Wisconsin Code § 36.115

Personnel systems
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(1) In this section:
(a) “Chancellor” means the chancellor of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison.
(b) “State specialists” means faculty or academic staff at the
University of Wisconsin-Platteville, University of WisconsinRiver Falls, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, or University
of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
with appointments partially or fully funded through the division
of extension at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the field
of applied agricultural research.
(2) Except as provided in sub. (8), the board shall develop a
personnel system that is separate and distinct from the personnel

system under ch. 230 for all system employees except system employees assigned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
(3) Except as provided in sub. (8), the chancellor shall develop a personnel system that is separate and distinct from the
personnel system under ch. 230 for all system employees assigned
to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
(3m) The board shall set the salary ranges for all of the following positions:
(ae) Each of the vice chancellors who is serving as deputy at
the University of Wisconsin System campuses at Eau Claire,
Green Bay, La Crosse, Oshkosh, Parkside, Platteville, River Falls,
Stevens Point, Stout, Superior, and Whitewater and each of the
vice chancellors who is serving as deputy at the University of
Wisconsin Colleges and the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
(am) The vice presidents of the University of Wisconsin
System.
(ar) The chancellors at the University of Wisconsin System
campuses at Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Oshkosh, Parkside, Platteville, River Falls, Stevens Point, Stout, Superior, and
Whitewater and the chancellors of the University of Wisconsin
Colleges and the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
(b) The vice chancellor who is serving as deputy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
(bm) The senior vice presidents of the University of Wisconsin System.
(c) The vice chancellor who is serving as deputy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
(d) The chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
(e) The chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
(f) The president of the University of Wisconsin System.
(g) The associate and assistant vice presidents, vice chancellors not identified in pars. (ae), (b), or (c), assistant chancellors,
associate and assistant vice chancellors, and administrative directors and associate directors of physical plant, general operations
and services, and auxiliary enterprises activities or their equivalent, of each University of Wisconsin institution, the University
of Wisconsin-Extension, and the University of Wisconsin System
administration.
(4) The personnel systems developed under subs. (2) and (3)
shall include a civil service system, a grievance procedure that
addresses employee terminations, and provisions that address
employee discipline and workplace safety. The grievance procedure shall include all of the following elements:
(a) A written document specifying the process that a grievant
and an employer must follow.
(b) A hearing before an impartial hearing officer.
(c) An appeal process in which the highest level of appeal is
the board.
(5) (a) The personnel systems developed under subs. (2) and
(3) shall be implemented on July 1, 2015.
(b) The board may not implement the personnel system developed under sub. (2) unless it has been approved by the joint committee on employment relations. This paragraph does not apply
to revisions made under sub. (8) (b) or (d).
(c) The chancellor may not implement the personnel system
developed under sub. (3) unless it has been approved by the joint
committee on employment relations. This paragraph does not apply to revisions made under sub. (8) (b) or (d).
(6) All system employees holding positions in the classified
or unclassified service of the civil service system under ch. 230
on June 30, 2015, shall be included in the personnel systems developed under subs. (2) and (3). System employees holding positions in the classified service on June 30, 2015, who have
achieved permanent status in class on that date, shall retain, while
serving in the positions in the system, those protections afforded
employees in the classified service under ss. 230.34 (1) (a) and
230.44 (1) (c) relating to demotion, suspension, discharge, layoff,
or reduction in base pay. Such employees shall also have reinstatement privileges to the classified service as provided under s.
230.31 (1). System employees holding positions in the classified
service on June 30, 2015, who have not achieved permanent status in class on that date are eligible to receive the protections,
privileges, and rights preserved under this subsection if they successfully complete service equivalent to the probationary period
required in the classified service for the positions which they hold
on that date.
(7) Except as provided in sub. (8), the board shall establish
and maintain consistent employment relations policies and practices for all system employees except system employees assigned
to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the chancellor shall
establish and maintain consistent employment relations policies
and practices for all system employees assigned to the University
of Wisconsin-Madison.
(8) (a) No later than January 1, 2018, the board shall develop
and implement a plan that includes all of the following for each
institution within the system, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison:
1. Policies for monitoring teaching workloads of faculty and
instructional academic staff, including requirements for individual faculty and instructional academic staff members to report
the number of hours spent teaching to the system administration.
2. Policies for rewarding faculty and instructional academic
staff who teach more than a standard academic load.
(b) The board and the chancellor shall revise the personnel
systems developed under subs. (2) and (3) and the employment
relations policies and practices established under sub. (7) as necessary to ensure that the systems, policies, and practices are consistent with the plan required under par. (a).
(c) No later than September 1, 2021, the board shall develop
and implement a plan that includes policies for monitoring extension and outreach workloads of state specialists, including requirements for individual state specialists to report their extension and outreach hours to the system administration.
(d) The board and the chancellor shall revise the personnel
systems developed under subs. (2) and (3) and the employment
relations policies and practices established under sub. (7) as necessary to ensure that the systems, policies, and practices are consistent with the plan required under par. (c).
(9) (a) Notwithstanding s. 16.505 (2m) and (2p), the board
shall continue to maintain, across the entire system, the number
of positions for system employees that are funded by either general purpose revenue or program revenue at the level in effect on
January 1, 2024, as set forth in, and subject to all of the terms of,
the resolution adopted by the board on December 13, 2023, except that this paragraph applies through and after December 31,
2026.
(b) The chancellor may not create or abolish any position under s. 16.505 (2m) or (2p) for any system employee assigned to
the University of Wisconsin-Madison that would be inconsistent
with par. (a).
(10) (a) In this subsection:
1. “Credit hour,” with respect to a course, means a period of
not less than 50 consecutive minutes per week of instructional
time for each week of the semester or session that the course is offered, excluding the week of or the week immediately preceding
final examinations for the course.
2. “Faculty” has the meaning given in s. 36.05 (8) except that

faculty does not include the chancellor or provost of an
institution.
(b) Notwithstanding sub. (8) and any provision of the personnel systems under subs. (2) and (3), the provisions of this subsection apply with respect to each institution within the system, including the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
(c) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2. and pars. (d) to (f), beginning on September 1, 2026, each full-time faculty member
and each full-time member of the instructional academic staff
shall teach no fewer than 24 credit hours per academic year and, if
the faculty member or instructional academic staff member is
employed on a 12-month contract, an additional 6 credit hours
during the summer.
2. Except as provided in pars. (d) to (f), beginning on September 1, 2026, each full-time faculty member and each full-time
member of the instructional academic staff assigned to an institution that is classified as Research 1 by the Carnegie Classification
of Institutions of Higher Education shall teach no fewer than 12
credit hours per academic year and, if the faculty member or instructional academic staff member is employed on a 12-month
contract, an additional 3 credit hours during the summer.
3. Beginning on September 1, 2026, an instructional employee who has less than a full-time appointment shall teach a
minimum number of credit hours in the proportion that the appointment bears to the required credit hours for a full-time instructional employee.
4. Beginning on September 1, 2026, except as provided in
par. (f), an instructional employee shall teach not fewer than one
course during any semester or summer session.
(d) 1. Each academic department in an institution may designate one individual to serve as the chairperson of the department.
The duties of the chairperson shall be determined by the chancellor of the institution to which the individual is assigned. The
teaching responsibilities under par. (c) may be reduced for the department chairperson commensurate with the individual’s duties
as chairperson.
2. An institution may assign administrative duties to instructional employees other than the chairperson of a department and
may designate these instructional employees as having these administrative duties, but the institution may not designate more
than 10 percent of either faculty or instructional academic staff as
having administrative duties. The teaching responsibilities under
par. (c) may be reduced for instructional employees designated as
having administrative duties to the extent a policy governing the
reduction is approved by the joint committee on employment relations no later than January 31, 2026.
(e) The board shall develop a buyout plan that, if approved as
provided in par. (f) 3., allows for the reduction of the number of
credit hours an instructional employee is required to teach under
par. (c).
(f) 1. Subject to subds. 2. to 4., the board may adopt guidelines, consistent with the provisions of this subsection that provide additional details relevant to the requirements under this
subsection, or that present exceptions for reasonably justified circumstances, but only if, no later than December 1, 2025, the
board submits to the joint committee on employment relations
the proposed guidelines for legislative review.
2. In the proposed guidelines submitted under subd. 1., the
board may propose exceptions to the requirements under par. (c)
or other requirements under this subsection. If the joint committee on employment relations approves these exceptions prior to
January 31, 2026, the board may adopt and implement the exceptions and incorporate the approved exceptions into its guidelines.
3. If the joint committee on employment relations approves
the buyout plan under par. (e) prior to January 31, 2026, the board
may implement the buyout plan.
4. To the extent applicable, the board’s submission under
subd. 1. shall include any request for a reduction in teaching responsibilities for instructional employees designated as having
administrative duties under par. (d) 2.
(g) Annually, the board shall report to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3) all of the following information:
1. The total credit hours taught by faculty and instructional
academic staff, grouped according to the following factors:
a. Classification as faculty or instructional academic staff.
b. Institution to which the employee is assigned.
c. Whether the employee has a full-time appointment and, if
not, the extent of the part-time appointment.
d. Each funding source and the amount of funding from each
source.
2. The percentage of teaching staff at each institution meeting the full workload requirements under this subsection.
(h) In its report under s. 13.94 (1) (t), the legislative audit bureau shall evaluate the board’s compliance with the requirements
under this subsection.

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