Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff Teaching Responsibilities (Interim)

• Wis. Stat. § 36.115(8) and (10)
• Wis. Stat. § 36.65                                                      
• Regent Policy Document 20-25, Teaching Workload Policy
• UW System Administration Interim Policy 200-03, Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff Teaching Responsibilities and Workload

The purpose of this policy is to fulfill the requirements of UW System Administration Interim Policy 200-03, Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff Teaching Responsibilities and Workload, Regent Policy Document (RPD) 20-25, Teaching Workload Policy and Wis. Stat. §§ 36.115 (8) and (10), 36.65(2)(dm) and (dn), and 36.65(6)(b) and (c). This includes meeting the minimum requirements for UW institution policies under Interim Policy 200-3.

The mission of each academic unit will determine the relative balance of effort in teaching, research, scholarly and creative activity, and service for each instructional employee. This policy recognizes that academic departments within the institution have varying missions and, as a result, will differ in the relative effort they allocate to different duties. Accordingly, expectations for research, scholarly, and creative activity shall reflect the mission of the academic unit and be consistent with disciplinary norms and standards of peer R1 institutions, as appropriate to the unit’s mission and the instructional employee’s appointment.

To determine the appropriate teaching workload, academic departments should use the following factors:

• The instructional employee’s annual performance evaluation,
• The course assignment process,
• The instructional employee’s assigned duties,
• Disciplinary norms across R1 institutions,
• Scholarly productivity and impact appropriate to the discipline and faculty rank as determined through annual performance evaluations,
• Other considerations, such as service and other relevant responsibilities as defined by institutional policy and the instructional employee’s appointment.

Colleges and academic units may establish teaching workload expectations that exceed the minimum in this policy, provided such expectations are approved by the dean. Any academic unit may adopt or assign a higher minimum teaching workload for the entire academic unit, by instructional employee type, and/or on an individual basis.

Faculty teaching assignments should be reviewed at least annually and be consistent with this policy, UW-Milwaukee Faculty Workload Policy, a faculty member’s annual performance evaluation under UWM Faculty Policy and Procedure sec. 4.05(2), and post-tenure review under the Post-Tenure Review Policy. Across a faculty member’s career, there may be periods of greater or lesser teaching workload based on research and scholarly productivity, internal and external service, administrative duties, and ongoing professional development, as determined by their department and approved by their dean. Instructional academic staff teaching workloads should be reviewed at least annually and be consistent with this policy, Instructional Academic Staff Workload Policy,  and an instructional academic staff member’s annual performance evaluation under UWM Academic Staff Personnel Policies and Procedures sec. 105.03. Teaching workload assignments shall be determined by the academic department and approved by the dean. For probationary and indefinite instructional academic staff, there may be periods of greater or lesser teaching workload based on position duties, internal and external service, administrative duties, and ongoing professional development, as determined by their academic department and approved by their dean. For fixed-term instructional academic staff, teaching workloads will be largely determined by departmental teaching needs, but may also include administrative duties and professional development, as determined by their academic department and approved by their dean.

A. Minimum Teaching Workload Requirements and Credit Hour Equivalencies

1. Minimum Teaching Workloads

Minimum teaching workloads for full-time instructional employees are: 12 credit hours per academic year; three (3) additional credits for 12-month employees. Assistant or associate deans are included only in proportion to any active faculty appointment. Instructional employees may be assigned additional teaching responsibilities consistent with this policy and any college teaching workload policies and/or practices approved by the dean.

Part-time instructional employees’ teaching workload minimums are proportional to their appointment FTE.

Credit hours may include an equivalent amount of other academic work leading to the award of credit hours and may be used interchangeably with “contact hours” for reporting purposes.

Each instructional employee must teach at least one (1) course per semester, except as otherwise permitted under under Section C; or, upon approval by the vice provost, to fulfill this requirement through individual instruction where not prohibited under Section 3 below. A part-time instructional employee who meets their academic year teaching hour requirement in a single semester does not have to teach at least one course each semester. Instructional employees with a twelve-month contract must also teach at least one (1) course during the summer session.

2. Clinical Appointments

Instructional employees with clinical appointments may meet their teaching workload requirements through alternative measures and instructional activities that advance the students and fellows under their purview. Instructional expectations shall be documented in the employee’s job descriptions or employment agreement consistent with this policy, and performance related to these expectations will be assessed annually.

3. Credit Hour Equivalencies

Instructional employees may meet a portion of their required teaching workload through activities other than group classroom instruction, office hours, and grading, provided those activities involve regular and substantive interaction with students in an educational setting and are approved by the dean. Departments and/or colleges may require instructional employees to meet their required teaching workload entirely through group classroom instruction.

Equivalencies shall reflect disciplinary norms, expectations at peer R1 institutions, and the academic standards appropriate to the unit’s mission. This may, but is not required to include, instructional activities such as graduate instruction; high-enrollment courses; writing-intensive courses; laboratory, studio, and discussion sessions; individual instruction; fieldwork/experience; clinical instruction and supervision; and dissertation and thesis supervision.

Each school and college shall have a policy, subject to the approval of its dean and the vice provost for faculty affairs (“vice provost”), on permitted instructional equivalencies and the extent to which instructional employees in each department may meet part of their teaching workload obligation through such equivalencies. Such policies may not depart from or otherwise alter the requirements in this policy, must be developed and approved no later than May 24, 2026, and are subject to review and approval at least every five years.

Existing college or departmental policies defining instructional equivalencies may be used to satisfy this requirement, provided they are reviewed and approved by the dean and vice provost and are consistent with this policy.

Instructional employees, excluding instructional employees with clinical or extension appointments, whose teaching workload includes instructional equivalencies under this section, must teach at least three (3) credits per academic year in a group instructional setting (online or face-to-face).

B. Adjustments to Teaching Workload Minimums

All adjustments under this section must be documented, time-limited, and approved by the college dean, with vice provost approval required where specified. Adjustments shall be consistent with institutional priorities, disciplinary norms, and productivity expectations at an R1 institution. 

1. Department Chairs

Academic department chairs’ teaching responsibilities may be reduced commensurate with their duties as chairperson, as determined by their dean. Academic department chairs’ teaching workload reduction, if any, is not included in the ten percent allowances for administrative duties or additional adjustments under section 2 below (Administrative Duties). Designation as an Academic Department Chair must be approved by the instructional employee’s dean.

2. Administrative Duties

Colleges may designate up to 10 percent of their instructional employees for administrative duties calculated on an aggregate, full-time equivalent basis for the college. These responsibilities are designated by the department and/or college and approved by the dean and involve the operation and strategic development of the college or the institution; they do not include academic department chairperson duties. An instructional employee may receive no more than one (1) course reduction per semester for administrative duties, which are duties distinct from the employee’s expected service obligations. Administrative duties resulting in a course reduction should reflect an equivalent effort to that course. Participation in institutional governance is ordinarily not the basis for a teaching workload reduction. Extraordinary effort, such as serving as chair of the university or academic staff committee, may warrant a course reduction with approval from the dean and vice provost.

Employees with a concurrent (backup) instructional position in active non-instructional appointments are not counted in this total.

Employees with a part-time non-instructional appointment are counted in this total only if they are granted a release from their part-time instructional role in addition to their non-instructional appointment.

3. Sabbatical and Other Leave

Instructional employees on sabbatical, federal and/or Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act leave, family leave, a leave of absence, or other approved leave that changes their teaching assignment(s) are not required to meet the teaching hour requirement in this policy. Short-term leave, such as sick leave or brief absences that do not change teaching assignments, does not change teaching workload requirements.

4. Additional Adjustments

Colleges may designate up to 10 percent of their instructional employees for the purposes described below. This is calculated on an aggregate, full-time equivalent basis at the college level and is separate from any adjustment under section 2 above (Administrative Duties). All such adjustments must be documented and approved by the dean, with vice provost approval required where specified below.

a. Market Considerations

Market considerations are adjustments based on the needs of students and on demonstrated recruiting and retention circumstances within a discipline or academic unit that necessitate reducing minimum teaching workload requirements to recruit or retain faculty.

Such adjustments must be supported by documented evidence of market conditions, including but not limited to recruitment and retention challenges and disciplinary norms, and must be approved by the dean and vice provost before any employment offer or appointment renewal containing any adjustment or before any such adjustment is made outside of an offer or appointment letter. Adjustments must be limited to the term of the appointment and/or otherwise limited in duration so that the continuing need for such an adjustment is evaluated and approved at regular and defined intervals.

b. Instructional Employee Development

1. Faculty Readaptation

This refers to faculty readaptation in the case of layoff under Wis. Stat. § 36.22(12) and assignment to or training for another position or as an alternative to layoff to move to new academic departments and/or disciplinary areas based on organizational changes and/or a UW institution’s needs, including curricular changes that respond to student demand.

2. Post-Tenure Review Remediation

This refers to post-tenure review remediation based on a post-tenure review remediation plan under RPD 20-9, Periodic Post-Tenure Review in Support of Tenured Faculty Development (section 12(c)) and UWM Post-Tenure Review Policy (procedure K), which may require a reduction in teaching workload to provide additional time to accomplish research goals, where research is an identified area of deficiency in post-tenure review. Any post-tenure review remediation plan that reduces a faculty member’s minimum teaching workload obligations shall explicitly define the reduction and its duration. Adjustments under this section must also be approved by the vice provost. In all cases, a faculty member shall teach at least one (1) course per semester during the remediation period.

3. Implementation of Best Practices

This refers to the professional development of instructional employees, as necessary to remain current with teaching methods, modalities, and subject-matter expertise, to ensure student learning and outcomes. Adjustments under this section shall not extend beyond one academic year.  

4. Development and Improvement of Select Courses

This refers to developing new courses and improving existing courses to ensure the currency of the course and program curricula. Adjustments under this section shall not extend beyond one academic year.  

5. New and Early Career Employees

This includes, but is not limited to, developing or teaching new courses; beginning or establishing a program of research, scholarly, or creative activity; or other factors necessary for instructional employees to become established in their roles. Adjustments under this section must be limited to the term of the appointment and/or otherwise limited in duration so that the continuing need for such an adjustment is evaluated and approved at regular and defined intervals.  

c. Accreditation Requirements

Some accreditors may require teaching ratios and other teaching requirements, resulting in adjustments to faculty teaching assignments. Adjustments under this section must also be approved by the vice provost.

C. Buyout from Required Teaching Hours

Buyout from any required teaching hours is subject to the minimum standards under UW System Administrative Interim Policy 200-03, Faculty and Instructional Academic Staff Teaching Responsibilities and Workload. Colleges may restrict buyouts to meet their instructional needs and student success goals and may establish a minimum teaching workload not subject to buyout.

GPR and tuition funds may not be used to fund buyouts except for the following circumstances:

1. Freshwater Collaborative
2. Dairy Innovation Hub
3. Other programs categorically funded in Chapter 20, Wis. Stats.

Permissible funding sources for other buyouts may include external grant funds, indirect cost recovery funds, gift funds, and other non-GPR and non-tuition funds, subject to any applicable restrictions, including gift agreements, state or federal law, and UW System and UWM policies. The funding source for each buyout must be documented and approved by the department and dean. The buyout amount must equal the proportional cost of the approved course release using the instructional employee’s base salary and fringe benefit rate.

Buyouts must be proposed by the academic unit and approved by the dean at least annually.

• Academic department: An academic department or its functional equivalent designated by UWM, which could include, but is not limited to, schools, colleges, divisions, department-like bodies, centers, clinics, institutes, programs, or other academic units that have been formally recognized by UWM through its established processes for such recognition. 
• Adjunct instructional employees: Part-time instructional employees who are employed on a per-course basis. 
• Administrative duties: Responsibilities designated by UWM involving the operation and strategic development of an institution, not including chairperson duties.  
• Buyout: A reduction in the number of credit hours an instructional employee is required to teach under this policy pursuant to a buyout plan as further described in this policy. 
• Chairperson: An instructional employee designated by UWM to be the chairperson or its functional equivalent of an academic department and who acts as the executive of the department, including the areas of personnel, budget, and operations in accordance with UWM’s established policies.  
• Clinical appointment: The appointment of an instructional employee by UWM to a position focused on practical instruction and application of knowledge in a health sciences field, involving direct interaction with students and fellows in a clinical or other external setting, which includes university programs, clinics, and practicums. A health sciences field encompasses disciplines related to human health, disease, and healthcare, including, but not limited to, the natural sciences, psychology, social work, nutrition, physical therapy, medicine, and public health.
• Course: A credit-bearing instructional activity delivered through group instruction that is recognized as such in the course catalog and approved through curricular processes, whether delivered in person or online.
• Credit hour: A period of not less than 50 consecutive minutes per week of instructional time for each week of the semester or session that the course is offered, excluding the week of or the week immediately preceding final examinations. Credit hours may include an equivalent amount of other academic work leading to the award of credit hours and may be used interchangeably with “contact hours” for reporting purposes.
• Faculty: Persons who hold the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or instructor in an academic department and such academic staff as may be designated by the chancellor and faculty, but do not include adjunct instructional employees, visiting faculty, or librarians with faculty appointments. Chancellors, provosts, or deans are not included. 
• Full-time: An appointment for an instructional employee that is a 100-percent appointment (1.0 FTE).            
• Instructional academic staff (IAS): Academic staff members with teaching responsibilities, within TTC job family  “Teaching and Learning” job subfamily “Teaching and Instruction of For-Credit Courses,” which includes but is not limited to Lecturer, Teaching Professor (all levels), and Teaching Faculty (all levels), but does not include adjunct or visiting instructional academic staff or instructional academic staff who are librarians.
• Instructional employee: Faculty or instructional academic staff. 
• Instructional time: Classroom time or instruction of students. 
• Nine-month employee: A person employed on an academic-year basis tied to the academic-year calendar and who is in a Fair Labor Standards Act exempt job title.
• Summer session: The period of instructional activity between the end of the spring semester and the start of the fall semester.   
• Teaching responsibilities: Responsibilities of instructional employees as designated by UWM that involve academic instruction.  
• Teaching workload: The amount of time instructional employees spend on teaching responsibilities. 
• Twelve-month employee: A person employed on an annual basis tied to the fiscal year and who is in an FLSA-exempt job title.

Annually, UWM shall report to UW System Administration, in a manner determined by UWSA:

• The total credit hours taught by faculty and instructional academic staff per Wis. Stat. §§ 36.115(8) and (10)(g), grouped according to the following factors:
  • Classification as faculty or instructional academic staff.
  • Whether the employee has a full-time appointment and, if not, the extent of the part-time appointment.
  • Each funding source and the amount of funding from each source.
  • The percentage of instructional employees meeting the full teaching workload requirements under this policy
• All instructional employees with approved buyouts, including fund source, amounts, and course release per Wis. Stat. § 36.115(10)(f)(3) and Wis. Stat. § 36.115(10)(g).
• A report of all instructional employees with supplemental instructional work equivalency being used to meet their teaching workload requirement. The report shall be submitted on a timeline consistent with the reporting requirements under Wis. Stat. § 36.115(10)(g).