After review and approval by the Academic Staff Committee, University Committee, and University Staff Committee, UWM has adopted an interim policy to implement the 2025 Wisconsin Act 15 (Act 15) teaching workload requirements. Selected Academic and Administrative Policy (SAAP) 7-18, Interim Faculty and Academic Staff Teaching Responsibilities, is posted online here.
Because the requirements are based in state statute, UWM does not have the flexibility at the campus level to modify the requirements. As a result, the UWM policy closely aligns with the Board of Regents policy and Universities of Wisconsin interim policy.
The Act 15 requirements take effect September 1, 2026, and create minimum teaching load requirements for faculty and instructional academic staff. Under UWM’s interim policy, each college must develop or update its workload policies, including instructional equivalencies, consistent with the UWM interim policy before the end of the Spring semester.
Teaching workload assignments will continue to be determined at the department and college level. This includes any adjustments to minimum teaching workload requirements related to administrative duties, market considerations, and career stage, as permitted by the policy and subject to the designated approvals.
Next Steps:
- Each school and college must review and update, or develop, if needed, their teaching workload policy, including, where applicable, permitted instructional equivalencies. Many units already have workload policies in place; in those cases, the expectation is that existing policies will be revised as needed to align with Act 15 and SAAP 7-18 requirements. Colleges may adopt policies that distinguish among schools and departments within the college, and schools may similarly distinguish among their academic departments.
- All unit teaching workload policies must be approved by the dean and the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and must be completed by May 24, 2026.
Questions:
- College/unit-specific questions should be directed to the dean.
- General questions may be directed to the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, Canan Bilen-Green, at bilengre@uwm.edu.