Chapter 4B - Personnel Rules (Faculty/Acad. Staff appointments/appeals)

CHAPTER 4B PERSONNEL RULES

SECTION 3: INTERPRETATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES FOR PERSONNEL RULES AND POLICIES:  FACULTY APPOINTMENT

DEPARTMENTAL/UNIT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Wherever UWSP Personnel Rules or policies or procedures provide for the development of departmental/unit policies and procedures and the approval of those policies or procedures by the chancellor or vice chancellor, approval has been delegated to designees

• for departments/units reporting to a dean, the designee is the dean;
• for departments/units reporting to vice chancellors, the designee is the vice chancellor; and
• for departments/units reporting directly to the provost, the designee is the provost.

FACULTY RANKS

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS. 

An individual to be considered for appointment or promotion must meet at least the stated minimum qualifications of training and experience for the appropriate rank–

Instructor: 

master’s degree or equivalent, preferably with evidence of progress toward a higher degree;

Assistant Professor:

 earned doctorate or the highest degree normally earned in the field;

Associate Professor: 

earned doctorate or the highest degree normally earned in the field and, normally, a minimum of 5 years (7 years for part‑time) of teaching experience at the college level; or

Professor: 

earned doctorate or the highest degree normally earned in the field and, normally, a minimum of 10 years (13 years for part‑time) of teaching experience at the college level, plus evidence of scholarly academic standing as demonstrated through publication or other professional attainment.

ALTERNATIVES TO THE DOCTORATE.  

Terminal Degrees. 

The university includes departments and specializations in which the highest degree normally earned is not the doctorate and in which a requirement for the earned doctorate would be inappropriate.

Departmental Determination. 

These areas and specializations are determined by the relevant faculty in cooperation with the appropriate administrative officers.  In such areas and specializations, appropriate educational requirements other than the earned doctorate shall be established by the appropriate faculty and administrative officers and thereafter approved by faculty governance.

Requirements. 

Such requirements should be established using nationally recognized professional standards and shall be published and be available to the appropriate faculty.   Promotions on the basis of such requirements shall not be considered exceptions to the minimal qualifications stated above.

EXCEPTIONS. 

Any of the requirements above may be waived in exceptional instances where the faculty member possesses unusual qualities exceeding those normally acceptable.   Exceptions to the requirements for promotion are granted by the chancellor.

MODIFICATION OR REMOVAL OF RANK. 

Modification or removal of rank without the agreement of the department, school, or other administrative unit, and of the individual faculty member, may occur only after appropriate notice, hearing, and finding of inappropriate behavior or activity under the provisions of chapters UWS/UWSP 4  or6  .

Administrative Assignment and Academic Staff Titles. 
Already employed faculty reassigned or employed as administrators or other specialized personnel may be employed as academic staff or with academic staff titles but retain rank and status as faculty.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES*

Faculty teaching general education courses must hold a master’s degree or higher in the discipline or subfield. If a faculty member holds a master’s degree or higher in a discipline or subfield other than that in which he or she is teaching, that faculty member should have completed a minimum of 18 graduate credit hours in the discipline or subfield in which they teach.

* Revisions are based on the Higher Learning Commission. March 2016. Determining Qualified Faculty Through HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices: Guidelines for Institutions and Peer Reviewers. http://download.hlcommission.org/FacultyGuidelines_2016_OPB.pdf.

DEPARTMENTAL TESTED EXPERIENCE CRITERIA FOR RANK*

Tested experience includes a breadth and depth of experience outside of the classroom in real-world situations relevant to the discipline in which the faculty member is teaching. Each Unit should develop hiring qualifications that outline the minimum threshold of experience and a system of evaluation for tested experience. This experience could include the skill sets, types of certifications or additional credentials, and experiences that would meet tested experience requirements for specific disciplines and programs. Faculty hiring qualifications related to tested experience should be reviewed and approved through the university governance process.

* Revisions are based on the Higher Learning Commission. March 2016. Determining Qualified Faculty Through HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices: Guidelines for Institutions and Peer Reviewers. http://download.hlcommission.org/FacultyGuidelines_2016_OPB.pdf.

APPLIED MUSIC.

Instructor

• Master’s degree in another field and five years relevant teaching experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in Music and five years of experience in the field.

Assistant Professor. 

Degree. 
Required training and experience:  a master’s degree in music and 4 years of college teaching experience, or as a professional performer, or a combination of both.

Other Requirements. 
Excellence in the appropriate applied area, as demonstrated by either

• active participation in public concerts on or off campus, as either a member of a professional orchestra, opera company, or other ensemble, or as a soloist, or
• recordings, tours, engagements, critical reviews, recognition by colleagues, etc.

Teaching. 
In addition to peer and student evaluations, teaching excellence shall be supported by activities outside the university as a clinician and educator, and by the accomplishments of former and present students.

Associate Professor, Music Department Artist Faculty.

(i.e., faculty whose major teaching expertise is in the performance areas:  voice, instrument, conducting, composition). 

Degree. 
A master’s degree in music.

Teaching Experience. 
Required training and experience:  a minimum of 5 years of college teaching experience.

Performance.
Proven excellence in performance and teaching at the college level as evaluated by faculty and students.

Professional Experience. 
Professional experience that includes associations with professionally recognized artists, through participation as a permanent member of a recognized major symphony, opera company, choral organization, chamber group, etc., or through participation as a solo performer or conductor in professional activities outside the university.

Professional Growth. 
Evidence of continued professional growth and study in categories such as

• study with eminent teachers who may or may not be affiliated with schools of higher education;
• participation as teacher, performer, conductor, or other active member in recognized music festivals, workshops, seminars, or master classes;
• performance in professional recordings;
• finalist in a major competition;
• advanced-level scholarship or fellowship recipient; and
• publications (articles, books, compositions).

Tenure.

Faculty members qualifying for assistant professor under the criteria above shall be considered for tenure on the same basis as an assistant professor who holds the terminal degree.

COMPUTING AND NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES (CNMT)

Instructor.

Appointment - The candidate must have a master’s degree in a CNMT-related field with proven expertise in computing.

Assistant Professor.

Appointment - The candidate must have a master’s degree or higher in a CNMT-related field with proven expertise in computing as well as demonstrable and continuous professional development activities in computing during the most recent five years.  In addition, the candidate should have at least one of the following: three years of college teaching experience in computing, equivalent professional work experience in computing, or current certification by a recognized certification body.

Promotion to Rank - The candidate must satisfy the appointment criteria, must have three years of college teaching experience, must be promotable according to the Department Handbook, and must receive a rating of “better than promotable performance” in both teaching and professional disciplinary growth using the criteria defined in the Department Handbook.

Associate Professor.

Appointment - The candidate must have a master’s degree or higher in a CNMT-related field with proven expertise in computing, demonstrable and continuous professional development activities in computing during the most recent seven years, five years of college teaching experience in computing, and three years of additional professional work experience in computing.

Promotion to Rank - The candidate must satisfy the appointment criteria at the Assistant Professor level, must have five years of college teaching experience in computing, must be promotable according to the Department Handbook, and must receive a rating of “better than promotable performance” in both teaching and professional disciplinary growth using the criteria defined in the Department Handbook.

INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE.    

These are criteria for appointment, promotion, and tenure.

Instructor. 

The candidate must have a master’s degree and significant professional managerial and/or creative design experience.

Assistant Professor.

The candidate must have a master’s degree and 3 years of experience; a combination of professional experience and post‑secondary teaching experience.

Associate Professor. 

In addition to the qualifications for Assistant Professor, 5 years of superior performance in college teaching and superior status in professional development is required.

Professor. 

In addition to the qualifications for Associate Professor, a record of continuous and consistent superior professional development with recognized national status by peers is required.  An exceptional record of teaching performance and continuous high quality service must be achieved.

Tenure. 

Faculty hired through the fall of 1998 who have met the criteria for associate professor shall be considered as having terminal degrees for tenure purposes.

NATURAL RESOURCES: NATURAL RESOURCES LAW ENFORCEMENT.

Assistant Professor.

A Master of Science or higher degree with a major in a natural resources field plus a minimum of 3 years of experience in Conservation or Natural Resources Law Enforcement.

Associate Professor.

In addition to the requirements for the Assistant Professor rank, 5 years of teaching experience at the college level plus evidence of scholarly achievement as demonstrated through research and publication or other professional achievement.

Professor.

In addition to the requirements for the Associate Professor rank, 10 years of teaching experience at the college level plus evidence of scholarly achievement as demonstrated through research and publication or other professional achievement.

Tenure.     

A Master of Science degree shall be considered the terminal degree for tenure purposes.

NATURAL RESOURCES: WILDLAND FIRE SCIENCE.

Assistant Professor.

A Master of Science or higher degree with a major in a natural resources field plus a minimum of 3 years of experience in Wildland Fire Management.

Associate Professor.

In addition to the requirements for the Assistant Professor rank, 5 years of teaching experience at the college level plus evidence of scholarly achievement as demonstrated through research and publication or other professional achievement.

Professor.

In addition to the requirements for the Associate Professor rank, 10 years of teaching experience at the college level plus evidence of scholarly achievement as demonstrated through research and publication or other professional achievement.

Tenure.

A Master of Science degree shall be considered the terminal degree for tenure purposes.

SOCIOLOGY:  FACULTY IN SOCIAL WORK.

Instructor.

Required training and experience:  an MSW degree or its equivalent from an institution accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, plus 2 years of acceptable field experience.

Assistant Professor. 

Required training and experience:  an MSW degree or its equivalent from an institution accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, a minimum of 1 year of college teaching in social work, and 3 years of varied field experience in social work agencies.

Associate Professor.

Required training and experience:  A DSW or Ph.D. in social work and five years’ college teaching experience, plus evidence of scholarly work and professional development.  Alternatively, an MSW degree or its equivalent from an institution accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, evidence of scholarly work and professional development, five years’ college teaching experience and three years’ field experience with social work agencies.

Professor.

Required training and experience:  A DSW or Ph.D. in social work and ten years of college teaching experience, plus evidence of scholarly work and professional development.  Alternatively, an MSW degree or its equivalent from an institution accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, evidence of scholarly work and professional development, ten years’ college teaching experience and five years’ field experience with a social work agency, including at least two years of demonstrated involvement in administrative program development or agency consultation.

Tenure.

 An MSW degree shall be treated as a terminal degree for tenure purposes.

MUSICAL THEATRE.

Assistant Professor. 

Degree

A master’s degree in Theatre OR Music OR Appropriate Field.

Teaching Experience

Required training and experience:  4 years of college teaching experience, or as a professional performer, or a combination of both.

Other Requirements

Excellence in the field of Musical Theatre, as demonstrated by:

• active participation in Professional Performances, including touring, on or off-campus.

Teaching

In addition to peer and student evaluations, teaching excellence shall be supported by activities outside the university as a clinician and educator, and by the accomplishments of former and present students.

Associate Professor

Degree

A master’s degree in Theatre OR Music OR Appropriate Field.

Teaching Experience

Required training and experience: a minimum of 5 years of college teaching experience.

Performance

Proven excellence in performance and teaching at the college level as evaluated by faculty and students.

Professional Experience

Professional experience that includes associations with professionally recognized artists or through participation as a performer, music director, or director in professional theatrical events, including touring.

Professional Growth

Evidence of continued professional growth and study in categories such as:

• participation as teacher, performer, musical director, or director in recognized professional performances, workshops, seminars, or master classes;
• performance in professional recordings;
• advanced-level scholarship or fellowship recipient; and
• publications (articles, books, compositions).

Tenure

Faculty members qualifying for assistant professor under the criteria above shall be considered for tenure on the same basis as an assistant professor who holds the terminal degree.

UNIVERSITY LIBRARY.

Terminal Degrees.

A master’s degree in library/information science from an American Library Association (ALA)-accredited institution or international equivalent; or in the case of University Archives faculty, a master’s degree with an archives sequence.

Instructor. 

a master’s degree, preferably with evidence of progress toward a terminal degree;

Assistant Professor. 

a terminal degree;

Associate Professor. 

a terminal degree and, normally, a minimum of 5 years (7 years for part-time) of professional library experience at the college level; plus evidence of service, scholarship, and professional growth;

Professor. 

a terminal degree and, normally, a minimum of 10 years (13 years for part-time) of professional library experience at the college level; plus, continued evidence of service, scholarship, and professional growth.

GRADUATE FACULTY

NOTE: This policy also appears in Chapter 4B, Section 5

Criteria: Both of the following:

• Rank of Assistant Professor or higher.
• Either

• Successful teaching experience in the discipline in which the faculty member provides graduate instruction, or
• Continuing evidence of scholarly achievement and professional activity.

MEMBERSHIP PROCESS

Prospective graduate faculty members are recommended by department chairs or their equivalent in consultation with faculty members eligible for graduate faculty status. Departmental recommendations shall be forwarded to the Graduate Council for information. This status will grant an individual the ability to serve on thesis or dissertation committees, teach graduate level courses, and vote on matters related to the graduate faculty.

ASSOCIATED GRADUATE FACULTY

Criteria: Both of the following:

• Rank of Assistant Professor or higher where the highest degree typically earned is other than the academic doctorate.
• Either

• Successful teaching experience in the discipline in which the faculty member provides graduate instruction, or
• Continuing evidence of scholarly achievement and professional activity.

MEMBERSHIP PROCESS

Prospective associated graduate faculty members are recommended by department chairs or their equivalent in consultation with faculty members eligible for associated graduate faculty status. Departmental recommendations shall be forwarded to the Graduate Council for information. This status will grant an individual the ability to teach graduate-level courses. Individuals are not eligible to serve on thesis or dissertation committees, however, those appointed to associated graduate faculty status with unique expertise required for completion of thesis or dissertation requirements may apply for temporary graduate research status. Associated graduate faculty must meet the approved ATE requirements for their department.

TEMPORARY GRADUATE RESEARCH STATUS

Criteria: Both of the following:

• A Ph.D., Ed.D, or terminal professional degree;
• Continuing evidence of scholarly achievement and professional activity. 

MEMBERSHIP PROCESS

Upon recommendation of the department and the dean of the college, instructors may obtain TEMPORARY GRADUATE RESEARCH STATUS. Departmental recommendations shall be forwarded to the Graduate Council for information. These appointments are designed to allow collaborators from other institutions or non-permanent appointments at the university (e.g., postdoctoral researchers) to serve on thesis or dissertation committees. Such appointments will only allow individuals to serve on thesis or dissertation committees and authorization will typically be granted for the duration of the collaborative project for which they are assisting. Individuals who serve on more than one committee must have temporary graduate research status approved for each project. Temporary graduate research status does not authorize an individual to teach graduate level courses (a separate authorization would be required) and does not grant the ability of an individual to vote on graduate faculty matters that pertain to administrative or curriculum issues.

TEMPORARY GRADUATE TEACHING STATUS

Criteria: Both of the following

• Qualifications for rank of Assistant Professor or higher.
• Either

• Successful teaching experience in the discipline in which graduate instruction is given, or
• Continuing evidence of scholarly achievement and professional activity.

Upon recommendation of the department, faculty or instructional academic staff may be given TEMPORARY GRADUATE TEACHING STATUS. Departmental recommendations shall be forwarded to the Graduate Council for information for a term no more than 5 years. Minimum requirements for temporary graduate teaching status are to have the qualifications for rank of Assistant Professor within their discipline and teaching or scholarly activity as outlined above unless their department has alternative tested experience criteria listed below. These ALTERNATIVE TESTED EXPERIENCE CRITERIA must be approved by the Graduate Council. Temporary graduate teaching status does not authorize an individual to serve on thesis or dissertation committees and does not grant the ability of an individual to vote on graduate faculty matters that pertain to administrative or curriculum issues.

ALTERNATIVE TESTED EXPERIENCE CRITERIA

COLLEGE OF NATURAL RESOURCES

For the College of Natural Resources, “tested experience” and/or “skill sets, certifications, other credentials” includes the following:

• Possession of a terminal degree in a natural resources discipline OR
• Professional experience equivalent to 5 years in one, or a combination, of the following:

• Employment with a private, public, or non-profit agency whose primary service is to provide education, policy development, management, commercial or other professional services for the following sectors:

• Forest Management
• Environmental Education or Interpretation
• Natural Resource Planning, Policy, or Sustainable Energy
• Soil, Land, or Waste Management
• Wildlife Management or Captive Wildlife
• Water Resource Management
• Fisheries Management
• Paper Science Manufacturing or Chemical/ Environmental Engineering

• Teaching experience in a primary or secondary classroom (kindergarten through grade 12) may be considered for instructional assignments related to environmental education.
• Informal teaching experience, including the delivery of outreach, extension, or similar community-oriented programming.

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

For the purpose of advanced courses with specialized disciplinary content, the department requires a master’s degree or PhD candidacy in a field related to biology, and evidence of at least one of the following:

• Identified graduate coursework of at least 6 credits in specialized disciplinary content consistent with the assigned course for the instructor, or
• Publications and/or presentations at professional conferences in the disciplinary content area of the assigned course for the instructor, or
• At least 3 years of professional experience working in a discipline directly related to the content area of the assigned course for the instructor

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY

In the Geography/Geology Department, “tested experience” and/or “skill sets, certifications, other credentials” are met by one or a combination of the following:

For graduate-level instructors in Geography:

• Achievement of Ph.D. candidacy (from an accredited university) in Geography or in a related field.
• Applied research in a geographic subfield (e.g., geospatial techniques) that engaged community, government, or business groups and resulted in a presentation or in published materials.
• Attainment of state or national certificates or accreditation from a geographic or related professional organization in which 5 years of experience are required, or 3-4 years of experience are required and a minimum of two re-certifications is achieved.
• Non-university related employment in a position that uses geographic or related knowledge and skill sets on a daily basis.

For graduate-level instructors in Geology:

• Achievement of Ph.D. candidacy (from an accredited university) in Geology or in a related field.
• Applied research in a geologic subfield (e.g. hydrogeology) that engaged community, government, or business groups and resulted in a presentation or in published materials.
• Attainment of state or national certificates or accreditation from a geologic or related professional organization in which 5 years of experience are required, or 3-4 years of experience are required and a minimum of two re-certifications is achieved.
• Non-university related employment in a position that uses geologic or related knowledge and skill sets on a daily basis.

SENTRY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

Qualification guidelines for teaching graduate courses

For faculty to teach graduate courses in the Sentry School of Business and Economics, the following criteria apply:

• An appropriate earned doctorate OR Alternative tested experience: An appropriate Master’s degree in a field related to the courses taught, plus executive or professional-level experience. The faculty member must have a minimum of 5 years of managerial or professional-level experience in business, education, government or the military relevant to the subject matter of the courses taught. In rare cases, candidate with a relevant undergraduate degree plus significant and extensive executive professional-level experience may be nominated by the personnel committee. In these rare instances the experience should be significant in terms of the level of executive responsibility (high-ranking) and extensive in terms of the length of experience (career length).

SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION SCIENCES AND DISORDERS

Policy for Tested Experience Hiring Criteria:

Hiring Requirements:

1. To teach undergraduate courses - the person must hold a minimum of a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology; or a Master’s degree or a license or certification beyond the baccalaureate degree in the specific content area of the course (e.g., sign language).
2. To teach graduate courses - the person must hold a minimum of a Master’s degree in speech-language pathology or audiology, have a license to practice, and/or hold national certification, and have a minimum of 3 years of clinical experience; or have a Master’s degree in an unrelated discipline, and possess a license or certification beyond the baccalaureate degree in the specific content area of the course (e.g., business/practice management).

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

The School of Education believes that a faculty member should hold a terminal degree to teach graduate courses. Alternative tested experience: temporary graduate faculty will need to possess a Master’s degree, five years of professional experience including at least three years PK-12 teaching experience that is consistent with their discipline, and where applicable, the knowledge, skills and dispositions to teach online, hybrid or face-to-face courses. In other circumstances, the combination of a Master’s degree, three years of PK-12 teaching experience, discipline specific to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction certifications/licenses, specialized credentials, skill sets or relevant real-world experience are considered evidence of appropriate qualifications for graduate teaching.

Educational Sustainability Doctoral Program (Ed.D.)

Introduction

The following defines the Educational Sustainability (Ed.D.) doctoral program minimum qualifications and tested experience for instructional faculty teaching courses in the Educational Sustainability doctoral program. This does not include the courses EDSU 918 (Scholar Mentorship course) or the EDSU, EDSU 919 (Applied Residency Course) 920 (Dissertation Course); please see the Affiliate Scholar Practitioner Program for those requirements.

The Ed.D. program is interdisciplinary in nature given the social, ecological and economical aspects of the broad field of education defined as informal, formal and nonformal systems of teaching, learning and leading. These systems include but not limited to, K-12 Education, Higher Education, Adult Learning, Life-long learning, and educational components of business, communities, non-profit educational institutions, international educational organizations and sustainability pedagogies and learning to support.

Given that the field of educational sustainability questions historical trends, current practice and future orientations of education from social, cultural, ecological and economic contexts, students often are interested in exploring and practicing in and for novel places (both geographically speaking and theoretically/philosophically thinking), weaving contributions of other disciplinary fields into research and professional practice. To this extent, courses and related experiences connect this scope of sustainability to support the Ed.D. program as interdisciplinary within clearly defined outcomes set forth and approved by HLC (see Ed.D. catalog for outcomes).

Alternative Tested Criteria

With this explanation, and for the purpose of the doctoral courses in this interdisciplinary arena, the department requires: an Ed.D. or Ph.D. in a disciplinary field related to the course being taught and 3 years of combined professional/practitioner, teaching and/or research experience in the specific content area of the course being taught.

SCHOOL OF HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONS

Policy for Tested Experience Hiring Criteria

Athletic Training

Hiring Requirements:

1. To teach graduate courses in the Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) program, the person must hold either:

1. A Doctorate of Athletic Training (DAT), possess a current and active license to practice Athletic Training in any jurisdiction in the United States, and a minimum of three (3) full-time equivalent years of clinical experience with the demonstrated post-professional expertise clinical expertise in the content area assigned. Post-professional expertise can be demonstrated by recent continuing professional education in the content area.
2. A Post-professional Master’s degree, possess a current and active license to practice Athletic Training in any jurisdiction in t he United States, and a minimum of three (3) full-time equivalent years of clinical experience with demonstrated post-professional expertise in the content area assigned. Post-professional expertise can be demonstrated by recent continuing professional education in the content area.
3. An entry-level Master’s degree in Athletic Training, possess a current and active license to practice Athletic Training in any jurisdiction in the United States, and a minimum of five (5) full-time equivalent years of clinical experience, and post-professional expertise as demonstrated by additional specialist certifications recognized by the Board of Certification (BOC).

Physical Therapy

Hiring Requirements:

1. To teach graduate courses in the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, the person must hold either:

1. a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, a current and active license to practice physical therapy in any jurisdiction in the United States, and a minimum of three (3) full-time equivalent years of clinical experience with demonstrated post-professional expertise can be demonstrated by recent continuing professional education in the content area, and/or specialist certification recognized by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists (ABPTS);

OR

2. A post-professional Master’s degree, a current and active license to practice physical therapy in any jurisdiction in the United States, and a minimum of five (5) full-time equivalent years of clinical experience and post-professional expertise as demonstrated by current specialist certification recognized by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists (ABPTS).

SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROMOTION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Qualification Guidelines for Teaching Graduate Courses 

The following define for the School of Health Promotion and Human Development at UWSP the minimum qualifications and tested experience (e.g., skills, certifications, credentials, professional experiences) for teaching graduate courses that we offer in the following areas:

Community and Organizational Leadership

Master’s degree in a discipline within the fields of Government & Public Administration, Business Management and Administration, Health Science, Human Services, Communications, Marketing, or Education and Training as appropriate to the specific content area of the course, plus 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course.

Family and Consumer Sciences

Master’s degree in Education, Human Development, Family and Consumer Sciences, Counseling, or related discipline within the fields of Human Services, or Family Studies, or Education as appropriate to the specific course being taught; plus 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course, or teaching licensure in Family and Consumer Sciences and 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course.

Food and Nutrition

Master’s degree in Health Education, Public Health, Exercise Science, or related discipline within the fields of Health Science, Human Services, Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources, Government and Public Administration or Business Management & Administration as appropriate to the specific content area of the course, plus 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course.

Health and Wellness Management

Master’s degree in Health Education, Public Health, Nutrition, Exercise Science or related discipline within the fields of Health Science, Human Services, Marketing, or Business Management and Administration as appropriate to the specific content area of the course, plus 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course.

Health Promotion and Wellness

Master’s degree in Health Education, Public Health, Nutrition, Exercise Science or related discipline within the fields of Health Science, Human Services, Marketing, or Business Management and Administration as appropriate to the specific content area of the course, plus 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course.

Human Development

Master’s degree in Education, Human Development, Family and Consumer Sciences, Counseling, or related discipline within the fields of Human Services, Family Studies, or Education as appropriate to the specific content area of the course, plus 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course.

Membership Process

Using the criteria above and upon recommendation of the department and the dean of the college instructors may obtain TEMPORARY GRADUATE TEACHING STATUS. Such appointments must specify the courses(s) to be taught and the duration for temporary only pertain to the teaching of the specified course(s). Under no circumstances shall the temporary status be used as a continuing substitute for graduate faculty membership. Temporary graduate teaching status does not authorize an individual to serve on thesis or dissertation committees (a separate authorization would be required) and does not grant the ability of an individual to vote on graduate faculty matters that pertain to administrative or curriculum issues.

The department or dean has the responsibility to communicate this TEMPORARY GRADUATE TEACHING STATUS to the registrar.

LIMITED APPOINTMENTS

DEFINITION. 

A limited appointment is an appointment to a designated administrative position in which the individual serves at the pleasure of the appointing official.  Such appointments are governed by the provisions of Chapter UWS 15.

APPOINTMENT RIGHTS. 

Current Faculty. 

A member of the faculty granted a limited appointment does not lose existing rights to a faculty appointment by accepting the limited appointment.

Initial Appointment. 

Whenever feasible, an individual granted a limited appointment and not already holding a faculty [or academic staff] appointment shall be given an appropriate faculty [or academic staff] appointment.

Termination. 

Termination of a limited appointment is not a dismissal under Chapters UWS/UWSP 4  and is not otherwise appealable.

Notice. 

Whenever possible, an individual holding a limited appointment without another faculty [or academic staff] appointment shall be given notice of termination of the limited appointment at least 3 months in advance of the expiration of the appointment.

SALARY. 

The salary for an individual with a limited appointment is determined by an vice chancellor, the provost, or the chancellor, as appropriate.  Such salaries are based upon the appointee’s duties and shall be in conformity with the salary structure prescribed in the UW System.  Annual salary increases for faculty holding limited appointments are also determined by the appointing authority.

EDUCATIONAL CODE, CREDITING OF PRIOR SERVICE, AND SALARY INFORMATION

EDUCATIONAL PREPARATION CODE. 

Effective 2006-2007, a faculty member’s code assignment is based on the following academic preparation.

Code 1.

• Ph.D.
• Ed.D.
• Earned doctor’s degree equivalent to the Ph.D. or Ed.D., requiring an original contribution to the field and requiring the minimum equivalent of 3 full years of graduate study beyond the baccalaureate.
• MFA in creative arts (specifically: studio art, creative writing, dance and technical areas of drama) when a higher terminal degree is not normally awarded.        

Code 2.

• Earned degrees, such as the J.D., requiring a minimum of 90 semester credit hours of graduate level work beyond the baccalaureate degree.
• All requirements for the doctorate met except completion of the dissertation.

Code 3.

• Master’s degree plus 30 semester credit hours of graduate level work in a coherent program of study.  If the master’s degree requires more than 30 semester credit hours, then the additional graduate level work only needs to bring the total semester credit hours to 60 (for example, a master’s degree requiring 36 semester credit hours would need to be supplemented with an additional 24 credits to qualify for this educational code.)
• A specialist degree or its equivalent.
• University Library faculty with an MLS and a second approved master’s degree.

Code 4.

• A master’s degree.

Code 5. 

• A bachelor’s degree.

Code 6. 

• No bachelor’s degree.

TIME GRANTED TOWARD TENURE:  PRIOR SERVICE CREDIT.

General Guideline. 

The practice of granting credit for prior service is not universal but has been most common in traditional four‑year universities.  When prior service credit is granted, it is usually limited to 3 years, leaving 3 to 4 years for evaluating the individual prior to making the mandatory tenure decision.

Impact. 

Tenure may be awarded at any time during the probationary period, so granting of credit for prior service does not necessarily speed up this decision.  The sole consequence of granting credit for prior service is that it does shorten, by a stipulated number of years, the time period in which the decision to award tenure or non-renew must be made.

Individual Decisions. 

Decisions on crediting of prior service are made on an individual, case-by-case basis:  there is no automatic or formula‑based credit for prior service.

SALARY INFORMATION.

Salary at Time of Hiring. 

The hiring salary schedule is updated annually to help establish starting salaries for new hires.  The salary schedule considers previous experience and the assigned educational preparation code and specifies the minimum salary at the time of hire.  Market factors may dictate a higher starting salary than that suggested by the hiring schedule.  Starting salaries are negotiated among the applicant, the chairperson, and the dean.  The provost or appropriate vice chancellor must approve all salaries.

Crediting of Prior Years. 

When a newly hired person receives credit for previous experience in determining salary, fractional years of credit are rounded to the next higher number of full years (e.g., 1.2 years are counted as 2 years on the salary schedule).

Salary Adjustments. 

Annual Adjustments. 

Each year the Board approves the average base salary increase for the following year (usually expressed as a percentage of salary).  The Board also establishes guidelines for salary increase distribution.  Using Board guidelines, the Common Council recommends to the chancellor specific criteria for determining individual salary increases and the percentage to be assigned to the various criteria.  The criteria normally considered include experience, rank, and performance in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and general educational service.

Promotion Adjustments.

Promotions from the rank of Instructor to Assistant Professor are accompanied by a salary increase of 5%.  Promotions from the rank of Assistant Professor to Associate Professor are accompanied by a salary increase of 7%.  Promotions from the rank of Associate Professor to Professor are accompanied by a salary increase of 9%. 

Notification. 

The time of salary announcements varies each year, depending upon state legislative and Board of Regents’ actions.  Notification of the established salary is given each person following Regent action.

Summer Session. 

Compensation.

Summer session compensation is normally 9.3% of the previous academic year salary for the equivalent of three credits of instruction (half-time); full-time is normally compensated at 18.6%.

Contracts.

Summer session contracts are all contingency contracts, based on negotiations between the faculty member and appropriate dean on the number of students anticipated to enroll.  When enrollment is less than anticipated, the dean determines whether the class is to be canceled and the contract voided or to keep the class at the lower enrollment and reduce the salary of the faculty member.

Paychecks. 

Academic year salaries for new faculty appointees are paid in 9 checks.

Date Available.

Faculty payroll checks are usually available on the first work day of each month but are not issued on Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday.  Checks will be delivered only to the faculty member or to a spouse employed by the university.

The first check for the academic year is issued on October 1, the last on June 1 (July 1 for those faculty remaining on the 10 month pay plan).

Direct Deposit.

Faculty members may have payroll checks deposited directly to the financial institution of their choice.  Deposit is by courier (local) or mail (out of town).  Checks are deposited or mailed for deposit on the night before payday; however, the deposit may not legally be credited to the faculty member’s account until the first.

Persons with questions regarding direct deposit of payroll checks should call the UWSP Payroll Office.

Summer Session.

Summer school checks are issued on August 1 and September 1.

Optional Twelve-payment Plan. 

For faculty on academic year appointments, an optional twelve-payment plan (rather than 9 or 10) is available, and can be arranged through the UWSP Credit Union. 

Post-retirement Teaching. 

Faculty who teach after retirement will be appointed as fixed-term academic staff with a Hayes-Hill title in the lecturer series.  A working title of professor (or associate or assistant) emeritus may be used in conjunction with the Hayes-Hill title.  The scheduled salary for such an appointment will be that provided by the salary schedule for Category B academic staff at the appropriate education code and experience level.  Unscheduled salary may be negotiated based on appropriate factors.  Each academic year in which an academic staff member is employed by the university will be counted as 1 year of experience for salary purposes.

PROBATIONARY AND TENURE APPOINTMENTS

TENURE DENSITY. 

Tenure density refers to the ability of a department to accommodate a 10% reduction in workload without loss of tenured faculty.

ACQUIRING TENURE.

General. 

The vice chancellor, in consultation with the dean and department chairperson will determine whether or not a particular vacant position may be designated as a tenure track position at the time the position is advertised.

Effective with the 1992-93 academic year, all vacant faculty positions approved by the vice chancellor for recruitment will be understood to be tenurable positions.

The vice chancellor will make an initial decision whether to sign the Position Announcement form based on the most recent tenure management report for the department.  Additional considerations may include: anticipated student enrollment, faculty attrition, retirement, retraining, reassignment, changes in academic programs, changes in student interest, interrelations among curricular areas, characteristics of departmental programs, the need to maintain a viable core of offerings in certain areas regardless of enrollments, the primary academic emphases of the university, departmental and curricular tenure density, etc.  Tenure density considers the ability of the department to accommodate a ten percent reduction in workload without the loss of tenured faculty.

If the vice chancellor decides not to sign the Position Announcement form, the appropriate dean will be informed.  At that point, the dean and, if necessary, the department chairperson will be invited to confer with the vice chancellor to review the data leading to the initial decision not to sign the form.

If review of the decision does not result in authorization for a faculty search, the vice chancellor may instead authorize a search for an instructional academic staff position.  Such a position will normally be renewable for up to four years.  A request to renew the position beyond four years must be approved by the vice chancellor on a case-by-case basis.  If the position is not renewed, then recruitment procedures may continue according to the steps outlined in current EEO-AA policies.

Each faculty member being considered for tenure is entitled to 2 determinations:

• whether present circumstances of the university and the department will permit the granting of tenure; and
• whether the department chooses to recommend tenure.

Note: the determination of whether circumstances will permit granting of tenure shall not be based on tenure density.

Eligibility. 

Only persons eligible for consideration for promotion to the rank of associate professor may be tenured.  Exceptions for certain groups may be granted by the Common Council and the chancellor.

Departmental Assignments and Tenure Density. 

Faculty assigned to or tenured in a particular department but not presently serving in that department will not be counted as department members for tenure density purposes so long as they continue in such alternative assignments.  The department should be informed of an individual’s intent to return during the year immediately preceding the return so as to assist the department in planning.

Reduced Responsibilities. 

A probationary faculty member may reduce professional responsibilities under limited conditions specified in UWSP 3.04 (3)  .  Colloquially, this is called “stopping the tenure clock,” and may be requested in circumstances such as childbirth, adoption, dependent care obligations, or disability.  The time granted for such activities does not count as a break in continuous service nor as part of the probationary period.

CONTRACTUAL PERIODS AND SCHEDULES FOR RECOMMENDATIONS ON RETENTION, TENURE, PROMOTION, AND MERIT. 

Contractual periods. 

Faculty may be hired on multiple-year contracts or one-year contracts.

Annual Schedule. 

The vice chancellor and the deans annually distribute to department chairpersons a schedule of specific dates when recommendations regarding renewal, tenure, promotion, and merit are due.

Retention. 

Dates for decisions on renewal are governed by the provisions of Chapters UWS and UWSP 3.09 .  Faculty must receive notice by March 1 in the first year, December 15 in the second year, and, thereafter, 12 months prior to the expiration of the appointment. 

Tenure.

Departments normally submit recommendations for tenure to the dean in November.

Promotion.

Departments normally submit recommendations for promotion in November or as part of the retention recommendation.

Merit. 

The date when merit recommendations are due is governed by legislative and System action.  Departmental merit recommendations are usually submitted to the dean in February.

APPOINTMENTS.

Decision Authority. 

Decisions on appointment and renewal are made by the department and the vice chancellor (as the chancellor’s designee) for probationary faculty appointments in the first year and after the 4th year.  Decisions on renewal in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years are made by the department and appropriate dean (as the chancellor’s designee).

Change in Position Responsibilities.

An amended letter of appointment shall be sent in situations where a significant change in position responsibility occurs; however, no such change may be made during a contractual period without the mutual consent of the faculty member and the appropriate institutional officers, except as may be necessary under 36.21 Wis. Stats. and Chapter UWSP 5 .

Teaching Responsibilities. 

An individual who holds academic rank in a department is usually expected to perform some regular teaching assignment each year.  Exceptions to this policy may be made by the vice chancellor upon the recommendation of the department.   Present and future faculty of the University Library shall be an exception to this policy.

Joint Appointments. 

Academic joint appointments or faculty members may be made between departments and/or colleges.  These appointments are made only if the faculty member and the involved university units agree upon the desirability of such an arrangement.  Joint appointments may be terminated at the end of a contractual period upon the request of any of the involved individuals or units. 

Home Department. 

Faculty members with joint appointments will have a home department which will be responsible for the person’s salary, tenure, and rank.  Faculty with joint appointments will be eligible to participate in both units in faculty meetings, appropriate committees, research, and teaching.  Such participation will depend upon prior agreement of the involved units.

Part-time Appointments.

Half-time Minimum.

Part-time faculty appointments must be half‑time or more for 2 consecutive semesters.  Half‑time is the equivalent of 6 credits per semester.

Change in Proportion of Time.

A faculty member may request either

• a permanent reduction to not less than half-time;
• a reduction to less than half-time on an academic staff appointment; or
• a temporary reduction as a partial leave without pay.

Salary. 
A faculty member’s base salary is prorated for any reduction in time; eligibility for fringe benefits may change during semesters at reduced time.

Probationary Agreement. 
For faculty on probationary appointment, the initial letter of agreement for a reduced assignment shall state how much time the faculty member will have accrued toward tenure by the beginning of the reduced assignment, and how much time will be accrued during the period the faculty member serves on reduced assignment.

Salary and Merit for Part‑time Faculty. 

Criteria. 
General criteria for determining salary and merit for part‑time faculty are the same as for full‑time faculty.  Departments may develop specific performance objectives for individuals with part-time appointments just as they do for faculty with full-time appointments.

Amount. 
The amount of each adjustment shall be prorated in proportion to the percentage of a full­‑time appointment for which the person is hired.

Experience Credit. 
Part­-time faculty receive proportional salary for rank and educational code, and will be moved a full year of experience on the salary schedule each year unless leave policy dictates otherwise.

EVALUATION OF FACULTY BY STUDENTS AND PEERS

(See Chaps. UWS 3  and UWSP 3 )

GENERAL PRINCIPLES.

Departmental Responsibilities. 

The primary responsibility for evaluation of faculty for purposes of retention, promotion, merit, tenure, salary, and post-tenure review rests with the faculty of the individual departments.  All faculty and administrators who appraise performance shall have completed appropriate training provided through the vice chancellor’s office.

NOTE.  Departments and equivalent academic areas may extend limited governance rights to their academic staff members as provided for in UWS and UWSP 1.05 .  This limited faculty status means that departmental academic staff have the right to participate in all aspects of the department’s governance as specified by the department except decisions relating to hiring, retention, promotion, and tenure for individual faculty.

Role of Chairperson in Personnel Matters. 

Records.

The department chairperson shall maintain files of records and correspondence relating to departmental actions on personnel matters.

Committee Actions.

The department chairperson shall assist the chairperson of any departmental personnel committees making personnel recommendations in the preparation of all relevant records and correspondence.

Forwarding Results.

As appropriate, the department chairperson shall forward results of departmental personnel actions to the dean of the college.

Separate Recommendation.

Normally, the department chairperson provides to the dean a separate recommendation on personnel matters.

Committee Membership.

Where a department chairperson provides separate recommendations on personnel matters, the chairperson shall not be a voting member of departmental personnel committees and shall not be counted in determining a quorum.

No Separate Recommendation.

With the approval of the department, the chairperson, and the dean of the college, a department chairperson may vote with departmental committees on personnel matters.  Where this practice is adopted, the chairperson shall be a voting member of appropriate personnel committees and shall not forward a separate recommendation to the dean; the dean shall receive only the committee’s recommendation.

Evaluation of Probationary and Tenured Faculty. 

Both probationary and tenured faculty shall be evaluated regularly on how they meet individual and department performance objectives.  Near the middle of each evaluative period, an interim meeting will be held with the faculty member to discuss progress toward the objectives and to revise objectives as necessary. Departments or program units in consultation with their deans should develop procedures for carrying out these reviews.

Evaluations by Students and Colleagues. 

Student and colleague evaluations of teaching, and colleague evaluations of teaching-related scholarship, shall be considered in making decisions on retention, promotion, merit, tenure, salary, and general improvement and recognition.

Colleague Evaluation of Teaching, Scholarship and University Service. 

Tenured faculty have the primary role in personnel decisions.  However, as tenure and experience are not identical, departmental evaluations should utilize the resources of all experienced members.  A significant number of the colleagues of the individual under consideration shall be directly involved in the analysis of student evaluations, study of information provided by the individual, classroom visitations, observation of professional presentations, review of publications, and examination of teaching materials (syllabi, exams, handouts, etc.).

Procedural Rights. 

When being reviewed for any departmental personnel recommendations, faculty members shall be given the opportunity to present materials showing qualifications, and may be invited to present oral evidence to the appropriate departmental evaluation committee(s).

Presence at Meetings. 

No Exclusions.

 Under the provisions of 19.89 of the Open Meetings Law, no member of a governmental body may be excluded from any meeting of the body.  In addition, no member may be excluded from meetings of the body’s subunits unless the rules of the body specifically state otherwise.

Right to Open Meeting.

Under the provisions of UWSP 3.06 (1)(d) , a probationary faculty member has the right to request and receive an open meeting for any meeting of a department or unit or subunit involving consideration of tenure for that individual.

Meetings to consider retention of probationary faculty shall normally be held in closed session.

19.85 Wis. Stats. 
Under the Open Meetings Law, even when departmental policies provide that subunit or committee meetings be restricted to members of the subunit or committee, a faculty member under consideration for tenure has the right to request and receive an open meeting for the portion of the meeting that constitutes an evidentiary hearing for the tenure decision or at which final action is taken on the tenure decision for that individual.

Departmental Policies. 
Normally, departmental policies will require a written request for an open meeting reasonably in advance of the meeting.

Merit. 

In the performance objectives as evaluated within each department, merit recognizes performance ranging from solid through exemplary.  It must never be used as a substitute for adequate and reasonable compensation for all members of the faculty.

Activities. 

Activities to be considered in the evaluation process shall include those undertaken as part of the extension function or as part of the international programs offerings as well as a faculty member’s usual activities.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES (CRITERIA) FOR EVALUATING FACULTY.

Each department shall specify in writing the relative importance of these performance objectives:

Teaching Ability:  

the success of the instructor, both in and out of the classroom, in securing interest, effort, and progress on the part of the student.  The primary consideration is that students are stimulated to high standards of scholarship, to active interest in learning, and to effective effort toward self‑improvement.

Scholarship: 

activities which are clearly defined, use methods and procedures appropriate to the task, are documented and available to the academic community for review and comment, have disciplinary and/or pedagogical value, and reflect a level of expertise/creativity expected in higher education.

General Educational Service: 

the acceptance and fulfillment of professional responsibilities outside the classroom, e.g., academic advising, extracurricular advising, participation in organizations related to the discipline, acceptance of professional responsibilities within the university or community, etc.

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.

Written Procedures. 

Each department shall establish procedures for retention, promotion, merit, tenure, salary, and post-tenure review. These procedures shall include a policy explicitly expressing how the faculty performance objectives (above) are defined, measured, and evaluated in discipline specific ways. They will also provide for expanding retention, promotion, and tenure personnel committees, in consultation with the dean, for cases where there are fewer than three departmental representatives voting on a personnel decision. When approved by the appropriate dean and the vice chancellor, this statement shall be the standard used by all evaluators for faculty of that department; however, the standard need not apply to administrative merit.

Colleague Evaluation of Teaching

Evaluation of the candidate’s teaching materials represents an important component of the colleagues’ evaluation of the candidate’s teaching. While the specifics of the colleagues’ examination of these materials may vary significantly from discipline to discipline, it must include the following three general components:  course content, course objectives, and grading policies. In addition, where applicable, the evaluation should include course examinations, course organization and quality of student achievement.

During the period leading to the first retention recommendation, the probationary faculty member’s classes should be observed by at least two colleagues, presenting a minimum of four observations. Care should be taken that the classes visited are representative of the probationary faculty member’s teaching assignment over a period of semesters. For subsequent retention, tenure or promotion recommendations, the appropriate personnel committee should conduct a sufficient number of observations to provide adequate information to support its personnel recommendation. This typically would include a minimum of two classroom observations.

Midterm Evaluation

An anonymous, midterm evaluation will be conducted on all courses at UWSP using the Midterm Student Evaluation of Teaching survey (see Chapter 4D, Section 15 ). Student responses will only be available to the instructor, which the instructor may choose to use in personnel files. An instructor may opt out of the midterm evaluation if they already have a mechanism in place to receive feedback during the term. Results from this evaluation are formative and should be used by the instructor to make improvements to the class.

End of Term Evaluation.

All courses being evaluated at UWSP shall use the End of Term Student Evaluation of Teaching survey (see Chapter 4D, Section 15 ). Departments may elect to add additional questions to this survey. If additional questions are added, then the department must clarify in their bylaws how these questions will be used in personnel decisions and should follow best practices when selecting questions.

Student Evaluation of Teaching

Examination of responses to the End of Term Student Evaluation of Teaching survey is an important component of colleague evaluation.  The interpretation of the results is primarily the responsibility of the department. This component, however, cannot be the sole basis for a personnel decision.  The evaluation results cannot substitute for colleague observation of classes and colleague evaluation of the candidate’s materials listed above under “Colleague Evaluation of Teaching”.  In particular, departments should interpret the results in the context of those observations and materials.

Per Regent policy, care must be taken to ensure that “any limitations in the objectivity, validity, and reliability of the data is considered” in the process of colleague evaluation. Pursuant to this goal, department interpretation of the data should be supplemented by consideration of evaluation response rates. As part of the evaluation process, departments should identify course evaluations with low response rates, as that data will be less reliable and will require more careful analysis.  Faculty are expected to take actions that will encourage a sufficient response rate.

(Colleague reviews of instruction for merit determinations must, at a minimum, examine responses to this survey.)

PROMOTION PROCEDURES IN DEPARTMENTS.

Promotion Committees. 

Promotion committees are normally limited to persons above the rank of the individual applying for promotion.

Committee Chairperson’s Duties. 

The chairperson of each committee shall report the committee’s recommendations to the individual, the department chairperson, and the dean of the college.

Department Chairperson’s Recommendation. 

If the department chairperson provides a separate recommendation to the dean and if the chairperson’s recommendation differs significantly from that of the department, the chairperson shall notify the appropriate departmental committee of this fact and provide to the person under consideration written justification for the action.

Forwarding Recommendations. 

In any discussion between the dean and the department regarding these recommendations, both the department chairperson and the chairperson of the committee shall be included.  The dean shall forward a recommendation along with those of the department and department chairperson to the vice chancellor, and shall inform the department chairperson in writing of that recommendation.

Informing Department. 

In the event that the dean, vice chancellor, or chancellor makes a recommendation contrary to the department’s, that administrator shall inform the individual and the department chairperson in writing, including reasons for the decision, before transmitting the recommendation to the next administrative level.

Completion of Requirements. 

The required number of years of teaching experience for a particular rank shall be completed before the individual is considered for promotion.

PROCEDURES FOR POST-TENURE REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT.

Introduction

Tenure is an essential part of the guarantee of academic freedom that is necessary for university-based intellectual life to flourish. The grant of indeterminate tenure to faculty members represents an enormous investment of university and societal resources, and those who receive this investment do so only after rigorous review which established that their scholarship, research, teaching, and service met the highest standards and are congruent with the needs of the university.

It is the policy of the Board of Regents that a periodic, post-tenure review of tenured faculty members is essential to promoting faculty development, including recognizing innovation and creativity; enhancing the educational environment for students; and identifying and redressing deficiencies in overall performance of duties through a supportive and developmental remediation process.

Nothing in this policy shall be interpreted to alter or to infringe upon existing tenure rights, as set forth in UW System Board of Regents or UW System policies, nor shall this policy diminish the important guarantees of academic freedom. Specifically, this policy does not supersede administrative rules providing for termination for cause set forth in Chapter UWS 4 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code.

Purpose

The purpose of post-tenure review is the periodic assessment of each tenured faculty member’s academic activities and performance, in accordance with the mission of the department, college, and institution. (Please refer to the UWSP Teaching, Scholarship and Service document published by the Provost for more detail.) The review is to be appropriately linked to the promotion and/or merit processes (see “Promotion Review as Substitute” under “Evaluation Procedures,” and “Use of Post-Tenure Review File for Merit” under “Departmental Procedures” below). Review of tenured faculty builds on and complements other aspects of the tenure process in order to develop faculty capacity and strengthen and promote the public benefits of tenure. Post-tenure review is not a reevaluation of tenure and is not undertaken for the purposes of discipline or dismissal.

Faculty shall be subject to dismissal only for just cause (see Handbook “Chapter 4A, Section 2, “Procedures for Dismissal ”). Departments, schools, and colleges shall not use post-tenure reviews as the basis for budgetary decisions or for program modification or redirection.  Although this review is not subject to the grievance process set forth in Chapter UWS 6.02, faculty do retain rights regarding discipline under Chapter UWS 4.

Definition

In the following policy, “department chair” refers to any equivalent unit coordinator.

Annual Performance Review

Tenured and tenure-track faculty are evaluated annually in a separate process described in the Faculty/IAS Annual Performance Review (see Handbook Chapter 4B, Section 3, “Faculty/IAS Annual Performance Review”).

Evaluation Procedures

Each tenured faculty member will be evaluated every 5 years for the purpose of general review, development, recognition and merit.  This will include evaluating how past individual-based and department-based performance objectives have been met and will set such objectives for the next evaluation period.

Notice to Faculty

A written notice of post-tenure review must be given to the faculty member three months in advance of the review.

Promotion Review as Substitute. 

A faculty member seeking promotion in rank will use review and evaluation for promotion in place of post-tenure review. The substitution is permissible only when promotion is sought in the same year as or sooner than the faculty member’s scheduled post-tenure review.  If promotion is sought in the same year as the faculty member’s scheduled post-tenure review and promotion is denied, the post-tenure review of the faculty member will continue under this policy. A promotion decision must be made early enough in the academic year to permit completion of the post-tenure review process during that academic year if promotion is denied. When review and evaluation for promotion is used in place of post-tenure review, the next post-tenure review will be scheduled five years after the promotion review.

Evaluation Process. 

The evaluation shall address each of the three criteria, Teaching Ability, Scholarship, and General Education Service, outlined in the UWSP Handbook, Chapter 4B, Section 3, “Performance Objectives (Criteria) for Evaluating Faculty,” and any individually-based objectives.  The evaluation shall include consideration of activities done in support of undergraduate education.  If applicable to the individual, the evaluation shall also include consideration of activities done in support of graduate education.

This evaluation shall be conducted by a Review Committee of at least three tenured members of a faculty member’s department (or outside the department if needed). See departmental procedures or bylaws.

The evaluation shall include:

• analysis of student evaluations; and
• peer observations and evaluations of instruction; and
• review of professional accomplishments; and
• analysis of other material presented by the faculty member, such as a cover letter, course syllabi, letters of support, etc.

The review of evidence, discussion with the department chair, decision whether the faculty member meets the expectations for each of the three above-referenced criteria, and the writing of the required reports shall be completed within 60 days of the established review date.

The Review Committee shall make a recommendation regarding the faculty member’s performance and write a summary report, which shall be provided to the faculty member. See the Departmental Procedures section below. The faculty member may provide the dean with a written response to the report within 10 days of receipt of the report.

Sufficiency Review

The materials for each Post Tenure Review shall be forwarded to the appropriate dean. The dean shall conduct a sufficiency review to ensure that the Review Committee’s work was conducted according to the criteria and procedures established by the department and that the results of the review are within reasonable expectations for a faculty member. In the event that the dean considers that the review was insufficient, the dean shall provide the reasons to the Review Committee in writing why the review was insufficient within five working days of receiving the report. The Review Committee may provide a response addressing the dean’s concerns about the sufficiency of the review within 10 working days. The dean may conduct an independent review of the submitted materials. As part of the independent review, the dean shall request advice from the appropriate department or unit chair. The dean shall request advice from the department or unit chair within 5 days of receiving the report, and the department or unit chair will provide their advice within 14 days of receiving the request from the dean. The dean will then make a recommendation to the chancellor (or designee) on whether or not the faculty member “meets expectations” or “does not meet expectations”. The faculty member may provide the chancellor with a written response to the dean’s recommendation within 10 days of receipt of the recommendation. The chancellor (or designee) shall review the post-tenure review materials and determine that the faculty member either “meets expectations” or that a remediation plan must be developed. A faculty member may provide a written response within 10 days of receipt of the decision.                                                       

Result of Evaluation

The review will identify which of the following applies to the faculty member:

Meets expectations This category applies to those tenured faculty members whose performance reflects the expected level of accomplishment.

Does not meet expectations This category applies to those tenured faculty members whose performance reflects a level of accomplishment below the expected level. All reviews resulting in “does not meet expectations,” unless overturned upon further review, will result in a remediation plan .

Actions Stemming from Results

A faculty member who has received a review in the category of “meets expectations,” shall receive a base salary increase of 2.0%.

If the faculty member receives a review in the category of “does not meet expectations,” and where deficiencies are indicated, a remediation plan for responding to those deficiencies shall be established as follows:

1. Areas of deficiency must be described in writing and provided to the faculty member.

2. The remediation plan, developed by faculty members in consultation with the department chair and dean, shall address any deficiencies identified in the review and will provide opportunity for professional growth and include appropriate support from the department or dean as applicable.

1. The remediation plan must establish how and when the faculty member will have satisfied the expectations of the plan within a reasonable time period, not to exceed three academic semesters (not including the summer sessions). In those few remediation plans related to a performance shortfall in scholarship where more than three academic semesters may be necessary to correct identified deficiencies, an extension of one academic semester shall be permitted only with the approval of the chancellor.
2. The remediation plan must list the actions to be taken when the faculty member fails to meet the expectations set forth in the plan, including reference to existing faculty complaint processes, and which permit the imposition of discipline, as appropriate, up to and including dismissal for cause under Chapter UWS 4.
3. If the faculty member’s performance does not show satisfactory improvement within the time frame specified in the remediation plan, the departmental committee that conducted the review will notify the department chair and dean of the remaining areas in need of improvement. The dean, in consultation with the chancellor  and faculty member, makes the final determination whether the faculty member has satisfied the remediation plan.

Offer of Support

Regardless of the results of the faculty member’s post-tenure review, assistance shall be made available to all faculty members to support their professional development at any time in their careers.

Departmental Procedures. 

The department shall develop procedures for conducting post-tenure reviews and for actions to be taken as a result of the reviews.

Relative Importance of Criteria.

 Department procedures shall indicate the emphasis to be given to activities done in support of undergraduate education in the context of the mission of the department, college, and university.

Accountability.

The department procedures shall clearly indicate the method by which strengths, as well as suggestions for improvement, will be brought to the attention of the faculty member being reviewed.  Subsequent performance objectives shall be based on the post-tenure review.

Written Report.

For record keeping, the department chair shall send a brief written summary of the post-tenure review, a list of any recommendations, the faculty member’s written responses to the various reviews if there are any (including any remediation plan), and a statement of completion of the review to the appropriate dean with a copy to the faculty member.

Use of Post-Tenure Review.

The outcome of the post-tenure review may be used as one basis for determining institutional support from the department, college, and division for professional development proposals submitted by individual faculty. The support may be used to correct deficiencies or advance goals.

Use of Post-Tenure Review File for Merit.

Following the completion of the review, the review file may, at the discretion of the reviewed faculty member, serve as the merit file for that faculty member for that year only. The faculty member may elect to add additional information to the file for merit purposes.

Records. 

The department may release review materials only as required for faculty-initiated personnel actions or as specified above under “Written Report” or as required by business necessity or law. The full reviews shall be forwarded to the dean. A faculty member’s individual performance objectives for the next review period shall become a part of the faculty member’s yearly merit file.

Record Keeping. 

The provost shall be informed by the deans of all completed post-tenure reviews and shall ensure implementation of the review process by maintaining completion records and informing deans when individual faculty members have not been reviewed within the required time period.

FACULTY/IAS ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW

Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff Annual Performance Evaluation  In order to follow UW System Administrative Policy 1254 (Performance Management) and UW System Administrative Policy 1278 (Pay Plan), each faculty and instructional academic staff (IAS) member in a department shall engage in a formative annual performance evaluation that identifies strengths, areas for growth, and, if necessary, supports to be provided, in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service. The annual performance evaluation is initiated at the unit level (e.g., department, discipline area), and can be combined with the retention, tenure, promotion, or post-tenure review process. Ratings from the Annual Performance Evaluation may not be used as grounds for dismissal or non-retention nor as evidence in the retention, tenure, promotion, or post tenure review process. Retention, tenure, promotion, non-retention, and dismissal processes should follow policies as outlined in the University Handbook in Chapter 4A, Section 2, and departmental personnel guidelines. In the following policy, “Department” refers to groups or units as defined by the University Handbook, “Department Chair” or “supervisor” refers to any equivalent unit coordinator or administrator responsible for personnel management, and “Scholarship” includes that which is defined as such in departments (e.g., research, creative activities). This policy applies to full-time instructional academic staff. Part-time instructional academic staff will be evaluated annually by their direct supervisor through methods described in the department personnel guidelines.   

Department Procedures for Annual Performance Review  

Each department shall establish annual performance review procedures to minimally include the following. The procedures should be outlined in the department personnel guidelines/handbook. 

• The faculty/IAS member must provide a summary of recent activities in the areas of teaching, research/scholarship/creative activities, and educational service, as well as goals and/or expectations for the following year, and evidence of Student Evaluation of Instruction. Departments may determine additional criteria required. 
• A description of who completes the evaluation (e.g., department chair, department personnel committee, mentor faculty, complete department, supervisor). 
• The method for completion of the evaluation (e.g., one or more of the following: retention process, tenure process, annual meeting with department chair, review by personnel committee, full departmental review of materials). 
• How individuals are informed of their rating. 
• Opportunity for a performance conversation between the evaluator or supervisor (e.g., department chair, department mentors, personnel committee, complete department) and the faculty/IAS member being evaluated. Per UW System Policy 1254, all employees are required to have a performance conversation with a supervisor (e.g., department chair) at regular intervals. This can be, but does not have to be, included in the Annual Performance Evaluation process, however department policies must include this as an annual requirement. 
• Processes and supports to address performance levels that do not meet expectations. 
• Description of how the areas of evaluation may be different for Instructional Academic Staff or University College faculty (e.g., evaluation will only be completed in the areas of teaching and service; or may include primary job duties).       

Result of Evaluation 

The review will identify which of the following applies to the faculty/IAS member in each of the following areas (Teaching, Scholarship, Service): Exceeds Expectations, Meets Expectations, or Does Not Meet Expectations. Each faculty member will be assigned three total ratings and notified of their rating in writing. If defined in department personnel guidelines/handbook, IAS or University College faculty may be assigned a different number of ratings, such as only in the areas of teaching and service, or the inclusion of primary job responsibilities. All reviews resulting in “Does Not Meet Expectations” in any area will result in development of an improvement plan for that area, with strategies identified for improvement. Regardless of the results of the review, assistance shall be made available to all faculty/IAS members to support their professional development at any time in their careers. Requirements of the improvement plan are identified below.   

Report of Annual Performance Evaluation  

The department chairperson or designated administrator shall submit to the dean a summary report of the faculty/IAS ratings recommendations.   

Institutional Procedures 

Annual performance evaluation recommendations coming from departments shall follow university and UW System approved procedures in the salary distribution plan.   

Administrative Recommendations 

Each dean, following consultation with the department (if any), shall forward to the vice chancellor a separate recommendation along with those of the department and the chairperson.  If the dean makes a recommendation different from that of the department, the affected individual and the department chairperson shall be informed in writing at the time the recommendation is transmitted to the next administrative level.   

Notification of Rating 

Following completion of administrative review and final determination of the performance ratings, each administrator who elects to change a rating that has been recommended, shall provide written notification of the change and the reasons for the change to the faculty/IAS member, department chairperson, and the previous administrators who completed the review. If the faculty/IAS member does not agree with the final decision, the faculty/IAS member may provide a written response to the recommendation within 14 calendar days of receipt of the recommendation. The response will be included in the employee’s personnel folder. Disagreements about an employee’s performance management plan should be discussed with the employee’s direct supervisor. If resolution between the employee and supervisor cannot be reached, the employee can contact HR for guidance.   

Improvement Plans 

Areas of deficiency must be described in writing and provided to the faculty/IAS member. The improvement plan, developed by faculty/IAS members in consultation with the personnel assigned within the department guidelines (mentor, department chair, personnel committee, dean), shall address any deficiencies identified in the review and will provide opportunity for professional growth and include appropriate support from the department or dean as applicable.  

The improvement plan must establish how and when the faculty/IAS member will have satisfied the expectations of the plan. If the faculty/IAS member’s performance does not show satisfactory improvement within the time frame specified in the improvement plan, the department will notify the dean of the college of the remaining areas in need of improvement. The dean, in consultation with the department chair or department designee, and the vice chancellor, makes the final determination whether the faculty/IAS member has satisfied the improvement plan. If it is determined by the dean and the vice chancellor that the faculty/IAS member did not meet the requirements of the improvement plan, the faculty/IAS member will be notified that they did not meet the UW System requirements for meeting meritorious or solid performance, and subsequently do not qualify for pay plan, as outlined in the UW System Pay Plan Distribution Framework for University Workforce Policy.

UWSP EMPLOYEE NON-LOAD PAY PLAN DETAILS

PLAN OVERVIEW

To provide one consistent non-load payment plan meeting a diversity of needs, the following components are integrated:

• Base Pay. Accounts for market value variation in rank and field of instruction.
• Course Size Lower Threshold. Acknowledges value in smaller course pedagogy.  
• Course Size Upper Limit. Provides maximum compensation enrollment number beyond which additional compensation is not provided even if more students are accepted in course.
• High Enrollment Compensation. Incentivizes instructors to recruit students into off track courses (e.g. maximizing time to degree) and compensates for higher enrolled courses up to course size upper limit.

PLAN APPLICATION

• The pay plan will be applied to faculty or instructional academic staff teaching a section during summer/winterim or an overload section in the regular academic year, unless an exception is granted (see Plan Exceptions below).
• The pay plan will be applied to faculty or instructional academic staff teaching a section in programs that use a per credit per student pricing model, unless an exception is granted.
• Typically the pay plan will not apply to instructional academic staff teaching a non-overload section during the normal academic year. If the section is warranted by student demand, the instructor should receive full pay at a rate of 4.2% of their adjusted base pay per credit. 

PLAN COMPONENTS

Four basic components inform faculty member pay for any non-load teaching (e.g. overload, winterim, summer): Base Pay, Course Size Lower Threshold (lowest limit to be considered for full pay), Course Size Upper Limit (no additional compensation beyond this number), and High Enrollment Compensation (above the course size lower threshold).

• Base Pay:

• Compensation for graduate and undergraduate classes will be calculated as 3.1% of the Faculty member’s base pay per credit.
• Compensation for graduate and undergraduate classes will be calculated as 4.2% of the Instructional Academic Staff member’s adjusted base pay per credit.

• Course Size Lower Threshold and Pay:

• The number of undergraduate students enrolled meriting full instructor pay is: 16.
• The number of graduate students enrolled meriting full instructor pay is: 12.
• Enrollments below threshold to be prorated based on threshold (e.g. 1/16 per student).
• Slash course pay to be calculated using separate undergraduate and graduate sections.
• Final decision by faculty to commit to offer course will be made seven days prior to first day of class, with minimum pay based on enrollment on that day.

• Course Size Upper Limit Calculation:

• For the purposes of Requests for Faculty or Academic Staff Overload Appointment forms, all courses will default to an upper enrollment limit matching 4.7% of base salary per credit. For course management purposes, timetable course enrollment limits may initially be set at a number lower than the upper enrollment limit used to construct the Request for Faculty or Academic Staff Overload Appointment forms. Also, for Requests for Faculty or Academic Staff Overload Appointment forms, course instructors may in conference with their home departments determine the upper enrollment limit for their courses. Course size determination shall be based upon the same practices used to justify upper enrollment limits for the same course (or similar if same is not available) when taught on load during normal semesters. Appropriate course size calculations may also include keeping faculty pay within overall summer/semester pay caps. 
• Additional students may be added beyond the contracted upper limit but will not result in any increased instructor pay.

• High Enrollment Compensation:

• For undergraduate sections additional compensation shall begin with the 17th student.
• For graduate sections additional compensation shall begin with the 13th student.
• Per student additional compensation shall consist of 20% of current Wisconsin resident base tuition price for course.
• Faculty total compensation for each off-load course shall not exceed 4.7% of base salary per credit.
• Instructional Academic Staff total compensation for each off-load course shall not exceed 6.3% of base salary per credit.

• Other Details:

• Additional compensation will be calculated on the enrollment at the end of the last day to enroll in the class.
• Compensation will be determined on a section by section basis. For example, enrollment among multiple classes or sections will not be combined or averaged when calculating an instructor’s compensation.

PLAN EXCEPTIONS

• Exceptions to the pay plan will be considered by the Deans and Provost’s office. Sections deemed to be critical to the program should be guaranteed full pay (3.1% per credit for faculty or 4.2% per credit for instructional academic staff) even at enrollments less than the relevant threshold. Typical exceptions could be GEP and other courses designed to create a stable summer/winter array of offerings, internships, sections of newly created programs that might be under-enrolled initially, or sections of courses that complement other programs and are necessary for their long-term survival.
• Special consideration pay will be given to programs requiring exceptional student coverage (e.g. International Programs, field experiences, internships, CNR Summer Field Experience) at an additional rate of 0.15% of base pay per credit (e.g. on top of the 3.1% per credit).

SECTION 4: OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS AND PROCEDURES FOR FACULTY APPEAL OF NONRENEWAL OF PROBATIONARY APPOINTMENT (UWSP 3.07   and UWSP 3.08 ) and DENIAL OF TENURE (UWSP 3.07   and UWSP 3.08m )

(See Chapters UWS 3 & UWSP 3 ) 

INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS.

Coverage. 

These proceedings apply to all instances in which a faculty member on probationary appointment has not been retained or when a faculty member on probationary appointment has not been granted tenure.  Nonrenewal and denial of tenure may occur simultaneously or as separate actions.

Applicable Documents. 

A faculty member contemplating an appeal after having received notice of nonrenewal or denial of tenure is advised to become familiar with

• Chapters UWSP 1-6 , the institutional faculty personnel rules;
• departmental personnel rules and procedures;
• appropriate sections of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, the UW System faculty personnel rules; and
• related documents in this handbook.

Counsel. 

A faculty member contemplating an appeal may wish to seek advice from senior faculty or legal counsel familiar with the policies and procedures.  The right to be represented at hearings by an individual (or individuals) of the faculty member’s choice is guaranteed under these procedures.

Decisions and Recommendations Distinct; Which May Be Appealed.

Decisions. 

Decision-making Authority. 

Decisions regarding retention or granting of tenure are made at only 2 levels, the department and the chancellor (or the chancellor’s designee).

NOTE.  This can be very confusing, especially since Chapters UWS and UWSP 3  talk of departmental recommendations.  To be absolutely accurate, one would say that a departmental action supporting appointment, reappointment, or tenure is a recommendation, since the chancellor need not accept the department’s decision.  However, an action denying appointment, reappointment, or tenure is always a decision since the chancellor cannot appoint or reappoint absent the affirmative recommendation of the department, and the Board cannot award tenure without the affirmative recommendation of the department except under extremely narrow circumstances.

If the department says yes, the chairperson, dean, and vice chancellor may all recommend no, and the chancellor will decide.  If the department says no, that ends the matter unless there is an appeal.  In forwarding the department’s decision to the chancellor via the dean and vice chancellor, the chairperson’s separate recommendation, if different from the decision of the department, would not affect the decision.

Subject to Appeal. 

Faculty have the right to appeal a decision not to renew or not to grant tenure, whether at the department level or at the chancellor’s level.  The right of appeal of an adverse decision by the chancellor includes the right of appeal of an adverse decision by a chancellor’s designee.

Recommendations.

Recommending Authority.

Recommendations regarding retention or the granting of tenure may be made by a faculty member’s department chairperson or dean, or by the vice chancellor.

Not Subject to Appeal. 

A recommendation not to renew or not to grant tenure is not subject to appeal.  However, faculty who appeal an adverse decision may call as a witness any person who made an adverse recommendation to the individual making the decision.

Burden of Proof and Scope of Appeals. 

Burden of Proof.

The burden of proof in an appeal of nonrenewal or denial of tenure is on the faculty member.

Scope of Appeals.

The scope of the appeal shall be limited to whether material prejudice to the individual resulted because the decision was based in any significant degree upon

• conduct, expressions, or beliefs which are constitutionally protected, or protected by the principles of academic freedom; or 
• factors proscribed by applicable state or federal law regarding fair employment practices; or
• improper consideration of qualifications, which shall be deemed to have occurred if material prejudice resulted because
  • procedures required by the faculty or Board were not followed; or
  • available data bearing materially on the quality of performance were not considered; or
  • unfounded, arbitrary, or irrelevant assumptions of fact were made about work or conduct.

Outcomes.

Following a hearing on an appeal, the hearing committee issues its report of findings and recommendations.  If the committee finds for the appellant, it recommends an appropriate remedy.  Potential remedies are described in some detail on the last page of this explanation of the process and procedure.

Time Limits. 

Termination of Appeal. 

Failure to meet any time limits established by these procedures will likely end the proceedings.  A faculty member considering an appeal of nonrenewal or denial of tenure is urged to review these procedures and to act promptly.

Length of Process.

The time limits are intended to ensure action within a reasonable time period; nevertheless, the appeal process may be lengthy.  The deliberative process in particular may take several months to conclude:  the issues are significant; there is no limit on the number of deliberative sessions which may be held; and there is no limit on the length of the recesses which may occur between sessions.

Action on Nonrenewal.

The university will proceed on a nonrenewal decision even if an appeal is in progress in order to meet obligations to provide adequate notice of nonrenewal as prescribed in UWSP 3.09 .

Presence at Meetings. 

No Exclusions.

Under the provisions of 19.89 of the Open Meetings Law, no member of a governmental body may be excluded from any meeting of that body.  In addition, no member may be excluded from meetings of the body’s subunits unless the rules of the parent body specifically state otherwise.

Right to Open Meeting.

Under the provisions of UWSP 3.06 (1)(d) , a probationary faculty member has the right to request and receive an open meeting for any meeting of a department or unit or subunit involving an evidentiary hearing or final action on consideration of tenure for that individual.

Meetings to consider retention of probationary faculty shall normally be held in closed session.

NOTE.  A meeting with an administrator for the purpose of performance evaluation, even where the end result of the discussion will be a recommendation on retention or the granting of tenure, is not subject to the provisions of the Open Meetings Law: an individual administrator is not a “formally constituted subunit.”

19.85 Wis. Stats. 

Under the Open Meetings Law, even when departmental policies provide that subunit or committee meetings be restricted to members of the subunit or committee, a faculty member under consideration has the right to request and receive an open meeting for the portion of the meeting that constitutes an evidentiary hearing or final action on consideration of tenure for that individual.

Departmental Policies. 

Normally, departmental policies will require a written request for an open meeting reasonably in advance of the meeting.

DESCRIPTION OF NONRENEWAL PROCESS.

Outline. 

The outline at the end of this subsection gives the steps which must be taken by the appellant, the relevant university body, the Faculty Mediation Subcommittee, and the hearing committee.  It also gives the time limits for each step.  The sequence of steps is mandatory, but some time limits may be extended by mutual consent of the parties or by order of the hearing committee.  The outline deals specifically with appeals of nonrenewal but the process for an appeal of denial of tenure is virtually the same; the possible remedies are different.

Statement of Reasons. 

Request.

Once a non-retention notice has been received from the department or chancellor, the faculty member has the right to request and receive a written statement of reasons by the decision-maker.

Time Limit.

The written request for those reasons must be made within 10 days of receipt of the non-retention notice.  This written statement of reasons is required before a reconsideration or (subsequent) appeal may be implemented.  The statement of reasons also becomes a permanent part of the individual’s personnel file.

File Responses.

Faculty members have the right to review their own personnel files.  Faculty members also have the right to make written responses to any statements in the files and to have those responses placed in the files.

Reconsideration. 

Request. 

Within 10 days of receipt of the written reasons, the faculty member has the right to request a reconsideration by the decision-maker.  Any written request for reconsideration must be granted.  The faculty member also has the right of access to all materials which may have a direct bearing on a presentation at the reconsideration meeting.

Time Limit.

Any reconsideration must be held within 20 days of receipt of the request for reconsideration, except that this time limit may be extended by mutual consent of the parties.

Decision Reversed. 

If reconsideration results in a decision favorable to the faculty member, the reconsideration decision supplants the original and the positive recommendation is sent forward to the next appropriate level.

Decision Affirmed. 

If reconsideration affirms the initial decision, the faculty member may either drop the matter or proceed to an appeal.

FILING AN APPEAL.

Written Request. 

Upon receipt of written notification that non-retention or denial of tenure was affirmed in the reconsideration, the faculty member has 20 days in which to request a hearing by the Faculty Mediation Subcommittee.

• Failure to meet the 20 day deadline is likely to end the appeal.
• The request must be in writing and addressed to the chairperson of the subcommittee.
• The request should provide a historical resume of all actions taken to this point and must state clearly and specifically the precise foundation on which the appeal is to be based.
• UWSP 3.08  and UWSP 3.08m  detail the acceptable bases for an appeal. 

Required Action. 

Notification.

If the chairperson determines that the appellant holds a faculty appointment, the chairperson will

• provide written notification of the request for hearing to the vice chancellor so System legal counsel may be advised a case is pending;
• begin a file of all correspondence concerning the appeal, which will be passed on to the chairperson of the hearing committee;
• provide written notification to the chairperson of the appellant’s depart-mental personnel committee, the department chairperson, the dean, the chancellor, and the chairperson of the Common Council that an appeal is in progress; and
• provide copies of all correspondence to the

• appellant;
• hearing committee members; and
• the decision-maker(s).

Appointment of Hearing Committee.

The chairperson will also appoint a hearing committee composed of a minimum of 5 persons, at least 3 of whom must be members of the Faculty Mediation Subcommittee.  There will be broad representation from the university but not necessarily a member from each college.

• Normally, at least 3 of the appointed members shall have had either

• previous experience as a member of a hearing committee under either UWSP 3.08 , UWSP 3.08m , 4.04 , 5.12, 6.01 , 6.02 , 10.04 , 11.04 , or other similar hearing, or
• orientation and training for a hearing procedure.

• One member, who normally shall have had previous experience as a member of a hearing committee under either UWSP 3.08 , UWSP 3.08m , 4.04 , 5.12, 6.01 , 6.02 , 10.04 , 11.04 , or other similar hearing, shall be designated as the chairperson of the committee.
• No individual who participated in the nonrenewal decision, or who is a material witness, or who is a member of the appellant’s department may sit on the hearing committee.
• Reasonable effort will be made to ensure that the members of the committee are acceptable to both parties in the appeal process.
  • Normally, this will be accomplished by informal contact with the proposed members and the parties to the appeal before the formal appointment.
  • The decision on whom to appoint is solely that of the chairperson of the subcommittee.
• After the committee is appointed, the appellant has the unrestricted right to challenge and remove one member from the hearing committee.
• The decision on other challenges to committee members shall be made by the committee, excluding the member under challenge.
• In addition to the appointed members, the chairperson of the Faculty Mediation Subcommittee will be an ex officio member of the hearing committee.   However, the subcommittee chairperson will not cast a vote except to break a tie.

Hearing Date. 

The hearing committee must meet to hear the matter within 20 days of receipt of the request for an appeal, except that this time limit may be extended by mutual consent of the parties or by order of the hearing committee.  The faculty member requesting a hearing must receive 10 days’ notice of the hearing.

Hearing Committee Chairperson’s Responsibilities.

Once the hearing committee is appointed, the chairperson of the hearing committee assumes responsibility for the appeal process.  The chairperson must:

• conduct the hearing under the provisions of UWS/UWSP 3.08  or 3.08m , as appropriate, these policies and procedures, and the guidelines for appeal hearings (which may be found in the next subsection);
• establish appropriate communication with the chancellor, vice chancellor,  appellant, appropriate dean, department chairperson, and departmental personnel committee chairperson, and keep each informed of the proceedings in the appeal;
• keep records of all correspondence among all the principals from the initiation of the appeal through its conclusion;
• appoint a secretary for the hearing committee (normally an associate vice chancellor), and provide for a verbatim transcript of the hearing (usually a sound recording);
• secure appropriate facilities, schedule evidentiary hearings, and provide notices to conform with the Open Meetings Law;
• secure appropriate facilities and schedule and conduct deliberative sessions in which the committee formulates its findings and recommendations;
• prepare the written report of the committee’s findings and recommendations and transmit the committee’s report to the chancellor and other appropriate parties;
• send a copy of the hearing procedures with each written notification of the hearing, and
• send written notification of the hearing to the appellant, the decision-maker(s), other involved individuals, and witnesses asked to appear on behalf of the parties or called by the hearing committee.

​Written notification of the hearing must include statements:

• of the date, time, and place of the hearing;
• that all parties may be represented by an individual(s) of their choice, which may include legal counsel;
• that normally, by a vote of the committee, the evidentiary hearing and the deliberative sessions will be closed but the appellant, upon timely written request to the chairperson, has the right to request an open evidentiary meeting.  Any such request in the case of an appeal of denial of tenure shall be honored.
• of whether the evidentiary hearing and the deliberative meeting will be closed or open;
• that both parties have a right to copies of all documentary evidence relevant to the appeal;
• that all parties, including witnesses, are expected to provide to the hearing committee chairperson sufficient copies of their testimony for all other parties, and that these materials should be provided in sufficient time prior to the hearing for distribution to all parties, but that failure to provide such copies will not preclude an individual from giving testimony;
• that either party may call persons to offer evidence or testimony;
• that both parties will be sent a list of the names of any persons to be called by either party, or by the hearing committee;
• that either party may offer testimony from any source;
• that the hearing committee is not bound by statutory rules of evidence but may hear testimony having reasonable probative value;
• that both parties have the right, under guidelines established by the chairperson, to question persons offering testimony;
• that adjournments will be granted to enable either party to investigate evidence as to which a valid claim of surprise is made;
• that the appellant has the right to a verbatim record of the hearing, which may be a sound recording, at no cost;
• that any personal notes made during the procedures and retained by a participant are subject to subpoena if the appeal is not resolved at the institutional or System level and becomes a legal matter;
• that a quorum for the evidentiary hearing consists of 4 members of the hearing committee;
• that a quorum for the deliberative sessions consists of 4 members of the hearing committee, except that in an emergency, the chairperson may declare a quorum when only 3 members are present;
• that the burden of proof as to the validity of the appeal is on the appellant; and
• that the hearing committee will give written statements of its findings and recommendations to the chancellor, vice chancellor, appropriate dean, department chairperson, appellant, and decision-maker(s).

GUIDELINES FOR HEARINGS.

Quorum, Notice, and Confidentiality.

Quorum.

While all 5 members will be present whenever possible, a quorum for the  hearing and for meetings of the hearing committee consists of 4 members of the committee.

In an emergency, the chairperson of the hearing committee has the discretion to declare a quorum for deliberative sessions when only 3 members of the hearing committee are present.

Notice.

Notices of meetings must be sent to the University Newsletter for publication (without identifying the appellant) and must indicate whether the meetings will be open or closed.

Confidentiality.

Committee. 

All matters related to the appellant and the appeal are maintained in the strictest confidentiality by hearing committee members, except as may be necessary to meet provisions of the Open Meetings Law or other similar statutory, administrative rule, or faculty governance requirements.

Documents. 

Following the conclusion of all deliberations and the submittal of the hearing committee’s report, the chairperson will collect all drafts and other documents related to the appeal from the members of the committee, from any appointed secretary, and from all other parties except the appellant and the appellant’s representative(s).  All minutes and materials provided by the parties and not forwarded to the chancellor as a part of the report will be sealed and filed in the office of the chancellor for a period of 5 years, after which they will be destroyed as permitted under the Public Records Law.

NOTE.  Participants are reminded that any personal notes made during the procedures and retained after the hearing are subject to subpoena if the appeal is not resolved at the institutional or System level and becomes a legal matter.

Evidentiary and Deliberative Sessions. 

The appeal process consists of two parts, an evidentiary hearing and a deliberative meeting.

Evidentiary Hearing.

The purpose of the evidentiary hearing is to determine the facts of the situation.  Both parties may provide evidence at the evidentiary hearing and both parties have the right to be represented by another individual(s), which may be legal counsel.  The hearing committee is not bound by legal rules of evidence.  The burden of proof is on the appellant.

Deliberative Meeting.

The purpose of the deliberative meeting is for the hearing committee to reach its conclusions, after which the chairperson of the hearing committee will write a draft report of the findings and recommendations of the hearing committee.  Each member of the hearing committee must sign the final report or file a dissent.  The report will be distributed within 10 days of the close of deliberations.

Closed and Open Sessions.

General Guideline.

Evidentiary hearings and deliberative meetings will normally be closed, as permitted by the Open Meetings Law except the evidentiary meeting on an appeal of a tenure denial will be open if requested by the appellant.  Closed meetings require a majority vote of the hearing committee, by a roll call vote.

Evidentiary Hearings:  Who May Attend/Speak.

Closed Hearings. 

If the evidentiary hearing is closed, only parties directly involved in the appeal may attend.  Those permitted to attend, who may speak when recognized by the chairperson for that purpose, are

• members of the hearing committee;
• the appellant;
• the maker(s) of the decision under appeal;
• representatives for the parties;
• witnesses for the parties;
• individuals specifically called or designated by the hearing committee, which may include legal counsel; and
• an appointed secretary, who need not be a member of the committee.

Open Hearings. 

If the evidentiary hearing is open, anyone may attend but only those parties directly concerned with the appeal and recognized for the purpose of speaking by the chairperson of the hearing committee are permitted to speak.

Deliberative Meetings:  Who May Attend/Speak.

Only members of the hearing committee, an appointed secretary (who need not be a member of the committee), and the committee’s legal counsel (if any) are permitted to attend, and may speak when recognized by the chairperson for that purpose.  Only members of the hearing committee participate in determining findings of fact and decision.

Procedure for Evidentiary Hearing and Deliberative Meeting.

Introduction.

A copy of these procedures may be requested from the chairperson of the Faculty Mediation Subcommittee or the Associate Vice Chancellor for Personnel, Budget, and Grants.

Presiding Officer.

The chairperson of the hearing committee convenes the hearing and serves as presiding officer.  The chairperson assumes all the normal responsibilities of a committee chairperson and rules on such questions as may arise on the procedure of the hearing, admissibility of evidence, and all other matters related to the hearing.

Evidentiary Hearing.

The evidentiary hearing normally proceeds in the order described here, but the chairperson may change the order as circumstances may require.

• Call to order; introduction of members of the committee and of the secretary.
• Explanation of the Open Meetings Law and either

• explanation of limitations of open meetings, if an open meeting has been requested, or
• a request for a motion to close the meeting under the appropriate section(s) of 19.85 Wis. Stats. [19.85 (a), (b), (c), or (f)], and a roll call vote on the motion.

• Introduction of the appellant, and the appellant’s representative(s), if any.
• Introduction of the decision-maker(s), and the decision-maker’s representative(s), if any.
• Presentation of the appeal by the appellant or the appellant’s representative but not the testimony of witnesses.
• Questions by the decision-maker or by the decision-maker’s representative.
• Presentation of witnesses on behalf of the appellant.
• Questions of appellant’s witnesses by the decision-maker or by the decision-maker’s representative.
• Presentation of all relevant materials by the decision-maker or by the decision-maker’s representative but not the testimony of witnesses.
• Questions by the appellant or the appellant’s representative.
• Presentation of witnesses on behalf of the decision-maker.
• Questions of decision-maker’s witnesses by the appellant or the appellant’s representative.
• Questions of appellant’s and decision-maker’s witnesses by members of the hearing committee.
• Presentation by any witnesses who may have been called by the hearing committee and questions of these witnesses by members of the hearing committee.
• Questions of committee witnesses by the decision-maker or the decision-maker’s representative.
• Questions of committee witnesses by the appellant or the appellant’s representative.
• Additional questions, if any, of witnesses by members of the hearing committee.
• Rebuttal or closing comments by the decision-maker or the decision-maker’s representative.
• Rebuttal or closing comments by the appellant or the appellant’s representative.
• Questions of the appellant by members of the hearing committee.
• Questions of the decision-maker by members of the hearing committee.
• Conclusion of the evidentiary hearing.

If the deliberative meeting does not follow immediately after the evidentiary hearing, the chairperson will request a motion to recess the hearing and to reconvene at the deliberative meeting [if possible, the date and time of the session will be included in the motion to recess], and will conduct a roll call vote on the motion.

Deliberative Meeting.

The hearing committee deliberates on the appeal and writes a report which includes the findings and recommendations of the committee.

Findings.

Basis. 

A finding that the facts are as described by the appellant is not, by itself, enough to find that the appeal is valid.  The facts must support the contention that at least 1 of the factors described under UWSP 3.08 (1)  or UWSP 3.08m (2) , as appropriate to the appeal, entered into the decision to a significant degree and with material prejudice to the appellant.

Burden of Proof. 

The burden of proof is on the appellant to provide evidence that at least one impermissible factor entered into the decision to a significant degree and with material prejudice to the appellant.

Decision Upheld. 

If the committee finds for the decision-maker, it recommends the appeal be denied.  If the recommendation is accepted by the chancellor, the appeal is ended.

Decision Rejected.  

If the committee finds for the appellant, it makes its recommendations to remedy the inappropriate behavior.

Recommendations. 

Remand Required.

• All cases under UWSP 3.08  and UWSP 3.08m  must be remanded for reconsideration by the decision-maker(s) unless the hearing committee specifically finds that a remand would serve no useful purpose.
• Even if it remands the matter, the hearing committee retains jurisdiction  until it is satisfied that appellant’s rights have not been violated.

Possible Remedies, UWSP 3.08. 
If the committee finds that an appeal under UWSP 3.08  is valid, possible remedies include, but are not limited to

• reconsideration by the decision-maker(s);
• reconsideration by the decision-maker(s) under instructions from the committee; or
• a recommendation to the next higher decision-making level.

Possible Remedies, UWSP 3.08m.
If the committee finds that an appeal under UWSP 3.08m  is valid, possible remedies include, but are not limited to

• reconsideration by the decision-maker(s);
• reconsideration by the decision-maker(s) under instructions from the committee; or
• where the committee specifically finds that impermissible factors were used as a basis for denial and that no useful purpose would be served by a remand for reconsideration, a recommendation that a special committee be convened under the provisions of UWSP 3.08 (5)  to provide an independent recommendation for tenure.

Report. 
At an appropriate time in the deliberations, the chairperson recesses the meeting and prepares a draft report.  The draft is circulated among the members, after which the committee reconvenes to review the draft and make appropriate modifications.  After the report has been adopted by the hearing committee, each member of the committee signs the report or files a dissent.

• The report shall be adopted by a majority of the members of the hearing committee.  The vote shall be a roll call vote, which shall be recorded.
• The report shall be distributed not later than 10 days following the close of deliberations.
• The chairperson provides a verbatim record of the hearing and a copy of the report to the faculty member, and a copy each of the report to the chancellor, the vice chancellor, the appropriate dean, the department chairperson, the chairperson of the departmental personnel committee, and the decision-maker(s).

Chancellor’s Action. 

The recommendations of the hearing committee become the decision of the chancellor within 30 days of the receipt of the committee’s report by the chancellor unless the chancellor modifies the recommendations.

• If the chancellor contemplates a decision substantially different from the recommendations of the committee, the chancellor shall afford the committee an opportunity to discuss the report and the chancellor’s proposed decision before written notification of decision to the appellant.
• The chancellor sends written notification of decision to the appellant and the chairperson of the hearing committee within 30 days of receipt of the report of the committee.
• The decision of the chancellor is final on such matters.

OUTLINE OF APPEAL PROCESS

Abbreviations used:
D=Dean;
VC=Vice Chancellor;
C=Chancellor;
PF=Personnel Files;
DC=Department Chair;
DPC=Department Personnel Committee;
FMS=Faculty Mediation Subcommittee;
HC=Hearing Committee

NOTES:
Time limits in steps 2, 3, and 4 may be extended by mutual consent of the faculty member and DC (or appropriate administrative officer).  Time limits in steps 6 through 9 may be extended by mutual consent of the faculty member and the HC or by order of the HC.  Prior to step 7, the FMS may act for the HC in this regard.

*Legal counsel, at the time hired by the faculty member, should inform the FMS chairperson of counsel’s interest in the proceedings.  From the time of receipt of that notice, counsel will automatically receive copies of all correspondence, memos, and any other pertinent material, whether initiated by the faculty member or by other employees of the university.

SECTION 5: INTERPRETATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES FOR PERSONNEL RULES AND POLICIES:  ACADEMIC STAFF APPOINTMENT

NOTE.  Academic staff are divided into categories according to position responsibilities.  Many of the policies, rules, and procedures pertaining to academic staff apply to all categories; others vary for each group.

In cases where materials pertain to all academic staff, they are presented without regard to categories; where there are differences, subheadings divide the materials by the appropriate category.

Teaching Professor 

The Teaching Professor Title Series is an instructional academic staff title series described in system policy as follows: 

• Teaching Assistant Professor 
• Teaching Associate Professor 
• Teaching Professor 

Minimum Qualifications

The default for Teaching Professor is the approved criteria to hold the equivalent faculty rank. Minimum qualifications for Teaching Professor are the same for the criteria outlined in Chapter 4B Section 3, Faculty Rank. Exceptions are listed below. Exceptions are approved by the department, dean, and the appropriate governance body. 

Recruitment 

Teaching professor positions are meant to be ongoing positions, normally hired on a retention notification contract.  These positions must be searched, any temporary appointments should use a different instructional academic staff title such as Lecturer. 

Job Responsibilities 

Teaching professor teaching load is aligned with faculty teaching load which is normally 12 credits per semester or 24 credits per academic year.  The expectation is that teaching professors also have additional duties including but not limited to strategic course planning and development, advising, development of teaching and learning scholarly work. The teaching professor titles are to be used in cases where accrediting, licensing, or certifying organizations require credentials of practice that are commonly held independent of academic doctorates (or appropriate terminal degree, or tested experience).  

Evaluation 

Departments hiring teaching professors must create discipline specific criteria for evaluation for retention and promotion for these titles and place them in their unit’s policy manual.

DEPARTMENTAL/UNIT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Wherever UWSP Personnel Rules, policies, or procedures provide for the development of departmental/unit policies and procedures and the approval of those policies or procedures by the chancellor or vice chancellor, approval has been delegated to designees

• for departments/units reporting to a dean, the designee is the dean; 
• for departments/units reporting to vice chancellors, the designee is the vice chancellor; and
• for departments/units reporting directly to the provost, the designee is the provost.

ACADEMIC STAFF APPOINTMENTS

TYPES OF APPOINTMENTS. 

Academic staff appointments are of 3 types:  fixed term, probationary, and indefinite.

Fixed Term. 

Definition. 

Fixed term appointments are for a definite period of time specified in the letter of appointment, are renewable solely at the option of the university, and carry no expectation of reemployment regardless of how often renewed.

Appropriate Use. 

Fixed term appointments are used for academic staff positions when the appointment is

• primarily for classroom teaching and/or coaching; or
• less than half-time; or
• for a term of 1 year or less, to replace someone on leave; or
• funded by non-GPR money; or
• to a designated position determined appropriate for fixed term at the time of the initial appointment according to the provisions of UWSP 10.03  (1)(b) 5.

Probationary. 

Definition. 

Probationary appointments are those which lead to a review and decision on an indefinite appointment.

Appropriate Use. 

A probationary appointment is normally used for every position other than one primarily for classroom teaching when the position is funded by tax dollars and the position is anticipated to be ongoing.

Indefinite. 

Definition. 

An indefinite appointment provides permanent status for an unlimited term.

Appropriate Use. 

Indefinite appointments are granted only after appropriate annual review and evaluation.  Normally, a person will not be granted indefinite appointment to a particular administrative position.

ACADEMIC STAFF CATEGORIES

TITLE CATEGORIES. 

Academic staff titles normally fall within 3 categories.

Category A.

Titles in this group include those in which duties and responsibilities are most similar to those of professional and administrative positions common to institutions of higher education other than classroom teaching.  Broadly speaking, personnel in this category at UWSP are primarily involved in support programs.

Category B.

Titles in this group include those in which duties and responsibilities are most similar to the research or instructional functions typical of faculty in the UW System.  On this campus, this category consists almost exclusively of classroom teaching academic staff.

Category C. 

Titles in this group include those in which duties and responsibilities are most similar to designated professional positions and administrative positions in academic areas.  At UWSP, persons in this category are generally at or above the level of assistant dean but the category also includes program directors for academic research units, coaches, consultants, and some limited appointments.

TYPES OF APPOINTMENTS FOR SPECIFIC CATEGORIES

Category A. 

Tax Funded. 

Personnel whose position titles are in this group and whose positions are funded by general purpose revenue funds (tax dollars) are normally on probationary appointments.

Program Revenue Funded. 

Those personnel in this group whose positions are funded by program revenue funds (funds other than tax dollars) will normally hold fixed term appointments.  (In certain circumstances, those funded by non-GPR dollars may be  granted indefinite appointment.)

CATEGORY B. 

On this campus and regardless of the funding source, Category B personnel are normally on fixed term appointments.

CATEGORY C. 

Tax Funded. 

Personnel in this group whose positions are funded by GPR funds will normally hold either a probationary or indefinite appointment [or a probationary or tenured faculty appointment] and a limited appointment in the administrative position.

Program Revenue Funded. 

Those personnel in this group whose positions are funded by program revenue funds will normally hold fixed term appointments with limited appointments in the administrative position.  (In certain circumstances, those funded by non-GPR dollars may have been granted indefinite appointment.)

LIMITED APPOINTMENTS

DEFINITION. 

A limited appointment is an appointment to a designated administrative position in which the individual serves at the pleasure of the appointing official.  Such appointments are governed by the provisions of Chapter UWS 15.

APPOINTMENT RIGHTS. 

Current Academic Staff. 

A member of the academic staff granted a limited appointment does not lose existing rights to an academic staff appointment by accepting the limited appointment.

Initial Appointment. 

Whenever feasible, an individual granted a limited appointment and not already holding an academic staff [or faculty] appointment shall be given an appropriate academic staff [or faculty] appointment.

Termination. 

Termination of a limited appointment is not a dismissal under Chapters UWS/UWSP 11  and is not otherwise subject to appeal.

Notice. 

Whenever possible, an individual holding a limited appointment without another academic staff [or faculty] appointment shall be given notice of termination of the limited appointment at least 3 months in advance of the expiration of the appointment.

SALARY. 

The salary for an individual with a limited appointment is determined by an vice chancellor, the provost, or the chancellor, as appropriate.  Such salaries are based upon the appointee’s duties and shall be in conformity with the salary structure prescribed in the UW System.  Annual salary increases for academic staff holding limited appointments are also determined by the appointing authority.

ACADEMIC STAFF AND LIMITED APPOINTMENT TITLING

Initial Titling. 

UW System Administrative Policy 1276: Title Definitions (formerly TC 2: Title Definitions) provides a system-wide framework for title usage of current academic staff and limited employees. Appendix IA  provides all Faculty, Academic Staff, and Limited Appointment Title Definitions. Titling is done in accordance with University of Wisconsin System (UWS) UPG 01: Professionals section, pages 6 (Instructional Academic Staff), and 9-10 (Non-Instructional Academic Staff).

The Office of Academic Affairs is responsible for titling instructional staff positions. The Office of Human Resources is responsible for titling non-instructional staff positions.

Escalation of Review/Appeal of Initial Titling

Instructional academic staff

If a supervisor would like to appeal an initial titling, they should notify the Associate Vice Chancellor for Personnel, Budget, and Grants to discuss. If resolution cannot be obtained, the supervisor should request a review by the Chancellor and Vice Chancellors.

Non-Instructional academic staff

If a supervisor would like to appeal an initial titling, they should notify the Chief Human Resources Officer to discuss. If resolution cannot be obtained, the supervisor should request a review by the Chancellor and Vice Chancellors.

Title Changes

UW System Administrative Policy 1257 (formerly UPS Operational Policy HR 8): Title Change provides the system framework for title changes, including promotion and career progression.

To justify a title change, a substantive change in the duties and responsibilities must occur and the change must be qualitative rather than quantitative. The change of duties cannot occur prior to review. Movement is dependent on complexity and expansion of the duties as well as growth in the experience and knowledge base of the position-holder. Depending on the type of changes and title series, certain criteria may be required in accordance with UW System Administrative Policy 1257 (formerly UPS Operational Policy HR 8): Title Change and UW System Administrative Policy 1276: Title Definitions (formerly TC 2).

Escalation of Review/Appeal

If an individual/supervisor would like to appeal a title change decision, within 15 days of the notification for the title change decision, the requester shall first notify the Associate Vice Chancellor for Personnel, Budget, and Grants (for instructional staff) or the Chief Human Resources Officer (for non-instructional academic staff) to discuss for informal resolution. If resolution cannot be obtained, within 20 days of the determination by the Chief Human Resources Officer or the Associate Vice Chancellor for Personnel, Budgets, and Grants, the individual/supervisor should request a review by the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor.

Promotions

Eligibility and Criteria

Instructional academic staff

Individuals holding an Academic Staff B basis (instructional) position are eligible to submit for promotion. Promotion to a specific prefix is dependent upon experience, performance, the professional level criteria within UWS 1276: Appendix 1A (pages 9-21), and departmental guidelines. Departmental guidelines are available from each department chairperson and should include the following:

• Promotion Committees.

• Promotion committees for academic staff shall be as provided for in departmental policies. Such policies shall stipulate that where academic staff are members of promotion committees, normally only those at or above the title of the individual applying for promotion shall be voting members of the committee.

• Committee Chairperson’s Duties.

• The chairperson of each committee shall report the committee’s recommendations to the individual, the department chairperson, and the Dean of the college.

• Department Chairperson’s Recommendation.

• Normally, the department chairperson will submit a separate recommendation to the dean. In the event that the chairperson’s recommendation differs significantly from that of the department, the chairperson shall notify the appropriate departmental committee of this fact and provide to the person under consideration written justification for the action.

• Forwarding Recommendations.

• In any discussion between the dean and the department regarding these recommendations, both the department chairperson and the chairperson of the committee shall be included. The dean shall forward a recommendation along with those of the department and department chairperson to the vice chancellor and shall inform the department chairperson in writing of that recommendation.

• Informing Department.

• In the event that the dean, vice chancellor, or chancellor makes a recommendation contrary to the department’s, that administrator shall inform the individual and the department chairperson in writing, including reasons for the decision, before transmitting the recommendation to the next administrative level.

• Completion of Requirements.

• The required number of years of teaching experience for a particular title shall be completed before the individual is considered for promotion.

Non-instructional academic staff

Individuals holding an Academic Staff A or C basis (non-instructional) position within a promotional series (Associate, No-Prefix, Senior, Distinguished) are eligible to submit for promotion. Academic staff not in a promotional series are not eligible for the promotion process. Promotion to a specific prefix is dependent upon experience, performance, and the professional-level criteria within UWS 1276: Appendix 1A (page 54).

Applying for Promotion

To apply for promotion, follow the promotion processes available through Academic Affairs (instructional academic staff) and Human Resources (non-instructional academic staff).

Timeline

No promotion is acquired solely because of years of service. An employee is first eligible for consideration for promotion from Associate to No-Prefix when 1.5 years of experience have been accumulated by January 1 in the year application for promotion is submitted. An employee is first eligible for consideration for promotion from No Prefix to Senior when 6.5 years of experience have been accumulated by January 1 in the year application for promotion is submitted.

Salary Change Accompanying a Promotion

Promotions approved for progression from Associate to No-Prefix have an adjustment to the minimum of the title range or a 7% increase, whichever is larger.

Promotions approved for a progression from No-Prefix to Senior have an adjustment to the minimum of the title range or a 9% increase, whichever is larger.

Promotion Reconsideration and Appeal

• Reconsideration.

• Where the vice chancellor and/or chancellor conclude(s) the criteria has not been met and the individual/supervisor wishes to pursue appeal, the recommender shall first request reconsideration within 15 days of the promotion denial notification. A reconsideration request should include a reason and any appropriate supplementary material(s).

• Upon receipt of a reconsideration request and review of supplementary materials, if the vice chancellor and/or chancellor continue(s) to believe the criteria have not been met, they will notify the recommender and provide the opportunity to meet with them to attempt to reconcile the differences that continue to exist regarding the promotion.

• Appeal.

• After reconsideration, if an individual/supervisor is dissatisfied with a vice chancellor and/or chancellor’s decision, they have 20 days to file a grievance with the Academic Staff Mediation Subcommittee following UWSP 13.02  . Instructional academic staff may elect to take grievances under UWSP 13.02  either to the Academic Staff Mediation Subcommittee or the Faculty Mediation Subcommittee, but shall have access to only one subcommittee for each case. An individual filing a grievance shall simultaneously send a copy of the grievance to the appropriate vice chancellor’s office.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES*

Academic staff teaching general education courses must hold a master’s degree or higher in the discipline or subfield. If a faculty member holds a master’s degree or higher in a discipline or subfield other than that in which he or she is teaching, that faculty member should have completed a minimum of 18 graduate credit hours in the discipline or subfield in which they teach.

* Revisions are based on the Higher Learning Commission. March 2016. Determining Qualified Faculty Through HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices: Guidelines for Institutions and Peer Reviewers. http://download.hlcommission.org.FacultyGuidelines 2016 OPB.pdf

TESTED EXPERIENCE CRITERIA*

Tested experience includes a breadth and depth of experience outside of the classroom in real world situations relevant to the discipline in which the faculty member is teaching. Each Unit should develop hiring qualifications that outline the minimum threshold of experience and a system of evaluation for tested experience. This experience could include the skill sets, types of certifications or additional credentials. and experiences that would meet tested experience requirements for specific disciplines and programs. Faculty hiring qualifications related to tested experience should be reviewed and approved through the university faculty governance process.

* Revisions are based on the Higher Learning Commission. March 2016. Determining Qualified Faculty Through HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices: Guidelines for Institutions and Peer Reviewers. http://download.hlcommission.org.FacultyGuidelines 2016 OPB.pdf

AQUACULTURE AND AQUAPONICS

The Higher Learning Commission guidelines state expectations in determining minimally qualified instructors, which will be enforced beginning September, 2017. According to the HLC, there are three ways to qualify to teach undergraduate courses which are not general education courses:

1. Hold a Master’s degree or higher in the discipline or subfield.
2. Hold a Master’s degree or higher in another field, and complete at least 18 graduate credit hours in the discipline or subfield.
3. Meet a minimum of “tested experience,” as defined by the institution, that “includes a breadth and depth of experience outside the classroom in real-world situations relevant to the discipline.”

Tested Experience Criteria

Tested experience includes a breadth and depth of experience outside of the classroom in real world situations relevant to the discipline in which the faculty member is teaching. Each Unit should develop hiring qualifications that outline the minimum threshold of experience and a system of evaluation for tested experience. This experience could include the skill sets, types of certifications or additional credentials and experiences that would meet tested experience requirements for specific disciplines and programs. Faculty hiring qualifications related to tested experience should be reviewed and approved through the university faculty governance process.

The following is an “Alternative Tested Experience Criteria” description for Aquaculture and Aquaponics instructional academic staff who do not hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or PhD candidacy, yet who have evidence of significant experience working in the fields of Aquaculture and Aquaponics to satisfy this experience. With these credentials, individuals are qualified to teach introductory, technical and applied courses within the Aquaculture and Aquaponic Programs, however, not within the General Education Program (GEP). The following can be used as evidence of significant experience which will be accepted:

• Bachelor’s degree in aquaculture, aquaponics, or related field with coursework specific to aquaculture and/or aquaponics and:

• At least 5 years of related work experience including at least one of the following:

• Presentations at professional conferences.
• Publication of peer-reviewed scholarly articles, books (chapters) and manuscripts.
• Invited lectures in the content area presented to peers or community groups.
• Work experience at a business that has been Certified Naturally Grown, received Organic certification, and/or Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) certification.

• A High School diploma and:

• At least 10 years of work experience in the fields of Aquaculture, Aquaponics or related field including at least one of the following:

• Presentations at professional conferences.
• Publication of peer-reviewed scholarly articles, books (chapters) and manuscripts.
• Invited lectures in the content area presented to peers or community groups.
• Work experience at a business that has been Certified Naturally Grown, received Organic certification, and/or Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) certification.

COMPUTING AND NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES (CNMT)

The following define minimum qualifications and tested experience for instructional academic staff teaching non-general education courses in the following programs offered in the department:

Applied Computing:

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Applications, or closely related fields and either passing at least two professional exams with University level computing content or at least five years of related work experience.   
• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in professional writing and communication with at least five years of related work experience for the professional communication courses in the curriculum ONLY.

Computer Information Systems:

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Applications, and either passing at least two professional exams with University level computing content or at least five years of related work experience.
• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in professional writing and communication with at least five years of related work experience for the professional communication courses in the curriculum ONLY.

Data Analytics:

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Data Analytics, Data Science, or Statistics for Data Analytics program and either passing at least two professional exams with University level computing content or at least five years of related work experience.
• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in professional writing and communication with at least five years of related work experience for the professional communication courses in the curriculum ONLY.

MS in Data Science:

• Minimum of a Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Data Analytics, Data Science, or Statistics for Data Analytics program.
• Minimum of a Master’s degree in professional writing and communication with at least five years of related work experience for the professional communication courses in the curriculum ONLY.

Web Development:

• Minimum of Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Psychology, Web Design, Web Development, Human-Technology Interaction, Human-Computer Interaction either passing at least two professional exams with University level computing content or at least five years of related work experience.
• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in professional writing and communication with at least five years of related work experience for the professional communication courses in the curriculum ONLY.

ENGLISH

Lecturer

B.A. in English, plus Master’s degree in a closely-related field, such as Communication or Comparative Literature, and demonstrated professional accomplishment in fields such as Editing, Technical and/or Professional Writing, and composition instruction.

INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE

The following memorandum is an “Alternate Testing Criteria” description for Interior Architecture academic staff who do not hold a terminal degree at a Master’s level, yet who have significant experience working in the field of design and hold a professional credential to signify this experience. With these credentials, individuals are qualified to teach technical and studio related courses within the Interior Architecture Major, however, not within the General Education Program (GEP). The following are the tested credentials which will be accepted.

1. The Council for Interior Design Qualifications (NCIDQ) Interior Designers who hold an NCIDQ Certification includes the following per NCIDQ standards:

1. NCIDQ Certified interior designers must complete a minimum of six years of specialized education and work experience and pass the three-part NCIDQ Exam, which is based on CIDQ’s independent, comprehensive analysis of the profession and the daily practice of interior design in a range of settings. NCIDQ Certification meets legal and regulatory standards for the interior design profession as established by more than half of the states across the U.S. and the provinces in Canada.
2. The exam covers seven areas that capture the core competencies of interior design: building systems, codes, construction standards, contract administration, design application, professional practice and project coordination.
3. NCIDQ Certification is required for the practice of many types of interior design in regulated jurisdictions throughout North America.
4. In addition to the standards of certification above, the division requires maintenance of the certification and/or associated state licensures through yearly Continuing Education Requirements (CEU) per the individual’s state jurisdictional requirements.

2. The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) Architects who hold an NCIDQ Certification or who have passed the Architectural Record Exam Includes the following per NCARB standards.

1. Has Graduated with a B. Arch or M. Arch from an NAAB or CACB (Canadian) Accredited Institution
2. Has Passed the Architectural Record Examination (ARE)
3. Maintains NCARB Membership and/or applicable Certifications.
4. Maintains Continuing Education requirements by professional organizations and/or State License requirements such as the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

3. WRA: Wisconsin Registered Architect. Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (Published under s. 35.93, Wis. Stats., by the Legislative Reference Bureau- Chapter A-E 2 ) or WRID: Wisconsin Registered Interior Designer

Interior Designers with the State of Wisconsin (Or other Current State License/Registration)

Includes the following standards:

1. Completed required education/experiences for licensure; and/or
2. Successful completion of the NCIDQ examination or the Council for the Qualification of Residential Interior Designers (CQRID) examination; and
3. Maintains current registration with the State of Wisconsin and the requirements therein, including continuing education.

Notes

1. Other state registrations/licenses of equivalent standards are applicable if holds a current and valid registration/license based on tested examination.) s. Effective date of policy, if different than upon the chancellor’s signature:
2. All applicants are required to show evidence of meeting the requirements as listed above and regular maintenance of certifications and/or licenses while under teaching contract.

4. Interior Architecture Compliance with the Intent for Alternate Educational Qualifications:

Per the Higher Learning Commission (HLC): “Tested experience includes a breadth and depth of experience outside of the classroom in real world situations relevant to the discipline in which the faculty member is teaching. Each unit should develop hiring qualifications that outline the minimum threshold of experience and a system of evaluation for tested experience. This experience could include the skill sets, types of certifications or additional credentials and experiences that would meet tested experience requirements for specific disciplines and programs.”

Interior architecture academic staff should either meet the HLC educational qualifications for terminal degree, or meet the tested qualifications above, or have all of the following:

• A minimum of 7 years professional experience;
• Be active in the professional organization of the American Society of Interior Design (ASID) or the International Interior Design Association (IIDA),
• Maintain Continuing Education Units (CEU) per state or professional organization standards,
• Maintain/submit a portfolio of built professional design work
• Provide peer reviewed design assessment/recommendations from at least three professional designers with NCIDQ or other licensure.

MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES

The Higher Learning Commission guidelines state expectations in determining minimally qualified instructors which will be enforced beginning September 2017. According to the HLC, there are three ways to qualify to teach undergraduate courses which are not general education courses:

1. Hold a master’s degree or higher in the discipline or subfield.
2. Hold a master’s degree or higher in another field, and complete at least 18 graduate credit hours in the discipline or subfield (math).
3. Meet a minimum of “tested experience,” as defined by the institution, that “includes a breadth and depth of experience outside the classroom in real-world situations relevant to the discipline.”

For general education math courses, only instructors satisfying one of the first two items above are allowed by the HLC document.

The following define for the Department of Mathematical Sciences at UWSP the specific, independent minimum qualifications to teach courses in the program. Satisfying any one of the following qualifies an instructor to teach courses which are not general education courses.

1. Master’s degree or Ph.D. in mathematics or a closely related field, such as statistics or engineering.
2. Master’s degree in another field and five years relevant teaching experience.
3. Bachelor’s degree in mathematics or related field, and either passing at least two professional exams with university level mathematical content or at least ten years of related work experience.
4. Master’s degree or higher in another field and at least 18 graduate credit hours in mathematics or mathematics education.

SENTRY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS.

At time of hiring or adoption of these rules, the Instructional Academic Staff (IAS) member must possess the minimum tested experience criteria as listed by discipline below.

Accounting

The Instructional Academic Staff (IAS) member must have a minimum of 3 years of managerial or professional-level experience in business, education, government or the military. The IAS member must also have a completed Master’s Degree in the appropriate teaching field. If the IAS member does not have a Master’s Degree in field, he/she must have additional substantive senior-level professional experience (e.g. active ownership or a senior-level executive position in business, education, government or the military) in the area in which he/she will be teaching in order to be considered as qualified at the Instructional Academic Staff level. 

Business Administration

The Instructional Academic Staff (IAS) member must have a minimum of 3 years of managerial or professional-level experience in business, education, government or the military. The IAS member must also have a completed Master’s Degree in the appropriate teaching field. If the IAS member does not have a Master’s Degree in field, he/she must have additional substantive senior-level professional experience (e.g. active ownership or a senior-level executive position in business, education, government or the military) in the area in which he/she will be teaching in order to be considered as qualified at the Instructional Academic Staff level.

Economics

The Instructional Academic Staff (IAS) member must have a minimum of 3 years of managerial or professional-level experience in business, education, government or the military. The IAS member must also have a completed Master’s Degree in the appropriate teaching field. If the IAS member does not have a Master’s Degree in field, he/she must have additional substantive senior-level professional experience (e.g. active ownership or a senior-level executive position in business, education, government or the military) in the area in which he/she will be teaching in order to be considered as qualified at the Instructional Academic Staff level.

SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION SCIENCES AND DISORDERS

Policy for Tested Experience Hiring Criteria:

Hiring Requirements:

1. To teach undergraduate courses - the person must hold a minimum of a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology; or a Master’s degree or a license or certification beyond the baccalaureate degree in the specific content area of the course (e.g., sign language).
2. To teach graduate courses - the person must hold a minimum of a Master’s degree in speech-language pathology or audiology, have a license to practice, and/or hold national certification, and have a minimum of 3 years of clinical experience; or have a Master’s degree in an unrelated discipline, and possess a license or certification beyond the baccalaureate degree in the specific content area of the course (e.g., business/practice management).

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

The School of Education believes that an instructor should hold a master’s or terminal degree in the appropriate field to teach undergraduate courses. Alternative tested experience for a temporary undergraduate instructor must be:

• a bachelor’s degree;

and

• three years of PK-12 teaching experience,
• discipline-specific, state-approved teacher certifications/licenses (past or current),

and/or

• specialized credentials, skill sets, or relevant real-world experience.

SCHOOL OF HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONS

The following define for the School of Health Care Professionals at UWSP the minimum qualifications and tested experience (e.g., skill sets, certifications, additional credentials, experiences) for instructional academic staff teaching non-general education courses in the following programs we offer:

Athletic Training

• A Bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training with national certification from the BOCATC, licensure in State of Wisconsin, and a minimum of 3-years full-time occupational experience as an Athletic Trainer.
• Master’s degree or earned doctorate in Health Care Discipline or “related discipline” area, defined within Diagnostic, Therapeutic, Administrative, Research and Development, and Educational fields (these disciplines include physical, mental, social, and natural science areas, as related to the education of health care professionals).

Hiring Requirements

To teach graduate courses in the Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) program, the person must hold either:

1. A Doctorate of Athletic Training (DAT), possess a current and active license to practice Athletic Training in any jurisdiction in the United States, and a minimum of three (3) full-time equivalent years of clinical experience with the demonstrated post-professional expertise clinical expertise in the content area assigned. Post-professional expertise can be demonstrated by recent continuing professional education in the content area.
2. A Post-professional Master’s degree, possess a current and active license to practice Athletic Training in any jurisdiction in t he United States, and a minimum of three (3) full-time equivalent years of clinical experience with demonstrated post-professional expertise in the content area assigned. Post-professional expertise can be demonstrated by recent continuing professional education in the content area.
3. An entry-level Master’s degree in Athletic Training, possess a current and active license to practice Athletic Training in any jurisdiction in the United States, and a minimum of five (5) full-time equivalent years of clinical experience, and post-professional expertise as demonstrated by additional specialist certifications recognized by the Board of Certification (BOC).

Physical Therapy

Hiring Requirements:

To teach graduate courses in the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, the person must hold either:

1. a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, a current and active license to practice physical therapy in any jurisdiction in the United States, and a minimum of three (3) full-time equivalent years of clinical experience with demonstrated post-professional expertise can be demonstrated by recent continuing professional education in the content area, and/or specialist certification recognized by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists (ABPTS);

OR

2. A post-professional Master’s degree, a current and active license to practice physical therapy in any jurisdiction in the United States, and a minimum of five (5) full-time equivalent years of clinical experience and post-professional expertise as demonstrated by current specialist certification recognized by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists (ABPTS).

Clinical Laboratory Science

• A Bachelor’s degree in Laboratory Science or “related discipline” area, defined within the Diagnostic, Therapeutic, Administrative, Research and Development, and Educational fields, national certification through the ASCP-BOC and a minimum of 3 years of full-time occupational experience in a clinical laboratory setting.
• Master’s degree or earned doctorate in Health Care Discipline or “related discipline” area, defined within Diagnostic, Therapeutic, Administrative, Research and Development, and Educational fields.

Health Informatics and Management Technology

• Master’s Degree in Informatics or Health Care Discipline or “related discipline” area, defined within the Diagnostic, Therapeutic, Administrative, Research and Development, and Educational fields, and a minimum of 3-years of occupational experience in a health care discipline or 3-years of teaching experience at the college level.
• Master’s degree or earned doctorate in Informatics, Health Care Discipline, or “related discipline” area, defined within Diagnostic, Therapeutic, Administrative, Research and Development, and Educational fields.

Health Science

• A Bachelor’s Degree in a Health Care Discipline with nationally recognized certification and/or licensing credentials recognizant of mastery in that health care field and a minimum of 3 years of full-time occupational experience in health care OR Master’s Degree in “related discipline” area, defined within the Diagnostic, Therapeutic, Administrative, Research and Development, and Educational fields.
• Master’s degree or earned doctorate in Health Care Discipline or “related discipline” area, defined within Diagnostic, Therapeutic, Administrative, Research and Development, and Educational fields.

Nursing

• Master’s Degree in Nursing, licensed as a Registered Nurse, and a minimum of 3 years of occupational experience in nursing.
• Master’s degree or earned doctorate in Nursing, Health Care Discipline, or “related discipline” area, defined within Diagnostic, Therapeutic, Administrative, Research and Development, and Educational fields.

SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROMOTION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

The Higher Learning Commission guidelines state expectations in determining minimally qualified instructors, which will begin September 2017.

According to the HLC, there are two ways to qualify to teach undergraduate general education or other “non-occupational” courses:

1. Hold a master’s degree or higher in the discipline or subfield.
2. Hold a master’s degree or higher in another field, and complete at least 18 graduate credit hours in the discipline or subfield being taught.

The following define for the School of Health Promotion & Human Development at UWSP the minimum qualifications and tested experience (e.g., skills, certifications, credentials, professional experiences) for instructional academic staff teaching non-general education courses in the following programs we offer:

Family & Consumer Sciences

• Master’s degree in Education, Human Development, Family & Consumer Sciences, Counseling, or related discipline within the fields of Human Services, Family Studies, or Education as appropriate to the specific course being taught plus the equivalent of 3 years fulltime occupational experience in the profession appropriate to the specific course or teaching licensure in Family & Consumer Sciences.

Food & Nutrition

• Bachelor’s degree in any field and a minimum of 4 years professional hands on culinary experience in a high volume kitchen that includes catering plus 2 years as executive chef or general manager.
• Master’s degree in Health Education, Public Health, Exercise Science, or related discipline within the fields of Health Science, Human Services, Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources, Government & Public Administration or Business Management & Administration as appropriate to the specific course.

Health and Wellness Management

• Master’s degree in Health Education, Public Health, Nutrition, Exercise Science or related discipline within the fields of Health Science, Human Services, Marketing, or Business Management & Administration as appropriate to the specific course.
• Master’s degree in a discipline not related to the above and 5 years fulltime occupational experience in the profession appropriate to the specific course.

Health Promotion and Wellness

• Master’s degree in Health Education, Public Health, Nutrition, Exercise Science or related discipline within the fields of Health Science, Human Services, Marketing, or Business Management & Administration as appropriate to the specific course.
• Master’s degree in a discipline not related to the above and 5 years fulltime occupational experience in the profession appropriate to the specific course.

Human Development

• Master’s degree in Education, Human Development, Family & Consumer Sciences, Counseling, or related discipline within the fields of Human Services, Family Studies, or Education as appropriate to the specific course plus the equivalent of 3 years fulltime occupational experience in the profession appropriate to the specific course.

THEATRE AND DANCE

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) guidelines* state expectations in determining minimally qualified instructors (beginning September 2017). According to the HLC, there are three ways to qualify to teach undergraduate general education or other “non-occupational” courses:

1. Hold a master’s degree or higher in the discipline or subfield.
2. Hold a master’s degree or higher in another field, and complete at least 18 graduate credit hours in the discipline or subfield (theatre, dance or music).
3. Meet a minimum of “tested experience” as defined by the institution, that “includes a breadth and depth of experience outside the classroom in real-world situations relevant to the discipline.”

The following define the specific, independent minimum qualifications to teach disciplinary courses in the Department of Theatre and Dance at UWSP.

1. Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Theatre, Dance or Music.
2. Master’s degree in another field and five years relevant to teaching experience.
3. Bachelor’s degree in Theatre or Dance, and five years of experience in the field, or a related performance discipline and five years of experience in this field.
4. Possess at least one professional certification (e.g., Pilates, Feldenkrais, Linklater, Estill) with appropriate field-related content at least 15 years of related work experience.
5. Master’s degree or higher in another field and at least 18 graduate credit hours in theatre, dance or music.

*HLC, “Determining Qualified Faculty through HLC’s Criteria for Accreditation and Assumed Practices,” October 2015.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

Teaching qualifications

Expected credentials:  Master’s degree in field related to the course being taught or 18 credits of graduate work in discipline.

Alternative tested credentials/experience for an undergraduate instructor must be:

University College prefers that an instructor should hold an advanced degree in an appropriate field to teach undergraduate courses. Fields applicable to content taught in the college are broad-ranging and could include instructional design, education, English, science, mathematics, student affairs administration, counseling, social work, coaching, educational administration, etc. If an instructor does not have an advanced degree, they may be able to teach undergraduate courses if they hold a bachelor’s degree and have three years of experience relevant to the course topic and/or specialized credentials, skill sets, or relevant real-world experience.

WORLD LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES

For the Department of World Languages and Literatures, Alternative Tested Experience includes five years of professional experience in an area relevant to the language being taught. The faculty of the candidate’s language program will consider and evaluate submitted evidence as equivalent experience. This professional experience may include the following:

• Documentation of excellence in teaching, as indicated by formal, internal and/or external teaching award(s).
• Presentation(s) at WAFLT and/or ACTFL or other professional conferences.
• Invited lecture in the content area presented to peers or community groups.
• Organization or coordination of content area presentations or conferences.
• Peer-reviewed published translation projects, especially if related to education, instruction, literature or culture of target language.
• Publication of creative writing in the language taught by the candidate.
• Publication of peer-reviewed scholarly essay(s) related to pedagogy, instruction, literature, culture of target language, including book reviews, textbook reviews, educational software reviews.
• Completion of interpretation/translation certification course.
• Activity as interpreter.
• Training as an Advanced Placement Test grader and activity as grader.
• Training as an Advanced Placement Course instructor.
• Completion of Advanced level WL immersion course(s).
• Innovative World Language (WL) course development.
• WL curriculum development.
• Authoring and publication of WL textbook.
• WL program coordination or administration at the department, high school or district level.
• Organization and leading of study abroad program, including pre-travel orientation,
• documentation of content delivery and pre - and post-travel activities.
• Leadership/service as officer in professional WL organization.
• Professional development workshop related to the content area with documented project outcomes.

GRADUATE FACULTY

NOTE: This policy also appears in Chapter 4B, Section 3

Criteria: Both of the following:

• Rank of Assistant Professor or higher.
• Either

• Successful teaching experience in the discipline in which the faculty member provides graduate instruction, or
• Continuing evidence of scholarly achievement and professional activity.

MEMBERSHIP PROCESS

Prospective graduate faculty members are recommended by department chairs or their equivalent in consultation with faculty members eligible for graduate faculty status. Departmental recommendations shall be forwarded to the Graduate Council for information. This status will grant an individual the ability to serve on thesis or dissertation committees, teach graduate level courses, and vote on matters related to the graduate faculty.

TEMPORARY GRADUATE RESEARCH STATUS

Criteria: Both of the following

• A Ph.D., Ed.D, or terminal professional degree;
• Continuing evidence of scholarly achievement and professional activity. 

MEMBERSHIP PROCESS

Upon recommendation of the department and the dean of the college, instructors may obtain TEMPORARY GRADUATE RESEARCH STATUS. Departmental recommendations shall be forwarded to the Graduate Council for information. These appointments are designed to allow collaborators from other institutions or non-permanent appointments at the university (e.g., postdoctoral researchers) to serve on thesis or dissertation committees. Such appointments will only allow individuals to serve on thesis or dissertation committees and authorization will typically be granted for the duration of the collaborative project for which they are assisting. Individuals who serve on more than one committee must have temporary graduate research status approved for each project. Temporary graduate research status does not authorize an individual to teach graduate level courses (a separate authorization would be required) and does not grant the ability of an individual to vote on graduate faculty matters that pertain to administrative or curriculum issues.

TEMPORARY GRADUATE TEACHING STATUS

Criteria: Both of the following

• Qualifications for rank of Assistant Professor or higher.
• Either

• Successful teaching experience in the discipline in which graduate instruction is given, or
• Continuing evidence of scholarly achievement and professional activity.

Upon recommendation of the department, faculty or instructional academic staff may be given TEMPORARY GRADUATE TEACHING STATUS.  Departmental recommendations shall be forwarded to the Graduate Council for information for a term no more than 5 years. Minimum requirements for temporary graduate teaching status are to have the qualifications for rank of Assistant Professor within their discipline and teaching or scholarly activity as outlined above unless their department has alternative tested experience criteria listed below. These ALTERNATIVE TESTED EXPERIENCE CRITERIA must be approved by the Graduate Council. Temporary graduate teaching status does not authorize an individual to serve on thesis or dissertation committees and does not grant the ability of an individual to vote on graduate faculty matters that pertain to administrative or curriculum issues.

ALTERNATIVE TESTED EXPERIENCE CRITERIA

COLLEGE OF NATURAL RESOURCES

For the College of Natural Resources, “tested experience” and/or “skill sets, certifications, other credentials” includes the following:

• Possession of a terminal degree in a natural resources discipline OR
• Professional experience equivalent to 5 years in one, or a combination, of the following:

• Employment with a private, public, or non-profit agency whose primary service is to provide education, policy development, management, commercial or other professional services for the following sectors:

• Forest Management
• Environmental Education or Interpretation
• Natural Resource Planning, Policy, or Sustainable Energy
• Soil, Land, or Waste Management
• Wildlife Management or Captive Wildlife
• Water Resource Management
• Fisheries Management
• Paper Science Manufacturing or Chemical/ Environmental Engineering

• Teaching experience in a primary or secondary classroom (kindergarten through grade 12) may be considered for instructional assignments related to environmental education.
• Informal teaching experience, including the delivery of outreach, extension, or similar community-oriented programming.

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

For the purpose of advanced courses with specialized disciplinary content, the department requires a master’s degree or PhD candidacy in a field related to biology, and evidence of at least one of the following:

• Identified graduate coursework of at least 6 credits in specialized disciplinary content consistent with the assigned course for the instructor, or
• Publications and/or presentations at professional conferences in the disciplinary content area of the assigned course for the instructor, or
• At least 3 years of professional experience working in a discipline directly related to the content area of the assigned course for the instructor

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY

In the Geography/Geology Department, “tested experience” and/or “skill sets, certifications, other credentials” are met by one or a combination of the following:

For graduate-level instructors in Geography:

• Achievement of Ph.D. candidacy (from an accredited university) in Geography or in a related field.
• Applied research in a geographic subfield (e.g., geospatial techniques) that engaged community, government, or business groups and resulted in a presentation or in published materials.
• Attainment of state or national certificates or accreditation from a geographic or related professional organization in which 5 years of experience are required, or 3-4 years of experience are required and a minimum of two re-certifications is achieved.
• Non-university related employment in a position that uses geographic or related knowledge and skill sets on a daily basis.

For graduate-level instructors in Geology:

• Achievement of Ph.D. candidacy (from an accredited university) in Geology or in a related field.
• Applied research in a geologic subfield (e.g. hydrogeology) that engaged community, government, or business groups and resulted in a presentation or in published materials.
• Attainment of state or national certificates or accreditation from a geologic or related professional organization in which 5 years of experience are required, or 3-4 years of experience are required and a minimum of two re-certifications is achieved.
• Non-university related employment in a position that uses geologic or related knowledge and skill sets on a daily basis.

SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION SCIENCES AND DISORDERS

Policy for Tested Experience Hiring Criteria:

Hiring Requirements:

1. To teach undergraduate courses - the person must hold a minimum of a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology; or a Master’s degree or a license or certification beyond the baccalaureate degree in the specific content area of the course (e.g., sign language).
2. To teach graduate courses - the person must hold a minimum of a Master’s degree in speech-language pathology or audiology, have a license to practice, and/or hold national certification, and have a minimum of 3 years of clinical experience; or have a Master’s degree in an unrelated discipline, and possess a license or certification beyond the baccalaureate degree in the specific content area of the course (e.g., business/practice management).

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

The School of Education believes that a faculty member should hold a terminal degree to teach graduate courses. Alternative tested experience: temporary graduate faculty will need to possess a Master’s degree, five years of professional experience including at least three years PK-12 teaching experience that is consistent with their discipline, and where applicable, the knowledge, skills and dispositions to teach online, hybrid or face-to-face courses. In other circumstances, the combination of a Master’s degree, three years of PK-12 teaching experience, discipline specific to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction certifications/licenses, specialized credentials, skill sets or relevant real-world experience are considered evidence of appropriate qualifications for graduate teaching.

Educational Sustainability Doctoral Program (Ed.D.)

Introduction

The following defines the Educational Sustainability (Ed.D.) doctoral program minimum qualifications and tested experience for instructional faculty teaching courses in the Educational Sustainability doctoral program. This does not include the courses EDSU 918 (Scholar Mentorship course) or the EDSU, EDSU 919 (Applied Residency Course) 920 (Dissertation Course); please see the Affiliate Scholar Practitioner Program for those requirements.

The Ed.D. program is interdisciplinary in nature given the social, ecological and economical aspects of the broad field of education defined as informal, formal and nonformal systems of teaching, learning and leading. These systems include but not limited to, K-12 Education, Higher Education, Adult Learning, Life-long learning, and educational components of business, communities, non-profit educational institutions, international educational organizations and sustainability pedagogies and learning to support.

Given that the field of educational sustainability questions historical trends, current practice and future orientations of education from social, cultural, ecological and economic contexts, students often are interested in exploring and practicing in and for novel places (both geographically speaking and theoretically/philosophically thinking), weaving contributions of other disciplinary fields into research and professional practice. To this extent, courses and related experiences connect this scope of sustainability to support the Ed.D. program as interdisciplinary within clearly defined outcomes set forth and approved by HLC (see Ed.D. catalog for outcomes).

Alternative Tested Criteria

With this explanation, and for the purpose of the doctoral courses in this interdisciplinary arena, the department requires: an Ed.D. or Ph.D. in a disciplinary field related to the course being taught and 3 years of combined professional/practitioner, teaching and/or research experience in the specific content area of the course being taught.

SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROMOTION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Qualification Guidelines for Teaching Graduate Courses 

The following define for the School of Health Promotion and Human Development at UWSP the minimum qualifications and tested experience (e.g., skills, certifications, credentials, professional experiences) for teaching graduate courses that we offer in the following areas:

Community and Organizational Leadership

Master’s degree in a discipline within the fields of Government & Public Administration, Business Management and Administration, Health Science, Human Services, Communications, Marketing, or Education and Training as appropriate to the specific content area of the course, plus 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course.

Family and Consumer Sciences

Master’s degree in Education, Human Development, Family and Consumer Sciences, Counseling, or related discipline within the fields of Human Services, or Family Studies, or Education as appropriate to the specific course being taught; plus 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course, or teaching licensure in Family and Consumer Sciences and 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course.

Food and Nutrition

Master’s degree in Health Education, Public Health, Exercise Science, or related discipline within the fields of Health Science, Human Services, Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources, Government and Public Administration or Business Management & Administration as appropriate to the specific content area of the course, plus 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course.

Health and Wellness Management

Master’s degree in Health Education, Public Health, Nutrition, Exercise Science or related discipline within the fields of Health Science, Human Services, Marketing, or Business Management and Administration as appropriate to the specific content area of the course, plus 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course.

Health Promotion and Wellness

Master’s degree in Health Education, Public Health, Nutrition, Exercise Science or related discipline within the fields of Health Science, Human Services, Marketing, or Business Management and Administration as appropriate to the specific content area of the course, plus 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course.

Human Development

Master’s degree in Education, Human Development, Family and Consumer Sciences, Counseling, or related discipline within the fields of Human Services, Family Studies, or Education as appropriate to the specific content area of the course, plus 5 years of professional experience in the specific content area of the course.

Membership Process

Using the criteria above and upon recommendation of the department and the dean of the college instructors may obtain TEMPORARY GRADUATE TEACHING STATUS. Such appointments must specify the courses(s) to be taught and the duration for temporary only pertain to the teaching of the specified course(s). Under no circumstances shall the temporary status be used as a continuing substitute for graduate faculty membership. Temporary graduate teaching status does not authorize an individual to serve on thesis or dissertation committees (a separate authorization would be required) and does not grant the ability of an individual to vote on graduate faculty matters that pertain to administrative or curriculum issues.

The department or dean has the responsibility to communicate this TEMPORARY GRADUATE TEACHING STATUS to the registrar.

EDUCATIONAL CODE, CREDITING OF PRIOR SERVICE, AND SALARY INFORMATION

EDUCATIONAL PREPARATION CODE. 

Effective 2006-2007, an academic staff member’s code assignment is based on the following academic preparation.

Code 1.

• Ph.D.
• Ed.D.
• Earned doctor’s degree equivalent to the Ph.D. or Ed.D., requiring an original contribution to the field and requiring the minimum equivalent of 3 full years of graduate study beyond the baccalaureate.
• MFA in creative arts (specifically: studio art, creative writing, dance and technical areas of drama) when a higher terminal degree is not normally awarded.

Code 2.

• Earned degrees, such as the J.D., requiring a minimum of 90 semester credit hours of graduate level work beyond the baccalaureate degree.
• All requirements for the doctorate met except completion of the dissertation.

Code 3.

• Master’s degree plus 30 semester credit hours of graduate level work in a coherent program of study.  If the master’s degree requires more than 30 semester credit hours, then the additional graduate level work only needs to bring the total semester credit hours to 60 (for example, a master’s degree requiring 36 semester credit hours would need to be supplemented with an additional 24 credits to qualify for this educational code.)
• A specialist degree or its equivalent.
• University Library faculty with an MLS and a second approved master’s degree.

Code 4.

• A master’s degree.

Code 5. 

• A bachelor’s degree.

Code 6. 

• No bachelor’s degree.

GRANTING PRIOR SERVICE CREDIT:  TIME TOWARD INDEFINITE APPOINTMENT

(PROBATIONARY OR FIXED TERM).

General Guideline. 

The practice of granting credit for prior service is not universal but has been most common in traditional four‑year universities.  When prior service credit is granted, it is usually limited to 3 years, leaving 3 to 4 years for evaluating probationary academic staff prior to making the mandatory decision on indefinite appointment.

Impact. 

Evaluation and review for a decision on indefinite appointment is required for academic staff holding probationary appointments.  Academic staff holding fixed term appointments may request review for the granting of indefinite appointment after 10 years of service at UWSP.  Indefinite appointment may be awarded only after the third year of full-time service at UWSP.  One consequence of granting credit for prior service is to shorten by a stipulated number of years the time period in which the decision to award indefinite appointment is made.

Individual Decisions. 

Decisions on crediting of prior service are made on an individual, case-by-case basis:  there is no automatic or formula‑based credit for prior service.

SALARY INFORMATION.

Salary Determination

Compensation for job postings, at the time of hire, and compensation adjustments will be applied in accordance with the UW System Administrative Policy 1277: Compensation.

Salary determination is made at the Dean or Director level with approval by Human Resources and the Vice Chancellor or Division Head. Salary determination may be delegated to a direct supervisor.

Summer Session. 

Compensation. 
Classroom teaching academic staff are rarely hired during summer sessions.  When classroom teaching academic staff are hired for the summer, compensation is normally 9.3% of the previous academic year salary for the equivalent of three credits of instruction (half-time); full-time is normally compensated at 18.6%.

Contracts. 
Summer session teaching contracts are all contingency contracts, based on negotiations between the academic staff member and appropriate dean on the number of students anticipated to enroll.  When enrollment is less than anticipated, the dean determines whether the class is to be canceled and the contract voided or to keep the class at the lower enrollment and reduce the salary of the academic staff member.

Crediting of Prior Years. 

A newly hired instructional/classroom teaching Academic Staff employee may receive credit for previous experience in determining salary, fractional years of credit are rounded to the next higher number of full years (e.g., 1.2 years are counted as 2 years). Review and determination of credit is done by the hiring college dean in accordance with college and/or discipline criteria.

Full-time and Part-time. 

Category A or C. 

Unless otherwise negotiated and expressly stated in the letter of appointment, full-time shall be defined as 5 working days per week or the equivalent, half-time shall be defined as 2 1/2 working days per week or the equivalent, and other part-time appointments shall be calculated as a percentage based on 5 days per week as full-time.

Category B. 

Full time shall be defined as 24 credit hours per academic year.

Paychecks. 

Paycheck information for Academic Staff is available via https://uwservice.wisconsin.edu/help/payroll.

FIXED TERM, PROBATIONARY, AND INDEFINITE APPOINTMENTS

CONTRACTUAL PERIODS AND SCHEDULES FOR RECOMMENDATIONS ON RETENTION, INDEFINITE APPOINTMENT, PROMOTION, AND MERIT. 

Contractual periods. 

Academic staff may be hired on multiple-year contracts, rolling contracts, or one-year contracts.  Limited appointments, in which persons serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority, may be open-ended.

Annual Schedule. 

The provost, vice chancellors, and deans annually distribute to department chairpersons and unit heads a schedule of specific dates when recommendations regarding renewal, indefinite appointment, promotion, and merit are due.

Probationary Personnel. 

Dates for decisions on renewal are governed by the provisions of Chapters UWS and UWSP 10.05 .  Academic staff shall receive notice at least 3 months prior to the expiration of the appointment in the first year; at least 6 months prior to the expiration of the appointment in the second year; and 12 months prior to the expiration of the appointment thereafter.

Fixed Term Personnel. 

Half-time or More. 
Academic staff serving .5 FTE or more, or who have accumulated 7 academic years of service at .5 FTE or more per semester shall receive notice at least 3 months prior to the expiration of the appointment in the first 2 years; at least 6 months prior to the expiration of the appointment in the 3rd through 7th years; at least 9 months prior to the expiration of the appointment in the 8th through 10th years; and 12 months prior to the expiration of the appointment thereafter.

When the letter of appointment states that renewal is not intended, no further notice of nonrenewal is required.

Less Than Half-time. 
Academic staff serving less than .5 FTE shall receive notice at least 3 months prior to the expiration of the appointment in the first 2 years, and 6 months prior to the expiration of the appointment thereafter.

When the letter of appointment states that renewal is not intended, no further notice of nonrenewal is required.

Indefinite Appointment. 

Units normally submit recommendations for indefinite appointment to the appropriate administrator in early March.

Reduced Responsibilities. 

A probationary academic staff member may reduce professional responsibilities under limited conditions specified in UWSP 10,03(2)(a)(3) .  Colloquially, this is called “stopping the clock,” and may be requested in circumstances such as childbirth, adoption, dependent care obligations, or disability.  The time granted for such activities does not count as a break in continuous service nor as part of the probationary period.

Promotion. 

Units normally submit recommendations for promotion in February, or as part of the retention recommendation.

Merit. 

The date when merit recommendations are due is governed by legislative and System action.  Unit merit recommendations are usually submitted to the appropriate administrator in March.

APPOINTMENTS.

Decision Authority. 

Probationary Academic Staff.

• In divisions other than Academic Affairs, decisions on appointment and renewal for probationary academic staff appointments in the first year and after the 4th year are made by the unit and the appropriate vice chancellor (as the chancellor’s designee).  In Academic Affairs, those decisions are made by the department or unit and the provost (as the chancellor’s designee).
• Decisions on renewal in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years are made by the unit and the vice chancellor (as the designee), or the department and the appropriate dean (as the designee).

Fixed Term Academic Staff.

• In divisions other than Academic Affairs, decisions on appointment and reappointment for all fixed term academic staff are made by the unit and the appropriate vice chancellor (as the chancellor’s designee).
• In Academic Affairs, decisions on appointment and reappointment for all fixed term academic staff are made by the department or unit and the provost (as the chancellor’s designee).

Change in Position Responsibilities. 

An amended letter of appointment shall be sent in situations where a significant change in position responsibility occurs; however, no such change may be made during a contractual period without the mutual consent of the academic staff member and the appropriate institutional officers, except as may be necessary under 36.21 Wis. Stats. and Chapter UWSP 12 .

Teaching Responsibilities. 

An individual who holds academic rank in a department and who is serving in an academic staff position is usually expected to perform some regular teaching assignment each year.  Faculty of the University Library are an exception to this policy.

Joint Appointments. 

Joint appointments of academic staff members may be made between units (e.g., Office of the Registrar and Campus Activities & Student Engagement; Health Promotion and Human Development (HPHD) and Admissions) and/or divisions (e.g., Student Affairs and Business Affairs).  These appointments are made only if the academic staff member and the involved university units agree upon the desirability of such an arrangement.  Joint appointments may be terminated at the end of a contractual period upon the request of any of the involved individuals or units. 

Unit Responsibilities. 

Letters of appointment for academic staff members with joint appointments shall clearly delineate the percentages in each unit, the salary responsibilities of each unit, the titles for each position, and the appointment type (fixed term, probationary, or indefinite) in each position.

Governance Rights. 

Academic staff with joint appointments will be eligible to participate in both units in meetings, appropriate committees, and other activities under each unit’s policies and procedures.  Such participation will depend upon prior agreement of the involved units.

Part-time Appointments. 

Category A or C. 

Unless otherwise negotiated and expressly stated in the letter of appointment, half-time shall be defined as 2 1/2 working days per week or the equivalent, and other part-time appointments shall be calculated as a percentage based on 5 days per week as full-time.

Category B. 

Half-time shall be defined as 6 credit hours per semester or the equivalent, and other part-time appointments shall be calculated as a percentage based on 24 credit hours per academic year as full-time.

Change in Proportion of Time. 

An academic staff member may request either:

• a permanent reduction to half-time;
• a permanent reduction to less than half-time on a fixed term appointment; or
• a temporary reduction as a partial leave without pay.​

Salary. 
An academic staff member’s base salary is pro-rated for any reduction in time; eligibility for fringe benefits may change during semesters at reduced time.

Probationary Agreement. 
For academic staff on probationary appointment, the initial letter of agreement for a reduced assignment shall state how much time the academic staff member will have accrued toward indefinite appointment by the beginning of the reduced assignment, and how much time will be accrued during the period the academic staff member serves on reduced assignment.

Salary and Merit for Part‑time Academic Staff. 

Criteria. 
General criteria for determining salary and merit for part‑time academic staff are the same as for full‑time academic staff.  Units may develop specific performance objectives for individuals with part-time appointments just as they do for academic staff with full-time appointments.

Amount. 
Part-time academic staff receive proportional salary based on full-time equivalency as defined for the appointment category.

EVALUATION OF ACADEMIC STAFF:  ALL CATEGORIES

PROCEDURAL RIGHTS.

When being reviewed for any unit personnel recommendations, academic staff members shall be given the opportunity to present materials showing qualifications, and may be invited to present oral evidence to the supervisor and/or appropriate unit evaluation committee(s).

NOTE.  Academic departments and equivalent academic areas may extend limited governance rights to their academic staff members as provided for in UWS and UWSP 1.05 .  This limited faculty status means that departmental academic staff have the right to participate in all aspects of the department’s governance as specified by the department except decisions relating to hiring, retention, promotion, and tenure for individual faculty.

PRESENCE AT MEETINGS.

No Exclusions. 

Under the provisions of 19.89 of the Open Meetings Law, no member of a governmental body may be excluded from any meeting of the body.  In addition, no member may be excluded from meetings of the body’s subunits unless the rules of the body specifically state otherwise.

Right to Open Meeting. 

Under the provisions of UWSP 10.03 (2)(a)(4) , a probationary academic staff member has the right to request and receive an open meeting for any meeting of a unit or subunit involving consideration of indefinite appointment for that individual.

NOTE.  A meeting with one’s supervisor for the purpose of performance evaluation, even where the end result of the evaluation will be a recommendation on retention or the granting of indefinite appointment, is not subject to the provisions of the Open Meetings Law:  an individual administrator is not a “formally constituted subunit.”

MERIT. 

In the performance objectives as evaluated within each unit, merit recognizes performance ranging from solid through exemplary.  It must never be used as a substitute for adequate and reasonable compensation for all members of the academic staff.

ACTIVITIES. 

Activities to be considered in the evaluation process shall include those undertaken as part of the Extension function or as part of the International Programs offerings as well as an academic staff member’s usual activities.

EVALUATION OF CATEGORY A AND C ACADEMIC STAFF

PURPOSE. 

Academic staff performance evaluations are conducted to:

• enable employees to understand fully what is expected of them;
• help employees assess the quality of their work;
• give employees constructive feedback;
• gain information to help make accurate personnel decisions on such matters as retention, merit, and promotion; and
• encourage employees to do their best work.

USE. 

Performance evaluations conducted under these policies and procedures shall serve as the basis for making personnel decisions relating to renewal, reappointment, indefinite status, merit, promotion, and salary.

IMPLEMENTATION/TRAINING RESPONSIBILITIES. 

The vice chancellor is responsible for the implementation of this evaluation policy and related procedures.

The primary responsibility for evaluation of academic staff for purposes of retention, change of title or promotion, merit, indefinite appointment, and salary is that of the unit in which the individual holds an academic staff appointment.  All academic staff to be evaluated and all academic staff who do evaluations shall have completed appropriate orientation and training provided through the vice chancellor’s office.

EVALUATION OF FIXED TERM, PROBATIONARY, AND INDEFINITE PERSONNEL. 

All fixed term, probationary, or indefinite appointment academic staff shall be evaluated annually on how they meet unit and individual performance objectives.  Near the middle of each evaluative period, an interim meeting shall be held with the academic staff member to discuss progress toward the objectives and to revise objectives as necessary.

Any Academic Staff A or C position that is less than 10% of the calendar year, i.e. less than 5.2 weeks or 208 hours per calendar year, is not required to complete an annual and/or supplemental review unless requested by the employee.

STUDENT EVALUATIONS.

The use of student evaluations may be appropriate if contact with students is a primary and an integral part of the position responsibility.  Decisions on whether to use student evaluations shall be made by supervisors, in consultation with the staff members to be evaluated.

• No student or peer evaluations of classroom teaching shall be used in performance evaluations of Category A or C academic staff in their primary position responsibilities except in those cases where the supervisor and the individual being evaluated agree that student evaluations of teaching are a necessary or appropriate part of the evaluation process.
• Any student evaluations of classroom teaching shall be conducted by the appropriate academic department under existing departmental policies.
• Except as specified in the first bulleted paragraph above, such evaluations are exclusively for professional development and other uses as provided by departmental policies.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES (CRITERIA) FOR EVALUATING CATEGORY A AND C ACADEMIC STAFF. 

Each unit, in consultation with the appropriate vice chancellor or with the dean and provost, shall specify in writing the relative importance of these performance objectives:

Ability in Performing Primary Responsibilities: 

the success of the academic staff member in timeliness, accuracy and quality of the work; achievement of job objectives; and innovative approaches to tasks required.

Professional Disciplinary Growth: 

participation in formal or informal activities which indicate continued study and increased expertise in one’s field, including such things as additional course work; leadership roles in professional organizations; attendance at seminars, workshops, or conferences; and research activities.

General Educational Service: 

the acceptance and fulfillment of professional responsibilities outside the unit (i.e., to the university and the community).  Service may be shown by participation in organizations related to one’s area of expertise, by acceptance of professional responsibilities within the university, and by professional relationships within the community.

OVERVIEW OF PROCEDURES. 

The evaluation process for Category A and C academic staff and instructions for conducting performance evaluations are contained in Procedures for Evaluation of Non-instructional Faculty and Category A and C Academic Staff, the complete text of which may be found in Chapter 4D, Section 15 .

Annual Review. 

Each academic staff member shall meet with the staff member’s supervisor at least once each year to assess performance and establish performance objectives.  At this meeting,

• the supervisor shall afford the academic staff member the opportunity to present any information or materials on the academic staff member’s behalf; and
• the two shall

• review the academic staff member’s current position description;

The supervisor shall provide a current, 1-page position description which the two review to assure that it accurately describes duties and responsibilities.

• review progress toward achieving objectives agreed upon at the last review (or for an initial review, as discussed in the appointment process);
• develop appropriate goals, objectives, and priorities to be accomplished in the coming year;

The goals, objectives, and priorities shall be consistent with the duties and responsibilities delineated in the abbreviated position description.

• identify material to be used to assess progress toward achieving the goals in the next year, and the method by which this material will be collected;
• set a time schedule for the next evaluation; and
• discuss other relevant concerns of the academic staff member or of the supervisor.

Supplemental Review. 

As of October 5th, 2022, Supplemental Reviews are no longer required. Please see UW-Stevens Point and UW System Administrative Policy 1254, which reads, in part: “Supplemental feedback (feedback from peers, customers, students, partners, etc.) may be gathered to support the performance and development of a staff member. A supplemental review survey may be done at the discretion of the employee, supervisor, or Human Resources. When a supplemental review survey is chosen to be completed, it should be completed prior to the formal annual review, discussed during the performance review conversation, and submitted with the annual performance review materials.” The text below details the supplemental review process for those who choose to complete it. 

The evaluation process shall consist of the annual review and a 2-part supplemental review, a questionnaire survey and a self-assessment.

Questionnaire Survey. 

Development. 
The academic staff member and the supervisor shall develop a questionnaire survey in accordance with the requirements of Procedures for Evaluation of Non-Instructional Faculty and Category A and C Academic Staff (Chapter 4D, Section 15  ).

• All questionnaires shall include:
  • What are this individual’s strengths in performing the duties in the job description?
  • What suggestions can you make for improvement in the individual’s job performance?
• Some general questions (from or similar to those in the procedures document), constructed by the academic staff member and the supervisor; and
• these open-ended questions:

1. Questionnaires for those with titles at or above the level of director shall include additional required questions found in the procedures document.
2. Optional questions selected from among those provided in the procedures document may also be selected for inclusion.

Distribution. 
The academic staff member and supervisor jointly develop a list of survey recipients limited to those who know how the academic staff member is carrying out the day-to-day duties and responsibilities of his/her job description.  The supervisor completes a copy of the questionnaire and distributes other copies to those on the list.

Other persons who ask to complete a questionnaire shall be afforded the opportunity by the supervisor with full disclosure to the academic staff member being evaluated.  Results of the questionnaire from persons not on the agreed-upon list shall be tabulated separately.

Procedure for Data Collection. 
The procedure for the collection of data may be found in the Procedures for Evaluation of Non-Instructional Faculty and Category A and C Academic Staff (Chapter 4D, Section 15 ).

Self-assessment. 

The academic staff member shall also complete the questionnaire, and may provide any other information regarding performance.

Evaluation Report. 

Following the annual/supplemental review meeting but not later than May 1, the supervisor prepares and files a written evaluation report for inclusion in the academic staff member’s personnel file.  The academic staff member receives a copy of the evaluation report and may prepare a written response to the evaluation.  Any response shall also be placed in the personnel file.  The written evaluation report, which shall be signed by the supervisor and the academic staff member, shall include at least the

• updated position description;
• goals and objectives for the upcoming year;
• self-assessment; and
• supervisor’s letter of evaluation.

Review of the Evaluation.

An academic staff member who believes the performance evaluation was unfair may request from the academic staff member’s supervisor a review of the evaluation.  Any such request

• shall be in writing;
• shall be received by the supervisor not later than 15 days after the academic staff member has received the evaluation report;
• shall address the particular concerns of the academic staff member; and
• shall be granted.

Supervisor’s Response. 
The supervisor has 15 working days to review the entire matter and write a response to the academic staff member.

Further Action. 
If the academic staff member continues to feel that the review was unfair and that the supervisor’s response does not rectify the academic staff member’s concerns, the academic staff member may file a grievance under the provisions of Chapter UWSP 13.02 .

Copies Filed. 
A copy of any request for review and a copy of the supervisor’s response shall be placed in the academic staff member’s personnel file with the original evaluation report.

Access to Review Information. 

The information gathered in performance evaluation reviews is confidential to the degree permitted by the Public Records Law.  Normally, access to the information is limited to the employee, the supervisor, and as appropriate, the Academic Staff Council and higher level administrators.

Use of Raw Data from Responses. 

With the exception of the self-evaluation, respondents to the supplemental review questionnaire survey shall remain anonymous.  Consequently, the raw data from a supplemental review shall not be made available to the employee under review.  Following analysis of the information obtained from the questionnaire survey and self-evaluation, the supervisor shall share the results with the academic staff member, and when appropriate, the Academic Staff Council.  Statistical data gathered from the general questions may be used for institutional research.

Academic Staff Council and the Vice Chancellor’s Office as Resources for Performance Reviews.

 Any Academic Staff member may request assistance on any aspect of the evaluation process at any time by contacting the Chairperson of the Academic Staff Council or the Vice Chancellor’s Office.

Assessment of Procedures. 

Beginning in the fall of 2004 and every 4 years thereafter, a subcommittee of the Academic Staff Council will review the entire evaluation procedure and recommend to the Council (and Common Council) modifications necessary to ensure its continued effectiveness.

PROMOTION PROCEDURES IN UNITS.

Written Procedures. 

Each unit shall establish written procedures for promotion and changes of title.  These procedures shall include a policy explicitly expressing how academic staff performance objectives are to be used. Criteria for promotion and changes of title shall be consistent with Hayes-Hill criteria.  When approved by the appropriate vice chancellor or the appropriate dean and the provost, this statement shall be the standard used by all evaluators for academic staff of that unit.

• Local Hayes-Hill criteria, procedures, and policies are in Section 15  of this chapter (Hayes-Hill Titling Advisory Committee Operational Procedures and Policies).

No Unit Procedures. 

Absent written unit procedures, an academic staff member may apply for promotion and/or a change of title as the academic staff member becomes eligible under Hayes-Hill guidelines.

Requests in Writing. 

Requests for promotion or change of title shall be written and addressed to the academic staff member’s supervisor.  The request shall also include appropriate documentation supporting the request for promotion or change of title.

Supervisory Response. 

A supervisor who receives a request for promotion or change of title shall:

• review the request and accompanying materials within 15 days of receipt of the request;
• within 20 days of receipt of the request, afford the academic staff member making the request an opportunity to present additional materials or oral testimony on the academic staff member’s behalf;
• act on the request in a reasonable time and shall provide written notification of decision, which shall normally be within 15 days of the meeting with the academic staff member (or from the date of informing the academic staff member of the opportunity if the academic staff member decides not to meet with the supervisor) but may be up to 90 days after receipt of the request if the supervisor decides that an additional performance review involving a questionnaire survey is appropriate.

If the supervisor decides upon a questionnaire survey, the procedures under the supplemental performance review shall be followed.

MERIT PROCEDURES IN UNITS.

Written Procedures. 

Each unit shall establish written procedures for merit assessment.  These procedures shall include a policy explicitly expressing how academic staff performance objectives are to be used.  When approved by the appropriate vice chancellor or the appropriate dean and the provost, this statement shall be the standard used by all evaluators for academic staff of that unit.

Salary Increase Distribution. 

Across-the-board. 

Category A and C academic staff, unranked faculty, and faculty assigned to units other than those within Academic Affairs receive an across-the-board increase if authorized by the Board and UW System guidelines.  Salary adjustment dollars remaining after across-the-board increases shall be applied to base salary as specified below.

Merit. 

Salary adjustment dollars remaining after across-the-board increases shall be applied to base salary in the following manner.

Step 1 Merit. 

Evaluation.
Each person will be evaluated and awarded merit points from 0 to 10 (whole numbers only) according to procedures and criteria established within each division (e.g., Business Affairs) and/or unit (e.g., Financial Aid).

Award.
Merit is assigned on the basis of points awarded.  Each merit point will be equivalent to 10% of the merit generated by that position (e.g., 1 point=10%, 4 points=40%) .

If 2% of the salary increase dollars is applied to merit, an individual who earns $30,000 generates $600 of merit ($30,000 x .02).  If that individual is awarded 10 merit points, merit will be the entire amount the position generated; if the individual is awarded 5 merit points, merit dollars will be 50% of the merit the position generated ($600 x .50 = $300).

Dollars Not Awarded.
Merit dollars remaining as the result of awards of less than 10 points ($300 in the second instance in the example above) are pooled for all Category A and Category C academic staff receiving merit and distributed according to procedures under Step 2.

Step 2 Merit. 
Merit dollars not awarded in Step 1 are distributed among all Category A and Category C academic staff receiving merit.

• A dollar value is established for each point to be awarded in Step 2 by dividing the total dollars remaining from Step 1 by the total merit points awarded in Step 1.
• The number of Step 2 points awarded to each individual is identical to the points awarded in Step 1; the dollar amount of merit received in Step 2 is determined by multiplying the points by the established dollar value.
• The first individual in the example for Step 1 merit receives 10 merit points x the dollar value; the second receives 5 merit points x the dollar value.

Total Salary Calculation. 

After all salary increases, whether across-the-board or merit, have been determined, the total is added to the individual’s base salary.  Then the salary for the next year is determined by the percentage of appointment.  If an individual earning $30,000 receives a total increase amounting to $1,800, the salary for the next year will be $31,800 for full time ($30,000 + $1,800 x 1), and $15,900 for half time ($30,000 + $1,800 x .5).

Caps in Grade. 
There are maximum amounts within the classification grades which may cap salary increases for certain people.  However, the maximum in each grade normally increases when the Board establishes annual salary increases and minimum salaries.  Persons at the maximum in their grade may receive an increase limited to a percentage of the increase in the maximum of the grade. 

EVALUATION OF CATEGORY B ACADEMIC STAFF

GENERAL PRINCIPLES.

Departmental Responsibilities. 

The primary responsibility for evaluation of classroom teaching academic staff for purposes of reappointment, promotion, indefinite appointment, and salary rests with the faculty of the individual departments.  Departmental academic staff shall participate in evaluations as permitted by each department’s personnel policies.  All faculty, academic staff, and administrators who appraise performance shall have completed appropriate training provided through the vice chancellor’s office.

Where there is more than one academic staff member teaching in a department, departmental personnel policies at least shall provide for the active involvement of senior academic staff in the evaluation of other academic staff.

Departmental Participants. 

Tenured faculty have the primary role in personnel decisions.  However, as tenure and experience are not identical, departmental evaluations should utilize the resources of all experienced members.  A significant number of the colleagues of the individual under consideration shall be directly involved in the analysis of student evaluations, study of information provided by the individual, classroom visitations, observation of professional presentations, review of publications, and examination of teaching materials (syllabi, exams, handouts, etc.).

NOTE.  Departments and equivalent academic areas may extend limited governance rights to their academic staff members as provided for in UWS and UWSP 1.05 .  This limited faculty status means that departmental academic staff have the right to participate in all aspects of the department’s governance as specified by the department except decisions relating to hiring, retention, promotion, and tenure for individual faculty.

Role of Chairperson in Personnel Matters. 

Records. 

The department chairperson shall maintain files of records and correspondence relating to departmental actions on personnel matters.

Committee Actions. 

The department chairperson shall assist the chairperson of any departmental personnel committees making personnel recommendations in the preparation of all relevant records and correspondence.

Forwarding Results. 

As appropriate, the department chairperson shall forward results of departmental personnel actions to the dean of the college.

Separate Recommendation. 

Normally, the department chairperson provides to the dean a separate recommendation on personnel matters.

Committee Membership. 
Where a department chairperson provides separate recommendations on personnel matters, the chairperson shall not be a voting member of departmental personnel committees and shall not be counted in determining a quorum.

No Separate Recommendation.

With the approval of the department, the chairperson, and the dean of the college, a department chairperson may vote with departmental committees on personnel matters.  Where this practice is adopted, the chairperson shall be a voting member of appropriate personnel committees and shall not forward a separate recommendation to the dean; the dean shall receive only the committee’s recommendation.

Regular Evaluation. 

All Category B academic staff, whether on fixed term or indefinite appointment, shall be evaluated regularly on how they meet individual and department performance objectives.  Fixed term academic staff shall be evaluated at least annually; indefinite appointment academic staff shall be evaluated at least once every five years.  Near the middle of each evaluative period, an interim meeting shall be held with the academic staff member to discuss progress toward the objectives and to revise objectives as necessary.

Exception.

Academic staff hired for 1 semester to replace an individual on leave need not be subject to performance evaluations.  However, departments may elect to conduct full or partial evaluations of these academic staff.

Student and Peer Evaluations. 

Student and peer evaluations of teaching, and peer evaluations of teaching-related scholarship, shall be considered in making decisions on reappointment, promotion, merit, indefinite appointment, salary, and general improvement and recognition.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES (CRITERIA) FOR EVALUATION.

Each department shall specify in writing the relative importance of these performance objectives:

Teaching Ability:  

the success of the academic staff member, both in and out of the classroom, in securing interest, effort, and progress on the part of the student.  The primary consideration is that students are stimulated to high standards of scholarship, to active interest in learning, and to effective effort toward self‑improvement.

Scholarship: 

activities which are clearly defined, use methods and procedures appropriate to the task, are documented and available to the academic community for review and comment, have disciplinary and/or pedagogical value, and reflect a level of expertise/creativity expected in higher education.

General Educational Service: 

the acceptance and fulfillment of professional responsibilities outside the classroom, e.g., academic or extracurricular advising.  Service may also be shown by participation in organizations related to the discipline,  by acceptance of professional responsibilities within the university, and by professional relationships within the community.

NOTE. 

1. In establishing performance objectives for Category B academic staff, departments shall give appropriate consideration to these provisos:

• part-time teaching academic staff are not expected to fulfill obligations related to scholarship or general educational service;
• part-time teaching academic staff are not required to participate in institutional governance but have the right to such participation; and
• teaching ability shall be the major criterion by which part-time classroom teaching academic staff are evaluated.

2. Where a department has or anticipates a longer-term relationship with a part-time teaching academic staff member, teaching ability shall continue to be the major criterion for evaluation but scholarship and general educational service shall be encouraged.

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.

Written Procedures. 

Each department shall establish procedures for reappointment, promotion, merit, indefinite appointment, and salary.  These procedures shall include a policy explicitly expressing how academic staff performance objectives are to be used.  When approved by the appropriate dean and the vice chancellor, this statement shall be the standard used by all evaluators for faculty of that department; however, the standard need not apply to administrative merit.

Insofar as feasible and providing appropriate consideration to the provisos in the note immediately preceding this subsection, departmental criteria for the evaluation of classroom teaching academic staff shall be the same as those for faculty.

Application of Performance Objectives. 

Each department shall have a written understanding (approved by the dean and vice chancellor) with individual members of the department of the manner in which performance objectives will be applied in each particular case, i.e., what the department will expect for purposes of retention, reappointment, indefinite appointment, and promotion.  Where appropriate, salary letters shall state that academic staff compensation is based on the satisfactory accomplishment of performance objectives.

Course Evaluation Forms. 

All courses being evaluated at UWSP shall use the Student Reaction to Course Instruction Form (sometimes referred to as the Open Records Form).  In courses where students and faculty do not meet face-to-face on a regular basis (e.g. on-line and distance learning), course evaluations must either be mailed to the student with a return envelope or distributed on-line assuring confidentiality.  Departments may elect to use individual developmental forms.  Provisions of UWSP 3.05  shall also be followed.

Student Reaction to Course Instruction Form. 

Use Required; Purposes. 
The Student Reaction to Course Instruction Form was developed to accommodate those who seek access to course evaluation data.  This form shall be used:

• in all course evaluations;
• in all personnel decisions; and
• in all cases where information is sought under the Open Records Law.

Reporting of Summary Data. 
Responses to questions A through E of this form shall only be reported as a frequency distribution.

Format and Questions.

• The document (Form Q10S-General Purpose Questionnaire) is a standard optical scanning form.  The introductory paragraph reads:

“The results of this survey will be used in personnel evaluations, to provide summary data for Student Government Association records, and will be made available to your instructor only after grades have been recorded for the course.  Mark the most appropriate response to each statement in the corresponding circles to the right.”

• These are the questions and possible responses:

1. The instructor was available for scheduled office hours:

1.  Always  2.  Frequently  3.  Infrequently 4.  Never  5.  Did not try to find instructor 

2. The instructor was prepared for class:

1.  Strongly agree  2.  Agree  3.  Disagree 4.  Strongly disagree  5.  No opinion

NOTE. The same responses are used for B, C, D, and E.

3. The instructor helped to foster an atmosphere of mutual respect.
4. The instructor clearly explained grading procedures for the course.
5. The goals and objectives of the course were met.
6. My overall evaluation of the instructor’s teaching is:

1.  A    2.  B    3.  C    4.  D    5.  F

7. My overall evaluation of the course is:

1.  A    2.  B    3.  C    4.  D    5.  F

• Individual departments may add other items on the reverse side of the questionnaire.  Any additional items shall apply to all members of the department and shall become part of the personnel file of each department member.

Developmental Form.

An optional form for course improvement purposes may be constructed and administered by individual academic staff members.  The results of any such assessment shall belong exclusively to the individual academic staff member.

Sample questions and statements which might be included in developmental forms may be obtained from the vice chancellor’s office.

PROMOTION PROCEDURES IN DEPARTMENTS.

Promotion Committees. 

Promotion committees for academic staff shall be as provided for in departmental policies.  Such policies shall stipulate that where academic staff are members of promotion committees, normally only those at or above the title of the individual applying for promotion shall be voting members of the committee.

Committee Chairperson’s Duties. 

The chairperson of each committee shall report the committee’s recommendations to the individual, the department chairperson, and the dean of the college.

Department Chairperson’s Recommendation. 

Normally, the department chairperson will submit a separate recommendation to the dean.  In the event that the chairperson’s recommendation differs significantly from that of the department, the chairperson shall notify the appropriate departmental committee of this fact and provide to the person under consideration written justification for the action.

Forwarding Recommendations. 

In any discussion between the dean and the department regarding these recommendations, both the department chairperson and the chairperson of the committee shall be included.  The dean shall forward a recommendation along with those of the department and department chairperson to the vice chancellor, and shall inform the department chairperson in writing of that recommendation.

Informing Department. 

In the event that the dean, vice chancellor, or chancellor makes a recommendation contrary to the department’s, that administrator shall inform the individual and the department chairperson in writing, including reasons for the decision, before transmitting the recommendation to the next administrative level.

Completion of Requirements. 

The required number of years of teaching experience for a particular title shall be completed before the individual is considered for promotion.

ANNUAL SALARY ADJUSTMENTS AND DEPARTMENTAL MERIT PROCEDURES.

Scheduled and Unscheduled Base. 

Minimum salaries are set annually for academic staff at each title, educational code, and experience level according to the methodology recommended by the Academic Staff Council and approved by the Common Council, and based on the methodology established for faculty by the Common Council in 1977-1978.  The minimum salary determined by this method is the individual’s scheduled portion of base salary.  The difference between an individual’s actual base salary and the scheduled portion is the unscheduled portion of base salary (inequities, market factors, and merit).

Annual Adjustments. 

Each year the Board approves the average base salary increase for the following year (usually expressed as a percentage of salary).  The Board also establishes guidelines for salary increase distribution.  Using Board guidelines and the previously adopted methodologies, the Academic Staff Council recommends to the Common Council and the Senate recommends to the chancellor specific criteria for determining individual salary increases and the percentage to be assigned to the various criteria.  The criteria normally considered include experience, title, and performance in the areas of teaching and scholarship, and may include consideration of general educational service.

Pay Plan Eligibility.

Only Category B academic staff eligible for merit are eligible to participate in annual pay plan adjustment.

Salary for Less than Full Time. 

Actual salary for those working less than full time shall be based on full-time equivalency; full time is 24 credit hours per academic year.

Salary Calculation. 

Since any across-the-board increase in the schedule also affects the discretionary increase, a series of estimates of the across-the-board percentage increase is necessary to determine the actual salary distribution.

Across-the-board. 

The amount for any across-the board increase will be the maximum percentage allowed or the maximum available after the amounts to cover experience changes and merit required by System are deducted.

Experience Changes.

The cost of the discretionary increase for experience changes will be computed at the amount indicated in the current Salary Schedule; this will be adjusted upward with each increase by the same percentage as the across-the-board increase.

Merit Point Value. 

The remaining dollars will be used to arrive at the value of each merit point.

Merit Eligibility. 

Category B academic staff are eligible for merit salary increases if they have completed at least one semester of teaching at UWSP prior to the semester in which the merit decisions are made.

Available Merit Points. 

Each eligible academic staff member in a department generates 14 merit points.  Ten of these 14 points are distributed to the department to be allocated according to departmental procedures.  The remaining 4 points are distributed among the department chairperson (1 point), the dean of the college (2), and the vice chancellor (1), to be allocated according to the appropriate procedures for each.

[Procedures for departmental chairpersons follow immediately after this subsection; those for administrators follow the chairpersons’.]

Departmental Procedures for Recommendations. 

Each department shall establish merit recommendation procedures for academic staff, which may be the same procedures used for faculty with the appropriate modifications for membership and factors considered.  In addition, the departmental procedures for Category B academic staff shall provide for:

• recommendations in the form of merit points, based on appropriate depart-mental evaluations and accompanied by the Merit Information Summary Form or a similar departmentally-approved form; and
• awards totaling no more than a total of 10 points times the number of eligible Category B academic staff members in the department.

A copy of the Merit Information Summary Form may be found at the end of this subsection.

Report of Merit Distribution. 

The chairperson of the merit committee shall submit to the dean a report of the merit distribution recommendations along with a copy of the procedures followed.  A copy of the report of the merit recommendations shall be sent to the department chairperson.

Department Chairperson’s Recommendation. 

Normally, the department chairperson will submit a separate written recommendation and report.  If the recommendation differs from that of the merit committee, the committee shall be informed in writing.

Discussion with Dean. 

The committee chairperson shall accompany the chairperson of the department to any discussion with the dean relative to the departmental or chairperson’s recommendations and shall report back to the department.

Institutional Procedures. 

Merit recommendations coming from departments shall follow university approved procedures in the salary distribution plan.

Administrative Recommendations. 

Each dean, following consultation with the department (if any), shall forward to the vice chancellor a separate recommendation along with those of the department and the chairperson.  The vice chancellor shall add a recommendation to the rest and forward the materials to the chancellor for action.

If an administrator makes a recommendation different from that of the depart-mental merit committee, the affected individual and the department chairperson shall be informed in writing at the time the recommendation is transmitted to the next administrative level.

Teaching Effectiveness. 

Definition.

If the Board of Regents specifically requires that a portion of salary adjustment be based on teaching effectiveness distinct from merit or other salary adjustment factors, one of the following shall apply.

System Definition. 
If the requirement by System Administration specifically defines teaching effectiveness or establishes a required procedure, that definition or procedure shall prevail in determining salary adjustments based on teaching effectiveness.

Institutional Definition. 
If the requirement does not specifically define teaching effectiveness, then the definition shall be that teaching effectiveness is a collective determination of the members of a salary unit that an individual teacher warrants recognition as an effective teacher and is thereby assigned teaching effectiveness points.

Assigning Points.

Each department shall select one of the following methods for assigning teaching effectiveness points to eligible academic staff.  The method selected shall be the same for faculty and academic staff, shall be approved by the dean and vice chancellor, and shall be incorporated into departmental procedures.

• If the department’s merit procedures already provide for awarding points for teaching distinct from other categories, the same procedures may be used to assign teaching effectiveness points.  The specific procedure for determining teaching effectiveness points shall be explicitly stated in the department’s procedures.
• If the department’s merit procedures do not provide for awarding points for teaching distinct from other categories, or if the department wishes to separate the determination of teaching effectiveness points from merit points, a separate ballot shall be used to determine the assignment of teaching effectiveness points.  The specific procedure for determining teaching effectiveness points shall be explicitly stated in the department’s procedures, and placed immediately adjacent to the section dealing with merit.

DEPARTMENT CHAIRPERSONS’ MERIT PROCEDURES.

Eligibility. 

All Category B academic staff eligible for departmental merit are also eligible for chairperson’s merit.

Criteria. 

Prior to making merit recommendations, each department chairperson shall distribute to the department a list of criteria upon which merit recognition will be based.  A copy of these criteria shall be sent to the dean of the college.

Insofar as feasible and providing appropriate consideration to the provisos regarding part-time classroom teaching academic staff, chairperson’s criteria for the evaluation of classroom teaching academic staff shall be the same as those for faculty.

Recommendations. 

The chairperson shall request from departmental staff names and accomplishments of academic staff to be considered for chairperson’s merit and shall give due consideration to such recommendations; however, the chairperson may assign merit points to any departmental academic staff member who meets the distributed criteria.

Report of Merit Allocation. 

The chairperson shall provide written notification of the amount of the award and the reasons for the award to each recipient, with copies to the department and the dean.

ADMINISTRATIVE MERIT PROCEDURES.

Administrative Merit Eligibility. 

All eligible Category B academic staff within a college are eligible for dean’s and vice chancellor’s merit.  However, no individual awards of more than 5 merit points shall be made by a dean or by the vice chancellor without consultation with the recipient’s department chairperson.

Deans and Vice Chancellor.

Criteria.

Prior to making their recommendations, each dean and the vice chancellor shall distribute to the appropriate academic units a list of criteria upon which merit recognition will be based.

Recommendations.

Each dean and the vice chancellor shall request from departments names and accomplishments of academic staff to be considered for dean’s and vice chancellor’s merit.

• The departments shall rank their recommendations.
• These recommendations shall be the primary source of information used by the deans and vice chancellor in making merit awards.

Notification of Merit. 

Following completion of administrative review and final determination of merit awards, each administrator awarding merit shall provide written notification of the amount of the award and the reasons for the award to each recipient, and shall provide a copy to the appropriate department chair-person.  The chairperson shall share the amount of the award and the reasons for the award with the department.

Changes in Recommendations.

If deans’ or vice chancellor’s merit recommendations are changed by another administrator (vice chancellor or chancellor), the administrator making the original recommendation shall be informed in writing of the changes and the reasons at the time the recommendations are transmitted to the next administrative level.

SECTION 6: ACADEMIC STAFF APPOINTMENT APPEALS

OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS AND PROCEDURES FOR ACADEMIC STAFF APPEAL OF DENIAL OF REAPPOINTMENT OF FIXED TERM APPOINTMENT UNDER UWSP 10.03

(See Chapters UWS 10 & UWSP 10 )

COVERAGE. 

These policies and procedures apply to all instances in which an academic staff member on fixed term appointment has not been reappointed.

FIXED TERM CATEGORY A AND C ACADEMIC STAFF.

Reappointment. 

Under the provisions of UWSP 10.03 , a member of the academic staff on fixed term appointment who has served half-time or more for 7 or more years and who is not reappointed has the right to request a written statement of reasons and the right to reconsideration by the decision-maker.  If reconsideration affirms the decision not to reappoint and the academic staff member wishes to pursue the matter, the staff member must file a grievance under UWSP 13.02 .

Indefinite Appointment. 

Fixed term academic staff who have undergone review for and been denied indefinite appointment may file a grievance under 13.02 .

CLASSROOM TEACHING ACADEMIC STAFF.

Classroom teaching academic staff may elect to take grievances under 13.02  either to the Academic Staff Mediation Subcommittee or the Faculty Mediation Subcommittee.  Regardless of which subcommittee is selected, the hearing procedures to be followed will be those for hearings under 13.02 .

COUNSEL.

A fixed term academic staff member contemplating a grievance may wish to seek advice from senior academic staff and faculty or legal counsel familiar with the policies and procedures.  The right to be represented at meetings and hearings by an individual (or individuals) of the academic staff member’s choice is guaranteed under these procedures.

DECISIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS DISTINCT; WHICH MAY BE APPEALED.

Academic Staff Who Are Not Classroom Teachers. 

Decisions.

Decisions regarding reappointment or granting of indefinite appointment are made only by the chancellor (or the chancellor’s designee).

Subject to Appeal. 

Fixed term academic staff have the right to appeal a decision not to reappoint or not to grant indefinite appointment.  The right of appeal of an adverse decision by the chancellor includes the right of appeal of an adverse decision by a chancellor’s designee.

Recommendations. 

Recommendations regarding reappointment or the granting of indefinite appointment may be made by the administrative heads of the academic staff member’s operational area and unit, the unit’s executive director and vice chancellor, and when appropriate, the provost.

Not Subject to Appeal. 
A recommendation not to reappoint or not to grant indefinite appointment is not subject to appeal.  However, academic staff who appeal an adverse decision may call as a witness any person who made an adverse recommendation to the chancellor.

Classroom Teaching Academic Staff.

Decisions. 

Decision-making Authority. 

Decisions regarding reappointment or granting of indefinite appointment are made at only 2 levels, the department and the chancellor (or the chancellor’s designee).

NOTE.  This can be very confusing, especially since Chapters UWS and UWSP 10  talk of departmental recommendations.  To be absolutely accurate, one would say that a departmental action supporting reappointment or indefinite appointment is a recommendation, since the chancellor need not accept the department decision.  However, an action denying appointment or reappointment for classroom teaching academic staff is always a decision since the chancellor cannot appoint or reappoint absent the affirmative recommendation of the department.

Subject to Appeal. 

Fixed term academic staff have the right to appeal a decision not to reappoint or not to grant indefinite appointment, whether at the department level or at the chancellor’s level.  The right of appeal of an adverse decision by the chancellor includes the right of appeal of an adverse decision by a chancellor’s designee.

Recommendations. 

Recommending Authority. 

Recommendations regarding  reappointment or the granting of indefinite appointment may be made by the  department chairperson, dean, or vice chancellor.

Not Subject to Appeal. 

A recommendation not to reappoint or not to grant indefinite appointment is not subject to appeal.  However, academic staff who appeal an adverse decision may call as a witness any person who made an adverse recommendation to the individual making the decision.

GRIEVANCES. 

Fixed term academic staff contemplating a grievance are advised to refer to the procedures under 13.02 .

OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS AND PROCEDURES FOR ACADEMIC STAFF APPEAL OF NONRENEWAL OF PROBATIONARY APPOINTMENT UNDER UWSP 10.04

 (See Chapters UWS & UWSP 10 )

INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS.

Coverage. 

These proceedings apply to all instances in which an academic staff member on probationary appointment has not been retained.

Applicable Documents. 

An academic staff member contemplating an appeal after having received notice of nonrenewal is advised to become familiar with:

• Chapters UWSP 9 - 13,  the institutional academic staff personnel rules;
• departmental/unit personnel rules and procedures;
• appropriate sections of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, the UW System academic staff personnel rules; and
• related documents in this handbook.

Counsel. 

An academic staff member contemplating an appeal may wish to seek advice from senior academic staff and faculty or legal counsel familiar with the policies and procedures.  The right to be represented at meetings and hearings by an individual (or individuals) of the academic staff member’s choice is guaranteed under these procedures.

Decisions and Recommendations Distinct; Which May Be Appealed. 

Decisions. 

Decisions regarding retention or granting of indefinite appointment are made only by the chancellor (or the chancellor’s designee).

Subject to Appeal. 
Probationary academic staff have the right to appeal a decision not to renew or not to grant indefinite appointment.  The right of appeal of an adverse decision by the chancellor includes the right of appeal of an adverse decision by a chancellor’s designee.

Recommendations. 

Recommendations regarding retention or the granting of indefinite appointment may be made by the administrative heads of the academic staff member’s operational area and unit, the unit’s executive director and vice chancellor, and when appropriate, the provost.

Not Subject to Appeal. 
A recommendation not to renew or not to grant indefinite appointment is not subject to appeal.  However, academic staff who appeal an adverse decision may call as a witness any person who made an adverse recommendation to the individual making the decision.

Burden of Proof and Scope of Appeals. 

Burden of Proof. 

The burden of proof in an appeal of nonrenewal is on the academic staff member.

Scope of Appeals. 

The scope of the appeal shall be limited to whether material prejudice to the individual resulted because the decision was based in any significant degree upon

• conduct, expressions, or beliefs which are constitutionally protected, or actions consistent with an appropriate professional code of ethics; or
• employment practices proscribed by applicable state or federal law; or
• improper consideration of qualifications, which shall be deemed to have occurred if material prejudice resulted because
  • procedures required by the chancellor or the Board were not followed; or
  • available data bearing materially on the quality of performance were not considered; or
  • unfounded, arbitrary, or irrelevant assumptions of fact were made about work or conduct.

Outcomes. 
Following a hearing on an appeal, the hearing committee issues its report of findings and recommendations.  If the committee finds for the appellant, it recommends an appropriate remedy.  Potential remedies are described in some detail on the next-to-last page of this explanation of the process and procedure.

Time Limits. 

Termination of Appeal. 

Failure to meet any time limits established by these procedures will likely end the proceedings.  An academic staff member considering an appeal of nonrenewal is urged to review the limits and to act promptly.

Length of Process. 

The time limits are intended to ensure action within a reasonable time period; nevertheless, the appeal process may be lengthy.  The deliberative process in particular may take several months to conclude:  the issues are significant; there is no limit on the number of deliberative sessions which may be held; and there is no limit on the length of the recesses which may occur between sessions.

Action on Nonrenewal. 

The university will proceed on a nonrenewal decision even if an appeal is in progress in order to meet obligations to provide adequate notice of nonrenewal as prescribed in UWSP 10.05 .

Presence at Meetings. 

No Exclusions. 

Under the provisions of 19.89 of the Open Meetings Law, no member of a governmental body may be excluded from any meeting of the body.  In addition, no member may be excluded from meetings of the body’s subunits unless the rules of the body specifically state otherwise.

Right to Open Meeting. 

UWSP 10.03. 
Under the provisions of UWSP 10.03(2)(a)(4) , a probationary academic staff member has the right to request and receive an open meeting for any meeting of a unit or subunit involving consideration of indefinite appointment for that individual.

Unit/Departmental Policies. 
Normally, unit/departmental policies will require a written request for an open meeting reasonably in advance of the meeting.

DESCRIPTION OF NONRENEWAL PROCESS.

Chart. 

The chart at the end of this subsection delineates the steps which must be taken by the appellant, the relevant university body, the Academic Staff Mediation Subcommittee, and the hearing committee, and gives the time limits for each step.  The sequence of steps is mandatory; time limits may be extended by mutual consent of the parties or by order of the hearing committee.

Statement of Reasons. 

Request. 

Once a non-retention notice has been received from the chancellor or a designee, the academic staff member has the right to request and receive a written statement of reasons from the decision-maker.

Time Limit. 

The written request for reasons must be made within 10 days of receipt of the non-retention notice.  This written statement of reasons, which must be provided within 10 days of the receipt of the request, is required before a reconsideration may be requested or an appeal may be implemented.

File Responses. 
Academic staff members have the right to review their own personnel files.  Academic staff members also have a right to make written responses to any statements in the files and to have those responses placed in the files.

Reconsideration. 

Request. 

Within 10 days of receipt of the written reasons, the academic staff member has the right to request a reconsideration by the decision-maker.  The academic staff member also has the right of access to all materials upon which the administration intends to rely for its presentation at the reconsideration.

Time Limit. 

Any reconsideration must be held within 20 days of receipt of the request for reconsideration, except that this time limit may be extended by mutual consent of the parties.

Mandatory Reconsideration. 
The request for reconsideration must be granted if the academic staff member has new and relevant material which was not considered in the original decision.

Optional Reconsideration. 
If the academic staff member does not have new and relevant material for consideration but chooses to respond to the statement of reasons and request reconsideration, granting reconsideration is at the discretion of the decision-maker.

• Because an academic staff member has only 20 days from the notice of nonrenewal to request a hearing under the auspices of the Academic Staff Mediation Subcommittee, when the granting reconsideration is at the discretion of the decision-maker, the academic staff member is advised to send the request for hearing simultaneously with the request for reconsideration.
• When the subcommittee receives such a simultaneous request, it will automatically extend the deadline to commence a hearing by 10 days to enable the decision-maker to respond to the request for reconsideration.  

Decision Reversed.

If reconsideration results in a decision favorable to the academic staff member, the reconsideration decision supplants the original and the positive recommendation moves to the next decision-maker.

Decision Affirmed.

If reconsideration affirms the initial decision, the academic staff member may either drop the matter or proceed to an appeal.

No Reconsideration. 

Where new and relevant material does not exist and the decision-maker did not grant reconsideration, the academic staff member may proceed directly to an appeal.

FILING AN APPEAL.

Written Request. 

Upon receipt of written notification that non-retention was affirmed in the reconsideration, or receipt of written notification that a request for reconsideration was denied, the academic staff member has 20 days (25 if notice is by first class mail) in which to request a hearing by the Academic Staff Mediation Subcommittee.

• Failure to meet the 20 day deadline is likely to end the appeal.
• The request must be in writing and addressed to the chairperson of the appropriate subcommittee.
• The request should provide a historical resume of all actions taken to this point and must state clearly and specifically the precise foundation on which the appeal is to be based.
• UWSP 10.04 (3)(b)  details the acceptable bases for appeal.  

Required Action. 

Notification. 

If the chairperson of the subcommittee to which the appeal is addressed finds the appeal within the jurisdiction of the subcommittee, the chairperson will

• provide written notification of the request for hearing to the vice chancellor so system legal counsel may be advised a case is pending;
• begin a file of all correspondence concerning the appeal, which will be passed on to the chairperson of the hearing committee;
• provide written notification that an appeal is in progress to
  • the administrative heads of the appellant’s operational area and unit, the chairperson of the unit’s personnel committee, and the appropriate executive director and vice chancellor (or the  chairperson of the appellant’s departmental personnel committee, department chairperson, and dean); and 
  • the chancellor and chairperson of the Common Council; and 
• provide copies of all correspondence to the
  • appellant;
  • hearing committee members; and
  • the decision-maker.

Appointment of Hearing Committee. 

The chairperson will also appoint a hearing committee composed of a minimum of 5 persons, at least 3 of whom must be members of the Academic Staff Mediation Subcommittee.  There will be broad representation from the university but not necessarily a member from each division or college.

•     Normally, at least 3 of the appointed members shall have had either
  • previous experience as a member of a hearing committee under either UWSP 10.04 , 11.04 , 12.05 , 13.01 , 13.02  or other similar hearing, or
  • orientation and training for a hearing procedure.
• One member, who normally shall have had previous experience as a member of a hearing committee under either UWSP 10.04 , 11.04 , 12.05 , 13.01 , 13.02  or other similar hearing, shall be designated as the chairperson of the committee.
• No individual who participated in the nonrenewal decision, or who is a material witness, or who is a member of the appellant’s unit or department may sit on the hearing committee.
• Reasonable effort will be made to ensure that the members of the committee are acceptable to both parties in the appeal process.
  • Normally, this will be accomplished by informal contact with the proposed members and the parties to the appeal before the formal appointment.
  • The decision on whom to appoint is solely that of the chairperson of the subcommittee.
• After the committee is appointed, the appellant has the unrestricted right to challenge and remove 1 member from the hearing committee.
• The decision on other challenges to committee members shall be made by the committee, excluding the member under challenge.
• In addition to the appointed members, the chairperson of the Academic Staff Mediation Subcommittee will be an ex officio member of the hearing committee.  However, the subcommittee chairperson will not cast a vote except to break a tie.

Hearing Date. 

The hearing committee must meet to hear the matter within 20 days of receipt of the request for hearing, except that this time limit may be extended by mutual consent of the parties or by order of the hearing committee.  The academic staff member requesting a hearing must receive 10 days’ notice of the hearing.

Automatic Extension. 
Where an academic staff member has simultaneously requested a hearing by the subcommittee and reconsideration by the decision-maker in the absence of new material, the chairperson of the subcommittee shall extend the deadline for the beginning of the hearing by 10 days to allow the decision-maker adequate time for a response.

Hearing Committee Chairperson’s Responsibilities. 

Once the hearing committee is appointed, the chairperson of the hearing committee assumes responsibility for the appeal process.  The chairperson shall:

• conduct the hearing under the provisions of UWS/UWSP 10.04 , these policies and procedures, and the guidelines for appeal hearings (which may be found in the following subsection or requested from the chairperson of the Academic Staff Mediation Subcommittee;
• establish appropriate communication with, and keep informed of the proceedings in the appeal, the

• appellant;
• administrative heads of the appellant’s operational area and unit,
• the chairperson of the unit’s personnel committee, and the appropriate executive director and vice chancellor (or the chairperson of the appellant’s departmental personnel committee, department chairperson, and dean);
• provost; and
• chancellor;

• keep records of all correspondence among all the principals from the initiation of the appeal through its conclusion;
• appoint a secretary for the hearing committee (normally an associate vice chancellor), and provide for a verbatim transcript of the hearing (usually a sound recording);
• secure appropriate facilities, schedule evidentiary hearings, and provide notices to conform with the Open Meetings Law.
• secure appropriate facilities and schedule and conduct deliberative sessions in which the committee formulates its findings and recommendations;
• prepare the written report of the committee’s findings and recommendations and transmit the committee’s report to the chancellor and other appropriate parties;
• send a copy of the hearing procedures with each written notification of the hearing; and
• send written notification of the hearing to the appellant, the decision-maker, other involved individuals, and witnesses asked to appear on behalf of the parties or called by the hearing committee.

• of the date, time, and place of the hearing;
• that all parties may be represented by an individual(s) of their choice, which may include legal counsel;
• that normally, by a vote of the committee, the evidentiary hearing and the deliberative sessions will be closed but in an appeal of the denial of indefinite appointment, the appellant, upon timely written request to the chairperson, has the right to an open meeting;
• of whether the evidentiary hearing and the deliberative meeting will be closed or open;
• that both parties have a right to copies of all documentary evidence relevant to the appeal;
• that all parties, including witnesses, are expected to provide to the hearing committee chairperson sufficient copies of their testimony for all other parties, and that these materials should be provided in sufficient time prior to the hearing for distribution to all parties, but that failure to provide such copies will not preclude an individual from giving testimony;
• that either party may call persons to offer evidence or testimony;
• that both parties will be sent a list of the names of any persons to be called by either party, or by the hearing committee;
• that either party may offer testimony from any source;
• that the hearing committee is not bound by statutory rules of evidence but may hear testimony having reasonable probative value;
• that both parties have the right, under guidelines established by the chairperson, to question persons offering testimony;
• that adjournments will be granted to enable either party to investigate evidence as to which a valid claim of surprise is made;
• that the appellant has the right to a verbatim record of the hearing, which may be a sound recording, at no cost;
• that any personal notes made during the procedures and retained by a participant are subject to subpoena if the appeal is not resolved at the institutional or System level and becomes a legal matter;
• that a quorum for the evidentiary hearing consists of 4 members of the hearing committee;
• that a quorum for the deliberative sessions consists of 4 members of the hearing committee, except that in an emergency, the chairperson may declare a quorum when only 3 members are present;
• that the burden of proof as to the validity of the appeal is on the appellant; and
• that the hearing committee will give written statements of its findings and recommendations to the chancellor, provost, appropriate executive director and vice chancellor, or dean, administrative head of the unit, the administrative head of the operational area or department chairperson, appellant, and decision-maker.

NOTE.  A hearing committee may request legal advice from the UW System legal office; such requests shall be made through the vice chancellor.

GUIDELINES FOR HEARINGS.

Quorum, Notice, and Confidentiality.

Quorum. 

While all 5 members will be present whenever possible, a quorum for the  hearing and for meetings of the hearing committee consists of 4 members of the committee.

In an emergency, the chairperson of the hearing committee has the discretion to declare a quorum for deliberative sessions when only 3 members of the hearing committee are present.

Notice. 

Notices of meetings shall be sent to the University Newsletter for publication (without identifying the appellant), and shall indicate whether the meetings will be open or closed.

Confidentiality. 

Committee. 
All matters related to the appellant and the appeal are maintained in the strictest confidentiality by hearing committee members, except as may be necessary to meet provisions of the Open Meetings Law or other similar statutory, administrative rule, or faculty governance requirements.

Documents. 
Following the conclusion of all deliberations and the submittal of the hearing committee’s report, the chairperson will collect all drafts and other documents related to the appeal from the members of the committee, from any appointed secretary, and from all other parties except the appellant and the appellant’s representative(s).  All minutes and materials provided by the parties and not forwarded to the chancellor as a part of the report will be sealed and filed in the office of the chancellor for a period of 5 years, after which they will be destroyed as permitted under the Public Records Law.

NOTE.  Participants are reminded that any personal notes made during the procedures and retained after the hearing are subject to subpoena if the appeal is not resolved at the institutional or System level and becomes a legal matter.

Evidentiary and Deliberative Sessions. 

The appeal process consists of 2 parts, an evidentiary hearing and a deliberative meeting.

Evidentiary Hearing. 

The purpose of the evidentiary hearing is to determine the facts of the situation.  Both parties may provide evidence at the evidentiary hearing and both parties have the right to be represented by another individual(s), which may be legal counsel.  The hearing committee is not bound by legal rules of evidence.  The burden of proof is on the appellant.

Deliberative Meeting. 

The purpose of the deliberative meeting is for the hearing committee to reach its conclusions, after which the chairperson of the hearing committee will write a draft report of the findings and recommendations of the hearing committee.  Each member of the hearing committee must sign the final report or file a dissent.  The report will be distributed within 10 days of the close of deliberations.

Closed and Open Sessions.

General Guideline. 

Evidentiary hearings and deliberative meetings will normally be closed, as permitted by the Open Meetings Law, except the evidentiary meeting on an appeal of an indefinite appointment denial will be open if requested by the appellant.  Closed meetings require a majority vote of the hearing committee, by a roll call vote.

Evidentiary Hearings:  Who May Attend/Speak. 

Closed Hearings. 
If the evidentiary hearing is closed, only parties directly involved in the appeal may attend.  Those permitted to attend, who may speak when recognized by the chairperson for that purpose, are:

• members of the hearing committee;
• the appellant;
• the decision-maker;
• representatives for the parties;
• witnesses for the parties;
• individuals specifically called or designated by the hearing committee, which may include legal counsel; and
• an appointed secretary, who need not be a member of the committee.

Open Hearings. 

If the evidentiary hearing is open, anyone may attend but only those parties directly concerned with the appeal and recognized by the chairperson of the hearing committee for the purpose of speaking are permitted to speak.

Deliberative Meetings:  Who May Attend/Speak. 

Only members of the hearing committee, an appointed secretary (who need not be a member of the committee), and the committee’s legal counsel (if any) are permitted to attend, and may speak when recognized by the chairperson for that purpose.  Only members of the hearing committee participate in determining findings of fact and decision.

Procedure for Evidentiary Hearing and Deliberative Meeting.

Introduction. 

A copy of these procedures may be requested from the chairperson of the Academic Staff Mediation Subcommittee or the Associate Vice Chancellor for Personnel, Budget, and Grants.

Presiding Officer. 

The chairperson of the hearing committee convenes the hearing and serves as presiding officer.  The chairperson assumes all the normal responsibilities of a committee chairperson and rules on such questions as may arise on the procedure of the hearing, admissibility of evidence, and all other matters related to the hearing.

Evidentiary Hearing. 

• The evidentiary hearing normally proceeds in the order provided here, but the chairperson may change the order as circumstances may require.
• Call to order; introduction of members of the committee and of the secretary.
• Explanation of the Open Meetings Law and either:

• explanation of limitations of an open meeting, if an open meeting has been requested, or
• a request for a motion to close the meeting under the appropriate section(s) of 19.85 Wis. Stats. [19.85 (a), (b), (c), or (f)], and a roll call vote on the motion.

• Introduction of the appellant, and the appellant’s representative(s), (if any).
• Introduction of the decision-maker, and the decision-maker’s representative(s), if any.
• Presentation of the appeal by the appellant or the appellant’s representative but not the testimony of witnesses.
• Presentation of witnesses on behalf of the appellant.
• Questions of appellant’s witnesses by the decision-maker or by the decision-maker’s representative
• Presentation of all relevant materials by the decision-maker or by the decision-maker’s representative but not the testimony of witnesses.
• Questions by the appellant or the appellant’s representative.
• Presentation of witnesses on behalf of the decision-maker.
• Questions of decision-maker’s witnesses by the appellant or the appellant’s representative.
• Questions of appellant’s and decision-maker’s witnesses by members of the hearing committee.
• Presentation by any witnesses who may have been called by the hearing committee and questions of these witnesses by members of the hearing committee.
• Questions of committee witnesses by the decision-maker or the decision-makers’ representative.
• Questions of committee witnesses by the appellant or the appellant’s representative.
• Additional questions, if any, of witnesses by members of the hearing committee.
• Rebuttal or closing comments by the decision-maker or the decision-maker’s representative.
• Rebuttal or closing comments by the appellant or the appellant’s representative.
• Questions of the appellant by members of the hearing committee.
• Questions of the decision-maker by members of the hearing committee.
• Conclusion of the evidentiary hearing.
• If the deliberative meeting does not follow immediately after the evidentiary hearing, the chairperson will request a motion to recess the hearing and to reconvene at the deliberative meeting [if possible, the date and time of the session will be included in to the motion to recess], and will conduct a roll call vote on the motion.

Deliberative Meeting. 

The hearing committee deliberates on the appeal and writes, a report which includes the findings and recommendations of the committee.

Findings. 

Basis. 
A finding that the facts are as described by the appellant is not, by itself, enough to find that the appeal is valid.  The facts must support the contention that at least 1 of the factors described under UWSP 10.04 (3)(b)  entered into the decision to a significant degree and with material prejudice to the appellant.

Burden of Proof. 
The burden of proof is on the appellant to provide evidence that at least one impermissible factor entered into the decision to a significant degree and with material prejudice to the appellant.

Decision Upheld. 
If the committee finds for the decision-maker, it recommends the appeal be denied.  If the recommendation is accepted by the chancellor, the appeal is ended.

Decision Rejected. 
If the committee finds for the appellant, it makes recommendations to remedy the inappropriate behavior.

Recommendations. 

Remand Required.

• All cases under 10.04  must be remanded for reconsideration by the decision-maker unless the hearing committee specifically finds that a remand would serve no useful purpose.
• Even if it remands the matter, the hearing committee retains jurisdiction until it is satisfied that appellant’s rights have not been violated.

Possible Remedies. 
If the committee finds that an appeal under 10.04  is valid, possible remedies include, but are not limited to:

• reconsideration by the decision-maker;
• reconsideration by the decision-maker under instructions from the committee; or
• a recommendation to the next higher decision-making level.

Report. 

At an appropriate time in the deliberations, the chairperson recesses the meeting and prepares a draft report.  The draft is circulated among the members, after which the committee reconvenes to review the draft and make appropriate modifications.  After the report has been adopted by the hearing committee, each member of the committee signs the report or files a dissent.

• The report shall be adopted by a majority of the members of the hearing committee.  The vote shall be a roll call vote, which shall be recorded.
• The report shall be distributed not later than 10 days following the close of the deliberations.
• The chairperson provides a verbatim record of the hearing and a copy of the report to the academic staff member, and a copy each of the report to the

• chancellor;
• provost;
• appropriate vice chancellor and executive director, or dean;
• administrative heads of the appellant’s operational area and unit, or  department chairperson and chairperson of the departmental personnel committee; and
• the decision-maker.

Chancellor’s Action. 

The recommendations of the hearing committee become the decision of the chancellor within 30 days of the receipt of the committee’s report by the chancellor unless the chancellor modifies the recommendations.

• If the chancellor contemplates a decision substantially different from the recommendations of the committee, the chancellor shall afford the committee an opportunity to discuss the report and the chancellor’s proposed decision before written notification of decision to the appellant.
• The chancellor sends written notification of decision to the appellant and the chairperson of the hearing committee within 30 days of receipt of the report of the committee.
• The decision of the chancellor is final on such matters.

No Double Jeopardy. 

After notification to the academic staff member of a final decision, the academic staff member may not again be placed in jeopardy for the same incident(s) of alleged misconduct.

OUTLINE OF APPEAL PROCESS

Abbreviations used:

D=Dean or Director;
VC=Vice Chancellor;
C=Chancellor;
PF=Personnel Files;
DM=Decision Maker (supervisor);
DPC=Department personnel committee;
AMS=Academic Staff Mediation Subcommittee;
HC=Hearing Committee

NOTES:

Time limits in steps 2, 3, and 4 may be extended by mutual consent of the academic staff member and D (or appropriate administrative officer). Time limits in steps 6 through 9 may be extended by mutual consent of the academic staff member and the HC or by order of the HC. Prior to step 7, the AMS may act for the HC in this regard.

*Legal counsel, at the time hired by the academic staff member, should inform the AMS chairperson of counsel’s interest in the proceedings. From the time of receipt of that notice, counsel will automatically receive copies of all correspondence, memos, and any other pertinent material, whether initiated by the academic staff member or by other employees.