General Questions

 “Confidential university information” means information relating to university financial operations or personnel which is obtained from university records or in the course of official university business and which is not available to the general public upon request. Wis. Admin. Code s. UWS 8.02(6). There is an obligation to keep this information confidential.

Also see SAAP 11-02 and UWS 8

Faculty committees: The standing committees, their charters, rosters, minutes and agendas can be found at: https://uwm.edu/secu/faculty/standing/

Academic staff committees: The standing committees, their charters, rosters, minutes and agendas can all be found at https://uwm.edu/secu/as/standing/

Section 36.09 (4) of the Wisconsin Statutes states:
The faculty of each institution, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president, and the chancellor of such institution, shall have the primary responsibility for advising the chancellor regarding academic and educational activities and faculty personnel matters. The faculty of each institution shall have the right to determine their own faculty organizational structure and to select representatives to participate in institutional governance, except that the faculty of each institution shall ensure that faculty in academic disciplines related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are adequately represented in the faculty organizational structure.

Section 36.09 (4m) for academic staff:
The academic staff members of each institution, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president, the chancellor, and the faculty of the institution, shall have the primary responsibility for advising the chancellor regarding the formulation and review, and shall be represented in the development, of all policies and procedures concerning academic staff members, including academic staff personnel matters. The academic staff members of each institution shall have the right to organize themselves in a manner they determine and to select their representatives to participate in institutional governance

Section 36.09 (5) for students:
The students of each institution or campus subject to the responsibilities and powers of the board, the president, the chancellor, and the faculty shall have primary responsibility for advising the chancellor regarding the formulation and review of policies concerning student life, services, and interests. Students in consultation with the chancellor and subject to the final confirmation of the board shall have the responsibility for the disposition of those student fees which constitute substantial support for campus student activities. The students of each institution or campus shall have the right to organize themselves in a manner they determine and to select their representatives to participate in institutional governance.

They are all subject to WOML and must post their meetings.

For campus bodies other than departments and subunits, this can be done by following the link below: https://uwm.edu/news/faculty-staff/submissions/open-meetings/

For department level meetings, this can be done by posting the notice on a departmental bulletin board to which students, faculty and staff routinely have access at least 24 hours before the meeting.

Per Robert’s Rules of Order, an agenda item can be taken out of order or a new item can be added by suspension of the rules. This requires a 2/3 vote of the committee, or it can be done by unanimous consent. A member of the committee must ask to do this. The Chair cannot depart from the order, only the committee can do this. However, the Chair can entertain a motion to depart from the order.

Your open meeting notice must reflect the meeting’s agenda as of the time of giving notice. If you are going to add any item of more than a routine nature that can be taken up as noticed “new business”, you should amend your meeting notice, if possible, or save the item for a later meeting when proper notice can be given.

Regulations for recruitment of all categories of employees can be found at the Department of Human Resources website:
https://uwm.edu/hr/toolkits/recruitment/

The Department of Human Resources has the recommended forms available at:
https://uwm.edu/hr/home/forms/recruitment-and-volunteerism-forms/

1. Public notice must be given
2. The body first convenes in open session
3. A member of the body moves that the body convene in closed session, stating the nature of the business to be considered
4. The chairperson reiterates motion to include the nature of the business and cites the specific exemption under Wis. Stat. s.19.85(1) that provides the authority to close the meeting.
5. The motion must be passed by a majority vote via roll call or ballot of those present. Some departments may require a 2/3 majority, so please refer to your departmental policies before voting.
6. The motion and vote are recorded in the minutes such that the vote of each member can be ascertained.

Once a body convenes in closed session it may not reconvene in open session for at least 12 hours, unless public notice of intent to return to open session was given in the original notice of the meeting. Notice may be given by using the form at this link:
https://uwm.edu/news/faculty-staff/submissions/open-meetings/

The UW System Office of Legal Counsel FAQ about closed meetings is available at:
https://www.wisconsin.edu/general-counsel/legal-topics/open-meetings-law/

The open meetings law is based on the principle that the public is entitled to the greatest possible information about governmental affairs. The Wisconsin Open Meetings Law (WOML) applies to governmental bodies which includes the campus bodies created by formal action of governmental bodies. It does not include committees appointed by individuals such as department chairpersons or deans. The WOML requires that all meetings of a government body whose purpose is to conduct official business and which has the requisite number of people be open and accessible to members of the public. As a practical matter department committees that are formed by action of the department executive committee need to be posted, while those formed by the Chair do not.

A link to the Wisconsin Open Meeting Law, State Statutes 19.81-19.98 is available at:
http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/19.pdf

For additional guidance on open meetings, please see the Office of Legal Affairs’ website: https://uwm.edu/legal/records/

A closed meeting can only be held for certain limited purposes. The most common purposes related to UWM business and governance are:

1. Considering the granting or denial of tenure, considering an employee’s dismissal, demotion or discipline, or considering the investigation of charges against an individual.In all the above cases, the employee under consideration must be given notice of any evidentiary hearing before a final action can take place and before a meeting where final action is taken. The notice must contain a statement that the candidate or employee has the right to demand that the evidentiary hearing or meeting be held in open session.
2. Considering an employee’s employment, evaluation, promotion or compensation, including renewal or non-renewal of contract.
3. Conferring with lawyers for the university about pending or possible lawsuits involving the university
4. Deliberations that follow an open judicial or quasi-judicial trial or hearing
5. Considering financial, medical, social, or personal information that if disclosed might have an adverse effect on the reputation of the person named
6. Considering the purchase of public property, the investing of public funds or conducting other specified public business whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed session.