Regent Policy Documents

SECTION 20: FACULTY, ACADEMIC STAFF, AND TEACHING ASSISTANTS

20-18 REVIEW OF UNIVERSITY PERSONNEL POLICIES AND PRACTICES

(Formerly 05-1)

Whereas, at its September, 2005 meeting, the Board of Regents approved an eight-point resolution addressing University of Wisconsin System personnel policies and practices; and

Whereas, among other items included in that resolution, the Board of Regents directed that "with input from appropriate governance groups, position titles designated as limited appointments shall be reviewed, and the practice of negotiating fixed-term contracts for administrators in lieu of limited term appointments shall be considered.  A report on that assessment will be presented to the Board of Regents no later than its November, 2005 meeting;" and

Whereas, the advice of the governance groups has now been received, and it is the general consensus that fixed-term contracts for administrators should not be substituted for the current limited term appointments because of the likely additional costs associated with such a system, and the related loss of flexibility in dealing with administrators who no longer fulfill the requirements of the position; and

Whereas the governance groups have further suggested that, going forward, limited appointments should be restricted only to those identified in s. 36.17, Wis. Stats., unless otherwise authorized by the UW System President; and 

Whereas, the position titles designated as limited appointments and the practice of using fixed-term contracts for administrators in lieu of limited term appointments, have also been reviewed by appropriate UW System staff;

Now therefore be it resolved:

That, upon the recommendation of the President of the UW System, the Board of Regents adopts the following principles:

  1. As required by s. 36.17, Wis. Stats., limited appointees holding concurrent UW System faculty or academic staff appointments under ss. 36.13 and 36.15, Wis. Stats., shall not lose those faculty or academic staff appointments upon accepting a limited appointment.
  2. Limited appointees entering UW System employment from other institutions and either:  (a) holding a tenured faculty position elsewhere or (b) having been recruited to a position with a requirement or expectation of tenurability, and who have been recommended for tenure by the appropriate UW department may be granted a concurrent tenure appointment as part of the employment contract process.
  3. The status or the length of the term of a concurrent appointment held by a limited appointee may not be altered while the individual is serving in the limited appointment.
  4. Limited appointees entering UW System from other institutions who do not hold tenure elsewhere and were not recruited with a tenurability requirement shall not be granted concurrent appointments; however, at the discretion of the appointing authority, such employees may be granted not more than six months notice of termination as permitted under s. UWS 15.01, Wisconsin Administrative Code, at the same salary, and with possible reassignment to other duties during this period.
  5. From and after the date of this resolution, notwithstanding any institutional policies to the contrary, limited appointments shall be permitted only for those positions enumerated in s. 36.17, Wis. Stats., unless an institution demonstrates circumstances justifying the creation of additional limited appointments and the UW System President authorizes, in writing, the addition of such a limited appointment.

The effect of this resolution is to eliminate “back-up” appointments.

History: Res. 9091 adopted 11/11/05

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The Regent Policy Documents were adopted and are maintained pursuant to the policy-making authority vested in the Board of Regents by Wis. Stats. § 36. The Regent Policy Documents manifest significant policies approved by the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents. This document is a ready reference for those charged with carrying out these policies. Unless noted otherwise, associated documents and reports may be obtained from the Office of the Secretary of the Board of Regents, 1860 Van Hise Hall, 1220 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, ph 608-262-2324. http://www.uwsa.edu/bor/policies/