that the standardization this policy was designed to promote has been achieved and is now codified in campus policies and practices. Therefore, this policy is proposed for rescission.
Effective Dates Reminder
SYS 1038, Information Security: Network Protection and SYS 1038.A, Information Security: Network Protection Standard, which were approved on November 9, 2023, became effective on December 1, 2023.